Blog
Barry's bluegrass, aviation, and archive notes.
Read Barry's essays on bluegrass history, musicians, aviation, and the stories behind his books and archive.
Bluegrass history
March 2026
Branches of Bluegrass. Modern Outgrowths, e.g. Newgrass
Friends, I appreciate your attention to this blog which pays attention to matters which are applicable to our music. The following is mostly the introduction to Chapter Fourteen in "America's Music: Bluegrass."
Bluegrass history
December 2021
The Feud Between Bill Monroe and Flatt and Scruggs
There have been many discussions about what we might call "The Feud." A general summary of this might be to tell you that when Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs left Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys band in 1948...
Aviation essay
November 2021
Was Duke Steel a Good Pilot?
This month's blog strays a bit from the history of bluegrass music to more of a personal note. It pertains to the main character in my two novels: The Banjo Pilot (2018) and Icy Strait (2021), the Alaskan
Bluegrass technique
October 2021
Bill Keith, Earl Scruggs, and the Story Behind Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo
Bill Keith and Earl Scruggs and their collaboration to create "Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo "
Bluegrass technique
September 2021
The Single String Playing of Eddie Adcock and Don Reno
I met Eddie Adcock about 1990 when he was one of the great acts there at the World of Bluegrass when it was based in Owensboro, Kentucky...
Bluegrass history
JULY 28, 2021
Bill Monroe's Early Fiddlers, and his Baseball Team
Friends, this is the second monthly presentation of important aspects of bluegrass music which need definitive clarification.
Bluegrass history
July 2021
Why is Bluegrass Music so Controversial?
What! You're probably asking yourself about the audacity of the premise...the music you/we love being controversial. Why can't we just love the music and not hear negative things about it?
Civic proposal
June 1, 2017
Big Island Water: Thinking Out of the Box
Barry's 2017 presentation proposing ways to move abundant east-side rainfall toward water needs on the west side of Hawai'i Island.
Beyond the blog
Find Barry's other writings.
Manuscripts, scripts, faith writing, and other preserved work live in the writing and reference archive.