Bluegrass Heritage Foundation

09/14/2026

That's a load of bluegrass talent on one stage!

Texas & Tennessee feat. Steve Huber & Dennis W. Parker showing incredible skills on stage at the Farmer's Branch Bluegrass Festival 2026.

09/13/2026

Compass Records has released the first single from their upcoming Stanley Brothers tribute album, Where the Soul Never Dies: Celebrating Eighty Years of the Stanley Brothers. The single is the first posthumous release from the late Dolly Parton, a rollicking rendition of Bound to Ride.

https://bluegrasstoday.com/bound-to-ride-from-dolly-parton-first-posthumous-release/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUTi2ZwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMTF0QU5zT0N2UWVLbjNKM3lzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEewLv6_pJRgriNZTAqzjYwU_IcIUlWhlWki4u-65D1OAfnddviMz8Snx_dXv0_aem_YYaC-I8PNbgevTWs5nbmYg

Compass Records has released the first single from their upcoming Stanley Brothers tribute album, Where the Soul Never Dies: Celebrating Eighty Years of the Stanley Brothers. The single is the first posthumous release from the late Dolly Parton, a rollicking rendition of Bound to Ride. The album has...

09/04/2026

On this date in history. September 4, 1954

Bill Monroe records “Blue Moon of Kentucky” for Decca

Monroe originally wrote the song in 1945 as a slow 3/4 time waltz and first recorded it for Columbia Records in 1946.

In July 1954, Elvis Presley famously recorded an upbeat, 4/4 rockabilly version of the song at Sun Records as the B-side to "That's All Right".

Surprised by the faster tempo and success of Elvis's version, Monroe went into the studio to cut a hybrid version that started as a traditional waltz before shifting into a fast-paced 4/4 rhythm. To counter Elvis's modern rhythm, Monroe used a powerful triple-fiddle wall of sound (with Gordon Terry joining Bobby Hicks and Charlie Cline) during parts of the session. The track began in its original, mournful 3/4 waltz time signature before suddenly shifting gears into a driving, high-tempo 4/4 blues breakdown.

In 2002, Monroe's version was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. In 2003, CMT ranked "Blue Moon" number 11 in its list of 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music.

09/01/2026

Great article documenting the journey of Riley Gilbreath to the Grand Ole Opry Stage.

Riley Gilbreath Opry debut with Rhonda Vincent
https://bluegrasstoday.com/?p=277884

08/31/2026

Balsam Range doing what Balsam Range does best, play and entertain with world-class Bluegrass Music.

BHF sure appreciates Balsam Range for being one of our featured acts at Farmer's Branch Bluegrass Festival 2026!



Photo by Nate Dalzell

08/27/2026

Happy Heavenly Birthday to J.D. Crowe.

James Dee Crowe was born on August 27, 1937, in Lexington, Kentucky. He began playing the banjo early on and was offered a job with Jimmy Martin's Sunny Mountain Boys, a backup group in 1954. Before starting in Martin's band, Crowe played with P*e Wee Lambert and Curly Parker.

Crowe recorded with Martin between 1956 and 1960. In 1961, he formed the Kentucky Mountain Boys, principally performing in the Lexington region. In 1971, Crowe changed the band's name to The New South. As of 1975, the New South began to add jazz and rock influences on its bluegrass repertoire, as well as country and folk elements drawn from the work of Gram Parsons and Gordon Lightfoot, respectively.

Crowe received the Bluegrass Star Award, presented by the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation of Dallas, Texas, on October 15, 2011. The award is bestowed upon bluegrass artists who do an exemplary job of advancing traditional bluegrass music and bringing it to new audiences while preserving its character and heritage.

He died from pneumonia on December 24, 2021, in Nicholasville, Kentucky, at the age of 84.

08/26/2026

We are so proud of our very own Riley Gilbreath performing with Rhonda Vincent last night at the Grand Ole Opry!

Quite an accomplishment Riley! Nice job!

08/25/2026

All of us at Bluegrass Heritage Foundation are saddened at the news of Dolly Partons passing today. To say she was a legend is a severe understatement. She was more than a legend. She engrained herself into the fabric of American Culture and was loved by millions.

She will be greatly missed. Please pray for her family. 🙏

Dolly Parton, country music legend, dead at 80.

08/21/2026

Kody Norris and band entertaining the crowd at the Farmer's Branch Bluegrass Festival



Photo by Nate Dalzell