Jussi Syren (FI) on the mend

John Lawless reports that Finnish singer, songwriter, mandolinist, and bandleader Jussi Syren (above, second from left, with his band the Groundbreakers) is making a determined recovery after a spell in hospital with a complex of serious medical conditions. The BIB wishes him a speedy return to full health and vigour; as we wrote in June 2017, 'if you want to hear bluegrass played with the guts that it had in the 1950s, very few bands anywhere do it as well as Jussi Syren and the Groundbreakers.'

More details are on Bluegrass Today, together with a studio video (also on YouTube) of the band playing Jussi's 'The banjo song', featuring their banjo player Tauri Oksala, who has also been the subject of a cover story in Banjo NewsLetter.