Bill Emerson as bandleader, mentor, and example

The 65th weekly newsletter issued by Bluegrass Unlimited magazine (BU) includes a podcast interview with musicologist, discographer, broadcaster, and bluegrass historian Dick Spottswood. Video instruction on crosspicking guitar is taken from the DVD by James Alan Shelton, and a 1982 article from BU archives by Ron Thomason is on Hazel Dickens.

The eleventh aricle in the special series on Bill Emerson covers the period from his forming his band Sweet Dixie in 2006 to his retirement from live performance ten years later. The original concept was for Sweet Dixie to be a pool of musicians from which various combinations could be formed; it eventually became a regular four- or five-piece band for touring and recording. A strong message that comes through the article is the importance of Emerson's role as a mentor and example, and the values of professionalism and musicianship that he embodied and communicated.

© Richard Hawkins