Author: John Lawless

Slide maestro Jimmy Heffernan has released his first ever single this week, a surprising factoid for a man who as worked as a professional musician since 1974. It's a resurrected version of a Bill Monroe classic, with the late Joe

Ralph Stanley II has just announced a very special way to celebrate the 75th year that The Clinch Mountain Boys have been on the road. Owing to ongoing changes in the COVID-19 restrictions in his native Virginia, Stanley will host a

The International Bluegrass Music Association is hosting another of its IBMA365 educational webinars next week on Facebook. This one is focused on the legal issues surrounding offering live streaming events online, and what sort of licenses are required to do

Hugh Moore with OMS Records in Nashville has put together another of his socially-distanced videos, combining tracks from pickers all across the US into an impressive audio and video mix of classic traditional bluegrass. This latest, for Don Gibson's Sea of

Veteran Irish grasser Niall Toner is back with a new song about the pleasures of aging, written and recorded with fellow Dubliner, Andrea Booth. Never Too Old For Love is just the sort of song to bring a smile to those

John Hickman, noted California banjo player, died on May 11 following a long illness. He passed away quietly in his sleep, at home with his wife, Sue, by his side. He was 78 years of age. Though known largely for his

We haven't heard much from Jeff Brown of late, nor his bluesy style of mountain bluegrass. But since a new label deal with Turnberry Records, where he also serves as a VP, Jeff has been back in the studio working

Banjo man Bennie Boling has released another track from his upcoming album with 40 Horse Mule, an instrumental he wrote called Ann The Dreadful Snake. Bluegrass history buffs will get the sideways reference in the title to the Bill Monroe

The Station Inn, long Nashville's home for live bluegrass music, has announced that they will host a Celebration of Life this coming weekend for owner J.T. Gray, who passed away in March.  Friends and admirers are invited to meet at The

Bluegrass has always depended on small businesses and entrepreneurs to keep the music playing. Most venues, festivals, or concerts where you hear it played are small businesses, as are the bands, record labels, and retailers that see it recorded and