Giving Bluegrass A Second Chance

I've been living in bluegrass-obsessed communities for awhile now, all up and down the Rocky Mountain corridor. My response to this mania over the past decade has been to dismiss bluegrass out of hand.

This despite the fact that:

1. I love an old man playing a fiddle as much as the next gal.
2. I fancy the moonshine.
3. I have a soft spot for music best played on a porch or stoop.
4. Those are some fine-looking instruments.
5. Bluegrass covers of songs like Gin and Juice make me smile.

Even so, even so. A boycott was clearly in order (ever the reactionary, this one).

Then what happens? I fall in love with a guy who majored in bluegrass in college. MAJORED in the stuff, for heaven's sake! A hairline crack appeared in my defensive fortifications (which Fort Scott has done nothing but exploit, let me add). Life's funny that way.

So it's a Sunday afternoon and I am painting the house and I'M LISTENING TO BLUEGRASS. By myself. And it's hitting the spot.

OK, these songs may not be straight-up bluegrass per se. Maybe they're bluegrass-lite, but I've made it this far and that bolsters my hope that tigers can change their stripes.

1. Catherine McCellan / Take A Break
2. The Avett Brothers / Kick Drum Heart
3. Bearfoot / Time Is No Medicine
4. Carolina Chocolate Drops / Hit 'Em Up Style

Not that I'm saying I'm a tiger. Students on my last course said I was more of a hare.