Tag Archives: Bluegrass Today

Kody Norris Show accept Blue Blaze award at the Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree – photo by Dwayne Page/WJLE radio

Standing on stage in the sweltering heat of a July 4 weekend, The Kody Norris Show accepted the Blue Blaze Award at the 51st annual Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree. The honor gives kudos to a group or individual that “keeps the embers of bluegrass music glowing for future generations.”

“Our mission is first and foremost to carry the music on, to play it forward, and to try to get a younger audience involved all the time so that 80 years down the road we still have bluegrass and traditional country music,” front man Kody Norris told Bluegrass Today July 2 on his tour bus prior to receiving the award. “That’s our goal. An organization like this—they’re all about preserving things that matter, and in my opinion country music really matters. I feel wholeheartedly that this organization will go on for many years.”

Norris, along with his bandmates Mary Rachel Nalley-Norris (fiddle), Josiah Tyree (banjo), and Cousin Charlie Lowman (bass), performed for the enthusiastic Jamboree crowd.

“Everybody’s kind of giving us a forewarning on the heat,” Norris said before the show. “We’re going to try to really do a good job today. I think there will be a whole lot of eyes on us. We’re utterly excited and so happy to be a part of this.”

Norris grew up around the contests scene in places similar to the Jamboree in Smithville, TN.  

“I played a lot of contests growing up in east Tennessee, southwest Virginia, and North Carolina—just the hotbed of the contest world up there. I’ve even been a contest judge quite a bit. Actually, Josiah Tyree, my banjo player, I saw him the first time I was judging the contest at the Wilson County Fair in Lebanon. He won the contest that day. I had my eye on him for quite some time. Contests are very near and dear to my heart.”

Past recipients of the Blue Blaze award include Sierra Hull, Danny Roberts of The Grascals, Darrin Vincent, Jamie Dailey, Ronnie Reno, Michael Cleveland, and Tennessee Mafia Jug Band.

As noted in last month’s Bluegrass Today review of their current album, Alegria, FlamenGrass defy the notion that bluegrass and flamenco are mutually exclusive. The Barcelo-based band — Lluis Gomez (5-string banjo), Carol Duran (violin/fiddle), Maribel Rivero (vocals, stand-up bass), and Javier Vaquero (Spanish guitar) — exude the emotion expressed by the album title (which translates as “Joy” in English) while utilizing their instrumental dexterity in a way that serves both genres well, ensuring a delivery that’s both assured and intriguing. 

Duran, Rivero, and Gomez are veteran musicians who performed as a trio, and worked with other outfits before FlamenGrass took root. They also served as support for American musicians who toured in their native Spain. Vaquero, who Gomez had known for 20 years previously, came on board when the trio decided that a flamenco guitar was needed to complete their combo.

Nevertheless, the mesh of styles came about gradually. “I studied classical and jazz guitar,” Gomez explains. “When I was 15 years old, I began playing electric bass in a hardcore rock band, even though I was always been attracted to folk music. Flamenco is part of Spanish culture, so it always was there for me. When I  began playing bluegrass music, I adapted the flamenco language to my banjo playing, and I think it made sense.”

Gomez arrived at his conclusion in a logical manner, given that his key influences included Earl Scruggs, J.D. Crowe, Bill Keith, Tony Trischka, and Béla Fleck, to name but a few. “Béla has really been an important part of this new banjo language,” Gomez insists. However he also makes it clear that he’s never limited himself in terms of his musical scope or diversity. 

“I have many influences, from classical to jazz and beyond,” he maintains. “In terms of flamenco, Paco de Lucía is the big influence. However, it’s impossible to mention everybody. I think all of us, depending on where we are in our lives, listen to different musicians. Right now, I’m listening to a lot of classical music.”

Happily then, Gomez and his compatriots managed to do justice to the meld of styles and sounds. “I think we respected the soul of both genres, and tried to make something that makes sense,” he suggests. “It’s not enough just to say, it’s a fusion or whatever. I don’t like the word ‘fusion’ to begin with. After all, all music is influenced by different styles, and flamenco and bluegrass are no exception.”

Nevertheless, Gomez concedes that the band’s evolution was, at times, unexpected. “It was a coincidence, and the pandemic forced the process,” he reflects. “Every time we would travel throughout the rest of Europe or, specially, to the USA, people would ask us to play something from our native country. However I would always say, ‘Well, I play the banjo.’ Still, I always wanted to learn bluegrass. A few years before the lockdown, I remember talking with Martino Coppo, Red Wine’s mandolin player, backstage at the La Roche festival and him telling me about wanting to play something from my country. I also had the same conversation with Tony Trischka.”

Ironically, it was the pandemic that helped bring the process to fruition. “When the lockdown arrived, I was really lucky to be part of a weekly Zoom call with banjo colleagues like Jake Schepps, Adam Larrabee, Hank Smith, Nat Torkington. and Béla Fleck,” Gomez says. “That was a dream come true. The first time he appeared on the call, I was speechless! During these calls I asked Béla if he was interested in flamenco, or had ever played flamenco music. Then he started playing, which was amazing enough. He told me, ‘Since you’re from Spain, you have to open this door to the banjo.’ So during these past two years, I’ve shared my process of learning this really difficult language with the rest of the band. Javi  taught me a lot of the language, and, in fact, we trade banjo and flamenco lessons!”

To date, the band have only released the one album, but Gomez says that as individuals, they’ve each recorded prolifically, given the fact that they’ve each been making music for awhile. 

Gomez notes that his first solo album, Quartet, came out in 2007, and that ten years later, he released a follow-up titled Dotze Contes. “Between these two albums, I recorded several others with different musicians, specially three albums with the Barcelona Bluegrass Band, which found Tony Trischka and Alison Brown recording twin banjos with me,” he recalls. “Carol had been a member of a really well known band here called La Carrau, and she’s also been involved in many projects as has Javi, who has released two albums. As for Maribel, she’s a well known, in-demand bass player.”

As a unit, FlamenGrass have performed in a variety of venues, ranging from festivals to clubs and theaters. They also we did an online showcase for IBMA last September 2021.This summer, they’re scheduled to perform at two important European festivals, the Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival and at La Roche. They’ve also been selected to play a showcase at the World Of Beer festival in Raleigh this September. Gomez says that in the meantime, they’re trying to raise the funds to go and perform in person at the World of Bluegrass.

Happily, the reviews the band has received have been overwhelmingly positive. “We’re really pleased with the comments and reactions from friends, music colleagues, and the press,” Gomez maintains. “In general, all the people say that it’s a combination that may have seemed far away, but that it’s really closely-knit acoustic music. We’re really happy with the support we’ve received from so many people.”

Naturally, then, that’s encouraged Gomez to continue to progress. “Right now, I’m really into the flamenco language, and trying to learn the style while also trying to adapt it to the banjo,” he reflects. “That’s been really difficult. However, I was also working for Mel Bay before the pandemic, and they told me to write ten banjo books. As of now, I have three published and I continue to work to finish the others. In addition, I’m writing new material for the next FlamenGrass album. I’m also practicing everyday to improve my playing, because I have a lot of things to learn!”

That said, Gomez offers his own thoughts about why bluegrass is so popular worldwide. 

“I think it’s because you can play music with other people, and it’s a really unique thing,” he responds when asked. “For example, if you go to a pop or rock festival, you go home and that’s about the extent of the experience. However, if you’re going to a bluegrass concert or specifically, a bluegrass festival, there will likely be a jam after the concert is over. That’s a great thing. Since I began playing bluegrass, I’ve made friends all around the world. When people come to see us in Barcelona, the first they ask is, ‘Where’s a jam?’”

In fact, Lluis says the bond runs even deeper. “All the musicians are really humble and great human beings,” he says. “I’ve been lucky enough to meet all my banjo heroes, and I can honestly say that they’re all wonderful people.”

Kentucky mandolin player Nolan Faulkner passed away on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. He was 89 years old.

He was a huge Monroe fan, but also studied Hungarian, gypsy, jazz, and early black blues music to make his style truly unique. 

Lee Nolan Faulkner was born in 1932 in the Bear Pen community, south-west of Campton in Wolfe County, Kentucky (between Lexington and Hazard).

Life was tough on the family farm, but he survived a hand-to-mouth existence until music became part of his life in 1946. He began playing a guitar before switching to mandolin and studying Pee Wee Lambert and Bill Monroe, who featured on radio stations WCYB and WSM respectively.

Faulkner’s first experience in a band came while playing at pie suppers with the King Boys. Following that, when 16 years old, he took over from a guitarist in the Powell County Boys and played in a trio with Harold Booth and Ramah Boyd. They performed on the Kentucky Mountain Barn Dance on radio station WVLK in Lexington, a show that appears have run from September 1949 to May 1951, and featured Flatt & Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers, and the Davis Sisters during that run. 

At the start of the 1950s he joined Dallas Riddell’s band, the Kentucky Troubadours and, while he continued to play guitar, he learned a lot from the group’s mandolin player Johnnie Johnson, notably two-string harmony picking. They performed on WVLK Radio in Richmond, Kentucky and even ventured as far as having gigs in Hamilton, Ohio. 

