Tradition!

l. to r.: Evan McGregor, Adam McIntosh, Joe Mullins, Tim Kidd,
Mike Terry

As a member of the Traditional Grass, Joe Mullins performed on the same stage with the likes of Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley. Now, with the Radio Ramblers, he carries the torch originally lit by those luminaries.

The Traditional Grass broke up shortly before my passion for this music was kindled in the mid-1990s, so I never got the chance to see the band live (though I have practically worn out its fine recordings, especially the flat-out awesome 10th Anniversary Collection).

But I intend (Lord willing and the creek don't rise) to make up for that lack in my bluegrass experience by seeing Joe and the Ramblers twice this summer -- at Bean Blossom in June and at Rockome Gardens in August.

May

Who are these traditional pickers?

This group, led by the banjo man in the middle, toured extensively last year -- 35,000 miles in 20 states. And it plans to do the same this year, including stops at Bean Blossom and Rockome Gardens (both of which I plan to attend).

This banjoist is well known in bluegrass circles, having gotten his start in Nashville back in the 1980s with the Traditional Grass, a band that also included his father and the late Gerald Evans Jr. With his new mates, he has released two CDs on Rebel Records, continuing in the same traditional vein, the way, says one Nashville DJ, "God and Bill Monroe intended bluegrass to be played."

The boys are pictured here in front of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, where the music got its start in the 1940s.

Significant May dates in bluegrass history

• 2nd: Roy Lee Centers, lead singer with the Clinch Mountain Boys, died (1974)
• 9th: Keith Whitley, former lead singer with the Clinch Mountain Boys, died (1989)
• 10th: "Mother Maybelle" Carter was born (1909)
• 11th: Lester Flatt died (1979)
• 14th: Jimmy Martin died (2005)
• 17th: Red Smiley, half of the popular duo Reno & Smiley, was born (1925)
• 26th: Rob Ickes, dobro player for Blue Highway, was born (1967)
• 28th: Jerry Douglas, dobro player for the rest of the planet, was born (1956)

Driving at Night

l. to r.: Mark Stoffel, Ned Luberecki, Jon Weisberger,
Chris Jones

With fellow Weary Hearts Ron Block, Butch Baldassari, and Mike Bub, Chris Jones left behind a classic recording entitled By Heart (Flying Fish, 1989), produced by Hot Rize's Tim O'Brien.

In 1990, Chris relocated to Nashville.

"It was an interesting time," he recalls. "A little more of the bluegrass sounds were being accepted at that time and it was also a time when a lot of other bluegrass pickers were moving here."

He formed the Night Drivers in 1997, and, later that year, I saw them perform at Rockome Gardens in Illinois. I remember being surprised at the sound of his voice, which is somewhat low, not at all like the "high lonesome sound" one associates with this type of music. But it works, especially when accompanied by some tenor harmony provided by one of the Drivers.

Many musicians have worn that appellation over the years. Current mandolinist/fiddler Mark Stoffel, a native of Germany, is a former winner of the Illinois State Fiddle Champioship, held annually at the Illinois State Fair. Bassist Jon Weisberger is well known in bluegrass circles as a writer of articles and CD liner notes as well as currently serving as IBMA's vice chair. Former Rarely Herd banjoist Ned Luberecki hosts a bluegrass program on Sirius, as does Chris.

l. to r.: Ron Block, the late Butch Baldassari, Jones,
Mike Bub.

April

Who are these "night"time pickers?

Formerly a member of Weary Hearts, this bluegrass singer and songwriter formed his own band in the mid-1990s. The band's first CD, No One But You, appeared in 1997.

Since then, the band has recorded and traveled extensively. Its recent "best of" collection is entitled Lost Souls & Free Spirits.

Two members of the group host bluegrass programs on SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and another member currently serves as vice chair of the International Bluegrass Music Association.

The band is based in Nashville and is pictured here in front of Gruhn Guitars, a music store in downtown Nashville featuring vintage bluegrass instruments.


Significant April dates in bluegrass history

• 2nd: Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver formed (1979)
• 10th: Gerald Evans, of Traditional Grass, died (2010)
• 13th: Sam Bush was born (1952)
• 16th: April Stevens, one half of the Stevens Sisters, was born (1974)
• 20th: Doyle Lawson was born (1944)
• 22nd: Hazel Dickens died (2011)
• 30th: Rob McCoury was born (1971)

Not So Little Anymore

Ronnie Reno

But he was Little Ronnie Reno when he played in the Don Reno Band a half-century ago. Don was his legendary banjo-playing father, who -- with Red Smiley -- blazed the bluegrass trail in the 1950s and early 1960s with songs such as "I'm Using My Bible for a Roadmap" and "I'm the Talk of the Town."

Don died in 1984. With his two brothers, Ronnie formed the Reno Brothers to carry on the tradition with recordings such as Drawing from the Well. I remember seeing the brothers perform at Rockome Gardens in the mid-1990s.

Currently, Ronnie Reno & the Reno Tradition carry the torch. Ronnie also hosts Reno's Old-Time Music Festival on the BlueHighways television network. He came to Nashville in the mid-1960s, "about 50 years of just having a good time ... making a good living -- a clean living I might add -- and playing our music," he says.

March

Who is this bluegrass child prodigy?

This mandolin picker and singer is the son of a bluegrass pioneer. He was a musical prodigy, performing in his father's band when he was still so little he needed to stand on a milk crate to reach the microphone.

That was in the 1950s. Since then, he has performed and recorded with the likes of Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Mel Tillis, and the Osborne Brothers. In the 1990s, he formed a trio with his brothers, Dale and Don Wayne. Currently, he fronts his own band.

He is also involved in the BlueHighways TV network, which broadcasts bluegrass music all over America via satellite as well as on 25 cable networks.

Significant March dates in bluegrass history

• 3rd: Doc Watson was born (1923)
• 4th: John Duffey, of the Country Gentlemen and the Seldom Scene, was born (1934)
• 15th: Last public performance by Bill Monroe, Friday Night Opry, Nashville (1996)
• 16th: Tim O'Brien (1954) and Ronnie McCoury (1967) were born
• 19th: Randall Hylton died (2001)
• 23rd: David Grisman was born (1945)
• 28th: Earl Scruggs died (2012)
• 29th: Mike Lantz, mandolinist for Front Range, died (2006)

Another North Carolina Jordan

l. to r.: Josh Goforth, Ben Greene, Lorraine Jordan,
Brad Hudson, Tommy Long

That's right. Not Michael. Lorraine. She fronts her own group, Carolina Road -- a band steeped in the tradition-rich sounds of the Carolina hills.

Though based in North Carolina, Lorraine loves coming to Nashville.

"It's just so wonderful to walk down the streets of Nashville and know that you're walking in the same steps that so many of the legends have walked," she says. "I've been coming to Nashville ever since I was a little girl ... and I'll be coming here until my dying days."