The bluegrass/roots/folk scene has expanded exponentially in recent years, and the talent level has progressed right along with it. Artists are doing things today with traditional string instruments that Jimmy Martin and Bill Monroe probably never imagined wereto be you could probably count the number of top acts with 10 fingers, to a time when there are better than 10 ...

Calling Town Mountain a hard drivin’ Carolina string band is just the beginning of the story. While at first glance, one could assume they are a straight up bluegrass band, from about the first chord, you know you’re in for more than just another bluegrass concert. Not that this is a bad thing, but in this case, the fellas from ...

Balsam Range, over the past 11 years, has played themselves into perhaps one of the most solid, consistent, contemporary bluegrass acts out on the road today. The same five guys who first got together in Darren Nicholson’s (mandolin, vocals) kitchen back in 2007, are the same five guys still playing together today, and are now on tour with their ground ...

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 ...

One of the things I love about this genre’ we call Americana, is that there is so much darn good music that just doesn’t fit anywhere else. And while our little corner of the music universe is ever expanding, it’s still at its core, roots music. Whether an Americana artist is 20 or 50, nearly all will relate their path ...

Summer “Brooke” McMahan graduates from college in December (2017). Most young folks in that position are ready to head out to look for a job in their chosen field of study – or perhaps aren’t even sure what they will do next. Not Summer. She knew what she wanted to do before she went to college, even though she told ...

I got the chance to speak with Doyle Lawson nearly 10 years ago. As we settled in again for a quick catch up, we both marveled at how quickly time flies by. My grandparents used to say, “just wait till you get to be my age.” It didn’t make much sense then, but these days, I get it. I asked ...

I first heard The Wooks one afternoon coming out of my in dash XM Radio. Bluegrass Junction was spinning up something new, and I knew right then that I needed to find out more about this band. Turns out, these five guys from Eastern Kentucky haven’t been together that long, but they’re already making an impact on the bluegrass/Americana music ...

Brothers Jens and Uwe Kruger, originally from Switzerland, began singing and playing instruments at a very young age. “I always wanted to be a musician and a composer,” Jenz told me recently. “I had great encouragement when I was growing up. Although I never had formal training, I always had the opportunity to play with really good people.” German Folk ...

For two guys who grew up on a dairy farm in New York, just a few miles from the Canadian border, to be called “Bluegrass superstars” by the New York Time is a big deal. Eric Gibson told me recently, “That was a nice feather in our cap to have a publication of that notoriety say something like that. We’ve ...