Having also done some farming back home, Faulkner followed his brother Jim up to Brighton, Michigan and worked for a gravel company, income from which enabled him to buy a new Silvertone mandolin. He stayed with American Aggregate for 15 years. 

It was while in the state that he became aware of Arkansas-born multi-instrumentalist and bluegrass singer/songwriter Red Ellis, then a DJ on Ann Arbor’s WHRV. Faulkner credits Bill Christian (mandolin player with Ellis) with being a further influence. 

Occasionally, Faulkner would play with Ellis and his Huron Valley Boys and circa. May 1963, they recorded two fine original songs – Christmas Is Not Far Away and Home For Christmas, both of which Faulkner co-wrote with Bill Carpenter, their Dobro player. 

While these two seasonal songs can be heard on the Rebel Records’ collection Christmas Time Back Home, they were apparently originally released by the obscure Pathway Records.  

About the same time the band’s recording of Two Little Rosebuds features Faulkner’s vocals. 

During the 1960s Faulkner cut sides for a few obscure labels, such as Sun-Ray, Happy Hearts and Irma.  

Nolan(d) Faulkner & Bill Carpenter – Abraham / The End Of The Day 

Nolan Faulkner and Ed Bryant – Alimony Blues 

This original by Faulkner reflected his personal circumstances at the time. 

While at the University of Michigan, Doug Green (the Blue Grass Boys and Riders in the Sky) got his start in the music business with Faulkner. 

He continued to be a big influence on many bluegrass musicians in the Detroit area, and that was cemented by his collaboration with The Miller Brothers. 

After meeting Earl Miller – a fellow Kentuckian – in a tavern in the Walled Lake district of Detroit, Faulkner joined him and his brothers – Charlie and James. 

They worked together during the early to mid-1970s playing barroom-style bluegrass, reminiscent of two decades earlier, with lots of bluesy notes. Faulkner is quoted as saying, “We were brought up real hard. That kind of music we played, you kind of played the way you felt. Everybody can’t play that kind of music – with that blues in it.”

The Miller Brothers recorded material for four LPs and three singles, two sides being released in 7” format only. 

Subsequently, Faulkner and James Miller released three albums. 

However, before that Faulkner cut an all-instrumental The Legendary Kentucky Mandolin Of Nolan Faulkner (he penned all but one of the featured tunes) LP.

Throughout the 1970s Faulkner was in great demand in the studio with sometimes uncredited recordings with Lee Allen; Wendy Miller & Mike Lilly; Bob Smallwood; Larry Sparks; Wade Mainer; Joe Meadows; Clyde Moody; Charlie Moore; and John Hunley’s Kentuckians. 

Lee Allen with Nolan Faulkner – Praise God I’m Ready To Go 

Nolan Faulkner and Wendy Miller – Twin Mandolin Waltz

Also, he Filled in with The Case Brothers occasionally during the latter part of the decade.  

In 1979 Faulkner was critically wounded by a gunman and he had to have extensive treatment, recuperation, and prolonged therapy that included learning to walk again. 

As a consequence, he was unable continue doing any heavy-duty jobs and Faulkner returned to work with John Hunley, and travelled and recorded with Roy McGinnis and the Sunnysiders, Robert White and the Candy Mountain Boys, as well as James Miller. 

Nolan Faulkner and James Miller – Knocking On Your Door (circa. 1990)

Dana Cupp, with whom Faulkner started The Cass Valley Ramblers in 2012, said … 

“Nolan has been such a tremendous influence on me since I met him back in the ’70s. He always encouraged me and helped me with my music.”

Among the other songs that he wrote are Alimony Blues, Empty Cradle, Playing Hard To Get, Lonesome Wind, Changed, Afraid To Be Afraid, Lexington Girl, and Ham Tramack (sic.) Waltz. 

Having lived in Michigan for so many years, Faulkner returned to home state recently. 

R.I.P., Nolan Faulkner 

A Discography 

Nolan Faulkner

• The Legendary Kentucky Mandolin Of Nolan Faulkner (Old Homestead OHS 90064, released 1976)
• Nolan Faulkner and James Miller (Old Homestead OHS 80041, 1981)
• Land of the Thoroughbred (Niptune NPB 014, 1990) with James Miller (cassette)
• From The Heart Of Bluegrass (Old Homestead OHS 80099, 1991) with James Miller (cassette) 
• Black Robe/Alimony Blues (Irma FB 102, 1969), with Ed Bryant and the Big Sandy Boys

Noland (sic.) Faulkner & Bill Carpenter

• Abraham/The End Of The Day (Sun-Ray SRR 113, 196?)  

Red Ellis

• Two Little Rosebuds
• Old Time Religion Bluegrass Style (Starday SLP-273, May 1964) 

The Miller Brothers

• Teenage Angel In Heaven (Jessup Michigan Bluegrass MB 117, 1972)
• Sacred Songs With A Down Home Flavor (Old Homestead OHS 90005, 1972)
• Detroit Blues (Old Homestead OHS 90022, 1973)
• Bluegrass Sound Of The Miller Brothers (Old Homestead OHS 90039, 1974)
• I’m Losing My Family (And Breaking Up My Home)/That Old Moon (Old Homestead 45-5006, 1973)

Lee Allen And The Dew Mountain Boys

• Lee Allen with Nolan Faulkner – Praise God I’m Ready To Go
• Sacred Songs And Mountain Ballads (Old Homestead OHS-90006, 1972) 

Wendy Miller & Mike Lilly

• Twin Mandolin Waltz
• New Grass Instrumentals (Old Homestead OHS 90017, 1972)

Bob Smallwood

• Have You Seen Papa’s Coal Loadin’ Hands (Old Homestead OHS-90021, 1973)

Roy McGinnis and The Sunnysiders

• Sacred Songs Of Life (Old Homestead OHS-70015, ca. November 1977)
• Bluegrass (Old Homestead OHS-80071, 1985)

Joe Meadows

• Black Mountain Rag – West Virginia Fiddler (Old Homestead 90076, 1977) 

John Hunley’s Kentuckians

• John Hunley’s Kentuckians (Old Homestead OHS-80022, 1979) 

Various Artists

• Christmas Time Back Home (Rebel Records REB-1600, 1980)

Bluegrass Today gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Gary B Reid, who found some lesser-known facts and confirmed others.  

The following is a thoughtful article originally shared on Facebook last week by Rachel Hurley, a long time music industry professional and writer. She currently runs her own publicity firm, Sweetheart Pub, which provides services to a great many artists in the acoustic and Americana world. Rachel has also worked as a music supervisor and talent buyer, and has written for major newspapers, worked at cable music channels, live concert events, at a record label, at a legendary recording studio, and as a publicist for many years.

Here she shares her thoughts on Spotify and the many arguments that the company’s actions raise in music circles. Rachel brings forth many trenchant and cogent thoughts on issues like the rates Spotify pays to artists, and the value of the service to the musicians with whom she works.

We commend her article to all our readers, not as an official statement from Bluegrass Today, but for rational consideration of a debate that continues to rage within our industry. It appears with her permission.

You can subscribe to her Sweetheart Pub newsletter on SubStack.

As always, your comments are welcome.

This is probably a bad idea.

Okay. I’m going to say my piece about Spotify. I realize that some people won’t like what I have to say, so here goes nothing.

Spotify and streaming are not the problem. Too much music is.

With the Neil Young vs. Joe Rogan battle coming to a head this week and Neil Young losing (what a poorly thought out maneuver that was 🙄), I’ve seen a renewed battle cry about Spotify being some demon corporation that devalues music and keeps musicians from making a living.

It’s hard to take seriously anyone who thinks that quitting Spotify will have any impact on anything. It feels performative and hollow. It doesn’t present any viable solution. And it tells me that they obviously have not looked at the numbers.

Streaming has been around for over a decade, plenty of time for musicians to unite and form a union or an advocacy group that could study Spotify’s extremely transparent numbers and come up with a more fair payment plan. But no one has and that’s because the math doesn’t work.

Even if Spotify doubled what they paid out, which they can’t afford to do, it would make no significant difference.

Streaming isn’t keeping musicians from making a living. The real issue is that music is an over saturated market. There are too many musicians and too much music. Spotify estimates that there are 60k songs uploaded to their platform DAILY. Now think about how much music is uploaded to Soundcloud, Youtube, Tidal, Apple, Amazon, and on and on and on.

You know the whole economic theory about the more there is of something, the less it’s worth?

The barrier to becoming a musician has been lowered to the ground. And that’s great in terms of giving everyone equal access, but due to the influx of people participating, well, that’s what has devalued the product.

If diamonds grew on trees we could get a basket of them at the corner market for $3.99.

