Bluegrass Unlimited #1 Albums...Plus

[Ojai Sam]

Irene still won't surrender the top spot, so let's listen to the newly crowned IBMA Album of the Year:

Del McCoury - Del McCoury Still Sings Bluegrass (2018)

At age 80 , Del McCoury is still going strong. His latest release echoes the title of his first album from 50 years earlier.

Anyone who tunes in his "Handpicked" show on Sirius XM knows that Del possesses an encyclopedic memory of artists and songs. This album finds him covering largely forgotten country hits from Ernest Tubb, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carlene Carter along with equally well selected contemporary material. Backed by sons Ronnie and Rob, Del keeps it mostly traditional but isn't afraid to add electric guitar and jam for more than 5 minutes on "Hot Wired".

on the Sam-O-Meter. Del hasn't lost a step.

 

[axolotl]

I've allus liked Del and the boys.

(even though this video misspells his last name)

 

[Ojai Sam]

Michael Cleveland - Tall Fiddler (December 2019)

This month we meet Michael Cleveland, the premier fiddler of contemporary bluegrass. Wiki hits the highlights of his amazing career:

Cleveland was born in Henryville, Indiana. He first learned to play violin at a local Suzuki program when he was 4 years old. His skill was recognized at an early age, with appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, A Prairie Home Companion and before the United States Congress in his early teens. After graduating from the Kentucky School for the Blind he performed with various musicians including Dale Ann Bradley and Rhonda Vincent.

His first solo project on Rounder Records, Flame Keeper, won the International Bluegrass Music Association Instrumental Album of the Year in 2002, and he shared the same award with Tom Adams in 2004 for Tom Adams and Michael Cleveland Live at the Ragged Edge. His third award came for his 2006 album Let 'Er Go, Boys! Cleveland won the IBMA 2015 Fiddle Player of the Year and the 2010 Instrumental Group of the Year with his band Flamekeeper, for the third year. Cleveland had previously won Fiddle Player of the Year in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. In 2018 Cleveland was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album for his solo album, Fiddler's Dream.

Tall Fiddler is a watershed album for Cleveland. He embraces a variety of styles from traditional bluegrass to jam to blues to swing to rock, joined by an equally diverse group of stellar artists, including Sam Bush, Tommy Emmanuel, Del McCoury, Tim O’Brien, Béla Fleck and Dan Tyminski. This may be the only bluegrass album you'll hear that name checks Lady Gaga.

Michael's fiddling has to be heard to be believed. He's not just fast; his sense of melody and rhythm brings freshness to every lick. Somehow, he wanders all over the musical map without losing his identity as a country fiddler. This fascinating in depth interview for Bluegrass Unlimited shows him to be a highly perceptive performer:

Michael Cleveland talks Tall Fiddler - Bluegrass Today

Michael Cleveland is one of the premiere fiddlers of his generation, along with his award-winning band, Flamekeeper.

bluegrasstoday.com

 

[Ojai Sam]

Larry Sparks - New Moon Over My Shoulder (January-June 2020)

I was delighted to see this album at the top of the chart to start the new year. No active musician typifies the tradition of bluegrass music better than Ohio born Larry Sparks. The header for Larry's website tells us everything we need to know:

It shares the rest of his story thusly:

Larry Sparks is a dedicated leader for bluegrass music. Larry is among the most widely known and respected touring musicians in bluegrass and gospel music today. Larry began his career in the mid-1960s as a guitarist with the Stanley Brothers and later became lead vocalist for Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys. Larry went on to form his own band in 1969. (The Lonesome Ramblers) He has recorded and toured with his band for nearly 50 years, releasing over 60 albums and delighting countless fans with his soulful vocals and unparalleled musicianship.

Releasing such hits as John Deere Tractor, A Face in the Crowd, Tennessee 1949, Blue Virginia Blues, I Just Want To Thank You Lord. Love of the Mountains, Goodbye Little Darlin, You Could Have Called, Tribute to Hank Williams, Green Pastures in the Sky and the list goes on. Larry has performed on such world famous venues as the Grand Ole Opry, Austin City Limits television show on PBS. Song of the Mountains on PBS. Also having toured the United States, Canada, and Japan.

