Author: John Lawless

The Pisgah Banjo Company in Asheville, NC has launched a raffle for a very special banjo in honor of Black History Month, with proceeds from the sweepstakes donated to the IBMA Foundation's Arnold Shultz Fund. The Fund was established last

Bonfire Music has released a new music video for Ray Cardwell from his current album, Just A Little Rain. If you follow Ray's career, you realize he isn't going to be cutting another version of a bluegrass standard. Known for years

The bluegrass community in central Virginia is in mourning this week following the death of Mike Sharp, who played resophonic guitar with a number of prominent groups over the past 40 years. He was 63 years of age. Mike had been

Mountain Fever Records has announced the signing of Magnolia Drive, a contemporary/traditional bluegrass band from southern Mississippi. The quartet performed a virtual showcase during the 2020 World of Bluegrass convention, and impressed everyone with their vocal and instrumental abilities. Specializing in

We've written on many occasions about the way the bluegrass world gets behind young talent, to help nurture their artistry and promote them to a wider audience. The music scene in California has an especially strong track record in this

There are many perks to being a bluegrass polymath, especially during a pandemic. Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Troy Engle used his familiarity and expertise with all the parts of the bluegrass band to complete an album he had planned for 2020.

The International Bluegrass Music Association has published the job description for their ongoing job search for a new Executive Director. Current ED Paul Schiminger notified the Board of Directors in December that he planned to retire at the end of his

Robert W. "Bob" Mitchell died on January 26 in Louisville, KY following a bout with COVID-19 that he developed after undergoing surgery. He was 83 years of age. Bob was a popular bluegrass radio personality in and around Louisville, where he

Mountain Home Music Company has another new single release this week, one for The Gina Furtado Project called Gone. Gina has been a popular figure in bluegrass circles this past few years. Though she had been playing and teaching in northern

We've written before about The Hillbilly Thomists, a group of Dominican Friars of the Order of Preachers, Catholic priests and brothers who have a bluegrass band. Of course, the band exists to spread the Gospel message, not to seek fame