Back in the 1960s and ’70s young Bluegrass players began to stretch out and a distinctly new style called New Grass was created. It met with lots of disagreements about maintaining the purity of the musical form. This had little effect on the young players promoting the style. This week on the Sing Out! Radio Magazine we’ll examine Newgrass from some of the earliest players and recordings. Next week we’ll follow the style into New Acoustic Music as it sounds today as the players take their inspiration and repertoire from jazz, classical and rock.

LISTEN:

Artist / “Title” / CD / Label

Pete Seeger / “If I Had A Hammer” / Songs Of Hope And Struggle /
        Smithsonian-Folkways

Bela Fleck & Darol Anger / “Ladies and Gentlemen” / Double Time / Rounder
The Dillards / “Reason to Believe” / Wheatstraw Suite / Elektra
Dillard & Clark / “With Care from Someone” / The Fantastic Adventure
         of Dillard & Clark / A+M
Muleskinner / “Runways of the Moon” / A Potpourri of Bluegrass Jam / Sierra
Old and in the Way / “Lonesome Fiddle Blues” / That High Lonesome Sound / Acoustic Disc

John Hartford / “Back in the Goodle Days” / Aereo-Plain / Rounder
Bill Keith / “Nola” / Son of Rounder Banjo / Rounder
New Grass Revival / “Ain’t That Peculiar” / Anthology / Capitol
Bela Fleck & Mark Shatz / “Bullfrog Shuffle” / Double Time / Rounder

The Tony Rice Unit / “Manzanita (1st Variation)” / Unit of Measure
         / Rounder
Psychograss / “3rd Stone from the Sun” / Like Minds / Sugar Hill
Fiddlers 4 / “Atchafalaya Pipeline” / Fiddlers 4 / Compass

Skyline with Tony Trischka / “I Can’t Believe” / Ticket Back /
        Flying Fish

Pete Seeger / “If I Had a Hammer (excerpt)” / Songs of Hope and Struggle /
        Smithsonian Folkways