Andy Leftwich doesn’t deal in nostalgia, even when his résumé invites it. The four-time Grammy-winning instrumentalist could lean on a lifetime that runs from championship fiddle contests to nearly sixteen years inside Kentucky Thunder, but Aced pushes forward instead of looking back. The album captures a musician who has moved past proving himself and now focuses on saying something that lasts. “This latest record is one that I’ve been working on for just over a year,” Leftw
The audience for bluegrass music extends beyond the United States. Every year dozens of bluegrass bands tour in foreign lands, especially Europe and the United Kingdom. Playing abroad can increase a band’s audience and provide members with new travel, culinary, and cultural experiences. But the travel complications can be unexpected and confounding. The Bluegrass Standard invited several musicians to share their experiences traveling and performing abroad. Unsurprisingly, sim
As an industrial hygenist Steven Moore keeps workplaces safe by carefully monitoring dust, vapor, and noise levels, and reducing exposure to protect employees. But on stage he’s audacious and bold. This three-time national banjo champion plays jaw-dropping, inventive arrangements of contest tunes. As a member of The David Mayfield Parade, perhaps the most animated, eccentric, and exciting band in bluegrass, Moore combines his virtuosity with a sense of humor and humility that
Blue(Grass) Ribbon Dog Songs Congratulate yourself on making it this deep into summertime. We’ve almost reached the tail end of Dog Days—July 3 to August 11. But it seems to me our four-legged friends deserve more than our taking their names in vain for some of the muggiest days of the season. When they named this stretch of the calendar, the ancient Romans had mapped the path of Sirius, the bright “Dog Star.” Because it aligns with the summer sun, that star was thought to ad
Ask thirty-four-year-old North Carolina banjoist and tractor enthusiast Andy Hunt what a 1947 Farmall H and bluegrass have in common, and he'll show you living history. “Our family farm in Archdale, North Carolina, was bought by my great-great-granddaddy in the early 1900s,” Hunt says. Hunt also raises cattle, including one named Mabel. “Hereford cows are my favorite breed!” “I caught classic tractor fever at a very young age. My dad worked as a farrier. He would put me on a
If you think being a full-time musician isn’t a rewarding job, ask Florida-based banjoist Isaac Taylor. Whether he’s teaching someone how to play “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” or touring with rising Florida band Remedy Tree, he enjoys every minute of it. “Oh my goodness. It’s my dream!” said Taylor over the phone during an early morning interview. In 2014, a newly married Taylor traded his banjo for computer systems and data management. “I was about to graduate from college, and
