A song for young love: The Lettermen roll into Franklin
It was a 1963 station wagon with six musicians and their equipment.
When Tony Butala reminisces about the beginning of The Lettermen, a legendary vocal trio, he remembers crisscrossing America, playing upwards of 200 shows a year in the early 1960s. Starting the ensemble in 1957, Butala created one of the most successful acts of an era where vocal style and intricate songwriting reigned supreme.
Winds of Change: The Infamous Stringdusters hit WNC
They are the bridge.
In the bluegrass world these days, it seems there are two camps of thought and performance — neo-traditional and progressive. On one side, you have the “old school” of Larry Sparks, Doyle Lawson and those who truly adhere to the likes of Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs. On the other, are those who stretch out a little bit, where the lines between bluegrass, Americana and soul are blurred, acts likes The Steep Canyon Rangers, Greensky Bluegrass and Yonder Mountain String Band.
‘All of the freaks have gone to bed…’: A conversation with Ron Gallo
It’s about time.
It’s about time someone kicked us all in the ass when it comes to the power and swagger (and social responsibility) of rock music. It’s been awhile since I came across a melodic entity that truly made me immediately blurt out, “Who in the hell in this? And why am I just hearing about this right now?”
When I sing: An interview with Bear Rinehart
Heralding from just down the mountain in Greenville, South Carolina, Bear Rinehart is the front man for the rock group NEEDTOBREATHE. He has that rare quality of voice that allows him to stand out from other singers in his genre. Not only does Rinehart have the chops, he’s also a talented songwriter and musician.
Straight from the Source: A conversation with Marty Stuart
It’s about staying true to yourself.
When you converse with country/bluegrass legend Marty Stuart, you’re speaking to the source. From being a teenager, touring and performing side-by-side with Lester Flatt in the 1970s, to finding country radio success in the 1980s and 1990s, to his enduring work with Doc Watson and Johnny Cash, Stuart has risen into the upper echelon of Nashville icons.
SEE ALSO: Marty Stuart, Balsam Range at Lake JBalsam Range at Lake J
This must be the place: Stones sax player, improv legend rolls into WNC
It’s a whirlwind.
With his group Tiny Universe, saxophonist Karl Denson seamlessly creates this vortex onstage, a sonic hub where jazz, rock, funk and soul collide, swirling around one another like a street fight with no determined victor. The sights and sounds hit the listener with such force, it will make you rethink just what improvisational music and live performance can be — and ultimately is — at least within the endless curiosity of Denson.
Midwest Heart, Southern Blues: Nick Dittmeier & The Sawdusters roll into WNC
Taking a seat on the old couch, my foot began to tap immediately.
The living room full of friends and soon-to-friends sat atop a frigid mountain just west of Clayton, Georgia. It was another evening hosted by the Grouse Mountain House Concerts, and standing in the middle of the space was Nick Dittmeier & The Sawdusters, headlong into a rollicking set that shook the floorboards and also the dust off any souls within earshot.
If you lived here, you’d be home by now: A conversation with Chris Robinson
Life is good.
That’s the vibe one gets when chatting with Chris Robinson these days. Former lead singer for legendary rock-n-rock act The Black Crowes, Robinson has spent the better part of the last five years dusting off his feathers as he takes flight into the heavens above with his popular melodic odyssey — The Chris Robinson Brotherhood.
After the dust settles: A conversation with Tim Reynolds
It is the rhythm of life.
When you hear the guitar mastery of Tim Reynolds, you’re listening to the joyous and violent sounds of the cosmos. Each note an ocean wave crashing onto the shore, each note a break of sunlight through the dark clouds of the night.
The Face in the Mirror: Ron Rash releases latest novel
Can you find redemption within your own consequences?
In The Risen, the latest work from famed Southern Appalachian writer Ron Rash, the plot focuses on two Jackson County teenage brothers, an out-of-town femme fatale, and a decades-old question of what really happened to her — and also them — in the process.