John McEuen of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band fame, has allowed us to publish the his story documenting Latvian music icon and rock-a-billy artist Pete Anderson and their recent reunion at Norways’ Seljord Country Music Festival.

McEuen and Anderson forged a friendship during the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s historic 1977 tour of the former Soviet Union. On that tour the Dirt Band became the first American group to perform in the USSR.…

Nell Robinson is a west coast Bluegrass, Folk & Country artists who regularly performs with John Reischman and the Jaybirds, Jim Nunally and Laurie Lewis. Her latest album is the 2009 release, “Nell Robinson in Loango.”

Robinson also performs in a duo known as The Henriettas that pays homage to the 1930′s sister duo The DeZurik Sisters with friend and fellow artist Cary Sheldon.

Back in April of this year, Robinson was contact by Garrison Keillor who was looking to book The Henriettas for “A Prairie Home Companion” episode taking place in Seattle. ….

I recently came across a CD that was released long before Bluegrass Journal was born and well before I started getting serious about writing albums reviews. It’s one of those things I don’t remember acquiring, and quite honestly, I don’t even remember listening to it. Too bad, it’s a real gem. I’m glad I rediscovered Andy Leftwich’s solo CD, Ride.

Parts of the album are like being at a bluegrass festival after midnight and stumbling onto the best jam session you could ever imagine.

At least, that’s what some of Ride is about. Other parts are like stepping back to the late 1890s or early 1900s into someone’s fancy parlor or a bistro to listen to some refined string music of the day. A few tidbits fall right into the 21st century groove….

John Titus is scratching his head — but he’s grinning.

John Titus has been recording bluegrass bands in Camden, W.Va., for several years in his J&V Audio studio. Now, he has a brand new recording studio and new equipment to offer his clients.

So, why the head-scratch and grin?

“Surprisingly, I have had my busiest year ever,” Titus wrote in a recent note to BluegrassJournal. com. “I’m not sure why, with the economy the way it is.”…

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?…