Opinion / Humor

I had a hard time cranking out this week’s column, which was originally going to be a historical discussion of the favorite snack foods of Charlie Monroe (The Uncle of Bluegrass), but this is tax season, and before I knew

Another video column! Chris explains how getting back home from the road allows for the creative juices to flow.

The International Bluegrass Music Association has announced this morning the addition of a new honor among its annual International Bluegrass Music Awards. Starting in 2019, professional members of the organization will be able to vote for Bluegrass Drummer of the Year. Both

Last Thursday, I had one of those experiences straight out of an anxiety nightmare. You know the kind, where where a bear is chasing you and you have to fumble with the handle of a gate in order to escape

It’s hard to believe that the first day of spring is already here. Now that we’ve turned that seasonal corner, it’s only natural to start thinking about bluegrass festivals, and/or mud, depending on where you live. For fans and professional musicians

How are you adjusting to the time change? Or perhaps you haven’t even changed your clocks yet because you had nowhere you needed to be in the past few days. We all envy you, if that’s the case. Let me begin

SiriusXM recently added a huge number of extra channels (officially called “Xtra Channels”) to its app and online service, which I thought was an exciting development. They didn’t so much add new genres, as themes and blends of genres. There

If you’re playing bluegrass music professionally, or even semi-professionally, at some point you’re going to have to endure that dreaded pre-hiring ritual called the audition.  Mind you I don’t mean to assume that everyone will go through the process of being

I have recently been asked to address the issue of the number system, or as it’s sometimes called, “The Nashville Number System” (note that in Knoxville, it’s always referred to as “The Knoxville Number System”). I was a little reluctant to deal

The biggest recent news in my band has nothing to do with new CD releases, international tours, or our band “bus” failing an emissions test. It’s more in the realm of geological news: the youngest son of our mandolin player