At this year's IBMA World of Bluegrass festival, many will gather to see the top acts perform, along with rising showcase artists, the annual awards, instrument trade shows, and jam sessions to satisfy even the most ardent bluegrass fan. Boner, a former IBMA Board Chair and longtime board member, is known throughout the bluegrass community for his musical versatility. As the director of East Tennessee State University's Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies program, Bo
Some of the very best bluegrass songs happen when a man pours out his heart for all to see. It’s deep. It’s meaningful. And often…it’s written by a woman! This dynamic – of listeners thinking a man was behind a song because a male performed it – is what motivated acclaimed bluegrass artist Lindsay Lou to create something that honors women songwriters. This 10-track record released in August was simply titled: Bluegrass Women. The fact that she was able to get artists and frie
“Rrinaco is the place for the full picture of who I am as an artist,” says Corrina Rose Logston Stephens. The project gives the multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter freedom to focus on two things she loves—words and music. For some High Fidelity fans, her new album Little Songs might be a bit of a surprise. “People hear my name and expect traditional bluegrass,” explains Stephens. “The Rrinaco music is definitely that—but it's also much more. It's my creative expressio
The Wee Farm is currently beaming, sporting all the colors of spring on this land Farmer Rick (my long-suffering husband, lol) and I love so much. The knockout roses are actually showing off with bright reds and pinks bursting all over this place. Here’s an interesting observation from a Goat Girl Gone Cat Crazy (that would be me…I nickname everyone on or associated with the Wee Farm Musings). I am not a natural nature girl, preferring the indoor comfort where flying insects
“Don’t just stand there with your teeth in your mouth!” That’s not only the good-natured exhortation Alan Bartram’s dad would offer as a reminder to get busy: it’s the first line of “Gas and Oil,” a song performed by the Travelin’ McCourys that’s gotten a lot of notice, airplay, and positive reaction at concerts. The song is Bartram’s reflection on the value of doing something challenging--in this case, cutting timber--with people one respects and loves. And the song’s stayin
Getting the chance to play with The Grascals and Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers is enough to make any picker happy—but if you ask guitarist and vocalist Chris Davis, going out on his own has brought newfound freedom. With the urging of his record label, Billy Blue Records, Davis, who spent years as a sideman, feels it was time for him to step into the spotlight. “For a long time, Billy Blue kept telling me, ‘Man, you need to do your own band.’ But my confidence level just
