Mark Delaney back to Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass
Banjo player Mark Delaney has returned to the spot he occupied with Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass for more than a decade, after nearly two years away from the band. Mark stepped away more than a year ago to care for his elderly parents, during which time Dean Phillips held down the banjo spot. […]
Reed Martin passes
This remembrance of banjo player Reed Martin, who died on September 30 in Potomac, MD after a long stint with Alzheimer’s Disease, is a contribution from his friends and family. He was 78 years of age. Reed Martin was one of a kind, a rare breed of human that was beloved by untold people around […]
CMH creates digital re-issue of Feudin’ Again
CMH Records has dug deep into their vaults for another classic album of yesteryear, and pulled out Arthur Smith and Don Reno’s 1979 record, Feudin’ Again, for a digital reissue. The label tells us that this release, set for this Friday, October 18, will mark the first time this project has ever been offered for […]
Earl Experience Banjo Camp at the Earl Scruggs Center
The Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby, NC will be hosting a very special workshop next March, billed as the Earl Experience Banjo Camp. Scheduled for March 7-8, 2025, the Experience will feature two days of instruction in the banjo playing and music of the one-and-only Earl Scruggs, taught by Tony Trischka, Kristin Scott Benson, and […]
Pigtails and Sugarcane from Gina Furtado
Mountain Home Music has a fun, summertime song from banjo player, songwriter, and vocalist Gina Furtado, one called Pigtails and Sugarcane, recorded with her two sisters. The song comes from a real experience Gina had, which brought to mind the time she had spent in Central America as a girl. It tells a lovely story, […]
Celebration of Life for Ben Eldridge
Chris Eldridge at the Celebration of Life for Ben Eldridge – photo © Jeromie Stephens This past Sunday, September 29, friends and family gathered in Fredericksburg, VA to honor the memory of Ben Eldridge, legendary founding banjo player with The Seldom Scene, who passed away on April 14 of this year. Jeromie Stephens and his […]
Former Blue Grass Boy, Bill Simpson, passes
Former Blue Grass Boy banjoist, Bill Simpson, 90, of Oakboro, NC, passed away on September 18, 2024. In a 2017 interview, the multi-instrumentalist shared with me his history in music. “At twelve years old, my Uncle Jim taught me to play the guitar.” Simpson began playing with a classmate and cousin. In ninth grade, the […]
Chris Warner: What Jimmy Martin taught me
This recollection of Jimmy Martin’s lessons to his heralded banjo player Chris Warner is a contribution from Thomas Cook. Chris is widely regarded as one of the finest exemplars of the Jimmy Martin style on banjo, behind only J.D. Crowe and Bill Emerson. The photos are from Warner’s personal collection. What made the first generation […]
Bluegrass Canada – Meet Ivan Rosenberg
Ivan Rosenberg – photo © Mike Melnyk This article is another recurring contribution from Bluegrass Canada, the quarterly magazine of the Bluegrass Music Association of Canada. Editor Mike Higgins has promised to send us updates from the scene up north. This one was written by Karen DeCoste. Dobro pickin’ from California to New Brunswick A professional […]
New Release – A Family Tradition from The Steve Bruce Band
We’ve seen a bunch of new Bible-based instrumentals of late from banjo pickin’ pastor Steve Bruce, who leads the congregation at Faith Way Assembly Of God in LaFollette, TN. Now he’s back with a full band, made up of family members and a close friend, to share a short set of gospel songs, both new […]
