INSPIRED BY POETRY AND BANJO, NORMAN BLAKE COLLECTS SONGS FOR ‘DAY BY DAY’

The Bluegrass Situation
- November 2021 -
“I’ve always believed in poetry. Anything I’ve ever tried to sing. Most of it has been fairly poetic in some way. I really do believe in the quality of the material. That’s something that I’m very adamant about. I don’t want to sing something that just doesn’t grab me in some way in a poetic way. I don’t want to do it if it doesn’t do that.”

NORTH CAROLINA’S BALSAM RANGE TRAVEL THROUGH LIFE WITH ‘MOXIE AND METTLE’​

The Bluegrass Situation
- November 2021 -
“Moxie and Mettle explores themes of uncertainty and a sense of powerlessness that will likely resonate with listeners’ own experiences during the pandemic. Similarly, the theme of trying to feel content with one’s life can be felt on tracks such as “Richest Man,” named the 2021 IBMA Song of the Year.”

Bluegrass Wednesday Nights at the Legion

Bluegrass Unlimited
- October 2021 -
“In a world where people are not showing a lot of empathy to other people, their biggest thing is mutual respect. I thought that was a really, really cool thing. They have a marque out on Gallatin and for the longest time it read ‘All Are Welcome.’ That’s really what they’re all about. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you look like, what you believe in; just respect everybody.”

Master Educator Sharon Gilchrist
​Spreads her Wings

Mandolin Café
- September 2021 -
While I was growing up, our family primarily listened to bluegrass and church music. So when I attended Belmont, I gained exposure to a lot of music that was new to me. I was the only mandolin player in the program and was playing in situations that had nothing to do with bluegrass which I found very exciting. I fell in love with music all over again and wanted to explore as many new sounds as I could. Part of the process was figuring out what styles and sounds I actually loved on my instrument which led me to explore a lot of music.

Tim O'Brien: Artist of the Month

The Bluegrass Situation
- July 2021 -
TIM O’BRIEN SINGS OF AMERICAN LIFE, THEN AND NOW,
ON ‘HE WALKED ON’ 
TIM O’BRIEN RECALLS THE ORIGINS OF
​HOT RIZE… AND THAT OTHER BAND

Jack Tuttle: Influencing Generations of Bluegrass Pickers

Bluegrass Unlimited
- April 2021 -
While bluegrass jam classes are now prolific at music camps, festivals, and even online, in the early 80s it was a new idea. “It wasn't a thing,” Jack says. “This would have been 1980 or 1981. Pete Wernick had just started teaching classes that would eventually become his jam camps but when we met many years later he seemed to think that I was the first person he knew of to have that sort of jam class. I was teaching all these people on three different instruments at that point so it seemed only natural to get them together and show them how to play with each other.”

Cover Story: Bronwyn Keith-Hynes

Moon Shiner
- April 2021 -
" I'd been living in Nashville for just about a year and had been trying to jam with people as much as possible. That made me feel really inspired and I wanted to capture the spirit of what I'd been doing for the past year with those people."

TIM STAFFORD SHARES MEMORIES OF STEVE GULLEY, ALISON KRAUSS, AND TONY RICE

The Bluegrass Situation
- March 2021 -
"We were both excited about the songs and it ended up being his last recording, which was hard on all of us. And now it’s part of his legacy. After Steve passed, I talked to the label about maybe coming up with a different title besides Still Here, but we decided it was a very appropriate title because his music is still here. He would have been proud of it. I know that for sure.​"

THE STATION INN EARNS AN EXHIBIT AT THE COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM

The Bluegrass Situation
- February 2021 -
"To this day the Station Inn is a community gathering place where friendships, bands, and lifelong loves of bluegrass are formed. It embodies not only the authenticity of the music but of the community. And often, everyone knows your name.​"

Cover Story: Adam Hurt

Moonshiner (Japan)
- December 2020 -
"Ever since I recorded Earth Tones in 2010, somewhat on a whim, I keep hearing from people who have been very moved by the sound of that gourd banjo. Many of these people don't even follow banjo music or aren't musicians themselves. There just seems to be something special about the instrument's voice that transcends genre or style and appeals to listeners who wouldn’t normally like the sound of a banjo!​"

Cover Story: Wes Corbett

Banjo Newsletter
- December 2020 -
"I think instrumental music can be so powerful in that way. There's so much power in music without words. So much can be conveyed. So that's always the most important thing for me. It's almost never about how technical something is. What I want is for it to say something."