Larry has been recognized as the International Bluegrass Music Associations Male Vocalist of the Year. Larry also was awarded Album of the Year and Recorded Event of the Year with his album Larry Sparks 40 featuring several artists such as Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Ralph Stanley, Ricky Skaggs, Tom T. Hall and many more.

Larry was inducted into The International Bluegrass Music Hall Of Fame Oct 1st 2015. Larry received the honor of being inducted into the Bill Monroe Bluegrass Hall of Fame. He has also been inducted into The George D. Hay Hall of Fame Founder of The Grand Ole Opry.

This album never strays from the path of old school bluegrass. Sparks' unerring ability to pick great material and make it his own serves him well, as he blends songs as old as Roy Acuff's "Down In Union County" with new ones like "I'm Really Leaving". Sad to say, it's not on Spotify.

on the Sam-O-Meter.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Seldom Scene - Changes (2019)

Since Larry Sparks refuses to give up the #1 spot, let's look at another veteran artist that's bubbling under. The Seldom Scene has been around since 1971. They were one of the first groups to succeed with bluegrass covers of pop and rock songs. In large part these worked because the group had a strong folk music ethos.

Wiki shows the evolution of the band over the years:

Current members Lou Reid - mandolin, guitar, vocals (1986-1993, 1996–present) Dudley Connell - guitar, vocals (1995–present) Ronnie Simpkins - bass (1995–present) Fred Travers - Dobro, vocals (1995–present) Ron Stewart - banjo, fiddle (2017–present)

Former members John Duffey - mandolin, vocals (1971-1996; died 1996) Mike Auldridge - Dobro, vocals (1971-1995; died 2012) Tom Gray - bass (1971-1986) John Starling - guitar, vocals (1971-1978, 1993–1994; died 2019) Ben Eldridge - banjo, guitar (1971–2016) Phil Rosenthal - guitar, vocals (1977-1986) T. Michael Coleman - bass (1986-1995) Moondi Klein - guitar, vocals (1994-1995) Rickie Simpkins - banjo, fiddle, guitar (2016–2017)

The Rounder Records website offers this background:

On this album, the band sharpens their focus to a highly specific body of work: songs first recorded in the 1960s and very early ’70s, rooted in the archetypal storytelling of classic singer-songwriters. Taking on the music from iconic artists like Bob Dylan, John Prine, and Townes Van Zandt.

Throughout Changes, The Seldom Scene’s crystal-clear harmonies and palpable camaraderie carry the songs through countless moods, from the homesick yet hopeful anticipation of “Steel Rail Blues” (originally recorded by Gordon Lightfoot in 1966) to the lovestruck sorrow of “Darcy Farrow” (Steve Gillette, 1965) to the reflective intensity of “Bob Dylan’s Dream” (1963). On their brilliantly buoyant update of John Prine’s 1971 meditation “Good Time,” the band attains an especially striking alchemy, reshaping a heavy-hearted folk tune into something straight out of the Flatt & Scruggs repertoire.

On the album-closing “Sweet Baby James,” The Seldom Scene revisits a song previously recorded for their 1972 debut Act I (widely regarded as one of the most influential records in the history of progressive bluegrass). “That’s the only one of these songs that we’ve been doing live-people kept coming up to us at the merch table and asking if we had it on record, so it was a no-brainer,” says Connell. In breathing new life into James Taylor’s 1970 lullaby, the band made careful use of Reid’s longtime study of Taylor’s singular guitar style, giving way to a gracefully sculpted track still closely centered on the melancholy cowboy tale captured in the lyrics.

on the Sam-O-Meter. A cover of a cover? Why not!

 

[Ojai Sam]

Blue Highway - Somewhere Far Away (#2 April 2020)

It's been darn near six months since our last visit to this thread. Masks, Zoom and a surge in work have sure taken a toll on my music time. But that's OK, Larry Sparks still rides high. Time to catch up with another essential band as it celebrates its silver anniversary.

Blue Highway has survived and thrived since 1994 with minimal personnel turnover. According to the band website (www.bluehighwayband.com),
Tim Stafford, Wayne Taylor, Shawn Lane, Jason Burleson and Rob Ickes were the founding members of Blue Highway.

