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Archive for the ‘bluegrass music’ Category

The Festival of the Bluegrass

Surprisingly enough, the longest-running bluegrass festival in Kentucky hadn’t been started by a professional bluegrass band or even an organization. In June 1974, Bob and Jean Cornett, a bluegrass-loving couple who liked to listen to J.D. Crowe perform at the Martins, a North Lexington joint, decided to start their own festival by renting space from the park across Bob Cornett’s workplace. It would be a festival that had everything they liked – mainly, great campgrounds, great camaraderie among listeners, and equally great bluegrass music – and nothing of what they disliked such as overflowing trash and ill-kept toilets. (more…)

The Best of Bluegrass Music – Top Acts to Watch Out for

If you want a crash course on the best of bluegrass music then here are a couple of names you should check out in your favorite record outlet or website.

Bill Monroe

Here’s the guy who started it all. When you want to learn about anything, it’s always a good step to find out where it started and with bluegrass music, all roads will certainly lead to the Kentucky home of Bill Monroe. Considering how his mother, uncle, and siblings had a concrete love for music, it’s not much of a surprise that Monroe had started performing at an early age. (more…)

A Guide to Essential Bluegrass Music Instruments

If you’re interested in forming your own bluegrass band for an upcoming festival, make sure that your members are able to play any or a combination of the bluegrass music instruments listed below. Miss one and the music just won’t sound as authentic and powerful as it could have.

Banjo

The modern banjo that most people are familiar with was probably derived from musical instruments that African slaves in America used to play traditional music. These instruments were referred to as banjars, banzas, or banias and were used to replace drums, which slaves had been prohibited from playing. (more…)

Where to Buy Bluegrass Music

If you want to buy bluegrass music to enrich your knowledge prior to attending a bluegrass festival, there are several ways to go about it.

Record Outlets

Most record outlets do carry a healthy selection of bluegrass music although if you’re unlucky enough to have a too-young attendant tasked to help you out, you might have to look for the records yourself. It would greatly help, however, if you can provide specific names of artists that you’re interested in. This would make the search a lot easier for both of you. (more…)

Appreciating Classic Bluegrass Music

Bluegrass music draws its roots all the way back to mountain or country music, both of which were apt names for a genre that mostly developed from small towns, villages, and other rural regions. Besides country music, traditional or folk themes were also large influences on classic bluegrass artists. In order to fully appreciate the beauty and depth of the original tunes of bluegrass, one must identify the very forces that shaped them into what they are now.

Bill Monroe

Although it’s possible that there have been other artists before Bill Monroe that had played the same style of music which he was known for, the popularity of bluegrass music can be solely attributed to Bill Monroe. Music was in Monroe’s genes. His mother and maternal uncle, “Uncle Pen” and to whom he dedicated a song once, both instilled in the Monroe brothers a passion for music. (more…)

Bluegrass Music Crash Course

Bluegrass Music

If you’re looking for All-American music then there’s no better genre than bluegrass music. It combines the best of country and jazz and mesmerizes listeners with the instrumental virtuosity of its performers as well as the impressive vocal harmonies often featured in bluegrass music. For a crash course on bluegrass, here are a couple of artists you should watch out for.

Dailey & Vincent

This spectacular duo is composed of Jamie Dailey & Darrin Vincent. Their self-titled debut album, released in 2008, had been well-received by bluegrass fans and catapulted them to stardom. It also earned a grand total of seven IBMA awards, including the prestigious Album and Entertainment of the Year awards. You can easily catch them performing live as they’re very much active in the festival circuit. (more…)