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Dailey & Vincent, who headlined the 2011 Omagh bluegrass festival in 2011, when they were in full award-winning mode with their outstanding vocals, now announce their latest album, Let's sing some country!, which is due for release on 16 Sept. 2022. More details, together with links to pre-ordering facilities and to audio and video tracks, are on their press release. See also John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today.

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The BIB has previously mentioned the presentations on banjo history by Bill Evans, and it is now announced that his The banjo in America, a 65-minute DVD/CD set from the Old-Time Tiki Parlour (featuring nineteen songs and medleys played on ten different instruments, and showing developments in banjo construction, music, and playing styles over the last two-and-a-half centuries or more) can be bought for $19.99 from the Old-Time Tiki Parlour or autographed from Bill's website for $24.95.

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The Deering Banjo Company announce a new limited edition of instruments: their Goodtime Bronze Banjos, consisting of the Goodtime Openback (11" head), Goodtime Americana (openback, 12" head), and Goodtime Two (resonator), all with a gold-rubbed bronze powder finish on the hardware - extremely durable and low-maintenance, and also 100% hypoallergenic - and a special inlay pattern. This collection (featured on Bluegrass Today last Friday, 15 July) will only be available to the end of the summer.

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The ProPik® company, associated with Deering, announce their new ProPik® Heritage Fingerpicks, based on a set of Nationals that Earl Scruggs used to record 'Pike County breakdown' in 1950. The history of these iconic picks, and full details of the new issues (priced at $14.00 per pick) is on the lProPik® website.

These picks are of course aimed at fingerpickers with a sense of history. Flatpickers who look to the future will welcome ToneSlabs, plectrums made of a new and specially developed material. Three shapes of flatpick are now on offer; a thumbpick is being developed. See John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today.

Update 20 July: Much more detail on the new ProPik® range is given by John Curtis Goad on Bluegrass Today.

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In 'No Depression’s best roots music albums of 2022 (so far)', bluegrass-related music is represented by Crooked tree from Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, and Good and green again from Jake Xerxes Fussell (who played this year's Kilkenny Roots festival and other gigs). No Depression also carries Henry Carrigan's review of Bob Black's book Mandolin man: the bluegrass life of Roland White, published by the University of Illinois Press.

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Just under a year ago the BIB recommended Dave Berry's major two-part interview of Kathy Kallick on Bluegrass Today because it was such a good picture of the musical life and experiences of an important figure in our music. Similarly worth reading is Claire Levine's interview on the Bluegrass Situation, 'Kathy Kallick honors her mother's legacy while establishing her own'. The interview includes five audio tracks from Kallick's album of songs she learned from her mother, with stellar guest artists, plus a YouTube recording of 'I can't stand to ramble' from the Good Ol' Persons.

© Richard Hawkins