CMT Blog: Archive

There's a fine little venue in Ann Arbor, Mich., that's long been a friend to acoustic music. With a staff of mainly volunteers, The Ark manages to bring in some of the finest talent anywhere to their stage; Mountain Heart recently recorded their live record here. The area's roots of bluegrass run deep. For years, Southerners looking for work in the auto and military plants went back and forth between the Detroit area and home, bringing their music with them. The Hillbilly Highway, 23, runs from here all the way to our home in Asheville, N.C., and beyond. Our buddy Ralph Lewis, a former Bluegrass Boy with Bill Monroe, talks about playing three nights a week for big crowds while he was working in Detroit. Bluegrass music tends to pop up where you'd least expect it; in Ireland last year, the first pub we walked into had bluegrass playing on a little beat up antenna radio and nothing ever sounded better. -- Graham Sharp