Tag: bluegrass

Billy Strings at the Ionia Freak Fair 2026

Written by Harry Kaplan

August 26, 2026 @ 11 AM – Left for the airport. It is going to be a long day of flying – Portland, OR (PDX) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Detroit, MI (DTW). I am less than a month out of vascular surgery, so I am a little nervous. Should I go? Am I healed enough? Will the flight get me sick? Will the airplane pressure cause me problems? All questions I had. They were answered once the PDX flight took off at 2 PM. No issues. Up in the air. No pressure issues. There was no need to stress. Note for next time: be calm.

Landed at ORD. Then came the taxiing and taxiing and taxiing – 45 minutes of taxiing!!!!! My connecting flight to DTW was two terminals over, and I only had 25 minutes. In the words of Pink Floyd, you better “Run Like Hell.” And I did. I got to the terminal and the plane hadn’t arrived yet! All that running for naught. Oh well, at least I didn’t miss my connection, the last flight of the night. A two-hour delay and more taxiing followed. The taxiing at ORD took longer than the flight to DTW. Finally arrived at DTW and took a shuttle bus to the hotel. I arrived at 1:30 AM ET, felt icky and took a shower. The glass door got stuck, and I thought I was going to get trapped in the shower overnight.

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Album cover for Boone Creek’s 1977 self-titled debut, featuring Ricky Skaggs, Wes Golding, Jerry Douglas, and Terry Baucom

Album Review: Boone Creek (Remastered 2026) – Craft Recordings

Reviewed By Harry Kaplan

I will get into the music in a bit, but first I want to focus on the album cover. Holy smokes! This is pure Olan Mills studio work in the back of Sears Roebuck. It takes me straight back to my childhood. It looks like a photograph of the community church board of directors posted in the church business office. A true classic. There is not a natural fiber within 25 miles of this picture. All the food groups are represented: nylon, polyester, Naugahyde, and acrylic. I would buy this album for the cover alone.

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Album Review: Tony Rice (Remastered 2026) – Craft Recordings

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Where has this album been all my life? How did I miss this one? I guess my love of bluegrass didn’t fully develop until later in my life. As a youngin’ I was much more moved by loud rock, electric and aggressive music. Shame on me! This is absolutely stunning. Nothing outlandish, nothing experimental. Just absolutely pristine bluegrass adjacent music. I say adjacent because it differs from straight bluegrass in its presentation with more pop sensibilities. But still sublime.

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