Music

  • Favorite Bluegrass Recording of 2008

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    About two weeks ago we ran a poll asking you to submit and vote for your favorite bluegrass recording of 2008. With nearly 900 votes and over 150 submissions, we've narrowed it down to the top ten and we're letting

  • Grammy nominations update

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    I don't know whether you noticed, but in the list of 2009 Grammy nominations for the Bluegrass Album of the Year award is an obscure CD featuring the Del McCoury Band live. The 18 track album Live At The 2008 New

  • John Miller joins Ramblers Choice

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    Not long ago we reported that Chris Harris had left Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice, and that Junior was in search of a new mandolin player. Junior has just announced that John Miller will be joining the band in that capacity.

  • New CD from Frank Wakefield

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    The good folk at Patuxent Music are applying the finishing touches to what the liner notes describe as the first all-instrumental project from Frank Wakefield. Ownself Blues (Patuxent CD-182) is a collection of 13 tunes of which Wakefield wrote 11. The

  • New radio sampler from Rural Rhythm

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    We mentioned the new Rural Rhythm radio sampler last week in our post about their upcoming bluegrass CD for Michael Martin Murphey. It has been mailed to DJs and show hosts, and you should be hearing these new tracks shortly. The

  • Big Al is back

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    Just six months after announcing his retirement from the band this past spring, fiddler Alan Johnson is back with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. I guess you can take the picker off the road, but you can't take the road out of

  • Backup Techniques On The Five-String Banjo

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    Jack Hatfield is set to release his latest book for 5 string banjo on December 15. Backup Techniques On The Five-String Banjo is volume three in Jack's Bluegrass Banjo Method series, running to 230 pages with 2 play-along audio CDs. This

  • Joe Carr – School of Mandolin

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    Mel Bay Publications has just released the first book in a new series called "School Of." This particular book is the School of Mandolin: Basic Chords and Soloing. Taught by veteran educator Joe Carr, the book presents 16 tunes (some with

  • Michael Martin Murphey goes bluegrass

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    Michael Martin Murphey carved his name in pop music granite back in 1975 when his Blue Sky, Night Thunder album was released on Epic Records. That record contained his two biggest hits, Wildfire and Carolina In The Pines, the latter of

  • Borders reduces music floorspace

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    Over the course of the last year, Borders has steadily reduced the amount of in-store floor space dedicated to music, by 30%. Music now owns only 7% of the floor space in Borders stores. Considering their primary business is books,