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The deadline is coming up for entry in the DC Bluegrass Union's Mid-Atlantic Bluegrass Band competition, held during their 4th annual DC Bluegrass Festival. Bands who wish to compete must submit the application form, with a $50 registration fee, by February 8, 2013. The contest is open to any non-touring bluegrass groups, with regional and [...]
Due in part to the pivotal town of Bristol, northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia have long been known as one of the locations where traditional country music was founded. Bristol, the location of the 1927 recording sessions which put The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, and others on the map, has been honored with the name [...]
I’m sure by now the fruitcake is on the table and you have a bookmark on Luke 2, but if you need a little bluegrass to get you in the Christmas spirit, here are some Christmas classics that are sure to get any Scrooge in the holiday spirit! 1. Christmas Time’s A-Comin’ – Bill Monroe A true [...]
As you guys may have noticed, I have been on a bit of a hiatus from writing. This past couple months have been stressful for me and my family. You may have read recently that my grandmother, Prudence Mullins, lost her courageous battle with breast cancer. Throughout the last ten months of her life, her [...]
The indisputable highlight for me during Fan Fest last weekend was getting to visit with the great Larry Sparks. A bluegrass institution of long standing, Larry and his band did a powerful set on the main stage, and then he stopped by the Bluegrass Today booth to shoot an interview with us. As always, Sparks [...]
Ever hopeful in a recession, many businesses are gearing up for sales up to Christmas and beyond. Among the delights becoming available is the 2013 Bluegrass Calendar published by Bluegrass Productions of Virginia. The 2013 edition, the 22nd in all, focuses on bluegrass music in Nashville with a dozen full-color pictures by one of the [...]
Eastern Kentucky's Jeff Clair is a long-time student of the music of such masters of tradition as Larry Sparks and James King. So no one will be surprised that his new solo project, They Called Him Jesus, is marked by soulful, old-style bluegrass music. Since he was a pre-teen, Clair has been building a deep familiarity [...]
Daniel Mullins sent along this gallery of images from last weekend's Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival.
I recently had the great pleasure of renewing my acquaintance with one of the great banjo players of the 1970s and '80s (and now for that matter), Mike Lilly. He and Wendy Miller are forever joined in history as part of the classic early version of Larry Sparks' Lonesome Ramblers. After leaving Sparks, they formed [...]
He’s called “The Youngest Of The Old Timers.” In 1963, Paul “Moon” Mullins, a former fiddler for The Stanley Brothers and popular bluegrass DJ, introduced Carter and Ralph to a gifted sixteen year old guitar picker and singer from Lebanon, OH. After an audition, Larry Sparks was hired as a Clinch Mountain Boy, and went on [...]
