Blue Ridge
Artist: The Seldom Scene

Songwriter and vocalist Jonathan Edwards ("Sunshine") teams with The Seldom Scene's flawless playing. Featuring Edwards, John Duffey, Mike Auldridge, Phil Rosenthal, Ben Eldridge, Tom Gray, Robbie Magruder, and Kenny White. ~ Chip Renner, All Music Guide Read More

Our Little Town
Artist: The Special Consensus

Our Little Town dabs the Special Consensus' traditional-style bluegrass with touches of folk, country, and jazz; the playing, as usual, is spotless. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide Read More

A Long Lonesome Time
Artist: Richard Bennett

Johnson City, Tennessee native Richard Bennett has been a professional musician since age 11. His resume includes a six-year tour with J.D. Crowe and the New South, as well as a stint in the house band at Dollywood. His second Rebel release features his explosive guitar work and steady vocals on a nice blend of bluegrass classics, original songs... Read More

Josh Graves
Artist: Josh Graves

On this album of mostly traditional bluegrass, split evenly between instrumental and vocal numbers (nicely handled by Terry Eldredge), Graves proves he is still one of the world's great dobro masters. The set includes familiar tunes from the catalogs of the Carter Family, Bill Monroe, the Delmore Brothers, and Flatt & Scruggs, plus a handful of... Read More

Bound to Ride
Artist: Jim Mills

A banjo player with a voice and style that brings thoughts of Flatt & Scruggs to mind, Mills is a comforting presence in a world gone mad with high tech and pre-fab sounds. Touted by WSM Grand Ole Opry announcer Eddie Stubbs and Ricky Skaggs, he even gets a thumbs up from Earl Scruggs himself. Pretty impressive, as is his high-octane picking.... Read More

American Beauty
Artist: The Nashville Bluegrass Band

Always a delight, this band is one of the best in any genre. Pure and true to the music, they pull off such classics as the Flatt & Scruggs song "The Johnson Boys" and Ralph Stanley's "Holiday Pickin'" with finesse. They do a wonderful cover of Bob Dylan's "Livin' the Blues" and make the Gillian Welch-David Rawlings tune "Red Clay Halo" feel... Read More

Doin' My Time
Artist: Aubrey Haynie

Aubrey Haynie's debut, recorded at the ripe old age of 23, is a tour de force in bluegrass, country, and Western swing instrumentals. Taking the title track from Haynie's version of the Flatt & Scruggs classic, Doin' My Time never disappoints, as the young artist effortlessly tosses off amazing renditions of traditionals like "Cherokee Shuffle,"... Read More

The Early Rebel Recordings 1962-1971
Artist: The Country Gentlemen

This is an especially pleasing four-CD set, comprising most of the Country Gentlemen's recordings for the Rebel label over a period of nine years, when they used bluegrass music as a vehicle for innovation by way of country, folk, and rock. The influence of the Osborne Brothers can be heard throughout their early work (along with more mainstream... Read More

The 'Tis Sweet to Be Remembered: Essential Flatt & Scruggs
Artist: Flatt & Scruggs
Community Score: 4.00

Excepting a few years with Mercury at the beginning of their career, Flatt & Scruggs made all of their studio recordings for Columbia. This double-disc set is the most useful survey of their work for the label, spanning 1950 to 1969, and throwing in three unreleased tracks along the way. In addition to the expected sterling bluegrass, it has... Read More

Picture in a Tear
Artist: Wyatt Rice

Wyatt Rice's progressive bluegrass quintet shines on Picture in a Tear. Relying primarily on original material, Rice and his band pulls out energetic, vibrant performances out of each song on the record, even the weaker material. Fortunately, there isn't too much weak material here -- the Wyatt Rice combo sounds like they've been playing... Read More

Everything You Do
Artist: New Coon Creek Girls
Community Score: 9.00
Flashback
Artist: J.D. Crowe & The New South

Flashback is a first-rate retrospective of banjo player J.D. Crowe. Originally released on the Rounder label in 1994, Flashback traces Crowe's formative years with the Osborne Brothers, Jimmy Martin and as leader of the New South. The album was embraced by bluegrass fans and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album upon release. Among... Read More

Classic Bluegrass
Artist: The Lost & Found
Coming of Age
Artist: The Rarely Herd

As the title suggests, Coming of Age is a sign that the Rarely Herd have matured into one of contemporary bluegrass' finest acts. Returning to mostly secular material, the group welcomes guest banjoist Don Wayne Reno. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide Read More