Capital Bluegrass

Kip Lornell has written an outstanding book documenting the history of bluegrass music in the Washington, D.C., area...Capital Bluegrass focuses on bluegrass in a specific area, but the book's implications are wide ranging. Throughout, Kip Lornell provides information regarding the evolving relationships between the DMV bluegrass community and the general American culture, and also between the DMV bluegrass community and surroundings and country and folk music industries. Capital Bluegrass: Hillbilly Meets Washington, DC will appeal to scholars of bluegrass music as well as to bluegrass fans in search of a good read about an important location for the music. * Philip Nusbaum, Journal of Folklore Research *
That bluegrass music not only flourished but, for several decades, was actually headquartered in Washington, D.C. is a surprising and amazing reality. Kip Lornell masterfully unpacks this important phenomenon with tons of juicy detail and a memorable cast of characters. * Fred Bartenstein, Chair, International Bluegrass Music Association Foundation *
Meticulously researched and presented in a well-organized, enjoyable-to-read manner, Capital Bluegrass artfully tells the story of bluegrass in the Nation's Capital. This is an essential addition to an already impressive list of works by Kip Lornell. * Gary Reid, Author of The Music of the Stanley Brothers *
In Capital Bluegrass: Hillbilly Music Meets Washington D.C., Lornell has crafted a highly engaging and deeply informative narrative that is a journey through the soul of bluegrass music told through the lens of Washington D.C., an influential and often misunderstood city in the story of the genre. D.C. is a city that while existing outside of Appalachia, came to be regarded as the capital of bluegrass. Lornell deftly details this rise to prominence. * Tim Newby, Author of Bluegrass in Baltimore: The Hard Drivin' Sound & Its Legacy *
A wonderfully detailed, deeply researched, and entertaining journey tracing DC bluegrass from its roots as hillbilly music from the 1920s into the mid-'40s before leading to Washington's surprising emergence as the nation's bluegrass urban capital that began in the mid-'50s and continued for some forty years. It's a compelling story of innovators, virtuosos, larger-than-life characters, and community building through local radio, clubs, festivals, and record labels that gradually expanded the local audience into a cultural phenomenon that propelled groups like the Country Gentlemen and the Seldom Scene into the national limelight. * Richard Harrington, Music Critic, Washington Post (1983-2008) *