Articles

Celebrates 30 Years In the Bluegrass World Hailing from the fertile musical grounds of Virginia, the bluegrass band Nothin’ Fancy has kept a steady roll in a hard and volatile business by putting the music and the fans first. Now, in 2024, the band is celebrating its 30th anniversary as a group, which is an…

“I’m not a writer of songs,” said Pat Enright, 79, who, despite his declaration, was indeed the writer who penned the decidedly bluegrass song, “Who’s That Knocking At My Door,” first recorded by The Dreadful Snakes on the band’s only album, Snakes Alive! (1983, Rounder Records).  Humble to a fault perhaps, Enright’s “only” solo write…

Bluegrass Music Loses Another Banjo Legend Photo by Dan Miller Benjamin Rolfe “Ben” Eldridge (August 15, 1938 – April 14, 2024) was a co-founder of the Seldom Scene and served as the group’s banjoist and longest-tenured member; he logged a total of 44 years with the band from 1971 until 2015. As an instrumentalist in what…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 1997, Volume 32, Number 4 “What is amazing is that Todd Phillips never ceases to amaze me! — Tom Rozum (Laurie Lewis and Grant Street) It seems, for the average audience member and for many trade magazines, that all of the attention is focused on the lead singers, or…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine March 1997, Volume 31, Number 9 Bluegrass music is enjoying a new golden era. The artists riding the crest of today’s wave are creating and inventing their own music just as the original giants of the music did. One of the shining stars of modern bluegrass and acoustic music is…

Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine August, 1988, Volume 23, Number 2 If someone were to say “weary hearts” to you, you’d probably think that they were referring to a new romance novel or day-time soap opera. However, anyone familiar with bluegrass music knows of the song, “The Weary Heart You Stole Away,” recorded by the…