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There is a circuitous quality to Alejandro Escovedo's latest album, "Real Animal." The album is essentially a work of autobiography that details, in allusory song form, the cultural, musical and personal path that Escovedo has carved over the past 30 years.

To tell the story of "Real Animal," it becomes necessary to tell Escovedo's story, which he does to a certain extent on the CD. And while the songs offer specific glimpses into Escovedo's long, storied career against a musical backdrop that encompasses roots, punk and glam rock, alt.-country and soulful electric folk, they also simultaneously mark the inexorable march of personal time and earthshaking musical eras.

"If you look at 'Slow Down,' it's about time passing, and 'Golden Bear' was a great metaphor for the music and the passing of time," he says. "In 'Slow Down,' there's that line says, 'Let me take your hand, there's something I want to show you, you can hear the music in the wind out on the pier.' That kind of vibe... »»»

The way Jamie Johnson of The Grascals views it, the adage "if ain't broke, don't fix it" applies to the bluegrass sextet's new "Keep on Walkin'" CD. Who could blame him either? The group has enjoyed two well-received albums, a hit single with "Me and John and Paul" and won the prestigious entertainer of the year award two years running from the International Bluegrass Music Association. Not bad for a group of mainly veteran musicians who came together only four years ago for the long haul playing bluegrass and country.

Johnson, who shares lead singing chores with Terry Eldredge, says with the new CD, the group "took the same approach and wrote a few songs. We get songs from the great songwriters in Nashville and around the country and also the traditional music from the Osborne Brothers, Flatts & Scruggs and Jimmy Martin and stuff like that. It turned out a lot more traditional, and that's a good thing. We're still The Grascals. We'd love to be tied to traditional bluegrass (and... »»»

The transition from overnight success to a long-term career in the music industry is definitely not an easy one for a band. Many a talented group has emerged from relative obscurity to obtain immediate commercial success, critical accolades and flashy labels like "the next big thing," only to fade quickly away. One band trying to prove it is here to stay is The Infamous Stringdusters.

In 2 short years, this 6-piece acoustic group experienced a meteoric ascension from a band in its infancy stage to an established recording and touring act and a 3-time winner at the 2007 IBMA Awards, a prestigious event held annually by the International Bluegrass Music Association. At last year's ceremony, the band won "Emerging Artist of the Year," "Album of the Year" for their debut release "Fork in the Road" and "Song of the Year" for the title track.

With all of this early success, it is completely understandable if people wondered whether the band could maintain the momentum, but with the... »»»

It's not that Junior Sisk fell off the bluegrass map; it just seems that way. After helping to lead traditional bluegrass units like Wyatt Rice and Santa Cruz, the original edition of Ramblers Choice, Lost & Found and BlueRidge for the better part of the late 1990s and into the new millennium, Sisk seemingly disappeared after BlueRidge disbanded in late 2006 just as the band was reaching the heights of bluegrass stature.

BlueRidge had released three widely acclaimed albums and received plenty of praise for their electrifying live performances. Sisk admits he did fade into the background after BlueRidge disbanded. Forming a new band, he said, seemed like an incredibly daunting task. And he felt like he needed some plain old down time. Yet it wasn't like he completely set down his trusty six-string and used that powerful, distinctive tenor merely for conversational purposes.

"After BlueRidge split up, I was just filling in here and there," says Sisk from his home in the BlueRidge... »»»

The Road Hammers' musical journey began rather questionably as a Canadian reality show. So, why is its self-titled, authentic country trucking song-filled "Blood Sweat & Steel" CD so doggone good? Well, to begin with, the making of this band began with genuine certified parts, as each piece of hardware in its toolbox was already job-tested before the hammering road gang ever took shape. Secondly, The Road Hammers built their house with good wood, so to speak, by constructing a song list out of great old songs from the past and equally well-written new ones.

"It was CMT Canada," vocalist Jason McCoy explains, "and they heard that on my solo project, I was putting together a concept band where we thought we'd make this ultimate driving record. And they followed us with cameras right from the beginning. That led to having a platinum record in Canada (their debut came out in 2005, and they have 4 top 10 singles in Canada), and that led to signing with the folks in Nashville, Montage Music. Then GAC picked up what was our second season, which was about us going to America. So it was quite a ride."... »»»

The end of junior year in high school for many is a whirlwind of final exams, making summer plans (maybe even including a job) and complaining about a recently-taken senior yearbook picture. For a rising young bluegrass performer like Sierra Hull, it's all that and a lot more.

