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

By Ed Tutwiler There is a sad feeling that sometimes over-takes those of us who reach an old age and suddenly realize a lifetime has unrolled toward a retreating past and cannot be retrieved. That feeling sometimes includes the realization that one has missed an important happening that cannot be recreated. Being a writer for a music magazine has permitted ...

To paraphrase the Irish band’s PR material, JigJam is a bluegrass/Americana outfit that is here in America to “take back” the music styles that can be traced, in part, back “across the pond” to their musically prolific home isle. The band’s appropriately titled fifth album, Across The Pond, was released on March 1. Jamie McKeogh says “The theme throughout is ...

Sierra Hull, now in here early thirties, has already accomplished more as a musician than most artists dream about. Considered by many to be a master musician as a mandolin player, she was the first female to win IBMA’s mandolin player of the year – and has since won it six times, as well as being nominated twice for a ...

Country star, Lorrie Morgan, is entering her 40th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry Member this June, 2024, with a special celebration at the Opry on June 8th. The latest album for this multi-platinum artist, Dead Girl Walking, releases this spring as she embarks on her Ruby Anniversary Tour. I asked Lori about her 40th anniversary performing, and she reminded ...

Anthony Crawford and Savana Lee, collectively known as Sugarcane Jane, have been lauded as “one of the best duos since Johnny and June” (Nancy Dunham, The Washington Times). So, how did this pair, now hailing from Loxley, Alabama, come together and attain such a level of acclaim? Savana recalls meeting Anthony while she was living the aspiring artist’s life in ...

As banjo player Derek Kretzer of The Plate Scrapers speaks about the band’s beginning, it becomes clear that his own journey into folk music, the assembling of the band, and their evocative name are all intertwined. After spending his high school years playing guitar in a variety of band settings and genres (along with his younger brother, a drummer at ...

Lolly Lee credits her fifth or sixth grade chorus teacher in Tallahassee, Florida with planting the singing seed that would grow to bear fruit much later: “…[she] pulled me aside one day and she’s like, ‘You’re really good. You’ve got a “different” voice,’ and I was like ‘Huh?’” Into adolescence, Lolly was focused more on instruments, playing piano and teaching ...

With a schedule encompassing more than 200 shows per year, running a music production and artist development company, creating a regular podcast, and even sharing their experience with aspiring artists through an online academy, Cliff & Susan (aka Cliff and Susan Prowse) are the definition of musical power couple—a duo completely focused on making an impact with their music and ...

As the “baby” of his musically-inclined family, Kansas City singer-songwriter Bill Abernathy recalls being “the little eight-year-old kid that was hanging around watching my brother sing folk music…with a bunch of his friends in the living room.” Music became an important part of his life, as well. But despite performing throughout his youth and into adulthood, Bill opted for the ...

The duo, Jessica Skinner and Jeff Pitts, have developed a certain chemistry on stage, which has allowed them to make a name for themselves in the Carolinas. Their newly released album, Better Left Said, blends upbeat originals into a coffee house feel in the flavor profiles of Americana, pop, rock, and more. Both Jeff (guitars and vocals), and Jessica (vocals ...