Music

Not too many new bands have the kind of first year that North Carolina's ClayBank has enjoyed. Formed in 2015, the group placed 3rd in the 2016 SPBGMA International Band Championship in February, and took first place at the RenoFest

Two masterful musicians from different genres have come together for a new CD despite the fact that one of them passed away nearly a half century ago. The legendary Del McCoury releases a collaborative work with the late Woody Guthrie

Rounder Records has announced a June 3 release date for Deep Waters, their first project with Boston-based Lonely Heartstring Band. This contemporary bluegrass band consists of five talented and thoughtful musicians, four of whom met while students at Boston's prestigious school of

Jon Kahn is a country music artist and songwriter, who was convinced by a chance encounter with a bluegrass band that his song, American Heart, needed to be recut as a bluegrass song and released to bluegrass radio. Kahn is also

We received a note from Australian grassers The Stetson Family with news that their mandolinist, Andy Carswell, had passed away in mid-March after a three year bout with cancer. Both Andy and the band had made an effort to keep his

MerleFest has today announced the finalists for the 2016 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. Well over 700 entries were received for the annual competition this year, broken into four board categories. Austin was a native of nearby Boone, NC, an artist and songwriter

Dailey & Vincent have announced the addition of Shaun Richardson to their band, filling the spot vacated by Seth Taylor's move to full time with Mountain Heart. At only 20 years of age, Shaun is already an experienced hand on the road,

The Strathmore Arts Center in Bethesda, MD has selected Patrick McAvinue for their Artist in Residence program this year. This multidiscipline facility offers a number of venues that host events both indoors and out, including regular performances from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra,

Mountain Fever Records has announced the signing of the Gospel Plowboys to the label, with a new album, Welcome Home, due in June. The North Carolina Band consists of David Murph on mandolin, John Goodson on banjo, Michael Jenkins on guitar, David Brown on

Mike Scap, a noted guitarist, mandolinist, and fiddler in the 1980s, passed away in Springfield, New Jersey on March 29. He was 60 years of age, and had been suffering from lung cancer. Close followers of the Colorado bluegrass scene knew