Plus, the lower bar hasn’t created an influx of more musical geniuses, but it has given us an abundance of very good musicians. The downside to so much great music is it’s harder for individual musicians to rise to the top. I listen to and read about music for a living, and I still can’t keep up with all of the good music just in my niche. Every single day I come across new music from new artists.
The simple truth is that the market can not supply every good musician with a full time living making music. If NO ONE created another song from this moment on, you would still never get through all of the music that has already been made. As a matter of fact, the popularity of catalogue music, songs more than 18 months old, rose from 60.8% in 2018 to 66.4% in 2021. In sharp contrast, new music listenership is falling. That’s why all of these legacy artists are selling their catalogs right now. Investors are forecasting that older music can be repackaged for commercials, tv, movies, etc and bring in major dollars. Yes, this is something that has been done in the past by individual artists, but now there are going to be one-stop-shops where you can choose from a David Bowie, Prince, Fleetwood Mac, NEIL YOUNG, or John Lennon song. Publishing rights usually stay with publishers and songwriters and recorded rights belong to labels and performers, but with companies like Hipignosis spending 100s of millions to purchase back catalogues, it will be easier than ever to purchase rights to use this older music.

But I digress. Back to musicians making a living from music.

There was ONE golden period in the mid to late 20th century when a significant number of musicians and the music business were able to harness the market well enough that it really seemed like being a successful professional musician meant being well paid (even though they were all ripping each other off back then too.) The truth is, there was still always a very limited number, as compared to other professions, of musicians who were able to make a good living from music for an extended period of time. For the majority of musicians, just having a 2 to 3 successful album cycle was an epic win. And most professional musicians still made a low to middle class salary, it was only after the idea of the musical star was born that a limited number started raking in the big bucks.

For the majority of human civilization, making a living from being a musician was obtainable by a very small number of people. Music used to be just passed on through friends, families, communities, churches, etc. Music as a commodity is fairly new. Before the idea to sell music on a large scale came about, once you heard a song, it was yours forever, because the only way to hear it again would be to sing it yourself. We as humans have over-glamorized and overvalued music. It’s a natural, abundant resource that the majority of humans can create. Just about anyone can learn to play an instrument. It’s no harder than any other skilled profession, the only thing you really need is time. Human brains love patterns and patterns create dopamine, we are biologically wired to love and make music.

Obviously, the invention of the phonograph, record players, radio, television, etc had a huge impact on people’s relationships with music, but none more so than the internet. The World Wide Web has made it very easy for people to be extremely well versed in music: to know its history, to learn to play it, to learn theory, recording techniques, network with other musicians, book shows, market their music, etc etc etc. I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who would argue that this low bar of entry has been detrimental to the evolution of music. But what it HAS been detrimental too is the selling of music.

Fans have a finite amount of time and money to expend on musicians and listeners are spending more today than they ever have in history. Music listening is up 10% since 2020. 10% is HUGE.
But for every 10 musicians the average person might be a fan of, they only have the time and money to support 2 or 3. I realize that most of the people reading this are probably hard core music fans, but I’m talking about the average person, whose attention is being pulled by an inordinate amount of entertainment options like tv, movies, social media, books, video games, and other hobbies. Add this to the before mentioned love of older music, or music by musicians that listeners no longer feel the need to support financially, and herein lies our conundrum.

It’s simple supply versus demand.

Not to mention, that streaming services and social media have over inflated most musicians’ sense of their fanbase. Are people who have never purchased anything from a musician really fans? Or should we change the valuation system from people who clicked a button to follow them with people who are actual customers, because measuring a fanbase based on streaming and social numbers is a complete fallacy.

It’s not that difficult for a song to reach 100,000 streams if added to the right playlist, but that doesn’t mean 100,000 people liked the song. You can gauge true interest in the artist by looking at the streams of all of their songs. You can have 100k streams on one song and an average of 2k on your other songs. This tells me that your song with the high streams is not converting people to listen to your other music. But the artists often look at it like they have a ton of streams which means they have a large fan base and their not making the amount of money that they think is equivalent to the amount of people listening, when in fact, all that’s really happened is 100,000 people got to sample a song and it didn’t convert. But without streaming services, they would never have had that opportunity in the first place.

I often feel like I am in a giant feedback loop of people saying that Spotify is stealing money from artists without anyone ever acknowledging the massive benefits of streaming. And I don’t just mean the convenience of it. Most people would never have access to such a huge variety of music and on the flip side of that, so many musicians would not have access to such a variety of fans. Streaming has allowed so many different styles, genres, and people to enter the conversation. It has also knocked down the income barrier, giving those with less money access to the same variety of music as those with plenty of disposable income.

Do you remember the time between ages, say 12 and 18, when music was SO important to your life? Well, not every teenager has access to the money to purchase music from all of the artists they love. Only 17% of teenagers work. And we all have way more bills than we did 20 years ago. At the height of my music purchasing time period, I wasn’t also paying for a cell phone, internet, all the streaming accounts, etc etc. Streaming makes music accessible to everyone and has expanded our horizons exponentially, affecting every aspect of our culture.

So, should musicians just give away their music for free?

Well, they do and they always have, and they always will.

But no one is making anyone give their music away. No one is making anyone put their music on streaming services. They can just sell their music the old-fashioned way. But most musicians won’t go this route, because they know the enormous opportunities, NOT GUARANTEES, that streaming services give them.

The fact is most bands that have listeners on streaming services, would not sell an equivalent amount of records. I listen to hundreds of records every year, but I would not purchase 100 records a year, due to the laws of time, space, and money. With streaming I can read about an artist and immediately go check them out. If I had to go purchase an album every time I wanted to listen to someone’s music, well, I just wouldn’t do it.

I also never see anyone talk about all the negatives of purchasing music before streaming. Like, it was sort of a scam, and definitely a seller’s market. If you’re over 40, how many times did you buy an album because you heard a song on the radio, and the rest of the album was terrible. Or you bought an album and listened to it 3 times and then just forgot about it. Or you bought an album because of the cover, and again, it was not good. How many times did one of your LPs break or melt, or your CDs get stepped on and shattered, or even stolen. How many CDs are sitting in landfills? How many of your cassette tapes got jammed in your car stereo or just stopped playing? I do not want to go back to any of that. The pendulum has swung and now listeners have more power. But that doesn’t mean that it can’t swing again and become more even. More on that later.

Let’s talk about the math of paying musicians more for their music streams, even if some of those streams are just people sampling their music who would never actually purchase anything from them.
It’s with an uncritical eye that anyone could look at Spotify’s revenue and think that they should just pay more and that would solve everything.

First of all, only 15% of Spotify’s artist base made over $1000 in streams in 2020 – (and streams count whether people listened and hated it or played via algorithmic playlist that the listener had no control over. ) So let’s say that 15% is the number of musicians on their platform with actual fan bases. It’s not an exact analogy, but it works for this discussion.

That dollar amount seems paltry until you add in the context that that 15% was over 187,000 artists. Now, $1000 is just the minimum amount paid out to be a part of this top 15%. But to keep it simple, let’s say they gave 187000 artists $1000. That’s 187 million dollars. Some of these artists have streams in the billions. 13000 of those made over 50k. They are paying out a LOT of money spread out among a lot of artists.

In 2020, Spotify brought in 8 billion dollars in revenue – NOT profit. As a matter of fact, Spotify has never published an operating profit. In 2020, it posted a 581 million euro loss. But just for fun, let’s say you you took every dime of their revenue – and they didn’t pay their CEO, or a single employee, electricity bill, server cost, marketing – (and on and on) and split that money between the artists with enough streams to make 1000 bucks – that would only be $4200 bucks per artist. Now split that between the publisher and the songwriter and the band members and the manager, etc, and that is hardly enough for anyone to live off of.

According to Business Insider, Spotify pays rights-holders between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream on average. Approximately 70 percent of the total revenue earned per stream goes to the artist, while the rest is absorbed by the platform itself. So in order to double what Spotify pays artists, they would have to raise their revenue to at least 13 billion dollars.

I also see people say that if they took away the crazy salaries of their top executives, you could use that money to pay musicians. The salaries of many higher ups at Spotify may seem outrageous, I get it – but if you paid Spotify’s top 11 executives nothing at all, it would literally have no effect on the amounts paid to musicians. It would be like taking away someone’s extravagant dinner to solve the hunger problem of a major city.

The ONLY way to raise the monetary amount that musicians make from streaming is to raise streaming prices SIGNIFICANTLY for consumers.

But it’s hard for any streaming company to do that since they all offer basically the same product. If Spotify raised their subscriber fee to 19.99 a month, people would just switch to Apple or Tidal, if those 2 services also raised their rates, people would switch to Youtube. If they ALL raised their rates, a new service would just come in and undercut them all. You should never underestimate the average person’s total disregard for if someone is getting paid enough for the product they are purchasing. They just want the product at the cheapest price available.

And let’s say that you could get an across the board payment hike on streaming services, well now you’ve started to price some people out. And you’re probably definitely going to damage the discovery aspect of streaming services. If Spotify had to pay a significant amount to artists whose songs their algorithms and editorial playlists served to their customers, that would be like them paying to promote the music themselves.

But the HUGE problem, that I’ve never seen anyone address, is that as time goes on, the economics of streaming only get worse. There are still 60k songs being uploaded daily – which means there is even more music to listen to and more musicians who want a cut of the pie. The song pool is further diluted. Which means the amount of money that can be garnered from streaming can only diminish no matter how much you charge customers to access it. The only way to make the math work is to limit the amount of music on Spotify while still significantly increasing their user base.

