News/Thoughts

Featured Articles

Lolly Lee’s Video World Premiere; “Great Crusade”

Lolly Lee’s fans have been eagerly waiting for the release of her self-titled album set for February 23rd, 2024, but you can get a early, sneak peak right here with the World Premiere of her “Great Crusade” Music Video. Lolly Lee’s “Great Crusade” is a powerful and soulful track that captures the essence of love, loss, and the struggles of ...

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Merlefest Turns 35, Celebrates Doc’s 100th

We here at Americana Rhythm aren’t shy about our affection for Merlefest. The festival that was created 35 years ago (1988), to celebrate the life of Doc Watson’s son, Merle, after his life was tragically cut short in a farm tractor accident – It’s the festival that inspired us to create this magazine almost 20 years ago. It was the ...

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Merlefest 35 And Counting

It’s been 35 years since Doc Watson helped create a festival to honor the life if his son Merle that was tragically cut short. That first event was held on a flatbed trailer stage in 1988, then titled the Eddy Merle Watson Memorial Festival. Today, MerleFest draw thousands of fans from all over the world to the foothills of the ...

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“River N’ Me” World Premier Video

It’s the world premier release of “River N’ Me,” the latest single from Arkansas Americana group Ten Penny Gypsy. The song is an infectious, acoustic skiffle that enthusiastically pays homage to the classic American Roots music of the early 20th century. Recorded as a studio outtake from the group’s “Fugitive Heart” sessions, the song has become a fan favorite, and ...

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Grandson Of A Legend

Guest article by Sherry Nelson The moment he walks out on stage in his black leather vest, black cowboy hat, and signature Jennings swagger, a palpable energy builds in the air. It is that iconic sound of plangent tones that for generations has cut deep into the soul and hearts of music fans all across the world. He is Whey ...

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A Not So Silent Night

Winter solstice is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. It’s on December 21st, and celebrated all around the world by many different people in many different ways. One of the celebrations is called Make Music Winter, spearheaded by Make Music Alliance and presented by the NAMM Foundation. In nearly 35 cities across the nation, communities will ...

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HogSlop Packs The Dance Floor

There is a pastry shop in the next town over from where I live. Whenever they pull a fresh tray of donuts from their oven, they light a little sign in their window that reads, “Hot and Ready”. That sign came to my mind recently when I visited the dance tent at Merlefest in Wilksboro, NC. At that tent, I ...

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Love For Festival Season

Did you ever enjoy something so much that you wanted it to never end? That is the way an Americana string music festival affects me. The season is just getting started for us here at Americana Rhythm and as I return to earth from my trip to Merlefest a month or so ago, I am already itching in anticipation for ...

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Old Crow Medicine Show and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to Headline

MerleFest, the annual celebration created in 1988 to honor Merle Watson, the son of the late Doc Watson, is gearing up for their spring festival, and it is shaping up to be a classic. After a successful return from the pandemic stricken music scene this past September (’21), the festival returns to its normal late April spot – April 28th, ...

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Flatpicker Allen Shadd

If you met Allen Shadd at a bluegrass jam or backstage at a festival, you might never guess that he’s breathing rarified air in an elite club of only four people in the world—he has won, three times, the National Flatpicking Guitar Championship in Winfield, Kansas. Shadd carries himself in a casual manner, often pointing out his own perceived weaknesses. ...

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