Tag Archives: Bluegrass music

Jake Blount’s Spider Tales

Jake Blount‘s Spider Tales exists on a couple of different planes simultaneously. On one level, the level of the music itself, it’s as simple and straightforward as all the best stringband music. A few simple instruments, old songs, played and … Continue reading

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Doc Watson and Gaither Carlton’s Doc Watson and Gaither Carlton

“Sui generis” is one of those terms that gets tossed around when discussing certain musicians. The Latin term means something like “of its own kind,” a fancy way of saying “unique.” But if it applies to anyone in American music … Continue reading

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Che Apalache’s Rearrange My Heart

Bluegrass fiddler and singer Joe Troop has come of age at just the ripe moment. Growing up a queer young man in the North Carolina Piedmont, in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains, Troop eventually felt unwelcome in his home … Continue reading

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Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard’s Sing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes, 1965-1969

The first time I listened to this CD with headphones, I nearly fell out of my chair when the second track, “Tell Me That You Love Me” began. I don’t believe I’d ever heard this old song before, although perhaps … Continue reading

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Various artists’ Epilogue: A Tribute to John Duffey

You can always trust Smithsonian Folkways to do up a package of music the right way. That definitely applies to this standout tribute to one of the fathers of contemporary bluegrass, John Duffey. Duffey was a founding member of both … Continue reading

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John Lawless’ Five & Dime

I was shocked when, after listening to Five & Dime a couple of times, I discovered that it’s banjo player John Lawless’ first recording. It’s that good. Lawless, an editor at Bluegrass Today, has been playing regionally out of Roanoak, … Continue reading

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Billy Strings’ Turmoil & Tinfoil

If you love acoustic guitar playing, or if you love bluegrass music — or both — you have to check out the duet that Billy Strings plays with Bryan Sutton on a traditional tune called “Salty Sheep,” on Billy’s new … Continue reading

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John Reischman and The Jaybirds’ On That Other Green Shore

If you want solid, no-nonsense bluegrass music these days, you won’t go wrong with any release by John Reischman and The Jaybirds. Their latest release On That Other Green Shore is no exception. That’s no accident, of course. One of … Continue reading

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Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge’s Mount Royal

I’m still wringing major bits of pleasure out of last year’s electric Julian Lage Trio release Arclight, when here comes this splendid acoustic offering from Lage and Chris Eldridge. Mount Royal is the second full-length by this duo, following Avalon … Continue reading

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Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands’ The Hazel and Alice Sessions

The influence of Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard continues to reverberate in bluegrass and Americana music. The two became pioneer women in the male-dominated world of bluegrass music in the 1960s, leaving their mark on generations of musicians and singers … Continue reading

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