Features | Bluegrass Standard

Grace Van’t Hof: Between the Banjo and Graphics

For most bluegrass band members, double duty means playing an instrument and driving the bus. Banjoist Grace Van’t Hof not only...

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Catfish in the Sky: Countryside Music for City Folk

Jul 1, 20234 min read

Catfish in the Sky: Countryside Music for City Folk

When Ruth Shumway taught her classmates at Berklee a bluegrass tune by Steve Rosen called Nail that Catfish to a Tree, they were...

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Jul 1, 20234 min read

The Lone Bellow: Church for Heathens

Trying to put The Lone Bellow into a restrictive little box would be about as effective as trying to grasp a handful of water or telling...

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Jul 1, 20234 min read

Gangstagrass: Bending the Genre

While some people take music very seriously, sometimes it’s just about being fun. Bluegrass music is fun. Hip-hop music is fun. Combining...

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The Dark Influences of The Crooked Jades

Jul 1, 20234 min read

The Dark Influences of The Crooked Jades

The Crooked Jades have created a unique sound to "re-imagine" old-time music for today's listeners. It's gritty and real. Dark, even. The...

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Scott Slay: A Lifetime of Slay-ing Bluegrass

Jul 1, 20234 min read

Scott Slay: A Lifetime of Slay-ing Bluegrass

Scott Slay was raised in a musical family. Growing up in Walnut Hill, Florida (a small farm town about 35 miles from Pensacola), he...

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Talisk: Two's Company, Three's a Concert

Jul 1, 20233 min read

Talisk: Two's Company, Three's a Concert

It’s hard to believe that three people, with three instruments, can create the sound and energy presented at a Talisk concert. Using only...

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Brent Davis

Jul 1, 20232 min read

Bluegrass: 7 Miles High

Although Billy Self had played in a bluegrass band for several years, he says he didn’t know anything about putting on a bluegrass...

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Punk Rock Attitude, String Band Musicianship

Jul 1, 20233 min read

Punk Rock Attitude, String Band Musicianship

A rollicking sound, paired with string music. It’s a riotous energy – a sonic rebelliousness – that finds its true soul in something akin...

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Discover Appalachian communities through food markets

Candace Nelson

Jun 27, 20233 min read

Discover Appalachian communities through food markets

Food can bring people together. And when it’s in abundance at a local marketplace, food can be the center of the community. Many major...

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Brent Davis

Jun 1, 20233 min read

Adam Schlenker: Never Looking Back

If Adam Schlenker was surprised to find himself an acclaimed flat-picking guitarist and the director of a university’s innovative roots...

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More than moonshine: Appalachian spirits embrace local culture

Candace Nelson

Jun 1, 20233 min read

More than moonshine: Appalachian spirits embrace local culture

Appalachia is known for one hard liquor: moonshine. It is a high-proof, unaged whiskey typically made from corn mash and originally...

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Mari Black: A Music Ambassador Doing Her Own Thing

Jun 1, 20234 min read

Mari Black: A Music Ambassador Doing Her Own Thing

Mari Black, who has won multiple awards for her fiddlin' prowess, says she came by her talent naturally. "I grew up in a musical family....

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Folk Alliance International: The Safe Space for Folk Music Communities Around the World

Richelle Putnam

Jun 1, 20235 min read

Folk Alliance International: The Safe Space for Folk Music Communities Around the World

Today, folk music is fascinating, broad and inspiring, but it continues to be the music of the people, locally and globally. “It connects...

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ICTM: Bonding cultures for the Peace of Humankind

Jun 1, 20233 min read

ICTM: Bonding cultures for the Peace of Humankind

Music has been proven to bring people together; in doing so, they discover more similarities than differences. The International Council...

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Lorraine Jordan, the "Lady of Tradition"

Jun 1, 20233 min read

Lorraine Jordan, the "Lady of Tradition"

Mandolin player and vocalist Lorraine Jordan has been a Pinecastle recording artist for two decades. She's put out seven projects,...

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Falle’s Kentucky Blue Star – New Album, New Perspective

Vickie McIntyre

Jun 1, 20235 min read

Falle’s Kentucky Blue Star – New Album, New Perspective

When life and music collide, the impact is visceral. That’s the best way to describe Nashville recording artist, Marty Falle’s recent...

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Preserving Tradition for All Cultures: the Center for Traditional Music and Dance

Jun 1, 20233 min read

Preserving Tradition for All Cultures: the Center for Traditional Music and Dance

Peter Rushefsky grew up listening to – and playing – lots of traditional music. Old time. Bluegrass. Ragtime. As time went on, he got an...

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Jun 1, 20233 min read

Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty

Every town has one—a place where teens gather to share their interest in music. In 1966, McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Long Beach, California,...

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The Augusta Heritage Center: Preserving the Past; Building Community

Jun 1, 20234 min read

The Augusta Heritage Center: Preserving the Past; Building Community

Since its inception in 1973, the Augusta Heritage Center, located on the Davis & Elkins College campus in Elkins, West Virginia, has...

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Vickie McIntyre

May 7, 20232 min read

May 2023

Joe Hott and The Short Mountain band

Joe is a seasoned musician who has made a name for himself in the bluegrass and traditional country music scene. With his unique blend of...

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