So why do I continue to work with musicians when I think that the market is oversaturated and selling music can’t lead to a full-time living for the majority of musicians?

Because I don’t think the modern day music business is solely about music. I think it’s about the people behind the music. It’s a total package game. You’ve got to be a good musician, a good performer, a good storyteller, a good marketer, and basically be good at having people buy into YOU. Sometimes it’s hard to gauge exactly what the thing is that makes a person drawn to someone, but if you do it right, they’ll be your lifelong fan and they’ll buy whatever you’re selling. Just go take a look at Taylor Swift’s merch store.

The musician is the brand and the music is just one of the products. People will buy stuff from musicians that have value – whether it’s tickets to a show or live stream, t-shirts, specialty products, one on ones, VIP packages, music lessons, deluxe editions, demos, books, etc etc. Musicians are only limited by their own creativity when it comes to selling products.

Personally, I think making money is easy. Just like learning an instrument, it may take time and effort to become adept at it, but the steps are pretty simple. Build your audience through building connections with them, get to know your audience, provide products for your audience that have value.

All you have to do to be successful as a musician is know who you are, what you stand for, have a story to tell and SERVE your audience rather than have them serve you. Hell, you don’t even have to be a good musician. There are plenty of bad ones out there making money.

Musicians get upset because they JUST want to play music and not have to do the business part. But business owners are the ones who make the money. Making music and making money are two very distinct talents. You can be a musician and not sell your music. There’s no shame in that. But if you want to make money from your music, you’re going to have to have an entrepreneurial outlook. This means you’re going to have to learn and perform tasks that make your business profitable. Sure, I’d love to just do the fun parts of my job, but I own a business, so I have to do tons of stuff above and beyond just publicity.

The reason why you’ll never hear me complain about these conditions is because I know that working in the music business is a privilege. I work in an industry that’s only goal is pleasure. New music is not needed. “Paid Musician” is not a job that society needs. As mentioned before, we have plenty of music to last any individual a lifetime. Plus, people will alway make and play music, even if they outlawed anyone ever making a dime from it again.

In conclusion, I believe streaming has been vastly beneficial. I don’t believe that it is keeping anyone from making a fair living, there are other far more likely factors that have affected the economics of musicians, the most important one being the over abundance of them. I think that it is naive for musicians to hold Spotify accountable for not paying them money that doesn’t exist for streams from listeners that they probably would not have without streaming. I think that all of this energy bashing Spotify was wasted when it could have been used to find a solution. Maybe there’s a tiered subscription plan option, or after you stream a song so many times you own it, or after your song hits a certain amount of streams, you no longer get paid for it and the money goes to less popular artists who need the money more, or maybe, and I can hear some of you groaning, NFTs and Web3 streaming will solve a lot of these problems.

I saw quite a few people on Twitter cheering that Spotify lost 2 billion dollars this week due to the Neil Young controversy. I don’t understand that. Spotify is not a person. It’s a publicly traded company, so it was really just people with individual investments and people with retirement funds that lost money. And with NO solution being offered by the naysayers, it was all for nothing.

I’m not some corporate apologist, free market worshipping, Ayn Rand fan. I just like to look at the full picture of situations and acknowledge that there are hardly ever any easy answers. Nothing I saw this week came close to actually solving any problems, because that takes time and effort, something that few people want to actually do.

If you want to disagree with me on my position, that’s fine, I’d love to hear your fact-based plan on how to keep all of the benefits that Spotify provides and make it a viable income stream. But be ready to show your work.

Rachel Hurley, Sweetheart Pub

Bob Loyce Moore, who passed away on September 22, 2021, was a charter member of Nashville’s original studio A-Team, with over 17,000 documented recording sessions. He played upright bass for top country music acts such as Patsy Cline, Sammi Smith, Kenny Rogers, Roger Miller, Marty Robbins, George Jones, Conway Twitty, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, and Jeannie C. Riley. Some of the recordings on which he is featured were #1 country singles

He also worked in the studio with a diverse set of artists, including Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Brook Benton, Simon & Garfunkel, Brenda Lee, Bobby Darin, Connie Francis, and Bob Dylan. 

Having gotten his start with the Grand Ole Opry comedy team Jamup and Honey, Moore went onto become a very talented musician and arranger leading his own orchestra for 20 years. He lifted bass playing out of the shadows and brought it to a greater prominence in Nashville. No longer was the role to be simply associated with slapstick and disguise. 

In common with so many of the very best he had a way of pulling a string that got a better tone and volume from a bass. Moore owes this to a strong right hand, gained from working on it from an early age. 

With those musical skills he also embraced the challenges of bluegrass music. Beginning in 1952 he worked with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs; from Monday to Friday, he awoke at 4.00 a.m. to accompany them on their live, 15-minute WSM show. 

While part of the Foggy Mountain Boys Moore did two sessions (in August 1953) both at the famous Castle Studio at The Tulane Hotel in Nashville. During the first Moore played bass on four songs, and during the following afternoon he helped on four more cuts. All but two cuts were released on singles.  

I’ll Go Stepping Too (Columbia 21179) was recorded on August 29, 1953 

 About two years later, on a Saturday afternoon in September, Moore again assisted Flatt and Scruggs as they recorded four Gospel songs, one of which was Bubbling In My Soul ….

All the tracks are on the 2-CD set Flatt & Scruggs Foggy Mountain Gospel (Columbia C2K 92574, 2005). 

Also, the Flatt & Scruggs recordings from the first decade (or so) are on a Bear Family box-set Flatt & Scruggs – 1948-1959 (BCD 15472 DH (4CDs), 1991)

Towards the end their partnership Flatt and Scruggs called upon Bob Moore to work with them on a few occasions. In September 1966 he worked on one number Why Can’t I Find Myself With You, while in May the following year they recorded five songs three of which remained unissued. 

One single California Up Tight Band/Last Train To Clarksville (Columbia 4-44194) first appeared on the Billboard chart during July 1967, peaking at #20.  

[Material like this didn’t really suit Lester Flatt and was a part of the reason he eventually parted ways with Earl Scruggs.] 

Then, during 1968 and 1969 Moore took part in six sessions at the Columbia Recording Studio A, in the Music Row area, with Flatt & Scruggs, recordings that are included on the LPs Nashville Airplane (Columbia CS 9741) and Final Fling-One Last Time (Just For Kicks) (Columbia CS 9945). 

Recordings from the last five years are documented on Flatt & Scruggs – 1964-1969, plus (Bear Family Records BCD 15879 FI (6 CDs), 1995). 

From June 1952 to March 1953 Moore played on 16 of Jim & Jesse McReynolds’s 20 sides for Capitol Records. Seven singles were released the first being in September 1952 and the last during June 1955. 

I’ll Wash Your Love from My Heart was the first song recorded at the June 1952 session …. 

Two songs Waiting For A Message and Two Arms To Hold Me were not issued until the release in 1969 of Twenty Great Songs by Jim & Jesse The McReynolds Bros (Capitol Records DTBB-264). 

All of the Capitol recordings were reissued on Jim & Jesse, 1952-1955 (Bear Family BCD-15635) in 1992, while Jim & Jesse – First Sounds: The Capitol Years (Capitol Nashville 72435-42065-2-8, 2002) is devoted to those 16 cuts on which Moore played. 

In February 1969 Moore was again in the studio with the brothers as they did five tracks for the Jim And Jesse – Saluting The Louvin Brothers LP (Epic BN-26465, May 1969), their penultimate album for the label. These consisted of Must You Throw Dirt In My Face, When I Stop Dreaming, Knoxville Girl, I Take The Chance and I’m Hoping That You’re Hoping, all of which are included on the 5-CD box-set from 1994; Bluegrass And More (Bear Family Records BCD 15716 EI). 

Another well-known act with whom Moore recorded was the Osborne Brothers, initially helping them out in September and October 1971. During the first session they did three numbers for their Country Roads LP (Decca DL 75321, 1971), and during the following month they cut three more songs all of which were released on the album Bobby & Sonny (Decca DL 75356, 1972). For all of them Moore used an electric bass. 

The brothers recorded Merle Haggard’s Shelly’s Winter Love on September 28, 1971…. 

Not surprisingly, Richard Weize re-issued these in another box set (4-CDs); The Osborne Brothers, 1968-1974 (Bear Family Records BCD 15748 DI, 1995). 

They were reunited in the studio early in 1978 when they gathered at the Hilltop Recording Studios in Madison where they laid down tracks for The Osborne Brothers’ Bluegrass Collection (CMH 9011, 1978) (2 LPs). These 24 “contemporary recordings of outstanding and memorable bluegrass compositions” gave Moore a real test of his bluegrass chops. In 1989 the label re-released all of this material on a CD (also CMH 9011). 

For a while – during the years 1975 onto 1980 – The Lewis Family, the bluegrass Gospel musicians from Lincolnton, Georgia, had some recording sessions in the Nashville area with Bob Moore on bass. All were for the Southern Gospel label Canaan Records, based in Waco, Texas. 

