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 ...

While the effects of the pandemic have crippled the music industry, still, for some, there is the occasional opportunity to get out and perform under the right circumstances. Long time friend and musician, Scott Murray, had one such opportunity recently, and it seemed too good of a story not to share. This is Scott’s story. I was living close to ...

Robert Wagner’s music roots run back a few years. He says he was part of what would be considered the first wave of punk rock in Pittsburg, PA. “I’ve lived in the Philly area since 2009, but I still bleed black and gold,” he laughed. “The first wave of punk music didn’t really hit Pittsburgh until 1978 or 1979 – ...

Jim Grubbs grew up on a small family farm in Alabama where he loved to listen to his dad and brother play guitar. Jim says he actually has a treasured photograph of his dad from taken in 1946, holding a guitar when he was just a young man. “He played that guitar all my life, and all of his life. ...

Although John Vento is a self proclaimed “late-bloomer” to the professional music scene, he didn’t waste anytime playing catch-up with the caliber of his music. His 2019 album, Love, Lust and Other Wreckage, earned him the IMEA Award for Best Americana Album. And the single, “Rainbows And Lightning,” reached the Top 20 on the iTunes Canada charts. While in his ...

Ed Taylor Collective (The ETC) is the latest musical venture for Auckland, NZ based Country/Americana guitarist, Ed Taylor. Although Ed has been a guitarist for the better part of his life, including attending the Auckland University School Of Music, majoring in Classical Guitar Performance in 1996, he didn’t start writing songs until about 10 years ago. That addition to his musical ...

Laurie Raveis, Dennis Kole are an Americana / Indie Folk duo based in Bellingham, Washington. Their synergy as a singer/songwriter couple has allowed them to craft a unique sound blending what they call “Southern California freedom,” with a sprinkling of “Middle Eastern mystery, European panache, and a gypsy’s adventurous spirit.” Laurie and Dennis actually met in a jam class at ...

Little Rock, Arkansas’ Justin Patterson and Laura Lynn Danley both had solo music careers prior to discovering each other 10 years ago at a songwriting festival. That musical connection led them to collaborative efforts in songwriting, and eventually forming the duo, Ten Penny Gypsy, in 2017. Justin told me, “We were working on songs for what we wanted to be ...

Growing up in the Black Forest of Germany, Thomm Jutz didn’t have many opportunities to be exposed to American music. When he was 10 years old however, he stumbled across a country music show on the American Forces Network. Not long after, he found a TV show called “Country Time With Freddy Quinn.” It featured a guest artist from Nashville. ...

Sister Sadie took two of the highest honors at Thursday’s (10/1/20) 31st Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards. The “Entertainer of the Year,” and “Vocal Group of the Year,” awards were bestowed on the band comprising of Tina Adair, Dale Ann Bradley, Gena Britt and Deanie Richardson. This year’s event was streamed live and hosted by Sierra Hull, Joe Newberry, Tim O’Brien and Rhonda ...