Articles

On January 6, 2024, Earl Eugene Scruggs, the most influential and imitated banjo picker on the planet, would have turned 100 years old. To celebrate the occasion, Jerry Douglas served as musical director and assembled some of the best and brightest pickers in bluegrass for a magical three-and-a-half hour show in the historic Ryman Auditorium…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine June 1990, Volume 24, Number 12 One of the most cherished traditions in country and bluegrass music is that of the performing family group. In addition to numerous brother and sister acts we have had the Carter Family, the Pickard Family, the Phipps Family, the McLain Family, the Lewis Family,…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine August 2012, Volume 47, Number 2 It may sound like a setup for a really bad banjo joke, but five-strings can bring people together. And, in at least one case, help forge a bluegrass power couple. Terry Baucom has established himself among the great banjo pickers of the last four…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine March 1994, Volume 28, Number 9 [Portions reprinted with permission from The SEBA BREAKDOWN, Sept., 1992, Volume 9, No. 9] “It’s time to write a song. The ice on the river.  Is growing much thinner, and soon will give way. Way down below, the river still flows.  The song never…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine November 1990, Volume 25, Number 5 When I first saw Jody he was sixteen, riveting everyone at a folk concert with his singing. I remember thinking at the time, “He sounds good enough to be a PROFESSIONAL.” In the years to come I got to know him and share his…

Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the band members of Pert Near Sandstone are Justin Bruhn (bass), Kevin Kniebel (banjo), J Lenz (guitar) and Nate Sipe (mandolin, steel guitar, fiddle). They are all known as good songwriters and instrumentalists and they support the traditions of American folk and string band music but with a desire for more…