Americana Music Magazine – Bluegrass, Roots, Folk, Blues, and Old-Time

When a group of musicians get together and says to each other; let form a band, typically, there is lot that goes into making that decision into a reality. As well as months of rehearsals to hone in on the chemistry of the band mates, cohesiveness of their repertoire, and the general business of being a band all take time. ...

Mackenzie O’Brian has a tattoo on her arm that reads “Hummingbird.” It was a nickname given to her as a young child because she was often found content, playing alone, and humming made-up melodies to herself. She remembers a desire to be a singer as early as the age of four, but often heard from peers and teachers, “no one ...

Rick Stanley has had a hand in writing some memorable bluegrass songs. One that has become somewhat of a standard was written at the tender age of 15 and recorded originally by Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys with Keith Whitley doing the lead vocals on his song, Home In The Mountains. It has since been recorded by numerous ...

The last piece I wrote, we were just beginning this tour and were in Europe. Two months later we are still on tour and rolling through Missouri. During this run, life, or maybe I should say, death happened. We were just entering Texas when we received a call that my mother in-law had passed. While on tour this creates a ...

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul.” Martha Graham “Dancing is surely the most basic and relevant of all forms of expression. Nothing else can so effectively give outward form to an inner experience.” Lyall Watson “It doesn’t matter if I’m off the beat. It doesn’t matter if I’m snapping to the rhythm. It doesn’t matter if I look ...

On Labor Day weekend, in 1971, Carlton Haney produced a Bluegrass festival at Camp Springs, NC. This festival featured notable performers such as Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, Chubby Wise, The Osborne Brothers, Jimmy Martin, Mac Wiseman, J.D. Crowe, The Lilly Brothers, Tex Logan, Don Stover, and The Country Gentlemen. Remember that it was the year 1971 so many of the ...

It was an incapacitating car accident in his late teens that moved Perth, Western Australian artist Andy Michaels to pick up a guitar. The result was a fusion of eclectic tastes and melodic sounds featuring hints of folk, country, Americana and contemporary pop. His latest project, Incendiary Heart, a 14-track, pop leaning mixture, with nostalgic influences from the 70s and ...

The River Ratz, a four-piece Acoustic Americana Band hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, says they were born in Bluegrass, and bred in Rock ‘n Roll. With deep roots in Bluegrass music, they perform a wide variety of musical styles which includes not only bluegrass music, but also country, rock, Cajun, Irish, blues and folk. Husband and wife, Steve and Margie ...

Christine Lavin called Mara Levine, “one of the best singers of her generation,” and David Amram called the international touring artist and jewelry designer a “Golden Voice.” Mara considers herself to be a song interpreter, and is considered by many to be an exceptional song-finder. Rather than penning original songs, Mara picks songs that she loves, but invisions them sounding ...