Their first show as Blue Highway was in Kingsport, Tennessee, on December 31, 1994. Prior to welcoming Gaven Largent as dobro player in December 2015, Blue Highway had only one other musician as a member of the band besides the original five founding members. Tom Adams played banjo from 1998-2000 during a brief hiatus of Jason Burleson.

TIM STAFFORD: 31 Dec 1994 - Present
WAYNE TAYLOR: 31 Dec 1994 - Present
SHAWN LANE: 31 Dec 1994 - Present
ROB ICKES: 31 Dec 1994 - 18 Nov 2015
JASON BURLESON: 31 Dec 1994 - July 1998; Sept 2000 - Present
TOM ADAMS: Aug 1998 - Aug 2000
GAVEN LARGENT: 1 Jan 2016 - May 25, 2018

JUSTIN MOSES: 2 Jun 2018 - Dec 2018

GARY HULTMAN: 18 Jan 2019 - Present

The band has earned a collective 28 IBMA Awards, 6 SPBGMA Awards, one Dove Award, plus three Grammy nominations. The band is nominated for IBMA's 2020 Vocal Group of the Year Award.

Blue Highway's #1 album "Original Traditional" was nominated for a 2017 GRAMMY Award for Best Bluegrass Album.

Blue Highway was voted the Favorite Bluegrass Artist of All Time by the readers of Bluegrass Today in April 2016.

Tim Stafford received honors as 2001 and 2015 SPBGMA Guitar Player of the Year and 2014 and 2017 IBMA Songwriter of the Year. He co-wrote the 2008 IBMA song of the year--performed by the band--"Through the Window of a Train."

This kind of stability is hard to imagine given the demands of incessant touring, yet the band keeps turning out top quality contemporary bluegrass. Having three strong songwriters as founding members (Tim Stafford, Wayne Taylor and Shawn Lane) explains a lot. This album on the prestigious Rounder label continues their successful run.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show - Sho Nuff Country! (2016)

The end of last year got pretty hectic, sidelining this thread. With the new year, I'm bringing it back. Larry Sparks still sits at #1 so let's visit with Karl Shiflett, a man who works the twilight zone between bluegrass and country.

His eponymous website (www.karlshiflett.com) shares his story, which mirrors that of many country musicians of the last century:

Karl Shiflett was born in Longview, Texas September 16th ,1956. When he was 9 years old his family moved to Limestone County Texas where he grew up developing a deep love and appreciation for Old Time Country Music. He first became interested in music after attending an Old Time Fiddlers Contest held at the court house square in the mid 1960's. Although his Father and Grandfather both played guitar he had never heard or seen music played so flawlessly on fiddles, guitars and banjos . It was a life changing experience.

Shortly after Karl made his first fiddle out of a wooden cigar box patterned after an instrument his Great Grandfather had made during the Great Depression. He didn't have to look far to find someone to learn from. The barber that cut his hair was a fiddle player and the neighbor across the road was a guitar player. He would go get a haircut every Saturday just so he could hear the fiddle played and then sit in on the Sunday afternoon jam sessions at the neighbors.

There was always a good fiddler around so Karl soon switched to guitar. It was at these Sunday afternoon jam sessions that he learned to play and sing. "Old time fiddling, Bluegrass, Western Swing, Honky-tonk we played it all back then. The musicians were all very kind to me and gave me encouragement. Something I never forgot."

Bluegrass music seemed to be what came most naturally. He loved the sound of Flatt & Scruggs. When Karl was about 15 he had the opportunity to see Lester Flatt & the Nashville Grass at a high school auditorium in Corsicana, Texas. Marty Stuart was with the band and he was about 13. Seeing this live show left a lasting impression and from that point on he knew what he wanted to do.

The first band he was a part of was a local group based out of Waco, Texas known as the Brazos Grass starting about 1976. They had a regular weekly radio show on AM radio station KMIL out of Cameron Texas until 1978. After the group disbanded Karl went on to work with various Texas based groups including The Humbert Brothers, Joe Featherston and the Country Travelers, Jackson County , Southern Heritage and The Coleman Brothers.

He met the Sullivan Family in 1985 and shortly after begin working with them on a part time basis when they would come to the area. During this time he also worked with Bill Grant & Delia Bell , Chubby Wise and Mac Wiseman in the same manner. In 1991 he joined the Sullivan Family full time and stayed with them until the end of 1992. In 1993 he started The Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show and as famed radio newscaster Paul Harvey use to say "And now you know the rest of the story".

