Author: Lee Zimmerman

While one wouldn't necessary suggest that East Nash Grass is out to break boundaries separating bluegrass from any other musical genre, it can be claimed that they've maintained an approach that's both emotional and emphatic in a very specific way.

According to their website, "The Cowpokes play bluegrass and folk the old-fashioned way. No pounding on acoustic instruments like you often see these days, but real, nimble banjo, guitar, and mandolin work, with harmony vocals." The band, which hails from the

Volume Five may have started at a jam session when it first formed in 2008, but in the years since, they've gone on to win some of the most prestigious honors and accolades in all of today's music environs —

Their unusual name aside, Western Montana band Release the Squirrels display an extraordinary amount of skill and savvy their first time out of the box. They may be a rookie band, but they share an old school sound that offers

The Dutch band known as The Willards selected their unusual name by adding a hint of humor as well as interesting observation. Mandolin player Jeroen Jongsma explains. "It's a wink to A) our dear friend Willard, although he is not in the

Concept albums are a fairly rare breed in bluegrass realms. One of the last ones of note was the Hillbenders' cover of the Who's rock opera, Tommy. Consequently, Stillhouse Junkies' The Ballad of Charlie Avalon makes for an interesting diversion.

This latest in the Pickin' On series from CMH Records — albums devoted to reimagining rock classics in the bluegrass vein — Bluegrass Rising seems especially appropriate. After all, Creedence Clearwater Revival built their music on a foundation of Americana, and

Referring to themselves as a "Czech and Austrian Bluegrass Band," New River Train was first formed in 1993, although its actual roots were sown in Czechoslovakia during the early eighties. "The fascination with some tapes of American bluegrass music was

The SteelDrivers have always managed to live up to the tough-as-nails image implied by their handle. Their's is a rocksteady sound that's both determined and decisive. Now, with their debut album for the iconic and recently revived Sun Records label,

Fiddler and singer Corrina Rose Logston Stephens — who goes here by the decidedly abbreviated name Rrinaco — has previously been known as one the principals in the bluegrass band High Fidelity. While making her solo bow for Rebel Records, she