News

PORT TOWNSEND, WASH. — Acoustic Disc has announced the release of David Grisman Quartet with Svend Asmussen Live at Fat Tuesday's in a high definition, download format.

Asmussen, from Denmark, was an incredible violinist and one of the true pioneers of string jazz. He made his first recordings with the great ...

NASHVILLE, TENN. — Bluegrass Jam Standard Fiddle Tune Favorites is the title of a new print book with standard notation and tablature for mandolin by Tristan Scroggins.

The book, available in both print and digital through the author's ...

SURFSIDE, S.C. — The 6th Annual Alan Bibey Mandolin Camp (including Guitar & Bass tracks) will be held August 25-28, 2021 in conjunction with the Ocean Lakes Bluegrass Festival.

Joining Alan on the mandolin faculty will be Don Stiernberg and Ralph McGee as well as one more ...

Online Workshop this Sunday from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. Central at Old Town School of Folk Music


CHICAGO — Join world-renowned mandolinist David "Dawg" Grisman this Sunday, Feb. 28 from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. for a journey through his extensive ...

Kentucky School of Bluegrass instructor reissues his 2010 solo album and 2016 instructional DVD

Photo credit: Bourbon & Brides

Cue up Larry Sparks' 2005 album, The Coldest Part of Winter." Take a listen to track five, Scott Napier's "Parkway Blues." Pay attention to the arc of the melody; the way it handles the road, how it holds the corners. Now, consider the fact that Napier wrote the tune one dark night on the Bert D. Combs Mountain Parkway, mandolin in hand, driving the long, isolated stretch back home with his knees.

It brings a new dimension to the concept of commitment, eh? Napier is definitely committed to the mandolin, as composer, player and teacher. Heck, he's even committed to his actual instrument, a 1939 Gibson F5 that recalls, in key attributes, the storied ...

PORT TOWNSEND, WASH. — Acoustic Disc has announced Acoustic Encounters, a new audio podcast with Danny Barnes & David Grisman recorded in the Acoustic Disc studios.

Each episode will feature conversations and music about and ...

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Live at Club Passim is the title of a new self-releases project from Ethan Setiawan.

About the recording Ethan told us, "In the middle of a pandemic, Matt Smith of Club Passim made available to artists a massive backlog of live recordings from Passim. I stumbled across two shows the year I put out a record and toured it. Listening ...

MONTEAGLE, TENN. — The 2021 Monroe Mandolin Camp video scholarship competition with dates and rules has been announced by the event organizers with full details available on the camp web site.

The competition is open to candidates of any age. To apply, entrants must upload a video of themselves playing a Bill Monroe tune or instrumental to YouTube and email the link to camp organizers (see Video Scholarship Submission Guidelines linked below).

Videos ...

MONTEAGLE, TENN. — Registration is now open for the 8th Annual Monroe Mandolin Camp. Camp takes place September 15-19, 2021 at the DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle with classes in all the quintessential bluegrass band instruments.

Monroe Mandolin Camp offers over 100 classes in mandolin, fiddle, banjo, bass, guitar and vocal harmony singing taught by today's leading masters. Novice, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced level classes offer something for players of every ability level.

New this year are a special roundtable/Q&A discussion led by musical bluegrass legends Norman and Nancy Blake, Master Classes in Band Dynamics and Harmony Singing, a fun afternoon Band Scramble, and an old-fashioned Pig Roast (vegetarian options available, too!).
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NASHVILLE, TENN. — Sierra Hull has announced the impending release of an EP from the original 2013 Weighted Mind sessions, a more full band version of the project before it was re-recorded with Bela Fleck producing.

The project is best summed up in this video Sierra shared with her mailing list earlier today!
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Witching Hour

Fable & Fire

Following the highly acclaimed Buried in a Cape, Andrew Marlin is set to release two full-length instrumental projects featuring his original compositions.

Witching Hour and Fable & Fire were created during and partially in response to the pandemic, a time when instrumental compositions freely emerged from Marlin's creative process.

Both albums are currently available for pre-order with Witching Hour being released on most major platforms, streaming and download, on February 5, with Fable & Fire following February 19.
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GOODLETSVILLE, TENN. — Nashville Acoustic Camps has announced a Virtual Mandolin Skill Builder Workshop led by Tristan Scroggins starting February 6. The Zoom course includes 4 classes and will be ongoing in four-week blocks with a break of a week or two in between ...

RIPTON, VT. — Registration for Matt Flinner's Winter Virtual Mandolin Camp held January 29-31 has opened. The three-day online camp features Alan Bibey, Don Stiernberg, David Surette along with Flinner.

Each day, students will be ...

PORT TOWNSEND, WASH. — David Grisman's Acoustic Disc has announced the launch of their new web site at https://acousticdisc.com/.

The site has many new features plus the complete catalog of physical CDs and digital download releases, all ...

FENTON, MO. — In this sequel to The Complete Mandolinist, world-renowned mandolinist Marilynn Mair expands on her previous method books, presenting over 100 compositions that span 5 centuries, works she has thoughtfully edited or arranged ...

FENTON, MO. — Mandolin Picking Tunes: Early Music Gems by Dix Bruce is a collection of 34 wonderful songs from the 1200s to the 1600s especially arranged for intermediate and advanced mandolinists.

The titles span ...

FENTON, MO. — Mel Bay Publications, Inc. has announced the release of Gypsy Swing & Hot Club Rhythm Complete Mandolin Edition, by Dix Bruce.

This Book/CD Set contains 29 great swing standards in the style of Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli, and ...

PORTLAND, OR — Dennis Benjamin and Steve Mullins, two childhood friends take separate musical paths, uniting after years to join together in the recording of the instrumental EP by their group Acoustic Remnant entitled Sliding Ida.

Listen ...

Seasonal Suites for Mandocello and Seasonal Suites for Octave Mandolin are two new publications by John Goodin, a collection of four sets of tunes.

All of the pieces in the collection were arranged with larger mandolin family instruments in mind. The longer scale lengths and deeper resonance of the mandocello and octave mandolin ...

FAIRFAX, CA — Peghead Nation has announced an eight-part live Zoom workshop series taught by mandolin instructor Sharon Gilchrist entitled "Melodic Embellishment: A Doorway to Improvisation."

The series, designed for beginning to ...

WASHINGTON D.C. — Tom Wright has announced the release of his new recording for 10-string mandolin entitled 5 x 2.

About the album Wright told us, "It begins with Bach, heads to Brazil for some choro by Hamilton de Holanda and Dudu Maia, touches on Frank Zappa and Igor Stravinsky, ...

CHICAGO — The Old Town School of Folk Music has announced a virtual online event with mandolin legend David Grisman to be held December 19, 1:00-2:30 p.m. Central Time.

Join David Grisman for a discussion on all things mandolin ...

The duo of Alexey Alexandrov and Ekaterina Skliar, have announced the release of their holiday themed recording entitled Mandolin Mirth.

Both masters of Russian domra and mandolin, Alexey and Ekaterina came together in 2015 to form a unique mandolin-domra duo that presents a repertoire ...

Slovak mandolinist Jozef Scheiner has announced the release of a new album entitled La Mando, dedicated to mandola. Scheiner presents his own compositions, recorded in the company of musicians from the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic playing an H-5 mandola that was specially crafted for this project by ...