Author: John Curtis Goad

If you ever want to fire up a room full of bluegrass fans, just ask them to define traditional bluegrass. Some will define it as the original 1945-46 Blue Grass Boys. Some will expand it to include a few second

Folks in the bluegrass community proudly acknowledge that bluegrass is one of the few popular genres of music in which fans are just as likely to cheer a fine instrumental break as they are powerhouse lead vocals. Nonetheless, many excellent

When most folks think of the Gulf Coast region, bluegrass is not the first musical style that comes to mind. Maybe blues, maybe country, maybe even the easygoing stylings of Jimmy Buffett. For the folks in Mobile, Alabama-based Delta Reign,

Although most American bluegrass fans are aware of the international bluegrass scene on at least a surface level, thanks to the “International” in IBMA and a few acts like the Kruger Brothers who have gained popularity here in recent years,

One of the most recent groups from the western bluegrass world to begin gaining national recognition is Trout Steak Revival, a Denver-based band that also won the 2014 band competition at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. The five-piece group has been

Fans these days might best recognize Ronnie Reno from his television show on RFD-TV, Reno’s Old Time Music, where he spotlights numerous classic and contemporary bluegrass and country artists, or simply from the fact that he is the legendary Don

It's a familiar story in the bluegrass world: dad gets interested in bluegrass music, then mom joins in, as well. Soon, the kids want instruments of their own, and before you know it, there's a family band in the works.

It’s a pretty hefty undertaking for a bluegrass band – especially an independent group – to release one album per year. Bud’s Collective, a relatively new group based out of the northern Virginia/eastern West Virginia area, upped the ante for

One of – if not the – most anticipated albums of the past year was the return of Hot Rize after twenty-odd years with When I'm Free. Since its release in late 2014, the group has embarked upon a popular

Alex Hibbitts’ Depression Lies Studio in Sevierville, TN is quickly becoming a go-to spot for up-and-coming bluegrass artists whose music leans toward the popular country-tinged modern traditional style. Recent solo projects by Matt Wallace, Cody Shuler, and Hibbitts himself were