Author: John Lawless

Summertown Road has added a new lane, bringing on celebrated fiddler Steve Thomas, and marking the band's debut as a quintet. Thomas has performed with a notable array of top bluegrass talent, having worked with Del McCoury, Lost and Found, The

We heard this morning from Graham Sharp, banjo picker and vocalist with Steep Canyon Rangers. He wanted to let us know how things turned out with the 2010 Mountain Song Festival, which the band hosts each year in North Carolina. The

The National Endowment for the Arts will offer a live webcast of Friday's (9/24) concert celebrating the 2010 National Heritage Fellowships recipients. This concert is an annual event, but this will mark the first time that it is available via

Well... today marks the first day of Autumn, so I think that mean the Christmas marketing season is upon us. And with Christmas gift-giving in mind, you'll surely want to consider this new Time-Life release from a mega-million selling artist. Dr.

We have learned that banjo legend Bill Emerson is being treated for pneumonia in a DC-area hospital. Doctors there expect to release him in the next few days, but not in time to make tomorrow's scheduled performance at the Denton

We are saddened to learn that banjo player Rual Yarbrough has passed away at 81 years of age. He had been ill of late, following a heart bypass a few years back, and passed away quietly at home Monday evening

Here is an amateur, hand-held video of The Grascals performing The Star Spangled Banner prior to kickoff of this past Sunday's NFL game between the Titans and Steelers in Nashville. It was posted by YouTube user thecouches. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6WbD2qPnaM

Al Osteen is a familiar face in South Carolina bluegrass circles. He has played banjo with popular regional groups since he was 17 years old, notably as an original member of Curtis Blackwell and the Dixie Bluegrass Boys, plus time

Gusto Records has released a retrospective instrumental collection from recently-departed banjo legend, Allen Shelton. At His Best contains 10 banjo tunes recorded over Shelton's long career, all demonstrating his unique approach to the five string. Though not familiar to many young

Yesterday was a big day for The Grascals. They came in off the road just in time to roll over to LP Field in Nashville to sing the National Anthem before the Tennessee Titans took on the Pittsburgh Steelers. This was