Mark Varner – RIP

Mark Varner – RIP

Photo: Mark Varner representing the CBA at the 2007 IBMA World of Bluegrass (https://cbaphotos.zenfolio.com) Many thanks to Michael Hall of the Northern California Bluegrass Society for researching and helping pull together this Feature – Ed. Mark Varner, the...
KALW today: Big Mon live!

KALW today: Big Mon live!

Photo credit: Jack Thompson (Peter Thompson’s dad), Flint, Michigan, early 1990s BLUEGRASS SIGNAL is broadcast Saturdays, 5-6 pm, on KALW (91.7 FM in Bay Area). It is then available on demand for one week here (select ‘Bluegrass Signal’).
Six Degrees of Separation – Wilson Banjo Company

Six Degrees of Separation – Wilson Banjo Company

www.pinecastlemusic.com Song List: When the Crow Comes Down, Midnight on the Highway, The Ambassador, Issoqueena, Colors of My Life, She Is a Gambler, Just a Few More Miles, Old Fashioned Ways, Autumn Leaves, Wrong Turn That Lead Me To You, Long Hard Way. It isn’t...
A Visit From the Dark Side

A Visit From the Dark Side

I’ve been lucky so far myself, but at one time or another, a lot of people I’ve known have suffered from theft of their musical instruments or equipment. Happily, this is very rare at bluegrass festivals, where a sense of community and good will (and a cost for...
You Can’t Keep a Good Tune Down

You Can’t Keep a Good Tune Down

As so often, my current reflections have been prompted by music that I’ve happened to hear on the television. This time it was a snatch of the song ‘Stay’ which was the first major UK chart success for the Hollies in late 1963. I had always assumed that it was an...