Wynn's post is a good reason for me to briefly describe the two major
bluegrass magazines, for those whose interest extends beyond the coverage of
bluegrass in No Depression (not that I'm knocking that, of course <g>).
Bluegrass Unlimited is the senior one, going back to the late 1960s. Its
design is, um, a bit retro (a lot of bluegrass fans don't seem to be any
more enthusiastic about contemporary layout/design than they are about
contemporary bluegrass), and the quality of the feature writing is pretty
variable, but it's more or less the publication of record, reviewing every
new CD that's sent to it. There's a comprehensive festival listing in each
January issue, and an artist listing in every October one, plus lots and
lots of festival/show ads, a monthly personal appearances calendar, listings
of radio shows, an airplay-based chart, and a lot more. For subscription
info and more, check out http://www.bluegrassmusic.com .
Bluegrass Now is a more recently established publication, about 10 years
old. They started out bi-monthly, and went to monthly about 2 years ago. A
lot more polished and contemporary in design/layout. About half as many
reviews; the operating principle is, more or less, that they run reviews of
stuff they like, rather than be comprehensive like BU. The overall quality
of the writing is somewhat better, but coverage is almost exclusively of
contemporary artists, whereas BU will do historical pieces, too. A somewhat
smaller PAC, a retail-based chart, a gospel airplay-based chart, a regular
feature on festivals that goes into some detail on one per month, and more.
Their website is at http://www.bluegrassnow.com .
Personally, I subscribe to both and did so even before I started writing for
them <g>.
Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
