Bobby Hicks passes
Bobby Hicks with a fiddle he bought from Birch Monroe – photo © Lincoln Hensley Fiddler Bobby Hicks, surely among the most celebrated and enduring musicians to ever play bluegrass music, has died from complications of heart disease. After suffering a heart attack on Saturday (8/10), he underwent surgery to install a pacemaker yesterday, and […]
Outrun The Rain from Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland
Could there be any two bluegrass fiddlers hotter than Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland? Since the year 2000, 16 of the 23 IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year awards have gone to one or the other, with Michael taking the larger of the haul. Now with Jason’s emergence as a solo recording artist, taking advantage […]
Randall Collins passes
Lifelong fiddler Randall Collins died on June 27, surrounded by those he loved. He was 84 years of age. Randall was said to have picked up the fiddle when he was seven years old, living in his hometown of Blairsville, GA. He would sneak it out to the cornfields to play when he was supposed […]
California Report – violinist/fiddler Amy Kassir
Amy Kassir is a fiddler and singer from Durham, NC, whose keen melodic sense and dazzling facility on her instrument shine from the sweetest of waltzes to blazing breakdowns. She plays in several Northern California-based bands and talks about that and more below. Gee Amy, how many bands are you active in? Please tell us […]
Dave Ferguson passes
Banjo legend Alan Munde shared this lovely remembrance of his friend and bandmate, fiddler Dave Ferguson, who died recently at 75 years of age. I learned through Dave Ferguson’s bother, Greg, that Dave died of a brain tumor. Dave was the fiddle player in Country Gazette following Byron Berline’s departure from the group in late 1974. There […]
Bright Sunny South from Laney & Bishop
From the fertile musical landscape of western North Carolina comes a new bluegrass duo, comprised of guitarist and songwriter Colby Laney, and fiddler and vocalist Danielle Bishop. Going by the name of Laney & Bishop, the two have a debut single released on the Sound Biscuit label, which projects a brilliant future for these talented […]
I Built A World – Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes is no stranger to the bluegrass fiddle community. Having been named IBMA’s Fiddle Player of the Year in both 2021 and 2022, and being a noted member of the Grammy-winning band, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, her prowess on the instrument is unquestionable. Bronwyn’s latest solo effort, I Built A World, is focused instead on […]
Bobby Hicks to the North Carolina Music Hall Of Fame
The North Carolina Music Hall of Fame has included legendary bluegrass fiddler Bobby Hicks as one of their six inductees for 2024. Bobby has already received this honor from the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2017, but he will surely cherish being inducted by his home state as well when the 2024 class is […]
Biography of Dan Levenson published
We are accustomed to writing about new books written by Dan Levenson, the popular old time banjo player and fiddler, whose many instructional and tune collection books have been published over the years. Dan is also an in-demand performer, who has released nearly a dozen albums under his name, and is featured as a guest […]
Give It Away from Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland
How about we take two of the greatest bluegrass fiddlers of all time, and turn them loose in the studio? How could that not be a great idea? That’s what Jason Carter thought, looking at the success of his recent solo album, Lowdown Hoedown. Knowing that he and Michael Cleveland were essentially cut from the […]
