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

Bluegrass music has a new family. That’s right. It’s the Mafia. Blue Mafia, that is. Led by husband and wife Tony and Dara Wray, Blue Mafia was formed in 2011. Tony says, “Basically because my wife wanted to be in a band, too.” The result for this Indiana band was a highly acclaimed 2013 release, My Cold Heart. That led ...

As we look back on an amazing year, we thought it would be fun to highlight some of the venues we performed at in 2016 and share a few road stories with you. We performed at festivals and concerts in 16 different States and the Yukon, met many new friends and made a lot of great memories. We want to ...

Songwriters living in or near the Nashville, TN area – you might want to consider attending this new offering from Vanderbilt University, in person. For others, this will be available on-line as well. It’s the Blair Hit Songwriter Series hosted by Deanna Walker. Join legendary songwriters, industry professionals and rising stars for 14 weeks of incredible, up-close and personal discussions ...

HTML Message Nashville, TN, – In the spirit of the upcoming holidays, ISC is reopening submissions from December 14th to January 2nd for its annual Stocking Stuffer, and the fee is a discounted $25 per entry. All entries will also be automatically entered into the ISC 2016 competition and will be eligible for all ISC prizes, including a Grand Prize ...

By Ed Tutwiler – I had the good fortune recently to sit in on the making of the annual Christmas album that National Media Services releases every year as its Christmas card. The featured performers for this year are the Circa Blue Bluegrass Band. During a break in the recording session, I sat down for a short chat with Mr. ...

The 14th annual ROMP Festival, promoted by the International Bluegrass Museum, will take place on June 21 – 24, 2017 at Yellow Creek Park in Owensboro, KY, home of the museum. Scheduled acts this year include legendary American roots pioneers, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, progressive bluegrass virtuosos, Punch Brothers, Grammy Award-winning folk rockers, Los Lobos, and multi-instrumentalist and founding member ...

By Greg Tutwiler – Festivals, carnivals, county fairs, and outdoor gatherings have always been one of this country’s ways of relaxing and getting away from the routines of life. In recent years, for various reasons, there has been an increase in music festivals. Used to be, there was a good chance you’d have to travel several hours to find a ...

Americana Music Profile – Nashville, TN based singer Holly Norman’s newest CD, Taking Care Of Bluegrass, is a tribute to one of the world’s favorite, iconic singers, Elvis Presley. Her first single, “Moody Blue,” a tasteful interpretation of one of Elvis’s last hits, is already gaining national attention. Holly grew up in East Tennessee, just outside of Knoxville in a ...

By Donna Ulisse – My taste buds are gearing up for my favorite time of year! Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are guaranteed to tempt my appetite with all of the most delicious, hearty, fattening foods. I will not be able to help myself. I am bound by some code knitted into my DNA to consume the scrumptious holiday fare ...

Americana Music Profile – Violinist, Annie Savage grew up learning to play via the Suzuki method from the age of two. By age 10 she was jamming in bluegrass circles in southeastern Iowa, and Missouri. She went on to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy and eventually pursue an active classical music career on the east coast. After years of recitals, ...