The retro cover art Sho Nuff Country tips us to the fact that Karl and the boys will be taking us back to the glory days of country music. Texas has always been a breeding ground for musical fusion. Banjo and mandolin may feature prominently but this is not really a bluegrass album. We hear echoes of Lone Star artists in the C&W genre from Hank Thompson to Bob Wills to Charlie Walker to early George Jones. The pure authenticity of this record reflects Karl's many years on the road.

 

[axolotl]

Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show - Sho Nuff Country! (2016)

The end of last year got pretty hectic, sidelining this thread. With the new year, I'm bringing it back. Larry Sparks still sits at #1 so let's visit with Karl Shiflett, a man who works the twilight zone between bluegrass and country.

His eponymous website (www.karlshiflett.com) shares his story, which mirrors that of many country musicians of the last century:

Karl Shiflett was born in Longview, Texas September 16th ,1956. When he was 9 years old his family moved to Limestone County Texas where he grew up developing a deep love and appreciation for Old Time Country Music. He first became interested in music after attending an Old Time Fiddlers Contest held at the court house square in the mid 1960's. Although his Father and Grandfather both played guitar he had never heard or seen music played so flawlessly on fiddles, guitars and banjos . It was a life changing experience.

Shortly after Karl made his first fiddle out of a wooden cigar box patterned after an instrument his Great Grandfather had made during the Great Depression. He didn't have to look far to find someone to learn from. The barber that cut his hair was a fiddle player and the neighbor across the road was a guitar player. He would go get a haircut every Saturday just so he could hear the fiddle played and then sit in on the Sunday afternoon jam sessions at the neighbors.

There was always a good fiddler around so Karl soon switched to guitar. It was at these Sunday afternoon jam sessions that he learned to play and sing. "Old time fiddling, Bluegrass, Western Swing, Honky-tonk we played it all back then. The musicians were all very kind to me and gave me encouragement. Something I never forgot."

Bluegrass music seemed to be what came most naturally. He loved the sound of Flatt & Scruggs. When Karl was about 15 he had the opportunity to see Lester Flatt & the Nashville Grass at a high school auditorium in Corsicana, Texas. Marty Stuart was with the band and he was about 13. Seeing this live show left a lasting impression and from that point on he knew what he wanted to do.

The first band he was a part of was a local group based out of Waco, Texas known as the Brazos Grass starting about 1976. They had a regular weekly radio show on AM radio station KMIL out of Cameron Texas until 1978. After the group disbanded Karl went on to work with various Texas based groups including The Humbert Brothers, Joe Featherston and the Country Travelers, Jackson County , Southern Heritage and The Coleman Brothers.

He met the Sullivan Family in 1985 and shortly after begin working with them on a part time basis when they would come to the area. During this time he also worked with Bill Grant & Delia Bell , Chubby Wise and Mac Wiseman in the same manner. In 1991 he joined the Sullivan Family full time and stayed with them until the end of 1992. In 1993 he started The Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show and as famed radio newscaster Paul Harvey use to say "And now you know the rest of the story"

The retro cover art Sho Nuff Country tips us to the fact that Karl and the boys will be taking us back to the glory days of country music. Texas has always been a breeding ground for musical fusion. Banjo and mandolin may feature prominently this is not really a bluegrass album. We hear echoes of Lone Star artists in the C&W genre from Hank Thompson to Bob Wills to Charlie Walker to early George Jones. The pure authenticity of this record reflect Karl's many years on the road.

Truly impressive...

...but, can I still hate that these new oldtimers are younger than me?

 

[Ojai Sam]

Truly impressive...

...but, can I still hate that these new oldtimers are younger than me?

It’s ok, Axo. New old timers have to start young so they can become old old timers.

