by Christine | Jul 20, 2018 | Welcome Column
Blackberry Blossom is one of the classic fiddle tunes, up there in the Top Ten of instrumentals to have ready for those festival jam sessions. In the 1920s and 30s it was popularised by Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith, who recorded Blackberry Blossom with his Dixieliners...
by Christine | May 24, 2015 | Welcome Column
This weekend I will have my flag on display to acknowledge the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep America Free. May they rest in peace and may we all reflect on the freedoms we enjoy as we celebrate Memorial Day with those we love. Like many of you,...
by Christine | Nov 20, 2020 | Welcome Column
I know what you’re thinking, JDs been up in the woods too long byhimself, and what in the cat hair does hoot owls have to do withbluegrass music? Well in this case, it has a lot to do with it myfriends and I will explain.Back in November of 1963 while on a goose...
by Christine | Feb 9, 2014 | Welcome Column
You’d be pretty hard pressed to come up with the name of a mountain range which is more storied and sung about than the Blue Ridge Mountains, especially if you’re a Bluegrass fan. The Blue Ridge will forever be my favorite mountains. They were the first mountains I...
by Christine | Aug 13, 2019 | Welcome Column
Some readers may know that a large amount of my earliest musical memories were with AJ Lee. Whether it was with Kids on Bluegrass, or our travels with the Schwartz brothers in OMGG, I have heard and seen a large portion of AJ’s artistic growth. The same can be...
by Christine | Oct 13, 2020 | Welcome Column
I’ve been thinking of late, is my writing too much about family or possibly even too personal. And who really gives a tweedle-dee, Robin. I mean, I am writing a welcome column for a bluegrass paper, not for Chicken Soup for the Soul. It’s nothing...
by Christine | Oct 14, 2015 | Welcome Column
(Apologies to Edwin Starr for paraphrasing his work) Some of the benefits of bluegrass are obvious – the very existence of the CBA is a testament to that. But there are other, long-reaching, but less obvious benefits. Excess money spent on instruments and...
by Christine | Jan 2, 2019 | Welcome Column
(Apologies to Edwin Starr for paraphrasing his work) Some of the benefits of bluegrass are obvious – the very existence of the CBA is a testament to that. But there are other, long-reaching, but less obvious benefits. Excess money spent on instruments and...
by Christine | May 23, 2011 | Welcome Column
Bluegrass music is outdoor music. There are hundreds of bluegrass songs about hills, valleys, fields, streams, and other features of the landscape. Bluegrass jams always sound better outdoors, under the shade of pine trees on a hot summer day. And bluegrass fans wait...
by Christine | May 26, 2020 | Welcome Column
The mind. The mind is created by the brain. The neuroscientists don’t know exactly how the brain does it. They can’t identify exactly which part(s) of the brain are responsible for creating consciousness, which in turn creates the “self” that we call “us,” which...
