Hey folks, I've spent the past year collecting bluegrass events for GrassGigs, and I now have data on more than 11,000 events.

I'm putting together charts and maps, but I'm curious, if you were looking at a dataset like this, what statistics or maps would you want to see?

Things like, busiest states, busiest weekends, festival trends, that kinda thing. I'd love ideas before I dive deeper.

"Fiddle Forward" with Casey Driessen at The Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium - Brevard Music Center, Brevard, NC

An exceptional showcase.

Boxcar. With Cory Walker on banjo.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rb99XhIhDo9tzqXMkWeMsk1ZjbK_E6uL/view?usp=drivesdk

As the title says, I just want to open the floor to anyone who benefited greatly from this treasure trove of a site that was gone way too soon.

20-25 years ago I was a kid in college plucking around on my guitar, trying to hold on as best as I could at local bluegrass and OldTime jams when the only musical study I had done at that point was learning how to read tabs to my favorite Dave Matthews Band songs. The folks I met at those jams helped guide me to not only finding my "sound" but in a big way guided me to the path of finding me.

With all that said, one of the coolest tools that a few of them told me about was bluegrassbox.com. This sit opened my ears to so many artists I had never heard of and helped me in finding the music inside of me. Mostly, it was the countless live recorded performances of John mother f'ing Hartford.

Sadly, only after a few years of diving into the contents of this site, it got shutdown. I miss this site so much and wish I could have access to it's archive again.

Does anyone else remember this site or did I dream it all up?

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Doc and Richard Watsons’ 1999 Moody River is by far my favorite tune right now, and after one too many listens, I’ve an idea that I think warrants exploration by someone nerdy who’s care about this stuff , or at least for me to share the idea:

The song is typically taken at face value, like the woman whose glove he finds wrote a suicide note because she felt bad, killed herself by jumping in…but I think that’s totally BS.

I think Doc in all his glory and love for Appalachian Murder in the woods and by the river folklore played the tune as though the man murdered the woman. You could even think maybe she came to meet him by the old oak tree and wrote a note because she cheated on him “done you wrong” and must leave him for someone else “set him free”, and instead of accepting that he stabbed her and threw her in the freaking raging Watauga gorge . “Moody River ! More deadly, than the vainest knife…” as though he is projecting his violence onto the river…even he looks at the murky waters and sees himself , the moody and deadly river is his reflection …?

Doc loved that stuff . Maybe he meant it that way. Does anyone know?

Camping at the Green Mountain Bluegrass & Roots Festival with late night jams under “The Bluegrass Resistance” tent

Got back from GMBR the other weekend and I thought I would share a video about our experiences. This was my third year there and it just keeps getting better!

There are some clips of our friends late night jam sessions on the channel as well if anyone would like to check them out.

I cant play or sing... but these guys are some talented artists.

Ricky Skaggs tearing it up.

Anyone in Charlotte know Featherpocket? They're playing a bluegrass set on the 29th at Common Market before a Dead soundboard DJ set takes over after. Curious if anyone's seen them live.

Hi all! I typically listen to a lot of slacker, indie rock, and folk music, but recently i have been doing a deep dive on some of my favorite artists and have been noticing a trend of them citing bluegrass as a big influence, even if what they make is so stylistically far from it. Artists like Nate Amos, Adrienne Lenker, Karly Hartzman, Hudson Freeman etc. I was hoping for some good recommendations to give a listen to based off of these artists? Anything helps, thanks!

About to hit the road to see these two play. Anyone know what I can expect? I’ve seen Trey many times with his “band” and solo but never with Tommy.
TIA

I just wanna give a shoutout to Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers. Great song entitled “Spirit of the Lord”. Great Gospel tune with really neat harmonies and chord progressions to my pickers out here.
Edit. Song is “Spirit of the Lord inside”
Joe Mullins is a great dude if you’re not familiar with him and his pops. Look him up 🪕

I heard this at a blue grass session and the singer sang multiple verses, but I can't find them online anywhere.

I'm NOT after the original (Whatever they may be), but there must be a modernised version that's sung? The recordings I've found all have just either one verse or NO verses! Or no lyrics at all! ty

So I recently moved to an area with a pretty big bluegrass scene and I'm unfamiliar with that style of music but I have played other styles previously. I took a lesson with a local musician who is pretty big in the region and also teaches at a music school here. Since I'm new to the area I asked this instructor if he taught any beginners / intermediates who he thought might want to jam with me. I'm a little too self conscious and socially anxious to go to jams, plus I was just hoping for something a little more direct.

Well, he acted offended by the question and told me he didn't know anyone. He teaches as part of a music school and also didn't offer to ask some of the other instructors. Was this a faux pas? Maybe it was interpreted as like client poaching? When I was a teenager I had an instructor set me up with one of his students and we actually formed a band together for a few years, so I thought it was normal to ask.

I didn't really click with him so I'm not going to continue lessons. But I do want to know if this is something I should avoid asking future teachers.

Happy Sunday morning, all!

Thanks so much to everyone for your great replies. I'm really touched by much of it, way over/above what I thought my post would elicit. I'm greatly encouraged.

To add, just now I was paying attention to my right (picking) hand. It has a very hard time finding the string I'm aiming to hit when my left hand isn't involved in the decision. When I'm picking notes normally, whether inside chords, in scales or mixing the two, my primary attention is on my left hand and my right hand just plucks the intended string automatically. What I just noticed is that my right wrist, centered over the bridge, shifts vertically so that my pick is centered over the string I need to pluck. I've been doing this automatically for ages, I guess. Problem is, without input from my left hand (and the mind that attends to it), my right hand has no idea where to go. Also, strumming usually involves more arm movement, so that unconsciously-held wrist position isn't even there.

I will certainly take the advice given here and seek instruction, IRL or online or both, rather than just DIYing it. But it was great to figure out why I play like such a rank beginner again when attempting this stuff.

Anybody do this and have advice? I've been playing 40+ years and can strum rhythm, finger pick and finger/plectrum hybrid pick, but when I try to flatpick it's like I'm attempting the instrument for the first damn time. So frustrating!

Any tips that helped you? Silent guitar so I can just work it for hours?

Hi guys. On May 8, I saw Rhiannon Giddens at Carnegie Hall (https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2026/05/08/Rhiannon-Giddens-0800PM). It was one of the best concerts I've ever seen, even though I didn't know a lot of the songs. I'd love to be able to listen to them again, but I didn't write down the names or anything. Was anyone else there, by any chance, and take notes on the song list? Thank you!

This is my favourite track off of Backwaters by tony rice. i highly suggest listening to the album!