There were a lot fewer people playing old-time music in the early 1970s than now, and when people living nearby found each other and started playing together, they often did… Read More →
Music Reviews
Things Left Behind, by Thornton Spencer
Thornton Spencer’s fiddling chugs and sings on Things Left Behind, released by the independent label Never Met a Stranger in September 2018. These 12 tunes and two spoken tracks were… Read More →
Tell It to Me: Revisiting the Johnson City Sessions
In 2013 Bear Family Records released their impressive four-CD set with hard-bound book The Johnson City Sessions 1928-1929: Can You Sing or Play Old Time Music?,reviewed in the OTH (Vol. 14… Read More →
Tom Mindte & Mason Via (self-titled)
The close harmony-singing, mandolin- and guitar-driven brother duets of the 1930s such as the Blue Sky Boys, Monroe Brothers, and others, arguably saw their enduring popularity and influence appear mainly… Read More →
Mike Bryant and Paul Brown (self-titled)
I became deeply interested in American vernacular music in the mid 1980s. It was an interesting and challenging time to find recordings. The record business was in flux. Older LP… Read More →
Cinnamon Tree, by Nora Brown
This is a phenomenal album. You should get it. End of review. What? I need to say more? I’m going to try not to mention Nora Brown’s age. As the… Read More →
Holy Smoke! by Rafe Stefanini and David Bragger
One could say that fiddle and banjo reign supreme as the heart and soul of old-time music, and in saying so, one would be telling the truth, even if the… Read More →
Old World Music of the Southern Appalachians, by Hog Eyed Man
Old-time music has always looked backwards for its inspiration. This fourth record from Jason Cade (fiddle) and Rob McMaken (lap dulcimer, mandolin, guitar) is a good example of the strong… Read More →
The Fries Session
All four of the musicians on The Fries Session live in or near Fries, Virginia, which is in Grayson County. They are part of a musical heritage that extends back… Read More →
Fiddle Noir: African American Fiddlers on Early Phonograph Recordings, 1925-1949
Just prior to mp3s and streaming platforms, not to mention the vinyl resurgence, Old Hat was nearly on par with Dust to Digital for not only allowing many of us… Read More →
Pictures from Life’s Other Side: The Man and His Music in Rare Photos and Recordings, by Hank Williams
Hank Williams’ Mother’s Best Flour Show radio transcriptions were long the stuff of legend, reportedly snatched from the jaws of a dumpster by Grand Ole Opry photographer Les Leverett circa… Read More →
La Coppia Sciascia: Italian Folk Songs from Abruzzo, 1927-1930 by Pasquale and Chiarina Sciascia
Geography, it’s been said, is destiny. That explains why the music of émigrés to early 20th century America was recorded long before that of long-rooted communities in the South: the… Read More →
Allison de Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves (self-titled)
The first time I heard Tatiana Hargreaves play the fiddle, she could not have been more than ten years old. I was wandering the campground at Portland’s Pickathon festival and… Read More →
Roger Netherton (Self-Titled)
It’s hard to imagine a more energetic approach to old-time music than is found in this CD from fiddler Roger Netherton and friends. The opening tune, the newish “Tippin’ Back… Read More →
Goodbye My Honey I’m Gone by Molly McBride and the Sigogglin’ String Band
Molly McBride is Fieldwork Coordinator at the Michigan Traditional Arts Program. She’s also a first-rate fiddler who plays with great assurance. Mind you, there’s nothing flashy here: it’s all about… Read More →
Milkers and Hollers by Old Time Snake Milkers & Hoot and Holler
This very enjoyable CD was made by seven young friends living near Charlottesville, Virginia, who nominally play in two different bands, but on this CD kept forming and re-forming into… Read More →
