Yonder Mountain String Band rolled into the Capital Theater in York, Pa., Sunday night for the final stop of a busy fall tour. We sat down with bass player, and founding member, Ben Kaufmann prior to the show for a quick chat about life on the road and dealing with the passage of Jeff Austin amidst the band’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of their debut album, “Elevation.” Ben also filled us in on new[…]
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Check out the sneak preview of Old Town Flood’s new video
Our first encounter with Mike Gaumer was just about a year ago in Philadelphia. The band Midnight Flyer had been chosen to open the “Philly Bluegrass Revival” one-day festival event, and its guitar player had a scheduling conflict. Mike, a former Philly kid who now lives in Baltimore, filled in and blew us away with his picking. The fact that he did it while holding the pick in a broken hand made it even more[…]
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You might say guitarist Chris Luquette is going places
Chris Luquette may not be a household name with bluegrass fans, but anybody who has seen the 27-year-old Seattle native pick a guitar will tell you that thought should include the word “yet.” The 2013 International Bluegrass Music Association Momentum Award winner tore it up at the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival this weekend. A member of Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen since 2012, his blistering solos and adept interplay with Solivan on mandolin and banjoman Mike[…]
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Gettysburg Day Two — Stretching Out in the Rain
It was stretch day Friday at the 76th Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival. The bi-annual festival, which has been happening since 1979, has a reputation as one of the top traditional bluegrass festivals in the country.The McCoury brothers tell stories about chasing girls there when they were teenagers tagging along to their dad’s gigs. All the greats have played there, including Bill himself. The promoters are not afraid to push the envelope now and again, though. A[…]
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Wise Beyond Her Years – A Conversation With Miss Emi Sunshine
Festy 8 was a media nightmare, at least for us. Internet connectivity issues resulted in a number of interviews falling through because we could not connect with publicists who were coordinating artists’ schedules. One interview that worked out was with Miss Emi Sunshine, a 13-year-old girl with a grown up talent. It was an interesting conversation. We talked about what is like to be a child star, life on the road, and her fascination with[…]
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