A couple of banjo makers that haven't been mentioned are Bart Reiter and Kevin Enoch. Excellent instruments, not too pricey, definitely worth looking into. But you cannot go wrong with Deering.
As mentioned above, resonator banjos are heavy. Openbacks are significantly less so and sound just fine (and are plenty loud enough for the average person).
Bluegrass, strictly defined, is essentially a group style, that's why they play resonator banjos, to be heard in the middle of a group of other instruments. If your mom just means "bluegrass" in the contemporary sense - any folk-type music played on acoustic instruments - an openback would be a better buy than a reso.
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