Danny Stewart’s prewar banjo safari to Africa
Danny Stewart, bluegrass multi-instrumentalist, bass player with US Navy Band Country Current, and proprietor of Turtle Hill Banjo Co., shared word of his adventures in South Africa last month. He was on the trail of an all original 1939 Gibson RB-75 Mastertone banjo, among the rarest of its breed, which he traveled to see, and […]
Welcome Joanna Benedict!
Tabitha and David Benedict, one of bluegrass music’s latest power couples, welcomed their first child earlier this summer. The two perform together as The Foreign Landers, and with Tabitha’s brothers as Cup O’Joe. Both are first rate instrumentalists, and Tabitha is a unique vocalist with few peers. They are also frequent studio session players. Joanna […]
Tray Wellington — Detour to the Moon
Tray Wellington has made quite an impact in a relatively short time. Following the release of his first three LPs in 2019, he was tapped to lead workshops at both MerleFest and Grey Fox, chosen to contribute to Béla Fleck’s Blue Ridge Banjo Camp, and given an invitation to participate in Mike Marshall’s prestigious Acoustic […]
Out of the Shadows – Trevor Watson
From his beginnings with Lou Reid & Carolina, to his time filling in for banjo great Ben Eldridge with the Seldom Scene, Southwest Virginia native Trevor Watson has been a consummate sideman in bluegrass music. His debut solo release, Out of the Shadows, brings both his solid instrumentalism and vocal ability to the forefront. The opening track, Look […]
Lincoln Hensley brings Sonny Osborne back to Camp Springs
The iconic Camp Springs Labor Day Festival at Blue Grass Park is slated to return this weekend, August 30-September 1. Carlton Haney started North Carolina’s first multi-day bluegrass festival on this rural site in the northwestern part of the state near Reidsville in 1969. Haney’s event became a blueprint for others, especially after the movie, […]
Alison Brown — Simple Pleasures
It’s one thing to journey back to the past. It’s quite another to find that it’s as wonderful as one might remember. Scientists have yet to invent a time machine, but fortunately, artists often have the advantage of revisiting their earlier efforts and allowing them to resurface for rediscovery. And when one is at the […]
Lillyanne McCool accepts 2024 Steve Gulley Scholarship
The Bluegrass Endeavors Foundation, a philanthropic non-profit organization managed by the members of Crandall Creek, announced this week that Lillyanne McCool of Mountain View, AR is the recipient of the 2024 Steve Gulley Memorial Scholarship. McCool, a student at the College of the Ozarks in Hollister, MO, will receive $5,000 to assist in the costs […]
Kruger Brothers make their Grand Ole Opry debut
The Kruger Brothers doing soundcheck at the Opry – photo © Margaret Willows Two weeks ago today, August 6, was a red letter day for The Kruger Brothers. Siblings Jens on banjo, and Uwe on guitar, along with longtime bassist Joel Landsberg, made a trip from western North Carolina out to Nashville for their official […]
Alison Brown talks the reissue of Simple Pleasures, and her three decades with Compass Records
It’s certainly no exaggeration to say that Alison Brown has helped redefine the role of the banjo in modern music. Her series of solo albums have made that abundantly clear since the beginning, and her interpretive prowess has not only made her one of the most influential artists in all of banjo music, but in […]
Two new singles from Brenna MacMillan
This dropping two singles at a time thing looks like it’s becoming a trend. But no one’s complaining about more music! This time it’s Nashville singer, songwriter, and banjo player Brenna MacMillan, who for the past several years had a band with her brother Theo, called plainly enough, Theo & Brenna. These days the two […]
