"Bill Monroe, often called the father of Bluegrass ... to think of American music in this century without such Southern-derived forms as ragtime, jazz, blues, country, gospel, rhythm and blues ...

The Don Valley Drifters plays a mixture of bluegrass, country, gospel, and old-time music: from Bill Monroe to Jimmy Martin, from the Stanley Brothers to Jim and Jesse. They high lonesome sound ...

Bluegrass is always bluegrass, and these three musician comparisons are a testament to the tradition of the genre.

gospel and old-time music that appeals to everyone." Skaggs is one of the few artists who can claim that when he plays bluegrass on the Ryman's stage, he's directly descended from Monroe's hiring ...

"We all believed in [bluegrass] as a music that was not limited to just countrified folks and rural audiences," Rowan says.