Tag: Bluegrass

Music Spotlight: Flat River Band

Bethany Bowman
Flat River Band

Flat River Band consists of three brothers Andy Sitze, Chad Sitze, and Dennijo Sitze, who grew up in a multi-generational family band. Performing alongside their parents and grandparents, they held residencies at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, and at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

No strangers to success, the Missouri natives have charted #1 hits on the bluegrass gospel charts and have opened for Natalie Maines, Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent, TG Sheppard, and more.

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Music Spotlight: Max Gomez

Bethany Bowman

Being a journalist from Nashville, there plenty of talented guitar players that I meet and interview. But I don’t find many traditional, western folk stylists who appreciate the old sound of blues mixed with some Americana. Max Gomez is the exception to the rule.

Gomez was raised in the rarefied musical micro-climate of northern New Mexico. He got a job playing guitar alone and singing when he was 15 in his hometown of Taos, New Mexico. His job was to play at this fancy steak house bar where people would come out to dance. He was supposed to play the guitar in such a way so they could dance.

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The Isaacs Release New Single ‘The American Face’

Bethany Bowman

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Multi-Grammy nominated family group The Isaacs (mother Lily, daughters Becky and Sonja and son, Ben) who have been enlisted by Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Paul Simon, Vince Gill, and many more for their remarkable harmonies, are gearing up to release their new album, American Face on August 13.

I interviewed Lilly Isaacs concerning the upcoming record and new single.

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Music Spotlight: Rhonda Vincent

Bethany Bowman

NASHVILLE, Tennessee-  Playing music is as natural to Rhonda Vincent as breathing air. She was born into a musical family from Kirksville, Missouri. The Sally Mountain Show, then later the Bluegrass Festival was hosted by her mom and dad and grandparents and aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. She picked up the mandolin at eight and the fiddle at twelve and was performing with the family band at festivals on weekends. They also had a TV and radio show that she sang in as a child.

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Music Spotlight: Cristina Vane

Bethany Bowman

NASHVILLE, Tennessee-  Since I live in Nashville, in my Music Spotlight column I often tell how people ended up here. Americana/Blues/Folk musician Cristina Vane may have the most unique story of anyone I have interviewed.

Born in Italy to a Sicilian-American father and a Guatemalan mother, Vane has always had a tenuous relationship with identity and place. Even though her parents met in America while attending college, she grew up between England, France, and Italy, and was fluent in four languages by the time she moved to her father’s native United States for university at 18.

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