Together they recorded four LPs in the name of the Lewis Family – Absolutely Lewis! (Canaan CAS-9764, released August 1975); Lewis Family Style Gospel (CAS-9782, May 1976); Country Faith (CAS-9820, 1977); and Wrapped With Grace And Tied With Love (CAS-9836, ca. November 1978) – and two – Little Roy Lewis – Entertainer (Canaan CAS-9811, 1977) and Super Pickin’ (CAS-9870, 1980) showcasing Little Roy Lewis’s individual talents. 

You Can’t Be A Beacon is the opening track to the Absolutely Lewis! LP … 

Bob Moore also recorded with Japanese bluegrass and country singer and multi-instrumentalist/promoter Kazuhiro Inaba. On the first occasion, at The Fiddle House, Nashville, on May 23, 2002, they did 10 tracks; most of the material, including five songs penned by Hank Williams, was predominantly from the country music catalogue. 

These are on the album Teardrop On A Rose (Copper Creek Records CCCD-0216, 2003). 

Inaba shares these thoughts on working with Moore …. 

“Everyone has a dream. Every musician has a dream to record with his or her heroes. I had a dream to record with one of the best bassists, Bob Moore, ever since I listened to a lot of recordings of him especially with the Statler Brothers during 1970s and the Osborne Brothers’ Bluegrass Collection.

It happened when I recorded my Teardrop On A Rose album (previously Copper Creek Records and now Southern Breeze Records) in 2002. I asked Buddy Spicher to get him for me. I had a reckless plan to record 10 vocal songs in one day in Nashville while I conducted my small tour group from Japan. It was a crazy plan for me to see now, but it did happen, and we, Buddy Spicher, Bob Moore, Keith Little, and Kathy Chiavola, got it done! It took us 10 or 12 hours in the studio without dinner break. Everyone was so co-operative and they understood the situation, and I didn’t hear any complaints. Bob Moore’s playing and his notes are so incredible, and Keith Little expressed ‘his playing was like a freight train!’

In 2009, I had another opportunity to record a country album called Country Heart (Southern Breeze Records), and I was so lucky and fortunate to record with those Nashville A-team session players like Lloyd Green, Pete Wade, Hargus ‘Pig’ Robbins, Charlie McCoy, and again with Buddy Spicher and Bob Moore. My friend and mentor, Buddy Spicher, called them up for me at Burns Station Studio, and they hugged each other and talked about the good old days. It was truly their ‘reunion.’ We spent two days for recordings – four 3-hour sessions.

Right before the first recording session started, a noted bassist, Dennis Crouch, brought his old RCA microphone for Bob. I realized how much Dennis admired Bob. 

Bob was always reliable on what he did, and cheerful at the studio.

About 10 years ago or so, I talked with Sonny Osborne. All of a sudden, Sonny told me that he really enjoyed listening to Bob’s playing on the Osborne Brothers’ Bluegrass Collection with such an excitement. I told Sonny that we knew it and enjoyed it since some decades ago. It seemed Sonny didn’t have time to listen to the bass carefully before his retirement. Sonny did love Bob’s playing and he was blown away by what Bob played.”

As intimated, the subsequent sessions were more country music inclined. Country Heart (Southern Breeze Records SBR-9001, 2009) features some standard 1950s country songs/tunes, an old folk song, and a couple of western swing classics. 

Moore, as part of the A-Team, was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007.

R.I.P. Bob Moore 

(November 30, 1932 – September 22, 2021) 

Bluegrass Today gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Kent Blanton, Gary B Reid, and Kazuhiro Inaba. 

Covering someone else’s song isn’t necessarily an achievement. If it’s done consistently, it becomes either a pale excuse for a lack of original material, or a fallback position to keep an audience satisfied while biding time until one’s muse returns. On the other hand, taking a well-known tune and interpreting it in a way that’s original and unexpected can become a feat in itself, and indeed, a sign of skill and savvy. 

The Goodfellers seem to get that, and on their excellent new album, Love Somebody, this highly praised ensemble pursues that tack with skill, passion, and polish. It boasts eight well-chosen covers from pop and rock music, and while some find a clear connection to bluegrass — Peter Rowan’s Last Train and David Grisman’s E.M.D. being two of the more obvious examples — other offerings may at first seem somewhat unexpected. Their remarkable version of the Bee Gees To Love Somebody — which, not surprisingly, debuted at #1 our own Bluegrass Today Grassicana chart — is a perfect example, a melding of a beautiful melody, sincere sentiment, and an articulate arrangement courtesy of its massed mandolins. The result plies the basics of bluegrass while conveying an innate organic appeal. More surprising still is the band’s take on U2’s Where the Streets Have No Name, shared here with the passionate determination of the original, and steady banjo picking for additional emphasis.

That’s not to say that the music deters from its essential origins. Songs such as Get In the Wind, Somebody Loves You, Darling, and I Know Where Love Lives (featuring John Cowan and Pat Flynn on backing vocals) provide an ideal mesh of tone and technique, even while emphasizing an accessibility factor to an even greater degree.

Ultimately, this is quite the skillful bunch. Lead singer Teddy Barneycastle has an engaging presence that brings each song into full focus. Guitarist Kyser George, vocalist, bassist and reso-guitar player David George, singer and mandolin player Ralph McGee, banjo player Tommy “Moss” Morse, and guest banjo pickers Hersie McMillian and Rex McGree, each make an emphatic contribution of their own.

It’s a team effort to be sure, one that creates a perfect formula all round. Taken in tandem, Love Somebody reflects the endearing sentiments its title implies.

Rick Faris can claim an impressive backstory, one which found him well equipped to pursue his prowess as both a picker and performer. His father was a touring bluegrass musician who had the distinction of playing at the Grand Ole Opry, as well as making appearances on Hee-Haw and Nashville Now. Faris himself had a role in the Faris Family Band, a touring outfit that spent twelve years on the road while weaving its way through the festival circuit, and sharing their skills with students in schools across the country. His big break came when he was recruited by Greg Cahill to audition for Special Consensus, trading his guitar for a mandolin and helping the band reap a pair of Grammy nominations and several nods from the IBMA.

Faris’ first album, Breaking In Lonesome, provided an avenue for establishing himself as a solo star, winning him kudos from Bluegrass Today and any number of other esteemed publications. With his sophomore set, The Next Mountain, he’s taken another significant step forward, courtesy of a dozen songs that show an astute ability to shift his stance as needed, whether engaging in upbeat, effusive offerings such as Deep River, I’m Asking You Today, Evil Hearted You, and Time To Move On, or the more reflective rumination found in What I’ve Learned, Laurel of the Mountains, and Tall Fall. He’s assisted in these endeavors by a superb supporting cast that includes Ronnie Bowman, Sam Bush, Ronnie McCoury, Rob McCoury, and Mike Bub, among many others, but it’s to Faris’ credit that his singing and picking still manage to take center stage.

Given his credentials, it’s hardly surprising that Faris has created such a naturally engaging and enticing offering. Beyond the quality of the songs themselves — all of which Faris had a hand in writing — the musicianship is first rate, practically a given considering those that are involved. The fact that the melodies and arrangements fit so well in sync makes it clear that even at this point in his career, Faris is firing on all cylinders. It’s not hard to imagine that his efforts will result in contention for various best-of lists at the end of the year. At the very least, The Next Mountain ought to take Faris to the next plateau.

A favorite voice for many in the bluegrass world is Shawn Lane, whose instantly recognizable vocals have graced a multitude of top tracks from Blue Highway, as well as several hits under his own name. While lots of bluegrass male vocalists today find their singing influences in country music, Lane’s sound has always harkened back to his southwest Virginia upbringings, with shades of Ralph Stanley’s mountain tones mixed with a singer-songwriter sensibility. On his latest effort, a seven-song EP called Family & Friends, Lane effortlessly mixes those two styles, giving listeners a tight, concise record that will certainly leave them wanting more.

The EP title is certainly apt, with Lane’s supporting cast consisting of family harmonies (sons Garrett and Grayson Lane, brother Chad Lane), and several well-known friends as the studio band (Barry Bales on bass, Clay Hess contributing guitar on several tracks, banjo from Patton Wages, and Gaven Largent’s dobro). The songs, including six written or co-written by Lane, slip effortlessly from banjo-fueled traditional drive, to lonesome mountain Gospel, to softer folk sounds.

A few songs from the EP have already found much success on the radio and charts. Opening track I Met the Man spent over six months in the Bluegrass Today Gospel Top 10, with seven weeks of that at number one. It’s certainly a powerful number, based on the true story of Lane’s father’s recovery from a stroke and coma. Wages’ gritty banjo and urgent mandolin from Lane underscore the moving words of a man pulled back from death: “Thought I was gone, but He had another plan, I met the man.” This song pairs nicely with the a cappella, Stanley-esque I’ll Wear a White Robe. Sung in a call-and-response style, the clear, resonant vocals will grab listeners’ attention immediately.

