Author: Lee Zimmerman

Ask most Americans what they know of Norway and you’re likely to hear a few scattered responses that make reference to fjords and chillier climes. Of course that can be attributed to abject ignorance and a tendency to stereotype when

While it’s generally considered an indigineous American musical art form, albeit one originally derived from the Irish and Scottish immigrants who arrived on these shores in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, bluegrass has never been the exclusive realm

Lest anyone dare forget, bluegrass music has a soul of its own. Granted, it differs from what’s normally associated with the standard rhythm n’ blues, although the same fervor can be found in the sweep and strum of banjos, fiddles

Bluegrass Police at Rocky Top in Tokyo - photo by Naomi Gingold for WUNC It may seem odd to imagine, but bluegrass is big in Japan. Then again, it’s not all that surprising considering the fact that country music has always

Given her recent kudos by the IBMA as the first woman to win their award for Guitar Player of the Year, and kudos for Song of the Year at the recent Folk Alliance International confab in Kansas City, Molly Tuttle

Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn at the Tennessee Theater (March 24, 2018) - photo by Alisa B. Cherry It’s one thing to start your set on time. It’s quite another to begin before you’re even due onstage. By that measure then, Béla

One would think that due to our close proximity to our neighbors to the north, grassicana and bluegrass would exert as strong an influence on Canadian music as found on this side of the divide. Nevertheless, that doesn’t always appear

Sara Watkins, Aoife O'Donovan, and Sarah Jarosz of I'm With Her - photo by Alisa B Cherry There’s nothing quite like the sound of voices blended in harmony, and when those voices belong  to three of the most able and engaging

The Coal Porters have always been something of an anachronism. For starters, they’re a bluegrass band based in London, led by an American expat, Sid Griffin. Even so, there’s no denying the Coal Porters’ commitment to their cause. Griffin, a

Molly Tuttle performs at the 2018 Folk Alliance International festival - photo by Alisa B. Cherry You might say that the annual Folk Alliance International conference is an embarrassment of riches. Where else can you find performances by literally hundreds of the