 

[Ojai Sam]

The Rarely Herd - Midnight Loneliness (1992)

Gotta love the group name as a comeback to The Seldom Scene. The Herd is an Ohio traditional bluegrass outfit founded in 1989 and still active. On Midnight Loneliness, their first studio release after a mythically rare live cassette sold at their shows), the band consisted of:

• Jim Stack-Guitar/Vocals
• Jeff Weaver-Bass/Vocals
• Calvin Leport-Banjo
• Dan Brooks-Dobro
• Alan Stack-Fiddle/Mandolin/Vocals

It's all solid traditional bluegrass with strong songs from within the group along with well selected covers like "This Is My Year For Mexico", a hit by Crystal Gayle nearly 20 years earlier. "Oh Mary" is an a cappella gospel tour de force.

The group website seems to have disappeared but they are still posting on Facebook. So I'm hoping they return to festival action after the pandemic abates.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Junior Sisk - Load The Wagon (July-December 2020)

After six months, Larry Sparks finally surrendered the top spot to another hard core traditionalist, albeit a younger one. Junior Sisk's homespun voice is instantly recognizable. His website (www.juniorsisk.com) tells us:

A longtime resident of the Virginia Blue Ridge, his bluegrass pedigree runs deep. Influenced by a father who wrote songs and played guitar and a mother who sang, Sisk first learned to play around age 14. His early influences included The Stanley Brothers, Larry Sparks, and Dave Evans, but he often credits the Johnson Mountain Boys with inspiring him to pursue bluegrass professionally.

Sisk first made his mark in bluegrass as a songwriter in the early 1990s, penning classic Lonesome River Band songs like "Game (I Can't Win)" and "Tears Are Blinding Me." As a member of Wyatt Rice & Santa Cruz and Blueridge, he helped define the sound of driving, modern traditional bluegrass. In 1998, Sisk founded the Ramblers Choice band, and released "Sounds of the Mountains" on Rounder Records. After leaving Blueridge in 2006, he reformed Ramblers Choice and began a successful career on Rebel Records.

In 2019, Junior disbanded Rambler's Choice in order to move forward under his own name. The cover and title cut on Load The Wagon ("son, don't worry about the mule, you just load the wagon!") make it clear that we are headed deep into rural America. There's a tragic revenge song, an a capella gospel number, a pair of wry songs about the music biz, even a dark Jimmie Skinner cover. Junior's new band sparkles on every cut. Notably, Tony Mabe delivers the driving banjo while his wife Heather Berry Mabe provides guitar and ethereal vocals reminiscent of Rhonda Vincent. This may be the finest trad album of last year.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Carolina Blue - Take Me Back (January-February, April 2021)

Thanks to Junior Sisk's durability, I can finally catch up this thread.

Speaking of durability, bluegrass is unique in that bands can stay busy enough to make a steady living for years without attracting a lot of attention outside the genre. Carolina Blue offers a case in point. Founded by Bobby Powell (guitar) and Tim Jones (mandolin) in 2007, they immediately recruited Reese Combs on bass. James McDowell (banjo) joined in 2016 and Aynsley Porchak added her fiddle a year later. She holds a masters degree in Appalachian Studies from East Tennessee State University (go Bucs!) and just today joined the faculty as an adjunct professor.

According to the band's website (www.carolinablueband.com), they have earned "a top 5 Billboard album, four International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) award nominations and being named Entertainer of the Year by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) along with winning the coveted Bluegrass Band of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year and Album of the Year honors, also from SPBGMA."

Take Me Back represents the epitome of traditional bluegrass, true to the sound (and look) of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys without a hint of self-consciousness or irony. All 12 songs here are new, with 8 contributed by Powell and Jones. Lots of variety in tone and tempo means never a dull moment. The exciting instrumental "Black Knob Breakdown" is a real highlight in which every band member shines.

Bluegrass is for sure a DIY business. In case you plan to have Carolina Blue drop by and perform for you, the website even includes this handy setup chart:

 

[Ojai Sam]

Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road - Bill Monroe's Ol' Mandolin (2020)

With Carolina Blue holding on to the number 1 spot, let's look at another group of North Carolinians. Bluegrass has always had a respect for its traditions that borders on reverence. Often this takes the form of self-referential songs, which mandolinist Lorraine Jordan has raised to an art form. In 2018, she released "True Grass Again", a heartfelt admonition against watered down 'grass aided by Junior Sisk and Danny Paisley that scored big. Her current release tells the story of the day Ricky Skaggs played Bill Monroe's mandolin at his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Lorraine's website (www.carolinaroadband.com) provides her bio:

Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road have combined masterful musicianship and a creative sound to entertain audiences in 40 states and 13 countries while scoring multiple hits, industry accolades and collaborations with other legendary artists.

