We’ll be taking a little trip down to the friendly neighborhood CD emporium where we’ll be looking to snag and feast our ears on the latest exemplary high, blue and lonesome recordings from the likes of Kenny & Amanda Smith, Hindsight Bluegrass, Greensky Bluegrass, Special Consensus and Appalachian Road Show.

When these two words are used in a band name, there’s no question what kind of music the group plays. There’s instant recognition that they’re not purveying polka music, trash metal, Euro-Techo or bubblegum pop. Because nothing screams bluegrass more than “mountain boys.” For that reason, it’s the genre’s most often employed band name. We’ll […]

We’ll be continuing our walk through the high, blue and lonesome sounds of 1980 when in April and early May of that year: Post-It Notes are introduced; the U.S.’s military operation to free the Iranian hostages fails; Larry Gatlin and Crystal Gayle win awards from the Academy of Country Music; the slasher horror film Friday […]

It  comes from an old English word meaning having no end or extending indefinitely.  It’s got a lonesome vibe to it and accordingly it crops up often in Bluegrass story and song.  With the musical contributions of Alison Krauss, the Benders, the Easter Brothers, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and the Nashville Bluegrass Band we’ll be looking at endless highways, endless streams […]

We’ll be heading into town, with folding money in our pocket, with the intention of snagging some new CD’s from the likes of Junior Sisk, Frances Mooney & Fontanna Sunset, Sierra Hull, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, the SteelDrivers, Kristy Cox, Blue Steel and Fireside Collective.

On its most basic level, it’s the state of not wearing any footwear.  But in BluegrassLand, as elsewhere, it means so much more.  It’s a way to connect with nature; to get grounded, centered and focused.  There’s no better way to clear your mind, decrease anxiety and depression, erase insomnia or engage in a little self-initiated reflexology.  No wonder […]

It’s a flowing body of water contained by banks that’s smaller than a river, but bigger than a brook. In bluegrassland, they’re almost magical — usually exuding a peaceful easy feeling and containing healing powers. It’s where you go when you need to relax, breahte, contemplate and recharge. With the help of the Dixie Bluegrass […]

We will not be passing, we will not be collecting $200, be we’ll be going directly to the new bluegrass CD bins where we expect to spend far in excess of that amount. We’ll be checking out the latest from the likes of Nick Hornbuckle, Drive Time, the Lil Smokies, Hagar’s Mountain Boys, Shannon Slaughter, […]

We’ll be making another of our periodic trips to 1980, when, among other things in February of that year: Blondie’s “Call Me” is named the Billboard Song of the Year; the U.S. hockey team beats the Soviet Union in the Miracle on Ice at the Winter Olympics; Muhammed Ali tours Africa as President Carter’s envoy; […]

It’s the pre-bluegrass folk music of the Appalachian mountains dating back long before the arrival of electricity and the phonograph record. It’s a blend of European and African traditions and something uniquely American. It’s rife with ancient tones and the wisdom of the ages. It’s real, it’s authentic, it’s mesmerizing, and it’s still going strong.