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Water Tower // Photo by David k. Cupp

On The Fringe

Bands Blurring the Lines of Bluegrass “I tell people we are the tradition of bluegrass, the attitude of punk rock and the culture of hip hop,” explains Kenny Feinstein (singer, multi-instrumentalist) of Water Tower.  That declaration perfectly sums up the unconventional musical personality of Water Tower, a Los Angeles-based string-band that is keeping old-timey, traditional…

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The Only Sunshine

By Jody Stecher Beautiful and unusual instrumentation, rare points of view, and intricate, natural imagery come together to create “The Only Sunshine,” an atypical love song written by Jody Stecher and released in December 2023 on his album Mile 77.  The writer behind this powerful statement song has a musical career that spans decades and…

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Sullivan Banjos

Putting The Fun In Banjos All Photos Courtesy of Eric Sullivan “Banjos = fun” is the lifelong philosophy of one American luthier. “Sullivan Banjos is fairly recent,” its current proprietor, Eric Sullivan of Alabama, shared during a recent interview. “It started in 1970 when Dad (Bill Sullivan) was working at General Electric in the tool and…

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The barn with its new donated roof. //  Photo by Jack Poston

Bluegrass from a Coffee Can

The 60th Anniversary of Suwanee, Georgia’s Everett’s Music Barn “We had a lot of company” Rena (Everett) McDaniel reflected. “It seemed normal to stay up until four, five, or six o’clock on Sunday morning because there were still people here playing…right outside my bedroom door.” She was relating childhood memories of her life in the…

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The Spilled Pint

Dale and Darcy Cahill are joined here by long-time friends Neil Rossi and Will Patton to produce an interesting project of mostly Irish/Celtic flavored instrumental medleys.   Rossi and the Cahills have been playing together for over 15 years in the New England area and are often joined by Patton on bass. Dale plays guitar,…

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Alley Cat

Paul Van Vlodrop hails from Amsterdam in the Netherlands and over the years has become one of Europe’s well-known musicians and artists. He learned to play guitar at an early age, influenced by the popular music of the day by such as the Beatles, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Simon and Garfunkel, and others. Later he…

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