Somewhere in the miasma of the non-televised Grammy Awards on January 28, 2018, the Bluegrass Album of The Year was announced. Oddly, it was a tie, between Rhonda Vincent and The Rage’s “ All The Rage” and The Infamous Stringdusters’ “Laws of Gravity”. Both are deserving winners. The Stringdusters are an interesting case, however. Their […]
Category: Acoustic
Interview With Jerry Douglass
Jerry Douglas August, 2016 Something old is new again. The Earls of Leicester, fresh from their first release in late 2014 and the IBMA Entertainer of the Year Award for 2015, have followed that remarkable success with a second release, Rattle and Roar, on Rounder Records The Earls of Leicester play the songs popularized […]
O’Connor Band (featuring Mark O’Connor): “Comin’ Home”
O’Connor Band (featuring Mark O’Connor) “Comin’ Home” Rounder Records Mark O’Connor has covered a lot of ground in his musical career; starting as a prodigy on the fiddle, with such disparate mentors as Benny Thomassen and Stephane Grappelli. Back in the ’90’s he had a six-year run as CMA’s Musician of the Year. In addition […]
Mandolin Orange In Concert
Mandolin Orange In Concert One Longfellow Square Portland, Maine August 16, 2015 Mandolin Orange presents a simple picture: two members, sharing fiddle, mandolin and guitar and two powerful voices. As Mandolin Orange, Emily Franz and Andrew Marlin command the room. The duo formed in Carrboro, North Carolina a few years back, and have released an […]
Hardly Strictly Radio No. 216
Hardly Strictly No. 216 Thursdays 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM Bluegrass, Americana, Roots, Jamgrass, Acoustic and Small “c” country music: you name it! It’s a big tent at Hardly Strictly: Fred starts from bluegrass but doesn’t stop there. Thanks for listening to the show Lot’s of New Music. I’m With Her, The Civil Wars, The Bradford Bog […]
Feature: The Infamous Stringdusters
The Infamous Stringdusters June 13, 2016 Nearly ten years on, The Infamous Stringdusters have carved out a singular place for themselves in the bluegrass/jamgrass world. The Stringdusters tour aggressively, are fixtures on the festival circuit, and have released several intriguing recording projects since late 2015: one, an EP of covers, including Tom Petty’s “American Girl”, […]
Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley: “The Country Blues”
Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley “The Country Blues” Compass Records Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley go for the heart of the matter in “The Country Blues”. The Compass Records project lives up to its billing, providing gritty country-tinged songs which place the talents of the two men on fine display. The duo is a combination […]
Interview: Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn
Echoes With Fleck and Washburn Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn have powerhouse individual talents; each has followed an estimable career path to where they find themselves today: making complex, but spare, records, writing music together, and touring with their son Juno. These days, they are on the road supporting their new release “Echo In The […]
Del & Dawg (Del McCoury and David Grisman) In Concert State Theater Portland, Maine November 20, 2015
Del & Dawg (Del McCoury and David Grisman) In Concert State Theater Portland, Maine November 20, 2015 One condenser microphone, a music stand, a mandolin, rhythm guitar and over 100 years of bluegrass experience: that’s all David Grisman and Del McCoury need to put on a show. It’s quite a show, too. The artists’ backstories […]
Hardly Strictly Radio No. 215
Hardly Strictly No. 215 Thursdays 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM Bluegrass, Americana, Roots, Jamgrass, Acoustic and Small “c” country music: you name it! It’s a big tent at Hardly Strictly: Fred starts from bluegrass but doesn’t stop there. Thanks for listening to the show Slim Harpo, Patty Loveless, Marty Stuart, some new music and SNOW! […]