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Grassology
Jason Keiser is a wizard in the bluegrass-jazz (or “space grass”) guitar tradition of Tony Rice and John Carlini, both formerly of the David Grisman Quintet. Keiser has, in fact, studied under many of the masters, including Carlini, Wyatt Rice and mandolin maestro Adam Steffey. On this dazzling, all-acoustic, instrumental collection, Keiser pays tribute to…
Through These Trees
At age 16, Mei Lin Heirendt, lead singer and fiddler with this northern California-based quartet, is already a veteran of sorts. She started playing the violin at age 7, and has simply never stopped. Since she was a child, she’s been involved with and nurtured by the California Bluegrass Association and is currently the organization’s…
Heroes And Friends
This veteran East Tennessee banjo maestro has performed and toured with just about everyone over the years, including, for starters, the Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse, Marty Raybon and Tim Raybon. And he’s gained a slew of friends and admirers along the way. He’s called upon many of these friends while producing his star-studded debut…
Let It Burn
This sweet-voiced veteran Australian songbird has been called Australia’s “Queen of Bluegrass,” and it’s hard to argue with that handle, based on her latest release. It’s a masterful mainstream bluegrass outing full of fine performances and memorable songs. Cox, who topped the Billboard bluegrass charts with her seventh album back in 2020, kicks things off…
Rise Early
Annick Odom, lead singer and principal songwriter of this trio—named after a wild flower that proliferates in Appalachian West Virginia—grew up in two cultures and spend her formative years in both West Virginia and the Netherlands, where she formed this band. Sweet Joe Pye currently divides its time between Europe and the Morgantown, West Virginia,…
Anna Frick
Mastering: The Final Gut Check Even if you have never been in a recording studio, you probably have a sense of the recording process at its most rudimentary level. Set out a microphone, play or sing into it and a machine records the sounds. Of course, there is much more to both the art and…