The annual homecoming of musicians and industry leaders within the international bluegrass community (IBMA) gathered again in Raleigh, NC last week to celebrate and award the year’s best songs, albums, and players. Recognized yet again for his dynamic and immediately recognizable voice that has lent high, lonesome heart to over 30 records in his six-decade career, Del McCoury was crowned Male Vocalist of the Year for the fifth time.

Heavily-awarded and universally-loved fiddle player Jason Carter has spent years collaborating with a laundry list of all-time great musicians across a multitude of genres—not to mention his three decades as a member of the Del McCoury Band and being a founding member of the Travelin’ McCourys—but, never before have all of his friends, from all those years, joined Carter on his own solo album. That is, until now.

A new tribute album celebrating the songs and career of legendary country artist John Anderson, Something Borrowed, Something New: A Tribute to John Anderson, will be released August 5 via Easy Eye Sound (pre-order here).

After two long years of anxious hibernation, Oregon is beginning to wake up. Friends are hugging friends, smiles are being shared, and Northwest String Summit and Horning’s Hideout have announced that this year, the 20th anniversary of the music festival, will be moving ahead and will be the very last year for the event known as one of Oregon’s largest and most esteemed bluegrass music festivals. The lineup has been finalized and announced and the event sold out this week!

Tanya Tucker, Del McCoury Band, and Asleep at the Wheel are among the second round of lineup additions headlining the 2022 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival, which takes place Sept. 9-11 in Historic Downtown Bristol, Virginia-Tennessee. Willie Watson, Nicki Bluhm and Miko Marks are also part of the latest rollout of artists announced today.

Instead of taking up golf, gardening, baking, or the such during his COVID-demanded downtime, bluegrass’s elder statesman Del McCoury dove headlong back into his teenage years, combing through hours and hours of music, searching for the songs. Demo after demo crossed the discerning ears that flank McCoury’s signature silver pompadour. He listened intently. He listened for songs that excited him.

Renowned Tejano accordionist Flaco Jiménez will once again combine his squeezebox talents with Los Texmaniacs for a special Saturday-night performance at Old Settler’s Music Festival, taking place April 21-24 at Old Settler’s Homestead in Tilmon, Texas. That pairing tops the list of artists rounding out the roster for the festival’s 35th-anniversary celebration, for which single-day tickets and non-camping packages go on sale today (Feb. 15).