Author: Chris Jones

I hope you're staying cool in this, the hottest stretch of summer. I've got a lot of travel this week and next, taking me and the Night Drivers to Wyoming, Montana (consider that a Red Knuckles tribute), Saratoga Springs, NY,

Mr. Bluegrass Manners has been away for an unusually long time, and he asked me to pass on his apologies. He said he's been wanting to "spend more time with his family," which I found surprising since I had never

One of the most challenging aspects of hosting radio shows is doing interviews. What are the most relevant questions to ask? What are questions other people might not have thought of? How do you get the shortest possible response from

Are you a fan of the game "Truth or Dare?" I'll admit that I'm not. This is a game that has been responsible for accidental drownings, indecent exposure arrests, the burning of public buildings, and possibly the assassination of Archduke

It's the day of the IBMA Awards announcements, but I was writing this before the big reveal in Nashville, so I have nothing informed or even uninformed to say on the subject. I do know that one of the changes

I recently came across this column from several years ago about determining if and when to perform when sick. I quickly realized how much has changed since the COVID era. Cancellation due to the possibility of infecting other band members

As mentioned last week, our recent discussion of epitaphs leads us right to a topic we've never tackled here before: the afterlife. In this divided and argumentative time, this can devolve quickly into theological debates about "soul sleep," or what

The following is a rerun column from last year. Since last week's installment referred to an as-yet unwritten column about the bluegrass afterlife, I thought next week would be a good time to actually write it. I'm hoping this "encore

A number of weeks ago, we discussed bluegrass death, and if things followed along the expected timeline, we should be approaching the subject of the bluegrass afterlife. Instead, though, I'd like to back up to the part just before death:

No recording artist likes bad reviews. In fact, most recording artists are pretty unhappy with reviews that are even mediocre. When was the last time you heard an artist say, "Well, it was a pretty bad review, but it was