Old Martin + Billy Strings = GREAT combination!!

[reeve21]

Billy is unbelievable. Love what he did with his Grateful Dead cover shows, in addition to his bluegrass stuff and everything else he touches.

Folks who trash his lack of bluegrass "purity" remind me of jazz fans who turned their back on Miles Davis, or folk fans who turned their back on Dylan. Most of them come back, or never really left, even if they are too highbrow to admit it.

[Tnfiddler]

Originally Posted by Kyle215

Oh I’m with you, for sure! That was my way of saying that those folks who complain are being left behind…. Have you listened to his podcast at all? Seems like a lot of guys in the older generation like Tim O’Brien, Sam Bush, etc, all have a lot of respect for him as well.

I wasn’t directing that towards you. I was just going along with what you were saying. I’d say almost all of the touring musicians highly respect his talent and are friends with him. I think the ones who want to put him down are jealous of his talent and run him down to make themselves feel better! I started on the traditional bluegrass music and quickly grew tired of it. I’m more of a Grascals, Sideline, LRB, Balsam Range, Po’ Ramblin Boys and similar bands fan. Unspoken Tradition is another AMAZING bluegrass band out of NC that doesn’t fit the traditional mold 100%!

[Kyle215]

Originally Posted by Tnfiddler

I wasn’t directing that towards you. I was just going along with what you were saying. I’d say almost all of the touring musicians highly respect his talent and are friends with him. I think the ones who want to put him down are jealous of his talent and run him down to make themselves feel better! I started on the traditional bluegrass music and quickly grew tired of it. I’m more of a Grascals, Sideline, LRB, Balsam Range, Po’ Ramblin Boys and similar bands fan. Unspoken Tradition is another AMAZING bluegrass band out of NC that doesn’t fit the traditional mold 100%!

Funny thing is, I didn’t grow up in an area that (does not have) a strong bluegrass tradition, so I got pulled into the older stuff through festival circuit bands like Greensky, the Stringdusters, etc. It’s all great to me, I’m kind of a history nerd so the trad stuff scratches that itch for me, but the newer stuff is most of what I actually listen to on a regular basis. Thanks for the tips, some of the bands you mentioned are new to me. I always on the hunt for new stuff!

Um.. edit - I grew up in an area that does not have a strong bluegrass tradition. Hate when my keyboard says the opposite of what I mean, lol.

[Zexxor]

Originally Posted by Tnfiddler

I constantly read posts on the FB Bluegrass guitar page, from the die-hard traditionalists, who trash Billy and say he's not really bluegrass. UTTER NONSENSE! That guy can make a guitar sound like MAGIC and his voice is getting better all the time. He's well on his way to being one of the greatest of all times!!

A person who ACTUALLY loves blue grass would not say he is not really bluegrass. What they would ACTUALLY say is, he plays darn good blue grass. And he darn sure does.
It's better to be jealous in a positive way.