Just within the last two months, she's fronted her own band, played the venerable Merle Watson festival in North Carolina, shot a bit part in and played on the soundtrack of an upcoming movie and, let's see, what else? - Oh yeah, she's also enjoying the early May release on Rounder of "Secrets," her recorded debut as a full-fledged instrumental and vocal talent.

Enjoying a rare evening off two days after the end of the school year, Hull is relaxing at home in her native Byrdstown, Tenn., close along the Kentucky line some 90 miles or so to the east-northeast of Nashville (where she's become a familiar part of the Music City bluegrass scene - just check out the all-star cast backing her on "Secrets").... »»»

"It's a great little group of people," says Buddy Woodward of the Dixie Bee Liners. "Probably the best band I've ever been in." When one considers how many bands Woodward has been part of that have enjoyed fervent cult followings, that's saying something. However, after toiling away in various roots music aggregations for the better part of two decades, the eclectic singer-songwriter/voice actor is finally part of a band that has a shot at connecting with a larger audience. Stuffed with hybrid influences and cross-cultural sounds, the tuneful bluegrass combo featuring versatile Brandi Hart's soulful lead voice, just released their second album, "Ripe," and first for Pinecastle.

Although the Bee Liners exhibit a high degree of roots music skills, the band draws fire from some hard line traditionalists. "If you talk to people that are full on into straight, traditional, old time bluegrass music, they don't know what the hell we are," Woodward explains from his Virginia home. "It's not necessarily your daddy's bluegrass."... »»»

Hayes Carll is a Texas singer/songwriter, which is a categorical description that holds a lot of artistic weight. After all, this subset also includes Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle and Townes Van Zandt. And heck, let's not forget Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.

But what exactly makes Texas singer/songwriters so special? Well, it is about more than just being born in that big state. Rather, it likely has something to do with a territorial individualistic streak, where when it comes to Texas songsmiths -- as with fingerprints and snowflakes -- no two are ever alike.

The hard part is trying to choose which particular Texas favorite Carll is most like. On his Lost Highway debut, "Trouble In Mind," Carll's third release, many differing, yet equally valid comparisons, can be drawn. With "She Left Me For Jesus," about a man who must come to grips with his woman's Jesus-loving Christianity, a Lovett-ian sense of humor clearly comes through. This guy is jealous of Jesus, not because he sees... »»»

At the time of their 1997 self-titled debut on Rounder, Longview quickly came to be regarded by many as the first bluegrass "supergroup," a coalition of six of the leading lights of the contemporary bluegrass scene. The project was successful enough to spawn two follow-ups, "High Lonesome" (1999, also on Rounder) and "Lessons In Stone" (2002, on Rebel).

Now back with Rounder after a six-year hiatus, they return with "Deep In The Mountains," yet another throwback to the "stacked" three-part harmony drawn straight from the era before the term "bluegrass" came into widespread use to describe the genre.

Don Rigsby, just past his 40th birthday, has been one of the driving forces behind the Longview phenomenon from the start. A longtime mandolin and vocal standout, he was one of the six who collaborated on the first three albums along with Joe Mullins (banjo), James King (guitar, vocals), Glen Duncan (fiddle), Dudley Connell (guitar, vocals) and Marshall Wilborn (bass).... »»»

Tift Merritt appeared on a roll after releasing "Bramble Rose" in 2002 and "Tambourine" in the summer of 2004. The North Carolina singer was among the leading lights of the so-called alt.-country crowd and attracting glowing reviews, even a Grammy nomination for best country album. But she would not have landed a role with "Where's Waldo?" because unlike the cartoon character, Merritt seemed pretty much nowhere to be found for awhile.

That is until she released her new collection of songs, "Another Country," in late February. And instead of being on the Lost Highway label where she got her start, Merritt switched over to Fantasy/Concord, the home of John Fogerty. "It's feels like a long time. It definitely feels like this record was a long time in the making and in the coming," says Merritt in a phone interview from New York City where she recently moved. The 11-song disc combines country, bluesy sounds and the voice of a French chanteuse. "I just don't want you to think I was home being lazy."... »»»