Of all the different types of americana, bluegrass can be one of the most challenging to review – but some might say that’s an unintended consequence of one of its most elemental qualities. After all, like the earliest rockabilly and rock’n’roll, bluegrass was originally mainly intended to be a form of popular, grassroots entertainment, so it would typically rely heavily on formulaic, intentionally repetitive musical structures. Those predictable structures were great for keeping the dancehall public on side – most of whom were just there to dance, not focus too hard on the intricacies of the music – while simultaneously allowing musicians to show off their technical virtuosity, one of bluegrass’ stand-out features. But with lyrical originality often not a top priority either, compared to…
