American Banjo Museum honors Steve Martin, an entertainer who has been a banjo ambassador for decades.
bluegrass
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Straying from the norm
Photo: Doug Seymour Don’t bother asking The Stray Birds how they came up with their beautifully evocative name. Even they’ve forgotten by now. “We were trying to name the project and felt like we should be some kind of bird. Obviously, The Byrds is out,” said Oliver Craven, the band’s jack-of-alltrades. “We travel around a […]
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Mountain Smoke — Roads Well Traveled
Maybe enough time has passed that I can enjoy this truly American art form once again. How can songs like the Brooks & Dunn cover “Brand New Man” or the redemptive “Wild Horses” not make you fall in love with this Oklahoma group? The original “American Dream” is a patriotic spiritual that isn’t cloying or […]
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Vesper recipe
With two albums surveying themes of hope, redemption in Jesus, and supernatural healing to their name, it’s no surprise that The Vespers are a band of Christians. But are they a Christian band? A closer look at the college-aged siblings’ output and business acumen suggests they’re aiming for the former. “When we got together, we […]
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Union labors
You’re already familiar with Dan Tyminski whether you realize it or not. Currently Alison Krauss and Union Station’s resident guitar and mandolin picker, Tyminski lent his stark bluegrass tenor to the singing voice of George Clooney’s character in the Coen brothers’ 2000 film, O Brother, Where Art Thou? His performance of “Man of Constant Sorrow” […]
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Parade’s route
The parade’s in town! The David Mayfield Parade, to be exact. It’s something the bluegrass musician has been building toward all his life. Although Mayfield’s released albums, he’s never toured for them. His experiences as a sideman built his confidence to broaden his horizons, resulting in an album that covers his widest musical expanse to […]
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Soundcheck: The Okee Dokee Brothers
“There’s a participatory culture in all of our performances,” Mailander said. “We like to break down the barriers between the performer and audience. It turns what’s normally a passive experience for the listener — like watching TV — into a more active one.” He and Lansing, better known as kid-friendly folk duo The Okee Dokee […]
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Got milk?
And why not? The Austin quartet features three champion childhood fiddlers — Brian Beken, Noah Jeffries and Dennis Ludiker — who met as children competing at Idaho’s annual National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest & Festival. That early connection would bloom years later in Austin, Texas, where the trio reconnected. Two years ago, the three hooked up […]