One of my favorite things to do as a teacher is write letters of recommendation for students who distinguished themselves in my class. I love helping other people see how awesome these people are. But HOO BOY, each one takes a looooong time to write.

Paul Williams is such a hoss. Man can render a gospel song like no one else. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfrY...

Jimmy Martin - It Takes One (1985) #worldofbluegrass #legends #guitar

I know I don't *need* this need this, but I *have* been looking for a small-bodied guitar for my kids to learn on, and we do like baseball... www.sweetwater.com/store/detail...

Things I did today instead of practicing mandolin: Created a flyer for the jam I host, repeatedly checked @weratedogs.com, avoided the news, made dinner for my kids. NOW I can practice.

My dog Dean loves to sing along when I tune. Today, I tuned my 2nd A string to his howl, checked my tuner, and discovered he was only a cent or two off. Here he is singing along with a very rusty Ragtime Annie when he was about 5 months old (he's 13.5 now). www.youtube.com/watch?v=byqU...

Fun, fun @blackeyedsuzies.bsky.social gig tonight at Maryland Hall, as part of the outdoor BloomHaven series and road to the Baygrass festival. What a great venue and crowd. The MD Hall staff were so friendly and helpful.

Thoroughly enjoyed this Toy Heart podcast with Larry Sparks, esp. his reminiscing about his time with the Stanley Bros./Ralph Stanley, his responsibility as a steward of bluegrass, and the importance of "visioning" a song and playing the words. thebluegrasssituation.com/read/larry-s...

Wish I could go!!!

As seen on today's run. Tell me, is my darling still true?

So jealous of my son's new socks.

Great time at Grey Fox! Fabulous sets by Compton & Newberry, Sierra Hull, The Wilder Flower, Danny Paisley (always), and Woody Platt.

I love this headline while acknowledging its utter irrelevance to most people today. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/a...

Late to post, but the Suzies (@blackeyedsuzies.bsky.social) had a great time playing the Ligonier Bluegrass Festival last weekend. Well-run fest filled with interesting, fun, and friendly people. Plus, firefighters pancake breakfast!

Super fun show last night, playing the season opener at Rob's Bluegrass Barn in MD. Best place to see bluegrass in the state. www.robsbluegrassbarn.net

Rift Widens Between Elon Musk, Anyone Who Ever Met Him theonion.com/rift-wi...

Just spent the last 30 minutes updating my personal website and reading blog posts dating back to 2010 and my editing career. Here's my fave: nicolesnider.me/2010/11/21/b...

All teachers, school staff, and anyone else who works with teenagers should read Paul Tough's new article about ADHD. Everything here tracks with my experience. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/m...

What To Know About The TikTok Sale theonion.com/what-to...

Slow progress is still progress. Have been stuck on the 6th video of Christopher Henry's Monroe Improvising course (basically, week 2 of 12) since last July. (I've been working on other things, too.) Powered through it today, and got some good stuff out of it. #ilikebluegrass

Picked some bluegrass fiddle tunes on my guitar for the first time in forever. Forgot how much fun hearing that sustain is.

I feel truly grateful, in these strange strange times, that Pope Francis is on the road to recovery. We need him and his goodness right now. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/23/w...

Today is this majestic beast's 13th birthday. I'm not sure if Dean's ennui is due to his advancing age or the hat unfortunately placed on his head.

The green one has hundreds of uses. The purple one only has one.

This kind of breaks my heart.

Getting rear-ended is never fun. But, now that everything is all over and my car is repaired and no one was hurt, here are some people I appreciate: 1) MD first responders: the state troopers, Riviera Beach fire dept., etc. were calm, friendly, helpful, humane -- everything you'd want them to be

Reposting as a public service.

Greatly enjoyed many things about @nickofferman.bsky.social's "Where the Deer and the Antelope Play," but the word "reborative" is the one that will stick with me. I appreciate any author who goes deep with the precise meaning of a word. Well, maybe not *any* author.

This is the second best Frog and Toad story.

Sad to miss the @blackeyedsuzies.bsky.social gig at Pickett Brewing tomorrow. First cold of the season has done laid me out.

That's some good bluegrass crooning right there.

Lester Flatt and Mac Wiseman - Loving Another Man #bluegrass #vintageacousticguitar #worldbluegrass

"All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise: that the individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts."

2 out of 3 gigs for the weekend done. I love bluegrass.

Discuss: "Cookies" is the best Frog and Toad story.

Current obsession: tormented love Stanley Bros. songs like "Could You Love Me One More Time" and "I Just Think I'll Go Away." So good.

12th Annual Monroe Mandolin Camp, Sept 10-14, 2025. Lake Junaluska Conference Center, NC. #bluegrassmusic #billmonroe #mandolin #fiddle #banjo #guitar #bass #goodtimes #jamming #community

It was INCREDIBLE to see so many friendly faces at Chesapeake Wintergrass! ❄️🪕🌻 We’ve got a lot coming up so hopefully we see you at some of our upcoming shows: 2/9: Wehrley’s Auction House 2/22: Fisher House Marathon Bluegrass Jam 2/22: Pherm Brewing Co

#profbluegrass list of the week: Top 5 tips for memorizing songs 1. Focus on one phrase at a time. 2. Play it slowly, aim for perfection. You want to lock the right notes into your neural pathways.

Who will I see at #chesapeakewinterbluegrass this weekend? Come to our slow jam Friday at 5:30, see the Suzies at 8, and catch a rare Possum and Sook set Sat. afternoon.

OH at the guitar shop: Ooh, yeah. I LOVE fretless basses.

Not only was Melba Montgomery a perfect vocal match for George Jones, the greatest country singer of all time, but the songs Montgomery wrote were often adventurous in their emotional complexity as well as super fun to sing along to. Thanks for the great music. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/19/a...

1st #profbluegrass list: 5 Melba Montgomery-George Jones duets that also work in bluegrass (though not necessarily in a jam). In honor of Montgomery's passing yesterday. 1. I'd Jump the Mississippi 2. I Dreamed My Baby Came Home 3. Flame in My Heart 4. We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds 5. Once More

Sarah Larsen, my bandmate in the Black-Eyed Suzies, calls me Prof. Bluegrass for my bluegrass nerdiness (and maybe the glasses). For a while, I've had these random bluegrass lists floating around in my head, looking for a place to put them. I think I'll put them here. #profbluegrass

Come on over to Windsor, MD, on Jan. 19 to see the Black-Eyed Suzies at the Opry at the Stone Chapel. We're sharing the stage with famed Maryland bluegrassers Mumford & Glick and songwriter Gage Rhodes, with MC Amanda Lynn. sarahlarsenmusic.ticketspice.com/opry-at-the-...