While post-pandemic etiquette is on a lot of folk’s minds, John Hartford Memorial Festival goers are a little different. 2020 ticket holders were refunded if they wanted but so many gave up the cost of their tickets to donate to the organization that 2021 turned into a modest camp out complete with 12 bands for free. Miles of silence and long days of dreary COVID but the faithful keep coming back to Bean Blossom.

Though they’re acclaimed as masters of contemporary bluegrass, the Lonesome River Band issue a reminder of their long-standing appreciation for old-time string band music with a new Mountain Home Music Company single, “Cumberland River Shore.” And though it’s not about him, the song, from its writing to recording, is suffused with the spirit and sound of the late and legendary John Hartford.

In celebration of today's release of On The Road: A Tribute to John Hartford, a project benefitting MusiCares, please join Vince Herman from Leftover Salmon and The High Hawks at 4:20pm Mountain High Time for a special performance live on the LoHi Records Facebook page. They will be honoring the lasting legacy of John Hartford by performing some of his beloved songs and bringing more attention to this release to help artists in need during these challenging times. Good times, great music great cause. No cover charge and BYOW!

On June 26th, LoHi Records will release a very special album celebrating the life and lasting legacy of a true American original with On The Road: A Tribute To John Hartford. The collection brings together a diverse group of artists who represent a portion of those who grew from the seeds planted by Hartford over five decades ago.

John Hartford’s nimble, whit-fueled songs have long been a focal point of the bluegrass and newgrass canon and Hartford’s musicianship, on both the banjo and fiddle, has now been doted over for generations, but until recently, little has been known about his late-in-life, academic approach to fiddle music. After Hartford passed in 2001, his family discovered over two-thousand original, hand-written fiddle tune charts in file cabinets under his desk, and in time, the idea for a way to honor Hartford’s passion has grown legs.

It takes a hell of a lot to get me to brave the absolute sardine-pack that is a sold-out Ogden Theatre in Denver for 3 consecutive nights. There are very few bands that would warrant something like that but Billy Strings is up there at the top of the shortlist.  Over the course of a cold weekend in December, the city of Denver was lucky enough to get to take part in the only three-night run of Billy Strings’ fall tour.

The family of the late John Hartford has been busy! Starting with a newly re-tooled website, www.johnhartford.com, that features a unique timeline chalk full of John Hartford history and notes, the site is loaded with music and Hartford merch.

Continuing to reflect on the American South and its rich musical history, songwriter Thomm Jutz has released two more singles from his upcoming album, this time capturing the storied careers of musical legends John Hartford and Jimmie Rodgers in portraits imbued with the spirit each brought to his own music.