The Infamous Stringdusters, a terrific bluegrass and acoustic music band, will be playing in the Washington, DC area on Saturday, November 1st, in the fall concert of the DC Bluegrass Union. Highly recommended! If you can’t get to Washington, then check out this YouTube video to get a taste of the band’s sound. More to come… DJB
(NOTE from 2021: Since I wrote this post way back in 2008, the website referenced is no longer active. Nonetheless, since it saw some recent traffic, I decided to keep it here as I think you can get the gist of the report from this now-departed Onion-like online site.) Thanks to a heads up from The Bluegrass Blog, I was introduced to the perfect post-convention antidote that puts all the postings from The Daily Kos (or insert your favorite right-wing blog) in perspective. Want to know how all those bluegrass phenoms play so darn fast? Steroids! Check out this stunning revelation from the incredibly funny Bluegrass Intelligencer which reports on the government-funded study to uncover rampant performance enhancing drug use among all the major bluegrass bands, including Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder (see photo at top). As one “fan” put it, “I mean, when you go to a festival and you see Cody Kilby playing those guitar solos with Kentucky Thunder, you know that it’s not naturally possible, yet everyone just looks the other way,” …
When I was a young undergraduate student at Middle Tennessee in the late 1970s, there were two English professors who influenced my life in ways that I’m still only understanding. One was Ralph Hyde, who was serving as editor of the Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin. Ralph published the first articles of mine in a professional journal or magazine, introduced me to the rich cultural traditions of the mid-South, and gave me my first bottle of moonshine. I still think all three are significant in shaping my life (although that’s the first and only time I drank moonshine!) The other was Charles Wolfe, who taught English, succeeded Ralph as the editor of the TFS Bulletin, and – most importantly – brought scholarship and love to old time and bluegrass music. Charles was an avid collector, writer, and recorder of music from the mid-South, and I was lucky enough to be with him on occasions when he was recording or interviewing some of the area’s old-time musicians. Just the other day my father sent me a note saying that Charles – who …
It was a beautiful evening in Bethesda, Maryland as a few hundred fans stretched out on the lawn in front of the Strathmore Mansion with picnics in hand to enjoy a free concert by the Lovell Sisters Band. This band of three young sisters from Georgia played two spirited sets bringing together bluegrass and country classics with some very tasteful original music. All three sisters – Jessica on fiddle, Megan on Dobro, and Rebecca on mandolin and guitar – are excellent instrumentalists and the harmony singing is as good as expected from three musical siblings. While all three sisters had their moments, the standout for me was the youngest, Rebecca – the writer of much of the original material and the owner of a nice bluesy voice that will only get better as she matures. She also played some spirited mandolin breaks, trading licks with guitarist Matt Wingate. During the concert I turned to my wife and said “that guitarist is good,” so I wasn’t surprised to find out later that he is a former Merlefest guitar …
MORE TO COME... 