Author: John Lawless

Many thanks to the Byrne family of Ireland, who run the bluegrass concert promotion company, My Grass Is Blue. For the past several years they have brought US bands over to tour in Ireland and England, and had expanded for

UPDATE 12/30 – Pete received a note yesterday from Dean Budnick, editor at Relix, who was aghast at the oversight, and determined to make its right. They have since done so, completely revamping the article. Raffaela Kenny-Cincotta, who wrote the original

Al Murphy, a noted old time fiddler from Iowa City, was raised in a family of fiddlers, and mentored by Otis McCray who had played fiddle in Iowa since the 1880s. Folks in the region revere Murphy not only for

Many thanks to Danny "Hootenany" Clark with The Bluegrass Bus Museum for sharing this vintage video from California's Grass Valley Festival back in 1988. It features The Tony Rice Unit playing an extended version of Me and My Guitar, the title

Nate Lee and Dan Boner with The Becky Buller Band - photo © Shelly Swanger Photography The Becky Buller Band will welcome some new faces for the upcoming year, as long time members Dan Boner and Nate Lee say goodbye. Both

Photo © G Milo Photography/MiloFarineauPhotography.com Tony Rice, surely the most influential guitarist and vocalist in the history of bluegrass music, died on Christmas morning. He was 69 years of age, and died swiftly without pain. Tony changed forever the way bluegrass guitar

Celebrated Nashville songwriter Tom T. Hall was surprised yesterday by his son, Dean, with a new car for Christmas. Dean, who has run Tom T. Hall Enterprises since his dad retired, showed up at Fox Hollow with a new Chevrolet Equinox

Cup O'Joe, consisting of Northern Ireland's Agnew family, plus in-law David Benedict, have released a socially-distanced video of one of the most popular secular Christmas songs of the 20th century. It's Holly Jolly Christmas, which appeared in the 1964 Rudolph

Another classic bluegrass Christmas song is Beautiful Star of Bethlehem, popularized by The Stanley Brothers in the 1950s, and which remained in the Ralph Stanley set list until his passing. Here is a newly-recorded version courtesy of The Burnett Sisters with

For a true bluegrass fan, it isn't really Christmas until you hear a rollicking version of the Bill Monroe classic, Christmas Time's A-Comin', written by the great Tex Logan. Here's a new one for this year, taken from The Petersens' latest