Bluegrass Music to Read By

Abit Bradshaw reveals his favorite bluegrass fiddle tunes.

It was ages ago that I first walked into the Keith House at the Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C., but the memories are still vivid. One of those flashbulb moments that stay with you for a lifetime. A man was on stage playing the fiddle, and the sound lit into me like lightning. Or as Abit would say, "My heart nearabout popped outta my chest." It tapped into my DNA or maybe, more simply, my love of all kinds of music.

Before that night, I hadn't really given Celtic or old-time American music much thought. For me, those were the days of the Rolling Stones and The Who. But that evening started me on a course that has led to a full-blown love affair with bluegrass music—the music spotlighted in Murder Ballad Blues and other books. (I confess I’m not that crazy about the murder ballads, though they sound great if I don’t listen to the lyrics!)