by Christine | Jan 28, 2015 | Welcome Column
Not too long ago, Ted Lehmann wrote about the difficulty and improbability of a band developing a signature sound, and what he says is true – regardless of the musical genre. Anyone that goes to bluegrass festivals can tell you, there are an awful lot of great...
by Christine | Jan 26, 2015 | Welcome Column
News flash……..Much to the amazement of many bluegrass fans, James King made a surprise appearance at the 28th Annual Blythe Bluegrass Festival held just last weekend January 16, 17 & 18th at the Blythe, CA fairgrounds. You see James King was not on the festival...
by Christine | Aug 26, 2009 | Welcome Column
The easiest things in the world to lose are sunglasses and pens. They?re also among the easiest things in the world to break. Yet, remarkably, many folks pay hundreds of dollars for fine sunglasses and fancy pens, only to discover they get lost and break at exactly...
by Christine | Jun 30, 2019 | Welcome Column
What would happen in this one world of ours if we went around speaking our true feelings to each other – the unvarnished truth, plainly and directly? The President, for example, might say to another world leader, “I am going to appear to be listening intently to what...
by Christine | Aug 6, 2016 | Welcome Column
The following text is an excerpt from the book “High Lonesome Below Sea Level: Stories and Faces of Bluegrass Music in the Netherlands” by Loes van Schaijk and Marieke Odekerken. Lody and Paul van Vlodrop are considered living legends, not only in the...
by Christine | Apr 23, 2020 | Welcome Column
I frequently hear people going on and on about the pre-war Martin or the Loar or take your pick of old instruments and how much better they sound than modern productions. Sometimes they are right, but in many instances, a good quality modern instrument will sound as...
by Christine | Jun 22, 2011 | Welcome Column
This was a special year for me at the Father’s Day Festival. For one, I got to play on the Big Stage with a California Showcase Band – always an honor. Secondly, I was able to convince a number of people to come to their first Father’s Day Festival. Will this swell...
by Christine | Dec 14, 2010 | Welcome Column
Among my favorite experiences at the Fathers Day Festival each year is watching the near empty Nevada County Fairgrounds gradually swell into a fair sized little town over the course of eight or nine days. (By Saturday, it’s actually twice the size of the little town...
by Christine | Sep 26, 2011 | Welcome Column
The twang of the last chord I heard at Bluegrassin’ in the Foothills at Plymouth is still ringing in my ears as I write this month’s column. At the same time, I’m making plans to host a houseful of guests for this coming weekend’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in...
by Christine | Jan 28, 2009 | Welcome Column
I was over at my mother’s house recently, helping her set up a new computer. So, I’m digging through her computer CDs, to see what programs she owns that I can add to her new system, and came across one that was marked Brookdale in green writing – and it looked like...
