Troy Stangle passes
Troy Strangle – photo by Chuck Neel Banjo player and resonator guitarist Troy Stangle has passed away at age 58 after a two-year battle with cancer. Troy was a longtime member of All4Hym and Stoney Creek Bluegrass Band in Maryland. He assisted songwriter William Dailey in arranging A Miner’s Life, recorded by Charlie Waller and […]
Photos from the Elmer Burchett benefit concert
Elmer Burchett at his Cancer Benefit concert (2/23/24) – photo © Roger Black
24 Hours at a Time – new video from Todd Taylor
Looks like it’s time for some more rock ‘n’ roll banjo from South Carolina’s Todd Taylor, Guinness Book certified as the World’s Fastest Banjo Player in 2007. Todd is just now recovering from a fairly serious head injury, suffered when he stumbled getting out of his new bus. Having recently acquired it, he had expected […]
Lift Up Every Stone from Tray Wellington Band
Mountain Home Music has another new track to highlight this week, a cut from the Tray Wellington Band that features the North Carolina banjoist on both five string and lead vocals. It’s his reimagined cover of John Hiatt’s Lift Up Ever Stone, which Wellington hears in a very different way. Supported by his bandmates Katelynn […]
Roni Stoneman passes
Roni Stoneman, banjo player with The Stonemans, who played the iconic Hee-Haw character, Ida Lee Nagger, died yesterday evening at 85 years of age. Long before she played that comic stereotype on television in the 1970s, Roni was an established artist in bluegrass music performing with her family, The Stonemans, in the late 1950s and […]
Alex Leach back with Ralph II
With the recent departure of banjo picker Landon Fitzpatrick from Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys, Ralph has brought Alex Leach back into the band, who had spent several good years with him previously. Landon is moving back to Georgia where he and his wife will be closer to family, and is bringing […]
Bayla Davis chosen as a Fellow by From the Top’s Learning and Media Lab
Bayla Davis, the 16 year old banjo player with North Carolina’s Newfound Gap, has been awarded a 2023-’24 Learning and Media Lab Fellowship by From The Top, an association dedicated to fostering and promoting talented young musical artists. From The Top typically focuses on classical musicians, so it’s a special treat to see them highlighting […]
Dark Roast – new banjo tune from Charles Butler
Banjo man Charles Butler, who grew up in New England but now resides in Nashville, has a new single out this week, a banjo instrumental inspired by his favorite coffee blend, Dark Roast. Currently, Charles works as a member of Rebecca Frazier’s band, Hit & Run. Dark Roast is a clever modern acoustic piece, with […]
New music videos from Brenna MacMillan, with Maddie Denton
Nashville banjoist, vocalist, and songwriter Brenna MacMillan is working on her debut solo project, her first separate from her brother and bandmate, Theo MacMillan. For several years they have performed together as Theo & Brenna, and are these days focusing more on their individual songs and albums. Brenna grew up in Kentucky, one of 12 […]
Gibson Davis to Rick Faris Band
Rick Faris has announced that teen banjo sensation Gibson Davis has joined his band on banjo. Turning 18 years old later this month, Gibson has grown up deeply immersed in bluegrass. He is a fourth generation musician who started out on banjo when he was eight, taught by his grandfather, Danny Davis, who played with […]
