Fervor Coulee Bluegrass Blog

I have been a roots and bluegrass music writer for twenty years, having also hosted bluegrass radio and presented concerts. I currently write for Country Standard Time and Exclaim! while maintaining a blog at fervorcoulee.wordpress.com. I'm proud to be a member of the Polaris Music Prize Jury. Please contact me at fervorcoulee@gmail.com.

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The Bluegrass, Old-Time, & Grassicana Side of Edmonton Folk Music Festival, 2023

Donald Teplyske  |  May 26, 2023

The Edmonton Folk Music Festival lineup always delivers, and while their definition of folk music is a bit more liberal than mine, I've never come away from this meticulously organized festival disappointed. Yes, sometimes the crowd 'gets' to me, but almost always the diverse music presented more than makes up for my failures as a social creature. This summer, among headliners ...

Western Canada's Bluegrass Summer 2023 Taking Shape

Donald Teplyske  |  March 30, 2023

While not all the western Canadian bluegrass festivals have released their lineups for 2023, several have. I'll update information as details are received. (Because I can't figure out how to make live links here, you'll just have to Google the specific fests for additional information.) Western Canada has had an active bluegrass scene for many years. The first Blueberry Bluegrass ...

Billy Strings and Terry Barber Me/And/Dad

Donald Teplyske  |  November 19, 2022

Billy Strings and Terry Barber "Me/And/Dad" Rounder It's about the story. Billy Strings' version of hillbilly rock 'n' roll has engulfed the Americana music community over the past several years. He has won a Grammy, as well as multiple International Bluegrass Music Association Awards including Entertainer of the Year twice, and an Americana Music Award as ...

Tony Rice, Guitar vinyl reissue reviewed

Donald Teplyske  |  August 28, 2022

(Rebel Records) There has been no end to bluegrass albums labeled as classics. Some of them even deserve the renown such a reference implies. Tony Rice's recording debut, released in 1974, is arguably one of those recordings, an album that will be within the number should my book "One Hundred Essential Bluegrass Albums" ever see light of day. Released on Red Clay, King, and ...

James Reams Like a Flowing River & Soundtrack Album

Donald Teplyske  |  January 5, 2022

Redbird Music James Reams is absolutely unique. As such, there is no one in bluegrass quite like him. Born in Kentucky, he came of age in Wisconsin and matured in Brooklyn as a teacher and bluegrass band leader. Now based in Arizona, Reams' voice is one of a kind, and his approach to bluegrass is similarly individual. Adding to his distinctiveness, Reams—for a number of ...