The other radio hit, One More, has a gently rolling singer-songwriter vibe. Lane penned the song with Ronnie Bowman, and it shares an uplifting message of hope after struggles and pain. A solid bass backing from Bales accompanies Largent’s fine dobro work. American Factory Town, written with Bales, has a similar feel. Filled with images of a working-class town hit hard by shifts in the economy, it goes for optimism instead of blame and anger. “I’m proud to have the ones who stayed to tough it out, cause we’re all American-made. We won’t stay down, so don’t you underestimate what we’ll be,” Lane sings, personifying the town itself. 

Rounding out the EP are a pair of modern traditional numbers and a thoughtful love song that calls to mind James Taylor. Free as the Wind has Richard Bennett as a co-writer, and it has a definite Bennett vibe to it, with a breezy sound that mimics the narrator’s journey across Texas. Wages’ banjo leads Footsteps Falling, which is probably the closest thing to a Blue Highway song here, with its full band sound and hints of desperation in Lane’s voice. New Days, written with Gerald Ellenburg, is a winding, poignant piece that finds the singer recovering from many hard years with the discovery of a new love. 

With Family & Friends, Lane offers listeners plenty of hope and encouragement in a year when they’ve been difficult to find. The seven songs here are all well-written, with enough variety in their content and sounds that it keeps you hitting the rewind button to listen through once more. As with many EPs, the only complaint I have is that I wish there was more.

For more information on Shawn Lane, or to purchase his new EP, visit him online.

We had an unexpected treat today when Sammy Passamano with 615 Hideaway brought Hillary Klug down to the media room at World of Bluegrass to perform a mini showcase for us. Hillary played fiddle, sang, and accompanied herself buck dancing, supported by Cristina Vane on banjo and Evan Winsor on guitar.

Hillary has established a reputation as a bluegrass/old time entertainer through her viral videos on YouTube and Facebook, with some reaching more than four million views. She is a buck dancing champion, and combines the two skills in a pleasing and engaging fashion, earning her this substantial following. This tasty merging of techniques came about organically several years back when Klug was busking on the streets of Nashville. One chilly afternoon, with passersby passing her by, she added some footwork to help stay warm, and found that suddenly people were stopping to admire her performance. Ever since, she is known as the buck dancing fiddler with the long blonde hair.

Cristina is a noted performer on her own merit, working both in the old time and roots music world, and in classic rock and blues as well. Her debut project, Nowhere Sounds Lovely, is available online. 

Evan is not only an accomplished Nashville multi-instrumentalist, he is Hillary’s fiancé.

Here is their impromptu take on The Cuckoo.

They also recorded a video of Cristina singing Way Down The Old Plank Road, which we will add as soon as we can.

Well done all – and thanks for stopping by!

Once again, we will be joining a great many people in the bluegrass community as we head down to Raleigh, NC today to be part of IBMA’s 2021 World of Bluegrass convention. The three-day business conference runs this Tuesday through Thursday at the Raleigh Convention Center, followed by the big IBMA Bluegrass Awards Thursday night at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, and the IBMA Bluegrass Live! festival at the adjacent Red Hat Amphitheater on Friday and Saturday. 

Our contingent is a bit smaller this year, owing to concerns about COVID infection, IBMA’s restrictions on entry, and other unrelated factors, but we will do our best to bring the many events associated with World of Bluegrass to those who can’t be with us in Raleigh. You can keep up with IBMA goings on by visiting us through the week as we offer updates on activities on the ground, and photographs of the many performances, awards, and conference functions.

We will again be headquartered in the IBMA Media Room, typically Room 302 in the Convention Center. This is on the opposite side of the building from where most of the conference sessions and showcases occur, on the Lenoir Street side. Please feel free to stop by any time to say howdy, or to share any new recordings or information you may have.

Hope to see the tops of your smiling faces there.

Anders Beck and Greensky Bluegrass at Shagbark Farm in Michigan (7/16/21) – photo © Bryan Bolea

Greensky Bluegrass straddles two worlds, one that nods towards bluegrass and the other that uses it as a springboard for seeking other plateaus. While their name clearly indicates their affection for traditional picking and singing, the band make it a point not to be confined to any particular parameters. Those that insist on labeling their sound often refer to it as nu-grass, grassicana, Americana, or jamgrass, but one thing is well established — their mix of classic and contemporary sounds definitely defies any easy description. While banjo, mandolin, and dobro play a decided role in their instrumental make-up, spontaneity and improvisation allow them to pursue other avenues, and keep them in tune to a wide realm of possibilities.

Formed in 2000 in Kalamazoo, Michigan by banjo player Michael Arlen Blount and guitarist Dave Bruzza, the band has undergone several changes in personnel over the past 20 years, resulting in the current line-up consisting of Blount, Bruzza, Anders Beck (dobro, resophonic guitar), Michael Devol (bass, vocals), and Paul Hoffman (mandolin, vocals). A win at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival Competition in 2006 elevated their visibility, and now they currently count ten albums released between 2004 and 2019. With the pandemic slowing their outside activity and bringing their touring to a halt, they opted to make the most of their time off by releasing a series of digital only offerings which they dubbed The Leap Year Sessions.

“There was a lot going on,” Beck insisted when Bluegrass Today spoke with him by phone. “We all went to St. Louis and recorded a series of closed performances on high definition video in an empty venue. They’re high quality recordings that were well shot and well edited, and we released them during quarantine. We wanted to create something for people that were stuck at home, and the best thing we came up with were these video sessions. And then we released them every week or so. We got great a reaction from people who saw it as a further way for fans to experience the music without having to go anywhere, or leave the safety of their living rooms. For us, it’s a little window in time. We were really excited to be playing together, but also, it was really freaking weird to be playing in a venue with no people in it.”

To an outside observer however, the bigger challenge might be how to keep their influences aligned while trying to ensure their appeal to a decidedly diverse audience.

“The answer to that can run a gamut of responses, depending on whatever day we’re talking about,” Beck muses. “It works because we are raising the reverence for bluegrass while varying the template at the same time. I like listening to bluegrass music as much as I like to listen to rock and roll music, or jazz music, or reggae music, or whatever. Our influences are just all across the gamut, and of course, bluegrass is one of them. But just because we sort of stumbled on playing music on bluegrass instruments doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to stick with bluegrass. For me, learning that style of music was incredibly important. It gave us a jumping off point to do what we like to do. That’s our reverence for the music right there in a nutshell. You have to be able to play bluegrass, quote, unquote, correctly or properly, and play it well in order to start to monkey with it.”

Still, that begs the question of how the band attempts to please traditional bluegrass lovers while still bringing newer fans into the fold. Asked if they might worry about alienating anyone in that process, Beck quickly demurs. 

“I’ll tell you, we don’t worry about it anymore,” he insists “Honestly, we sort of forget about that. The key to understanding the name is that green sky is literally the complete opposite of blue grass. Okay, so we are bluegrass, but we are also the complete opposite. Now that we’ve grown into that name, it’s become a witty little pun. The name itself has really come home to roost, because we are often so far away from bluegrass a lot of the time during our shows. For so long, we felt like we were trying to appease this bluegrass audience, or else those people would get mad at us if we didn’t do bluegrass the way the traditional camp expected us to. We thought they would hate us. We’d be screwed. We felt we needed to do it the right way and all that other stuff. But what we found is that no one was really getting mad at us ever. At least they didn’t express it. We never got the death threats we were expecting.”

Beck attributes some of that acceptance to the bands that came before, noting that Leftover Salmon, String Cheese Incident, and Yonder Mountain String Band actually made that transition earlier. “They were starting to bend the genre a little bit, so it wasn’t like we were doing anything different on that level,” he suggests. “We were just sort of continuing on this evolution, and we certainly invested our Midwest roots into it as well.”

In a sense, it’s that combination of credence and confidence that allows the band to move forward without having to second guess their own MO. Beck readily agrees. 

These days it’s less about having to stand up for ourselves,” he maintains. “We can just say we do what we do, and if people like it, that’s awesome. We didn’t do that for a long time because we were really nervous about it. Because bluegrass was in the name of the band, we felt like we had this need to show that side of the band. We have these bluegrass chops, but now it’s sort of just evolved into something past that.”

That said, Beck is quick to counter any notion that bluegrass is no longer an important additive as far as their sound. “We play anywhere from two to ten traditional bluegrass songs in any given show,” he says. “And we enjoy the hell out of it. Our catalog is pretty big. We still love to play that kind of thing. We definitely still play those songs and enjoy them. Sometimes, after a show in front of 4,000 people, when it’s around one in the morning, we’ll go and play a set of bluegrass songs around a single microphone on a small flatbed trailer. We’ll focus on traditional songs for maybe about an hour. That’s our traditional connection. It kind of reminds us of our musical juxtaposition, which I think is still very obvious.”

With the pandemic slowed, at least at the moment, Greensky Bluegrass is back on the road, in a scaled down mode. They’re playing mostly on weekends at the moment as they navigate the course of COVID while trying to calculate what they’re able to do.

