The Grascals are no longer participating in the 2010 Bluegrass Cruise in February. According to a press release, Grascals fans who have paid for tickets on the cruise can cancel their reservations and get a full refund if they act quick. Cancellations must be requested prior to November 15 as a full refund will not be available from Carnival Cruise lines after that date….

Bluegrass festivals aren’t set up as battles of the bands. It’s just not the nature of the bluegrass world, where harmony, not heated competition, rules — both on the vocal side of things and also in the kinship and brotherhood of bluegrass musicians.

In fact, it’s this great community spirit that’s so attractive to many bluegrass fans and musicians, myself included. It’s a world where fans aren’t merely fans, they’re friends of the artists and their band members.

After setting that stage, I’ll confess to a twinge of guilt when I anticipated attending last week’s Greater Downstate Indoor Bluegrass Festival in Springfield, Ill. I had set up my own little mind game, a war of the bands if you will, between Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and Dailey & Vincent. Shame on me, huh? Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

I hadn’t seen Doyle Lawson and his fine group perform for four or five years, back when Jamie Dailey and Barry Scott were providing the band’s explosive vocals. How, I wondered, would Lawson’s new lineup stack up against Dailey & Vincent, perhaps the hottest act in bluegrass today?…

Jimmie Rodgers, aka The Singing Brakeman and The Blue Yodeler, wasn’t bluegrass. In fact, bluegrass didn’t exist as a genre during Rodgers’ short career. But in the time since his death, including today, bluegrass artists have embraced his songs and have given them new life….

In an effort to help more young people discover bluegrass music, the International Bluegrass Music Association hosts an annual Bluegrass Lesson Plan Competition designed to encourage and reward the creation of instructional units at all grade levels that will expose students to the sounds and the analysis of bluegrass music….

Nashville, Tenn., — Epiphone Guitar announced today the release of the Limited Edition Roy Orbison 12-String Signature Acoustic model. Produced in cooperation with the legendary singer/songwriter Roy Orbison estate, the model is based upon Roy’s own 1962 Epiphone “Bard” 12-string acoustic guitar. Orbison used his original Epiphone…