News/Thoughts

Monthly Archives: April 2018

The Highland Travelers

Adam Steffey started playing bluegrass music in the early eighties, as a freshman in high school, on a mandolin his grandfather got him at a flea market. “I was actually a late starter,” he commented. “So many kids these days, they are eight years old and just blastin’ already. But I took an interest in it right away. I took ...

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The Gig Life

Editor’s note: We met Emily three years ago while she was co-producing a small jam festival with her boyfriend. Over these past years as I’ve seen her grow and mature, not only as a musician, but also as a person, I’ve found her story to be not unlike many young aspiring musicians. She also aspires to be a writer, so ...

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Lest We Forget

Pres·er·va·tion (prezYrÈvâSH(Y)n): The action of preserving something or the state of being preserved, especially to a specified degree. The action that one takes for preservation means different things to different folks depending upon the subject one is pondering. The subject of preserving this mountain sourced, string music that we now call Americana came up among a few of us after ...

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A Concert In My House

Editor’s note: Every year we like to take the opportunity to fly the House Concert flag. If you’ve never experienced one, you should. It’s the only music genre’ of which I know that affords musicians the opportunity to sustain a musician’s lifestyle simply by performing a few times a week, in someone’s living room. Gather two dozen friends all pitching ...

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Still Singin’ The Blues

Bluesman James Armstrong hails from Santa Monica California. Born into a family of music in 1957, it seemed his destiny to follow in the family footsteps. “My father was a jazz guitar player and my mom was a blues singer. When I was five years old dad and I had a duet in which I played drums and he played ...

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True Grass Again

Many revere Lorraine Jordan as the keeper of tradition in bluegrass music. She originally hailed from the coast of North Carolina but currently resides in Garner, NC, which is just outside of Raleigh, NC. She holds court in her namesake coffee shop/music venue, Lorraine’s Coffee House, when she is not out on the road with her band, Carolina Road. She ...

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Drive All Night

Americana songwriter/guitarist Aris Paul hails from Pittsburgh, PA. He’s just released his first full length album, Drive All Night. “It’s a road-intensive album,” he told me. “And I think it’s a great offering of solid production, soulful lyrics, and top-notch musicianship. It’s a very solid collection of so many sub-genres from blues and rock to alt. country and folk.” Like ...

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Raven and Red

Nashville based, folk-Americana group, Raven and Red has been heralded by Country Music People Magazine as “very entertaining with warm melodies and even a slight commercial edge.” Classically trained Brittany Lynn Jones (Raven), along with Mitchell Lane (Red), and his brother Cole not only have impressive musical resumes, more importantly, they have a ton of talent. They’ve just released their ...

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Tennessee Jed

In a world where titles and definitions seem to matter, Jed “Tennessee Jed” Fisher has carved another notch in the bluegrass belt with his own contribution – Pimpgrass. It’s “soul and funk rock crossed with bluegrass and country music, aka: Bluegrass with bling.” And it’s catching on. Jed’s been traveling all across the US performing and recording with an A-list ...

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More Than Just A Bluegrass Band

For Eric Lindberg and Doni Zasloff, New York based Nefesh Mountain is more than just a bluegrass band. It’s a celebration of the foundational roots of music and traditions from not only the heritage of the folks who settled the mountainous regions of the US but also of the rich Jewish culture they live in. It’s not a gimmick or ...

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