Although Brandon Allen, songwriter and lead vocalist for the Boxcar Junkies, hails from Indiana, his nomadic mind set has led him in many directions throughout his career, influencing not just his songwriting, but his view of life as a whole. He had extreme hearing loss as a child – not exactly someone you’d think would end up with a career ...

[The 2020 festival is rescheduled for November 6th – 8th.] For Eli Smith, growing up in downtown Manhattan and Greenwich Village, the allure of Folk Music’s distant past was enough to inspire him to create The Brooklyn Folk Festival 12 years ago. “Of course many know in the 50s and 60s this area was big for folk music, but when ...

As long as there are groups pressing the boundaries of bluegrass music, the genre will continue to evolve. Groups like Fireside Collective bring their own interpretation to the mix with their unique blend, which is part bluegrass, part roots rock, and a good dose of funk-influenced danceable rhythms. This Ashville, North Carolina ensemble doesn’t mind blurring the lines while still ...

Growing up in the mountains of Western North Carolina, Darren Nicholson grew up with music as a staple of life. “They taught music in the schools as a regular part of the curriculum,” he recalled. “Music and dance was just part of the culture here. Just about everybody in my family played bluegrass and country music; and this was long ...

Kody Norris grew up during the 90s in the mountains of East Tennessee. And while he did not grow up in a musical family directly, he recalls a couple of great-uncles who owned instruments, including his Uncle Jack, who would let the young Kody drag his banjo around the house and, “make a racket with it,” as Kody recalled. His ...

By blending elements of Americana and Western Swing with the unique and broad flavors of a newer generation of string oriented music, Caleb Warren and his band, The Perfect Gentlemen, have found a way to bridge the gap between the music once found in the old time juke joints and speak-easies, with the newer generation of Americana style music. They ...

Raised in rural Montgomery County, Virginia, Steve Thomas’s early years as a young boy were mostly isolated – spent living on a working farm with seven brothers and sisters. But like many growing up in a rural setting, music was the main source of entertainment. The Southern Appalachians were a great location for music, and Steve learned early on that ...

One of the favorite style of acts among bluegrass fans these days is sibling harmony and family bands. Knoxville, Tennessee is the home base for one of those up and coming groups; The Family Sowell. The brother/sister ensemble ranges from ages 23 down to 13. Jacob, Joshua, twin sisters – Naomi and Abigail, John-Mark, and Justin all share in the ...

Colorado musician Lee Sims turned a middle school talent show performance into a musical career that resulted in a Colorado Entertainer of the year award in 2001; Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame Entertainer of the year in 2003; and a three time Golden Music Award Winner in Nashville, TN. Lee’s dad served in military and was in charge of ...

Frances Mooney has been playing music for over 50 years. This Atlanta Country Music Hall of Famer was a high profile singer and bass player with The Bluegrass Generation in the Louisville, KY bluegrass scene in the mid-70s during the early days of Ricky Skaggs and Vince Gill. Both actually contributed to a few of the early Bluegrass Generation albums. Born and ...