This past Wednesday our Bluegrass Class had the chance to listen to Bluegrass Today author and editor John Lawless. He shared his stories and insights from his time working with the Bluegrass Blog, which would eventually become Bluegrass Today. One…
Month: February 2015
Today’s take on Bluegrass
This past week, my class was given an amazing opportunity to sit down and talk with John Lawless, Co-founder and chief editor of Bluegrass Today. Not only that, but we got to hear him play us a tune on his banjo. It really meant a lot to me personally to have someone as busy as he … Continue reading Today’s take on Bluegrass
Generation 3 Artist Bio: Jerry Douglas
One of the best-known Bluegrass musicians, and possibly the best-known Dobro/lap steel guitar player, Jerry Douglas has had an incredible career. With 13 Grammys and 3 “Musician of the Year” Country Music Awards under his belt, Douglas has set a remarkably high bar for Bluegrass musicians. He’s worked on more than 2,000 albums, recording with the likes of …read more
The Debate of Constant Sorrow
On Wednesday February 25, John Lawless (founder of Bluegrass Today) came to visit our Bluegrass class at Virginia Tech. After reading Chris Pandolfi’s Bluegrass Manifesto, I was able to link concepts between it and Mr. Lawless’ talk. Pandolfi’s Bluegrass Manifesto focuses on the transition from traditional to progressive Bluegrass and the acceptance of the newer […]
Relationships, Bluegrass, and the Kenny and Amanda Smith Band
This passed Wednesday it was a great honor to have John Lawless provide our class with commentary about his lifelong journey with bluegrass. Lawless conveyed many exuberant stories of his friends in the industry. One topic he spoke on that interested me was the strain on relationships that attempting to play music professionally puts on … Continue reading Relationships, Bluegrass, and the Kenny and Amanda Smith Band →
Decisions Decisions
On Wednesday, we were given the opportunity to have John Lawless, head editor of Bluegrass Today, visit our class to talk to us about Bluegrass music and many other interesting topics. One of the things that hit me the most was how quick he was to give his definition of Bluegrass. He told us, “If it has mandolin, … Continue reading Decisions Decisions
Is it Bluegrass?
This week, I was confronted with a pretty simple question. “Is this bluegrass?” John Lawless, editor of the popular site Bluegrass Today, asked us this question, before admitting to registering it as a domain name for a future humor site poking fun at the question and the people who spend their time online asking it. … Continue reading Is it Bluegrass? →
Discussion with John Lawless
This week in class we were lucky enough to meet with John Lawless, main editor and author for Bluegrass Today, one of bluegrass’s top websites for news and information. He has been writing and reporting on bluegrass for over ten years, as well as being a talented banjo player. He discussed several topics with us, … Continue reading Discussion with John Lawless
Accepting A New Generation
In recent years there has been an immense amount of controversy among the bluegrass music fan-base debating one thing: What is bluegrass? With an increasingly large number of bluegrass and “newgrass” bands and artists rising up, the sound of this genre has been changing. Many bluegrass fans from an earlier generation are dismissing the music … Continue reading Accepting A New Generation
My thoughts, and an overview of Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out
Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, by golly what a great more contemporary Bluegrass band. I have had the opportunity to see these guys almost every year for the past 7 years, or so, at the Berryville Bluegrass Series in Berryville, VA. I even had the chance to meet and talk with the band after … Continue reading My thoughts, and an overview of Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out