Bluegrass Music: Chronological Guide

The chronological section is based on musical trends within the genre, roughly following Neil Rosenberg’s book Bluegrass: A History. While looking at bluegrass chronologically can give us a helpful structure to understanding the overarching history, there are also issues with a linear chronological format. Chronologies can force a narrative out of a linear structure, which ultimately leaves out those on the margins. The chronological narrative also overlooks individual artistic growth – a musician may have already been performing for a decade before being “noticed” and becoming “influential”. Fred Bartenstein lines out an alternative approach to a bluegrass chronology here. Each chronological section includes

Introduction to the section: history and social context

Suggested subject headings and author search terms. There is limited nuance in subject headings for bluegrass music. For example, there are fewer subject headings for marginalized and lesser known musicians. Because of this, I have included a list of additional band members or musicians to search using key word searches rather than subject headings. 

Highlighed archival materials: collections that are not listed in the introduction

Audio: The selections provide listening suggestions for well-known bluegrass musicians as well as introductions to lesser known performers.

Video: Selections from videos available via SFC or UNC libraries. The videos may vary in format (VHS, DVD, streamable, etc)

Books: selected books that reflect the performers or events of the era