“We’re really trying to figure out how to play music in weird times,” Beck admits. “But it’s starting to feel kind of normal out there I suppose. We’re looking forward to a bunch of really cool events. We’ve got three nights at Red Rocks in Colorado, which is my favorite venue in the world. We’re doing the 4848 festival in West Virginia, which is something we love to do. We’re actually kind of partners in that festival. We’ll be doing Bonnarroo again and we’re gonna be in Alaska pretty soon as well. There’s a thing up there called the Salmon Fest that we did a few years ago. Then we’re doing two nights at the Ryman Theater in Nashville for Halloween which I’m excited about as well. We’re also gonna have some fun Nashville special guests there but I can’t tell you about that just yet.”

That said, Beck does admit that it can be a challenge at times when it comes to capturing that live energy and spontaneity in their studio recordings.

“I think that we straddle the line of both those things very well,” he allows. “One of the reasons is due to the fact that we really take pride in creating albums that are unique, because they’re the ones that really represent what we’re going to do in the long run, like, say, 50 years from now. The albums need to stand the test of time. So, we put a lot of effort into creating really good studio albums. We’re not necessarily trying to make it like the live experience all the time. Sometimes we do, but we prefer not having to be tied to that so much. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m proud that we can we can exist in both worlds. That’s a big deal for us. We really felt like we had to prove ourselves, because there was this fear that there would be this mob of traditional people coming over the hill, and that certain people would be saying, ‘that’s not bluegrass or that’s not what it’s supposed to be, or those guys aren’t good,’ or whatever it might be. It was just a weird thought that I had.”

Ultimately though, Beck says the band arey content to do their best at whatever they attempt, and continue to progress and go forward. “We put a lot of blood sweat and tears into this,” he insists. “We’re just trying to evolve, but mainly, we’re just trying to be ourselves.”

Given the angst and uncertainty the world has encountered over the past 18 months, Waiting Out the Storm would seem to be an apt title for Billy Droze’s latest release. Then again, Droze knows a little something about longevity and making a mark over the course of a career. He’s written songs for The Grascals, Junior Sisk, Darryl Worley, Flatt Lonesome, Shenandoah, and Jamie O’Neil, and several of those recordings have climbed to the top of the charts. At the age of 35, he’s a seasoned performer who can claim some impressive credentials, including nominations for various IBMA and ICMA awards, as well as the honor of co-hosting the 2018 ICMA Awards at the Grand Ole Opry.

Still, like most artists, Droze’s abilities are best measured by his songs, and those that grace this latest album are clearly among his best yet. While the music is solidly enshrined within a bluegrass template, several could easily cross into country realms as well. As John Lawless, the esteemed editor of Bluegrass Today, once put it, “Billy’s not just a clever songwriter; he can sing bluegrass and country with the best of them. His voice betrays his love of both genres.”

That’s especially true here. Small Town Mystery, Miss Me Anymore, All You Gotta Do Is Listen, and the title track are solid and assured, songs that reflect both his confidence and conviction. Much of the music falls somewhere between an easy ramble and a tender tapestry, whether it’s the steady stride found in Here We Are, the ragged repast of Night Birds, the beguiling ballad, Bring on the Wind, or the down-home designs of She’s Still Here. Notably then, Droze produced the album single-handedly, and had a hand in writing all the material, save one track — Woman of My Life, a song which features his father Red Droze and, not surprisingly, boasts a distinctive countrified feel.

Taking this effort in its entirety, it’s evident that Droze’s wider recognition is only a matter of time. And indeed, if the name is any indication, Waiting Out the Storm should be the vehicle that affords him that fame. It’s an album flush with across-the-board appeal and the easy embrace that only the most memorable music can offer.

Rhonda Vincent after learning that she has been invited to join the Grand Ole Opry (February 29, 2020)

Rhonda Vincent will be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry tomorrow night (February 6). Originally slated for last March 24, the event was put on hold when the pandemic hit.

“Some people say 2020 was the worst year ever,” Rhonda Vincent told Bluegrass Today. “For me I was asked to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry. How can this be a terrible year, right?”

This is the first time a brother and sister have become separate acts to be inducted into the prestigious music club. Rhonda’s brother, Darrin Vincent and Jamie Dailey of Dailey and Vincent joined the Opry in 2017. The Browns (Jim Ed Brown and his sisters) were inducted as a single entity.

“It’s a lifetime dream come true. My family was listening to the Opry long before I was ever born. This is like continuing the family tradition.”

The eight-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year, and her band The Rage, will be performing to a sold-out crowd Saturday night. 

“They can have 1,100 people right now. It’s like one of the only shows that’s sold out. There’s a young lady flying in from Washington state and people coming in from New York. There are people coming from everywhere for this induction.”

“We want to meet and greet, and we can’t do that at the Opry. I get to do a meet and greet over at The Troubadour Theatre after the Opry, and host the Ernest Tubb Record Shop Midnight Jamboree live once again. They have not had a live show for years.”

Vincent will be decked out for the induction in a royal blue dress New York designer Constance McCardle created specifically for the once-in-a-lifetime occasion. Rhonda hopes to perform three songs from her forthcoming album that she has been working on for more than a year and a half. The project includes a trio of tunes that Opry members have recorded—her latest single, a cover of Porter Wagoner’s What Ain’’ to Be, Just Might Happen, Jeannie Seely’s Like I Could, and Webb Pierces Slowly. But the one she’s struggling to work up the nerve to perform at the Opry is a bluegrass version of the daunting, Unchained Melody.   

“It took me 12 hours recording that song to get my vocal the way I wanted it,” Vincent recalls. “I was terrified to sing it, but they encouraged me to do it when we were at my Christmas in Branson. I’ve only sung it on stage one time. I was shaking after I finished singing it, but they gave me a standing ovation. So, I hope that’s a good sign.”

Vincent performed the last part of 2019 at the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre in Branson, MO in a different style show. While she included straight bluegrass like her IBMA Song of the Year, Kentucky Borderline, she also performed Christmas bluegrass with special guests and a living portrayal of the nativity.  

“People came away from that saying how powerful and amazing it was,” she says. “There was scripture read in there. You could just feel the spirit and an anointing on that particular segment. Then, we would have our special guests come out and sing a Christmas song. We ended with The Twelve Days of Christmas and then a finale song of Feliz Navidad.

The last song proved to be a bit challenging for the bluegrass star, but she did her homework.

“It wasn’t like I was going to graze over that. I called my cousin who speaks fluent Spanish, and we went over it and over it. [I thought] If I’m going to sing this, I want to sing it correctly. I would have special guests come out. When it came to that line, they didn’t sing. I am SO glad I learned how to sing that line.”

Prior to the start of her Branson shows, Vincent told Bluegrass Today that the future seemed uncertain for her and the band. But since that time, she’s happy to report a brighter day. 

“We are kind of holding our own as everyone else is I think,” Vincent said. “We’re still in business. I guess when I have to start selling our houses and the bus, then we’ll start worrying,” she adds, laughing. “So far, we’ve been able to sustain this. We’re probably in a different situation in that [my husband/manager] Herb is at retirement age. Next December he’ll be 65. He said, ‘Just retire and let’s fish and stay at the fishing shack!’ That is not something that would be fun for me.” 

Her heart and calling remain in the music. 

“More than anything, God has blessed us and been able to do what we do. As long as He continues, I feel like we’re doing His will. My daily prayer is God, what is your will for my life and give me acceptance of what that is no matter what it is.”

(Note: Rhonda Vincent and The Rage will be performing at the Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum on March 19 in Owensboro, KY. For more tour dates, log on to www.rhondavincent.com.) 

Daryl Mosley is probably best known to bluegrass fans for his tenure as vocalist and bass player for The Farm Hands, but his songwriting is what has drawn the notice of artists and writers from across the music industry. In addition to earning several SPBGMA awards for Song of the Year and Songwriter of the Year while with the Farm Hands, Mosley’s originals have been featured on albums by numerous country, bluegrass, and Gospel artists. His recent Pinecastle album, The Secret of Life, provides a further showcase for Mosley’s songs, highlighting 11 numbers from his pen.

Opening track A Few Years Ago kicks things off with bright fiddle and mandolin from Adam Haynes and Danny Roberts, respectively. It’s found a welcome audience with radio programmers, and recently cracked the Top 10 of Bluegrass Today’s weekly chart. It’s a pleasant stroll through memories of youth, with a more experienced man looking back on a life before regrets. The Secret of Life also offers life advice, told from the perspective of a respected small-town barber. It’s a nice, thoughtful number, with quite a few common sense pieces of wisdom for a simple, well-lived life.

It Never Gets Old takes a stripped-down approach, with soft guitar and dobro accompaniment through most of the song. It’s a quiet love song, again appreciating the simple things in life that sometimes become the most important: “The edge of your smile cuts deep in my soul, just looking at you never gets old.” A bit grassier than some of the other songs on the album, which lean toward the singer-songwriter sound, is another love song, I’d Write You. Mosley imagines himself as a variety of artists, all with the goal of his expressing his feelings to the woman he loves. 

