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School Project

It might seem odd that for as long as he’s been around, banjo player Cory Walker has just released his first solo album, School Project. Maybe he was just waiting to see how close to a perfect debut he could get for Mountain Fever Records. Walker, currently playing with the IBMA Momentum Award winning band…

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Oh, Didn’t They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music

When three politically and socially active college students founded an “anti-profit” record company because no one else would record and release the American folk, bluegrass and old-time music they loved, they had no idea their brainchild would become a dominant force introducing millions to artists like Alison Krauss, Tony Rice, Hazel Dickens, J.D. Crowe, Norman…

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Ray Davis about the time of his record releases for the DC and Marshall labels.

Notes & Queries – February 2024

Q: I was just listening to Bill Monroe’s recording of “Christmas Time’s a-Comin’” and I would swear I could hear the unmistakable voice of Del McCoury in the harmony. The song was recorded in 1951, can you shed some light on this? Dallas Hudson, Charlotte NC A: You are correct that Bill Monroe recorded the…

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The AFBA mural on display, painted by D. E. Johnson in 1978. Photo by Jamie Plain

Festival!

In June, the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum unveiled a new exhibition highlighting the history of the bluegrass festival. The culmination of a collaborative effort with the Appalachian Fiddle & Bluegrass Association (AFBA), the exhibition explores the roots and evolution of bluegrass festivals. The idea for this project stems from an offer to…

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Terry Baucom // Photo by laci mack

Terry Baucom

The Duke of Drive Leaves Behind a Powerful Legacy in the Bluegrass World The old mill town of Elkin, North Carolina, is an oasis for folks who want to live in a rural area located between the mountains and the big cities of the Piedmont. It exists about 44 miles from Winston-Salem, 75 miles from…

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The Dirty Grass Players, (l to r) Ben Kolakowski, Connor Murray, Alex Berman, and Ryan Rogers play a sold-out album release show at the Recher Theatre in Maryland. // Photo by Liz Pappas (Barley Moon Photography)

On The Fringe

Bands Blurring the Lines of Bluegrass The idea of the grand voyager can invoke many images in your mind. It invokes the idea of travel, exploration, discovery and a journey. For Baltimore’s Dirty Grass Players it holds all those meanings and more. “Grand Voyager” is a track from their first album, Beneath the Woodpile. The track is…

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