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Bluegrass Music: Flexibility: 1970-1990

Historical context

Starting with Bean Blossom in 1967, bluegrass festivals became more popular and integral to professional bluegrass musicians and fans alike. Changes in aesthetic continued to follow larger generational trends as well as changes in technology. For example, using separate microphones or electric instruments versus performing around a single microphone. In the recording studio, bluegrass bands also started utilizing a more produced sound. These changes sometimes created tension with more traditional approaches to the music. This era also saw expanding regionality within the genre from Nashville to New York, California, Washington D.C. and internationally in Japan, Australia, and throughout Europe. In response to generational, regional and technological shifts, new sub-genres of bluegrass began to emerge such as Newgrass, Dawg music and New Acoustic music. On the other hand, some musicians decided to stay or return to a more traditional sound. As a result there was a mix between a sense of traditionalism versus marketing towards new audiences.

The selections of musicians in this section and following sections will inevitably leave out more names as the number of bluegrass musicians increased throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Subject headings

"Bluegrass music -- 1961-1970”, "Bluegrass music -- 1971-1980", "Bluegrass music -- 1981-1990"

Subject/author terms

"New Grass Revival (Musical group)" "Seldom Scene (Musical group)" “Grisman, David”, “David Grisman Quintet”, “David Grisman Quartet” "Rowan, Peter, 1942-", “Hartford, John”, "Lawson, Doyle", “Bush, Sam, 1952-", "Lewis, Laurie, 1950-", "O'Brien, Tim, 1954-", "Douglas, Jerry, 1956-"

Additional musicians by instrument

Bands: Buffalo Gals, Hot Rize, The Bluegrass 45, The New Deal Stringband, The Johnson Mountain Boys, Breakfast Special, Bluegrass Album Band, Delia Bell and Bill Grant 

Banjo: Lynn Morris, Tony Trischka, Alan Munde, Butch Robins, Bela Fleck

Bass: Mark Schatz, Todd Phillips, Edgar Meyer

Dobro: Stacy Phillips

Fiddle: Byron Berline, Tex Logan, Richard Greene, Darol Anger, Laurie Lewis, Mark O’Connor, Stuart Duncan

Guitar: Norman Blake, Tony Rice, David Grier

Mandolin: David McLaughlin, Mike Marshall, Andy Statman

Highlighted archival materials