A random collection of links relevant to bluegrass & old-time music

We'll look out for interesting and good quality sites to include here that we would recommend,where you can

• broaden your knowledge of bluegrass and old-time instrumental and vocal music 
• explore its historical and cultural origins
• source relevant music and information
• have fun watching music videos and listening to audio

Spring Fed Records

Based at the Centre for Popular Music at Middle Tennessee State University. Old-time, bluegrass and traditional gospel recordings. Reissues of significant historical musical and other recording.

https://www.springfedrecords.com/

California Bluegrass Association online youth bluegrass academy

Online access to lessons on mandolin, fiddle, guitar, banjo, bass, ukulele & clawhammer banjo. Plus charts, lyrics, jam-along videos, bluegrass history and updates at bluegrass festivals.

https://californiabluegrass.org/bluegrass-academy/

Born in the Mountain

Bluegrass, old-time and gospel on the air. Also podcasts and archived programs.

https://borninthemountain.com/

Norman Blake: The Full Story

YouTube video presented by the Songbirds Foundation - playing, singing, telling stories; made in 2018. Norman Blake: The Full Story! "I'm a Blind Dog in a Meat Market!". Lasts one hour.

Quarantine Happy Hour

Started during the COVID-19 pandemic to present live happy hour music from a different person or musical household every day to keep people connected and supported. Founded by The Horsenecks.

Folkstreams

A National Preserve of classic and contemporary documentary films about American roots cultures that you can view online at home for free - bluegrass, old-time, blues, Cajun, etc.

https://www.folkstreams.net/

Get Up In The Cool

Listen to conversations and musical collaborations with old-time musicians from all around the world. Presented by young old-time musician, Cameron DeWhitt.

https://getupinthecool.fireside.fm

The Internet Archive

The Internet Archive has built a library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form, with free access. The link below is to Grand Old Opry shows, 1939-1956, but search for anything you want and it might just be there!

https://archive.org/details/GrandOleOpryOtr

Oldtime Central

A new website created in 2018 with articles, videos and resources devoted to old-time music, aimed at creating a "shared meeting space" for oldtime communities around the world.

http://oldtime-central.com

The American Folklife Center

The American Folklife Center was created in 1976 by the U.S. Congress to preserve and present American folklife. The American Folklife Center Archive, established in the Library of Congress Music Division in 1928, is now one of the largest archives of ethnographic materials from the United States and around the world, with extensive audiovisual documentation of traditional arts, cultural expressions, and oral histories.

https://www.loc.gov/folklife/

Southern Folklife Collection

An archival resource at the University of North Carolina dedicated to collecting, preserving and disseminating music, art and culture related to the American South. Includes the John Edwards Memorial Foundation collection, originally located at the University of California at Los Angeles and established with the support of the 1958 will of Australian, John Edwards.

https://library.unc.edu/wilson/sfc/

The Crooked Road

Promotes Virginia's musical heritage through major venues and affiliated venues and festivals. Not a single actual road but a 300+ miles driving trail through the mountains of southwest Virginia.

https://www.myswva.org/tcr 

Barb Diederich's Bluegrass Links & Lyrics

Brings together more than 3000 bluegrass-related links. It also indexes major bluegrass lyrics sites on the Web into one list.

http://www.barbdiederich.com

Mugwumps Online

Originally founded in 1971 as Mugwumps Instrument Herald to provide a central place where people interested in folk music could buy, sell, trade and learn about the musical instruments on which the music was made and read other relevant items of interest.

http://www.mugwumps.com

Native Ground Books & Music

Founded by Wayne Erbsen in 1973. A comprehensive resource for bluegrass and old-time instruction books, songbooks E-books and MP3s for bluegrass banjo, clawhammer banjo, fiddle and mandolin.

https://www.nativeground.com/ 

Smakula Fretted Instruments

Located in West Virginia, a great source for genuine vintage instrument parts, particularly for banjos. 

https://www.smakula.com

The Old Time Herald

The Old-Time Herald magazine has been dedicated to American old-time music for 25 years, highlighting stringband traditions of the Southeast USA and related traditions.

https://www.oldtimeherald.org/

Bluegrass Unlimited

The original magazine devoted to bluegrass music!

https://bluegrassmusic.com/

Banjo Newsletter

Dedicated to all things banjo. Founded by Hub & Nancy Nitchie 40 years ago, and continued by their son Donald Nitchie.

https://banjonews.com/index.html

Old Hat Records

Quality reissues of vintage American music.

http://www.oldhatrecords.com/

FaSoLa Shape Note Singing

Learn all about Shape Note Singing - the foundation of bluegrass harmony. History, description, links, articles, music, etc.

https://fasola.org/

RFD-TV Country Club

US TV station which presents live and archived bluegrass, old-time and country music for viewing online anywhere in the world for those who join the club.

https://www.watchrfdtv.com

British Bluegrass Music Association

Supporting and promoting bluegrass activity in the United Kingdom and making bluegrass information avaiable to the general public.

https://www.britishbluegrass.org

Bluegrass Canada

Preservation and promotion of bluegrass and old-time music throughout Canada.

https://bluegrasscanada.org

International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)

IBMA is the trade association that connects and educates bluegrass professionals and encourages worldwide appreciation of bluegrass music.

https://ibma.org

European Bluegrass Music Association

The European Bluegrass Music Association aims to get more people in Europe interested and involved in bluegrass music and to further bluegrass musicians and bands.

https://www.ebma.org/

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 Use the CONTACT US form and select 'Link'.

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