The Fretboard Journal 46 has arrived, your new happy place in troubled times, filled once again from cover to cover with stories and images from the finest creators and artists of the fretted instrument universe. This issue runs from our cover story on NYC-based Americana Power Couple Roseanne Cash and John Leventhal to luthier Steve Grimes on the island of Maui; from tiny villages in India where the Bluegrass Journeymen blur musical borders to Wales and Cornwall, where John Smith hones his diverse mix of pop and English folk. There are stories of legends and icons like bluesman Hubert Sumlin, folk hero Linda Waterfall and bluegrass great Mark O’Connor as well as up-and-comers Dylan Day and Christopher Paul Stelling, plus the proverbial much, much more…
As always, our 46th issue features 128 pages of the stunning photography and clean layouts that are our trademark. You can subscribe to our reader-supported magazine in keepsake print form or as a new digital subscription.
“Sometimes I’ll go down in the studio and I’ll pick up something that John has sitting around, one of his acoustics, to write on. It feels a little weird. But I have written on them. In fact, I wrote ‘Not Many Miles to Go’ from the new album on one of his.” — Roseanne Cash
Publisher Jason Verlinde sits down with Americana power couple Roseanne Cash and John Leventhal for our cover story.
“He laid down the idea that the riff is the song. There are three or four Sumlin riffs that power through all of the history of rock & roll for sure.” — Marc Maron
Fretboard Journal contributor Noah C. Lekas shares this in-depth feature on the legendary blues sideman Hubert Sumlin.
“Making things has always made me happy, whether it was carving wood when I was a kid or building model cars and airplanes, or modeling with Plasti- cine. I love the challenge of creating functional art…” — Michael Heiden
We make the trip deep into the woods of British Columbia with Kritt Moore for this portrait of luthier Michael Heiden.
“I started playing and something clicked. I remem- bered being onstage with a guitar. All of the sudden I went towards the mic, got to it, and it started to flow. I psychologically put myself back as a guitar- player. In some ways it was almost like I couldn’t miss.” — Mark O’Connor
Dan Holabaugh tells the story of how Mark O’Connor came back to bluegrass and, especially, playing the guitar.
“Pedal websites keep me awake at night. Is it okay to admit that?” — John Smith
Follow the complex signal paths of the English guitarist/singer-songwriter John Smith with Brian K. Saunders.
“My initial impression of Chris’s playing, aside from being inspired, was its deep connection to tradition yet uniquely his own style. I could hear Reverend Gary Davis and Leo Kottke inside of what he was doing, while all the while sounding fresh and original.” — Ben Harper on Christopher Paul Stelling
David Royek tracks down the story behind the vagabond folk of Christopher Paul Stelling.
