Homegrown Music: Discovering Bluegrass - Stephanie P. Legin

Pros

• Definitions of terms that are not well-known.
• Webpage URLs that will aid in learning more about the bluegrass genre.
• Six pages of photographs.

Cons

• At times I was left wanting more details about specific artists.

Description

• Written by Stephanie P. Ledgin.
• Forward written by Ricky Skaggs.
• Easy to read and understand.

Guide Review - Homegrown Music: Discovering Bluegrass - Stephanie P. Legin

Stephanie P. Ledgin has written a wonderful book for those that are new to the genre of bluegrass or those that might want to re-learn things from a different perspective, every branch grown from the roots of the down-home style of music is covered with easy-to-read text. Along the way, footnotes provide definitions & URLs to Webpages with extra photos/facts.

The preface gives background on how Stephanie got into the business; She wasn't skilled on the subject of bluegrass music until she was hired to be the assistant editor of "Pickin'" magazine. She then started learning as much as possible by interviewing & generally being around musicians in the genre.

One of the most interesting chapters for me was Chapter 8: The International Language of Bluegrass, wherein the names of bluegrass artists in other countries talk about their exposure to bluegrass. As far as American artists traveling overseas, Bill Clifton became an ambassador abroad in England, the McLain Family Band brought bluegrass to sixty-two different countries via fourteen trips & in the sixties Japan opened its doors for Flatt & Scruggs.

Stephanie also covers the joys of going to bluegrass concerts, festivals, & experiencing impromptu jam sessions in an unlikely place - the parking lot. Chapter twelve looks ahead to the musicians that will carry on the torch while the last few pages contain a multitude of artists whose music who should look into as well as an extensive collection of informative links.