I am not a huge commercial country music fan and I don't really spend a lot of time watching CMT, but occasionally I will dwell on it a litte while flipping channels. In years past, I have noticed, as has been remarked on this site many times, that mandolin sightings with major country groups have been surprisingly rare.
This week, just flipping around, I have spotted two and both were not "bluegrassy" groups, nor were they playing bluegrassy mandos. One was Bon Jovi, who is apparently "going country." In the video of thier new single, "Have a Nice Day," a member of their backup band, not Richie Sambora, was playing an Ovation mando.
Then tonite, I spotted a group called "Sugarland," whose lead player was working on a Rigel G-110 in their video. I checked out thier website and the guy is Kristian Bush (good last name for a mando player!) and the site showed him playing a Breedlove.
Is this a trend? I don't know, but I always like to see the instrument get out in front in new and different ways, even if it is in genres I am not passionate about.
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