SISTER SADIE: BLUEGRASS ENTERTAINERS, TEACHERS, AND MOST OF ALL, FRIENDS

The Bluegrass Situation

"We’ve done this all by ourselves. We are five women who love each other, who work through our differences, and who have worked hard together."

RICKY SKAGGS REUNITES WITH BILL MONROE’S MANDOLIN FOR ‘BIG NIGHT’ EVENT​

The Bluegrass Situation

"I can’t believe I’m getting to play it one more time. Every time I play it I’m sure it’s the last time, but then they’ll drag it out again and I’m always like, 'Oh, God, thank you.'" 

SIERRA HULL SEIZES THE MOMENT IN ‘25 TRIPS’

The Bluegrass Situation

Sierra Hull has a well-established reputation as one of the most talented mandolin players and multi-instrumentalists of her generation, and her gripping new album, 25 Trips, is a look at her life as a musician in her mid-twenties.

PROOF POSITIVE - Flatpicking legend
​David Grier finds his voice

Fretboard Journal
​- Issue 45 -
You might not think there’s more to know about a musician who has inspired as many stories as Nashville icon David Grier, but Tristan Scroggins digs in and shares a definitive portrait of Grier and how he re-found his voice.​

​MICHAEL CLEVELAND GRABS GRAMMY NOM FOR (NOT QUITE) SOLO ALBUM

The Bluegrass Situation
​- January 3, 2020 -
"Michael Cleveland is one of the defining fiddlers of his generation, known for his incredibly quick licks, deep groove, and shiver-inducing double stops. His virtuosity has been recognized by artists from many different genres and their thoughtful collaborations have proven that Cleveland is much more than just a flashy fiddler."

Roland White: Then and Now,
​A Mandolin Mentor

No Depression
​- February 5, 2018 -
"Since he began performing more than six decades ago, Roland White has left his mark on bluegrass music with his singing, guitar playing, and particularly his mandolin playing, which has been inspiring to multiple generations of musicians. His discography reveals both his consistent musicality as well as his development from a young virtuoso into a confident master of the mandolin over the course of a truly amazing career. His style, defined by his groove, cleverness, drive, whimsy, and mastery of phrasing, is both familiar and singular in a way that has carried the bluegrass tradition forward."

Cover Story: “Jeff Scroggins”

Banjo Newsletter
​​- Janurary 1, 2018 -
"One of my favorite sayings was Georgia O’Keeffe saying that she has been afraid every minute of her life and she hasn’t let that stop her from doing anything. I think about that often because, as I said, I spend most of my time really afraid of all the things that I had to do to make this happen and just trying to figure out how to get past it. Once you do that though you have a lot of amazing experiences. I’m glad I experienced that."

Ellie Hakanson: Poised for Center Stage

Fiddler Magazine
​- Spring 2019 -

The Most Family-Friendly Thing You Ever Do​

Bluegrass Pride: The Forward Roll
​​- December 21, 2017 -
"You've always wanted to make music that made people feel how your heroes made you feel. Now you can also help make a community that makes people feel like they belong the way your found family did for you."

ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS
​The Exotic Birds of Cascabel

No Depression
​- January 14, 2018 -
"[the bird] had learned to roller skate using these specially designed bird skates. But one day, he accidentally fell into a pile of lead ball bearings and got lead poisoning, severely mentally disabling him. But he still remembered how to skate."

Monroe Mondays:
“The Lloyd Loar”

Peghead Nation
​​- Janurary 8, 2018 -
​A tune of rebirth, named by the man who repaired Bill Monroe’s iconic mandolin.

Contact

Tristan Scroggins
No You Step Back (ASCAP)
505.720.2482
tristanscroggins@gmail.com
​Nashville, TN