From The Side of the Road… can movie tag lines work for bluegrass songs?
I hope you’re staying cool in this, the hottest stretch of summer. I’ve got a lot of travel this week and next, taking me and the Night Drivers to Wyoming, Montana (consider that a Red Knuckles tribute), Saratoga Springs, NY, and then I lose track. For that reason, I’ve picked out the following rerun: a […]
From The Side of the Road… Mr. Bluegrass Manners in the house
Mr. Bluegrass Manners has been away for an unusually long time, and he asked me to pass on his apologies. He said he’s been wanting to “spend more time with his family,” which I found surprising since I had never heard him mention anyone in his family, and always knew him to live alone with […]
Tom Paxton’s The Last Hobo from Chris Jones
Chris Jones is another of the artists who are honoring celebrated folksinger and songwriter Tom Paxton for Mountain Home Music’s Tom Paxton tribute album. Paxton has had a long and particularly productive career, adding dozens of new songs to the American folk music catalog. For Jones’s contribution, we have The Last Hobo, a song that […]
From The Side of the Road… if bluegrass artists interviewed like politicians
One of the most challenging aspects of hosting radio shows is doing interviews. What are the most relevant questions to ask? What are questions other people might not have thought of? How do you get the shortest possible response from someone who has a reputation for the 15-minute run-on sentence, or how do you draw […]
From The Side of the Road… Truth or Dare for bandmates
Are you a fan of the game “Truth or Dare?” I’ll admit that I’m not. This is a game that has been responsible for accidental drownings, indecent exposure arrests, the burning of public buildings, and possibly the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the world war that followed. It’s dangerous. However, since hazing of new bluegrass […]
From The Side of the Road… changes to expect from the IBMA awards
It’s the day of the IBMA Awards announcements, but I was writing this before the big reveal in Nashville, so I have nothing informed or even uninformed to say on the subject. I do know that one of the changes this year was the introduction of awards for Photographer of the Year and Video of […]
From The Side of the Road… if you can make it to the phone
I recently came across this column from several years ago about determining if and when to perform when sick. I quickly realized how much has changed since the COVID era. Cancellation due to the possibility of infecting other band members or the public with COVID, or some other contagious illness, took some of the stigma […]
From The Side of the Road… bluegrass afterlife; a study in contrasts
As mentioned last week, our recent discussion of epitaphs leads us right to a topic we’ve never tackled here before: the afterlife. In this divided and argumentative time, this can devolve quickly into theological debates about “soul sleep,” or what Paul really meant by “the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17), which is why I’d shied away […]
From The Side of the Road… on the stone these words were written
The following is a rerun column from last year. Since last week’s installment referred to an as-yet unwritten column about the bluegrass afterlife, I thought next week would be a good time to actually write it. I’m hoping this “encore presentation” about bluegrass epitaphs might serve as a good setup for next week’s subject: Perhaps […]
From The Side of the Road… bluegrass retirement options
A number of weeks ago, we discussed bluegrass death, and if things followed along the expected timeline, we should be approaching the subject of the bluegrass afterlife. Instead, though, I’d like to back up to the part just before death: bluegrass retirement. I know what you’re going to say: no one retires in bluegrass music. […]
