Over the years, I have come in contact with folks who have traveled as tourists to Ireland; and I have known folks who have lived as expatriates or who have done an extended work assignment for several years in that emerald green land. Most folks who have ever trod that special place yearn for a chance to return to the ...

As we study the early generation of artists of this music genre we often call Americana string music we are reminded that these folks were talented and produced lasting memories. Today’s artists often point to those early performers as providing models to mold their own performances upon One particular performance style that gets mentioned again and again is the tight ...

When I was a young kid in the late 1940s, a local radio station, WSVA-AM, aired live country music daily from their Harrisonburg, VA studio. My mother kept that string-music (her words) playing in our home every day. Mac Wiseman was a musical renaissance man at WSVA. He read the news, weather and commercials; was the MC for the live ...

Not long ago, I had the sad mission of attending the graveside service for the husband of a friend. The service was held at a hill top cemetery located above the small village of Singers Glen in western Rockingham County Va. A preacher from the church located at the bottom of the hill soothed our hearts and minds by playing ...

We all accept that a written sentence consists of a noun and a verb strung together in sequence. Choose this word sequence so it conveys a thought to a reader; begin that sequence with an uppercase letter; finish it with a period; and congrats; you are a writer—NOT! No, to be a writer, one must be able to modify those ...

Being part of the writing effort for a magazine that focuses upon Americana music means we are blessed with the chance to attend some exceptional music festivals throughout the year. Even when the official editorial call to attend is not there, my wife and I often find ourselves heading off for a whole weekend here or a single day there ...

One of AR’s editors was leafing through the pages of the latest AARP Bulletin (Vol 58, No 3, Apr ’17 issue)—yes, he is that old; and on page 38 was a short story about Mr. Michael Kurtz who is recognized as the co-founder of National Record Store Day. After being reminded that the annual National Record Day is coming upon ...