On the flip side of love songs is the uptempo Heartaches Moving In, cowritten with Danny Roberts. It’s a straightforward “my woman done left me” number, with a catchy chorus and enjoyable banjo from Aaron McDaris. The other cowrite on the album is the bluesy Do What the Good Book Says, a fun Gospel number penned with Rick Lang. Mosley’s smooth lead vocals work well with this style of song, and it seems like one that would be very enjoyable live. 

Other highlights include two songs that find connections between the singer’s earthly father and his heavenly one. Hands in Wood is a heartfelt ode to a hard-working father who spent his life using the things he built from wood to help others. It makes a clever connection to the Biblical carpenter in the last verse. All the Way Home finds the singer looking to his dad for protection as a young child walking through dark woods, then turning toward Jesus for peace and security when he’s older. Perhaps the album’s best song is the well-written A Piece at a Time, which recalls Thirty Years of Farming in its story of a farmer who can only watch as “the only life he’s ever known is leaving in pickups someone else owns.”

Overall, The Secret of Life has a calm, singer-songwriter feel that works well with the slice of life songs that comprise most of the album. Mosley does a fine job at capturing the memories and emotions of everyday people in songs that may seem simple at first listen but are filled with clever turns of phrase and strong imagery. Though most of the songs aren’t necessarily hardcore bluegrass, he’s joined by a strong crew of musicians. In addition to Roberts, Haynes, and McDaris, the album’s band includes Tony Wray (guitar), Michael Stockton (dobro), and Mosley himself on bass, as well as three fine harmony vocalists in Irene Kelley, Jaelee Roberts, and Jeanette Williams. If you’re looking for good original songs that don’t rely on overused bluegrass images, Mosley is your man.

For more information on Daryl Mosley, visit his website. His new album is available from several online retailers. 

It’s hard for me to believe, but this is my 400th column for Bluegrass Today. I had assumed I’d be out of ideas by about number 12 or so, and perhaps I was, but I guess this is a testament to the breadth and scope of our bluegrass music world and the bits of humor to be found in it, even when, or maybe especially when, we’re taking ourselves very seriously.

Regular attempts at humor can sometimes rub people the wrong way, and I knew there was a risk of that going into this, but I’ve been fortunate to have received very little blowback over these several years. Sure there were some people heavily invested in the IBMA board “troubles” of  2014 (if you don’t know what I’m referring to, consider yourself lucky), who were unhappy with my making light of the situation a couple of times in passing. There was also the incident in which the International Bluegrass Music Museum threatened to pull advertising from Bluegrass Today because I had invented a fictitious museum employee, song researcher “Peter Van Kip,” in a story about lost original lines of some famous bluegrass standards. Note: this was under previous museum management; the current management thought it was funny. Other than that, though, I’ve had pretty calm waters.

But if there’s one problem I’ve had more often than others—and it does relate to the museum story above—it’s that I have too many people taking me seriously or at times literally. This was particularly worrisome when I often wrote columns that could be classified as “faux advice,” like a 12-part series I did on band management in the early years of the column. In one January 2012 installment, I dispensed “advice” on band photos, in which I recommended avoiding new band photos entirely, theorizing that they’re actually the cause of many personnel changes. One solution I offered:

“Convince the public that your new member is actually the same as the person in the old photo. It’s not necessary to insist that the new person take on the name of the old one (although it wouldn’t hurt, if he or she is willing); you’ll have to insist, though, that the new musician dress as much like the previous one as possible and have the same hairstyle and facial hair, if applicable. The wearing of dark sunglasses at all times would be helpful. Weight differences can be handled by encouraging the new band member to gain or lose as much weight as needed to approximate the girth of the person he or she is replacing. Height differences are more difficult to manage, therefore I discourage the hiring of any new person who is more than 3 inches taller or shorter than the previous person. Otherwise the new member will just have to sit down as much as possible, including on stage.”

Anyone taking this seriously and following this advice would very quickly have some serious band management problems.

Then I occasionally have publicists or the artists themselves asking me to write about their current release or just to give them some exposure, and I’ve wanted to say, “Have you read what I’m writing here? You don’t want this kind of exposure.”

I’ve also had people say sincere and earnest things about what I’ve written, urging me to write about other topics: “Your discussion of band photos was very interesting and informative. Would you consider writing something about song publishing? That’s a topic of great interest to me, as I am an aspiring songwriter.” I thought, “Sure, I could write one, but it could lead to the quick yet painful death of your budding songwriting career.”

Is this the reader’s fault, though? It has been pointed out to me that the column has no name, so nowhere is it even implied that this is a humor column at all. Leaving it unnamed wasn’t really deliberate but was possibly influenced by the fact that I only expected to be writing the series for about three months. 

All this brings me to the present 400th column turning point: I think it’s time this column had a name, and I would like your help. 

We’re going to hold a naming contest, and I would like you to submit your ideas in the comments section below. The winner will be selected by me and the Bluegrass Today management. We’re not offering any prize vacation packages or anything. This being the COVID-19 era, no one’s traveling anywhere more exotic than the backyard anyway, and heaven knows, a trip to Raleigh for the IBMA World of Bluegrass ain’t happening. With all the cancelled shows, I’m not exactly flush with legal tender, either, so the prize is just the knowledge that your title was the chosen one. I’ll also throw in a Truegrass request and dedication, if you’re a listener, as well as a mention in this column, of course, and on my new web site’s blog.

There are no formal rules except that I’d like to allow two entries per contestant, in case you have more than one idea, but please don’t submit a list.

If you’re competing in this, you’re someone who reads all the way to the ends of these things, and I thank you. I’d even like to thank those who just read the first paragraph and move on, but unfortunately they won’t see my thanks. I also want to offer my heartfelt thanks to the publishers of Bluegrass Today, John Lawless and Terry Herd. They have always been supportive and encouraging, and they have given me an almost entirely free hand in what I do every week. I appreciate them so much.

Finally, I’d like to apologize to anyone who took any of my words too seriously and whose careers and lives suffered irreparable damage as a result.

I’m kidding about that last part.

The new title will put the pressure on me to write at least 100 more of these, and I hope I’m up to the task. Thank you for reading, and I do mean that.

Well, if you’ve checked your email, yesterday’s Bluegrass Today stories, or just talked to one of your perpetually in-the-know friends (that third one is usually the least reliable of these sources), you’ve already heard that the IBMA World of Bluegrass will not be happening this year, at least not in the physical sense.

Since it was in the physical sense that we enjoyed this annual gathering, the concept of a “Virtual World of Bluegrass” is leaving a lot of people skeptical and with a lot of unanswered questions. 

These are a few of those questions:

Will a seminar on web site design be as interesting even if I don’t oversleep and run from my hotel to get there 10 minutes late?

Answer: Probably.

Will the keynote address be enhanced by the fact that I’ll be doing a load of laundry while I’m watching it?

Answer: Possibly. I know of at least one keynote address that would have been greatly improved by my doing laundry at the same time. I’m thinking specifically of the keynote I helped deliver myself.

Will a virtual awards show still run an hour and 40 minutes overtime?

Answer: Yes. With all the change going or in our lives, we really shouldn’t mess with tradition. The schedule will be drawn up once again based on the assumption that all speeches will be an average of three seconds long.

Will schmoozing and trying to drum up business be the same when it’s done virtually?

Answer: No. It’s too easy to end a virtual conversation by claiming that the internet went out. 

Will the money I save by not physically attending the IBMA World of Bluegrass enable me to take my family on a cruise of the Grecian islands?

Answer: Have you been following what’s happening in the cruise industry? Or on Grecian islands?

These are all valid questions, and we’re all wrestling with the profound disappointment of the loss of our “Bluegrass Christmas” on top of all the other losses of 2020 piling up. The Christmas analogy is fitting, since at least at first glance, a virtual IBMA World of Bluegrass seems about as exciting as a virtual Christmas celebration, with its virtual caroling, opening of virtual presents, drinking of virtual egg nog, and having virtual family arguments via Zoom.

This news was pretty inevitable, though, and we have to support the IBMA’s prudent decision. Let’s face it: the World of Bluegrass was already a health hazard, with the event being an almost perfect environment for the spreading of germs and for those germs to wreak havoc on a large group of people who spent the week doing all the things known to compromise the immune system: sleeping less than 4 hours a night, consuming more than the recommended daily allowance of caffeine and alcohol, singing in stairwells, etc. This behavior was always followed up by close contact with other attendees, a lot of handshaking, and of course plenty of face-touching (last year’s seminar, “Face-touching in Bluegrass Music, a Retrospective” was very informative).

In years past, some attempted to blame the hotel ventilation in Nashville, Louisville, and even Owensboro for the number of people who got sick the following week, ignoring the obvious culprits. In fact the last person who talked to me about that theory did so loudly, talking over a band that was playing, after which he coughed in my face. No, this is probably not the time to put our powers of disease-resistance to the test.

You know what, though? We’re going to get through this, even if things may not look quite the same on the other side. We’ll have our virtual experience this year and then look forward to an IBMA World of Bluegrass like none other in 2021, with in-person schmoozing, in-person jamming, very little sleeping, and yes, some face-touching. See you then.