Bluegrass has been, and still is, a musical genre dominated by white males, usually between the ages of 18 and 40. Why is it that so many other genres today are full of female artists and groups, yet bluegrass has struggled to showcase their female talents? Up until the early 2000’s, very few female bluegrass … Continue reading Gender in Bluegrass Culture
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The Carter Family and Carolina Chocolate Drops
In class we have been discussing the gender, race and class struggles within Bluegrass music. It is clear that Bluegrass was, and to a point, still is, primarily a white men music. Most all of the Bluegrass performers in the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, were white males. The Carter Family was one of … Continue reading The Carter Family and Carolina Chocolate Drops
Gender Shifts in Bluegrass
Bluegrass is historically and presently a male-dominated genre of music (I believe the same goes for any genre of music, with maybe the exception of modern pop). Women in bluegrass typically played the bass–which meant they were in the back of a band. They also played with male family members, which implies a certain scope of dependency … Continue reading Gender Shifts in Bluegrass
Women in Bluegrass
Women in Bluegrass have not always been common and sometimes still receive a second look when performing within the genre today. According to an article by Robert Oermann and Mary Bufwack, “men responded to [women in bluegrass] by shouting derisively … Continue reading →
Learning To Play Mandolin
Since taking this course, one of my goals has been to gain some background about the history and the artists of bluegrass in order to play the mandolin. I wanted to make a post to give some of the resources … Continue reading →
Rock n’ Roll Bluegrass?!
I have been a Bluegrass fan for many years. For some reason I never new some of the traditional Bluegrass players played there own versions of contemporary songs of the 1960’s. A chapter out of text book “The Bluegrass Reader” discussed this interesting time in Bluegrass. From what I have read and heard from my … Continue reading Rock n’ Roll Bluegrass?!
[R]appalachian
My post is a little late this week because it took me a while to decide what topic I wanted to write about. In class, we have been talking about place, influence and genre, incorporating discussion about types of music … Continue reading →
Genres and Artists in Appalachia
Bluegrass is often considered an Appalachian musical genre, and most people associate the tunes of the banjo, fiddle and other instruments to this region. However, bluegrass has roots from all parts of world, with the banjo originally from Africa, the dobro from Hawaii and a medley of musical influences from blues, jazz, folk and other … Continue reading Genres and Artists in Appalachia
What does Bluegrass look like today???
Upon reading “Bluegrass Today” by Neil Rosenberg I saw a few things that I found interesting. The first of which was the fact that it took until 1971 to have the first real book published about the genre when it had been around for so long. But I suppose that it would make some sense … Continue reading What does Bluegrass look like today???
Roots & Sprouts
I have always had an extremely high interest in new music, emerging artists, and the evolution of the sounds of a genre over time. However, in the last several months, after deciding to take a course on bluegrass music, I have redirected my attention to music, both old and new, that has come from my … Continue reading Roots & Sprouts