It’s rare for a guitarist to communicate with a distinctly identifiable voice within the abundant sea of bluegrass and traditional flatpickers. Unique in her delivery, Avril Smith stands out. Her articulate guitar work is rich with a creative blend of quirky flourishes, poignant timing, double stops, and signature voicings that bend the ear just a little bit further than expectation ...

“Merlefest, yeah I’ve heard of that! Isn’t that the festival named after Merle Haggard?” This is the “knowledge” most mainstream music fans have about the bluegrass/Americana festival that has been held on the Wilkesboro Community College campus for over a quarter of a century. If you ask a lot of musicians and attendees who return year after year, that misconception ...

2021 marks the year of the return of festivals – and one of the biggest events of the year, at least on the east coast, is Merlefest. Usually taking place in late April, the event once again saw itself fall victim to the covid19 restrictions, and was postponed. However, instead of skipping another year, fest gowers can rejoice. Merlefest, instead ...

Trey Hensley has for years won over bluegrass fans with his signature smoking guitar style. Yet outside the niche of bluegrass, music lovers of all kinds are drawn to his playing and his music. Call it bluegrass, blues, rock, jamband music—it doesn’t matter. When asked how he’d define his style of flatpicking, Hensley chuckles and simply responds, “My style is ...

Music becomes the soundtrack of our lives, but what if you could change the channel and experience audio in a new, more immersive way? A new example of technological innovation and creative artistry is currently transforming the audio landscape and providing new opportunities to give your ears wings to fly. This is an exciting time for music lovers. 3D Immersive ...

Growing up Out West in Utah, Jake Workman never expected, much less aimed to be, an internationally recognized musician. Yet today he’s held the coveted lead guitar position with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder for half a decade and recently snagged the International Bluegrass Music Assocation’s 2020 Guitar Player of the Year award, a rarity for a first-time nominee in ...

Did you ever ponder the origin of things and wonder why some things, although quite similar, have small differences. No? That probably is a good thing because I have this worrisome habit, and it troubles me sleepless sometimes. Let me tell you about my latest quixotic quest and the particular windmill involved. As a child of the 40s and 50s, ...

I have been scratching my head over what to write about in this On The Road article while not being ‘on the road.’ It is indeed a strange time for touring musicians. Like most of us road-dog touring artists, the dates and tours are cancelled. Even at that, no one is sure how 2021 will play out. So the question ...

Imagine that your life had a personal soundtrack. What would it sound like? Jon Stickley, a native North Carolinian and longtime national touring artist, has been interpreting his surroundings for so long that it’s natural that his music would evolve into a personal soundscape, lush with many miles of experience with his own Jon Stickley Trio. “I think the music ...

The year 2020 has not been kind to small business. The pandemic has imposed true hardships on the small business community. From our prospective here at AR, none seem to have been hit harder that the music business. Local music stores seem especially vulnerable. Some weeks ago, several of us from AR were spending a few days on North Carolina’s ...