String Time – Bill Emerson
Bill Emerson’s impact on the five string banjo cannot be overstated. A member of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, Emerson’s playing has been an integral part of many legendary recordings, and in turn has inspired countless banjoists. Three of those influential recordings were solo efforts released on the Coronet label in the 1960s. String Time on […]
Craig Morris passes
Craig Morris, age 70, a banjoist and lover of bluegrass music from Spring Hill, TN, passed away on Saturday, July 27, 2024, at Williamson Medical Center. He was a member of the Alabama Bluegrass Music Association, a founding member of the band, Craig Morris & King Cotton, and performed with numerous other groups. Morris’s musical […]
Ben Eldridge tribute show on Bluegrass Country this Friday
We heard from Randy Barrett, President of the Bluegrass Country Foundation, the organization that oversees the management of the 24/7, live bluegrass radio station online, Bluegrass Country. Randy is also a banjo player, and the co-author of last year’s authorized biography and tablature volume on DC five string legend, Ben Eldridge (On Banjo – Recollection, […]
Jeremiah Penny overcomes obstacles to play bluegrass
We’ve all heard it said that music is a wonderful thing for youngsters to study. Even those who will never consider doing it professionally, or even on stage, can still learn valuable lessons about discipline, attention to detail, and the value of hard work. For those who don’t carry it into their adult lives, they […]
Scott Hopkins – Just You
Concept albums are fairly prevalent in music history, the idea having been more recently adopted within the bluegrass genre. Scott Hopkins, a banjoist and music instructor based in Albany, New York has taken a creative step forward with his second solo release. Just You is an album filled with positive love songs and performed as duets with […]
Banjo Blast video from Todd Taylor
Banjo Blast… no, it’s not the latest flavor from Mountain Dew. It’s the new single from the banjo man in black, Todd Taylor. Known initially for his treatments of banjo in the rock ‘n’ roll world, this latest finds Todd combining his love for rockin’ out and the bluegrass style he grew up playing. It’s […]
Lincoln Hensley Stage dedicated in Erwin, TN
Last Friday evening (July 12), the small, approximately 100×80 foot park in downtown Erwin, TN, known as The Gathering Place, overflowed with local townspeople and quite a few musicians from both near and far. Lincoln Hensley, banjo player and leader of the Tennessee Bluegrass Band, was honored by his hometown of Erwin and Unicoi County […]
Joe Bonsall passes
Joe Bonsall with his banjo – photo © Jarret Gaza The Oak Ridge Boys have announced the passing of their long time tenor singer, Joe Bonsall, from complications of ALS, known to many as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 76 years of age. While the Oaks have never been a bluegrass act, Joe most certainly […]
Tony Trischka – Earl Jam
In 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic, master banjoist Tony Trischka spent his time studying rare recordings of his hero Earl Scruggs informally jamming with the great John Hartford in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Though Trischka has been listening to Earl for many decades, these tapes revealed another side to Scruggs’ […]
Terry Baucom Banjo Championship in July
Deering Banjo Company and the Gold Tone Music Group, together with Cindy Baucom and the operators of the Doc & Rosa Lee Watson MusicFest, have announced a most worthy tribute to bluegrass banjo legend, Terry Baucom, who we lost late last year. Hosted this July will be the first ever Terry Baucom Banjo Championship, on […]