Since their beginnings in 1998, the band has achieved three No. 1 songs on the Bluegrass chart with “A Light in the Window,” “That’s Kentucky” and “True Grass.” “True Grass” also climbed to No. 1 on the Roots Music chart and topped the Bluegrass Unlimited National Bluegrass Survey for an astounding 16 consecutive months.

When the band isn’t touring, they host several events weekly at Lorraine’s Coffee House & Music in Garner, N.C. Down the road in Raleigh, Lorraine and the band are a crowd favorite at the city’s annual Wide Open Bluegrass Festival. The group also produces and performs at Christmas in the Smokies in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., the Willow Oak Music Festival in Roxboro, N.C., and the North Carolina Banjo Fest in Clemmons.

The Carolina Road Band currently features Ben Greene (banjo), Randy Graham (guitar), Matt Hooper (fiddle) and Allen Dyer (guitar), with Graham, Dyer and Lorraine herself sharing vocal duties. Bill Monroe's Ol' Mandolin is by my count the group's 14th album. It offers a varied mix of new songs and covers of country hits like Conway Twitty's "Boogie Grass Band", Johnny Lee's "Cherokee Fiddle" and Crystal Gayle's "Ready For the Times To Get Better". There's even "They Called It Bluegrass", another song paying tribute to the genre's history.

on the Sam-O-Meter. Next time you're near Garner, drop by for a cuppa hot Joe and some tasty music.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Doyle Lawson announces plans for retirement after 2022 - Bluegrass Today

Doyle Lawson, 43 year veteran leader of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, has announced that he will be stepping away from that role at the end of 2022.

bluegrasstoday.com

 

[Ojai Sam]

Becky Buller - Distance and Time (March 2021)

We met Becky in this thread back in 2018 so I won't reprise her bio here. In the past three years, she has gained even greater stature and popularity in the bluegrass world. Her outstanding road band of Ned Luberecki, Dan Boner, Nate Lee and Daniel Hardin anchors the sessions. They are joined by other big stars like Sam Bush, Laurie Lewis, Michael Cleveland, Jerry Douglas, even The Fairfield Four. Her sound runs smoothly from traditional to contemporary . "The Barber's Fiddle" is a major highlight, being a true story brought to life in a collaboration with Buller, Cleveland, Stuart Duncan and a bunch of other folks each adding their own licks. If there is one misstep here, the cover of "Woodstock" seems mighty pointless to me here in 2021, but that's a small quibble.

 

[Mattafett]

I saw The Resonant Rogues last weekend at a small country bar outside of LaCrosse WI. There was a crowd of about 20 people, and 4 were in my group. I enjoyed the show, and woud definitely see them again. @Ojai Sam have you heard of Larry Fest? It's an annual Bluegrass festival with multiple stages my dad and his girlfriend attend in WI.

 

[Ojai Sam]

I saw The Resonant Rogues last weekend at a small country bar outside of LaCrosse WI. There was a crowd of about 20 people, and 4 were in my group. I enjoyed the show, and woud definitely see them again. @Ojai Sam have you heard of Larry Fest? It's an annual Bluegrass festival with multiple stages my dad and his girlfriend attend in WI.

This festival is new to me, @Mattafett . But what a great lineup in 2019:

Nice mix of traditional and progressive grass.

 

[Nickyboy]

The Prodigal Son returns!!

 

[Ojai Sam]

Dale Ann Bradley - Things She Couldn't Get Over (May-June 2021)

Back for her third visit at #1, Dale Ann recorded this fine project with a new band. She decided at the end of last year to leave Sister Sadie in order to reprioritize her solo career. The results here speak for themselves: traditional bluegrass delivered with heartfelt emotion. The closing song, "In The End", a pointedly apolitical gospel tune, may be the best thing she's ever written.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Sad news from Doyle Lawson:

Doyle Lawson opts for early retirement - Bluegrass Today

Doyle Lawson, surely the most enduring bluegrass artist currently working today, has announced his plans to retire from active touring at the end of 2021.

bluegrasstoday.com