If you’ve ever chatted with Mr. David Brewer, Scottish highland piper extraordinaire, you might remember that one of his favorite words is “epic.” David is well known in the American piping community for composing epic pipe tunes, arranging them into epic pipe sets, and bringing them to the stage in an energetic style that can ..read more

Evie Ladin continues her ongoing mission to meld old-time banjo with modern folk sounds with her newest EP titled Playing Our Hand, released last month. Calling this an album of cover songs is perhaps redundant (what old-time music isn’t a cover?) but still accurate, since these are covers of contemporary pieces that range from Paul ..read more

The new album from Ireland-based oldtime outfit Grits & Gravy, their first release, is jam-packed with a passel of high-octane traditional American fiddle tunes and songs. The music on this record shines like a mirror, reflecting our American music back to us across the Atlantic with an authentic patina that belies the Old World roots ..read more

Marla Fibish just released a brilliant solo album titled The Bright Hollow Fog. What a thrill this record is to me. To sit back and soak in the glory as Marla Fibish makes her mandolin sing the good old jigs and reels… it’s just magical. The arrangements feature her 1922 Gibson A mandolin and 1914 ..read more

American old-time music has undergone quite a revival in these past few years. As in other genres of “trad” music (such as Irish or bluegrass), old-time music has its repertory of standards that everyone knows and everyone plays when the devotees gather to jam and share tunes. But the Holy Grail of old-time music must ..read more

  Orkney folksinger Kris Drever has a new record out called Hill and Shore on Reveal Records. On it, Kris continues his musical journey of exploring the deep connections between the land and sea of his native Orkney Islands (Scotland) along with newer sounds that nicely keep pace with the most current of modern folk ..read more

Swedish folk supergroup Väsen celebrates 30 years with the release of a new album on April 19. The title “Rule of 3” refers to these three decades as well as their favorite time signature, shared by both polskas and waltzes, forms which which they often play. The band is a trio, forming of course a ..read more