All the News That's ....

One of the things that new listeners of a genre need is information about that genre. There are lots of sources of information from historical to today's happenings. While there are periodicals that can be found on newsstands, Americana information may be regional unless you subscribe to a specific magazine. One alternative is web-based magazines. We'll explore two such sites this month that provide information on Bluegrass.

The Bluegrass Unlimited is supposed to be the Internet companion to "the definitive Blugrass magazine." The newsstand price for the real-world version is $2.95. You can subscribe online and receive 1 year's worth for $24, svaing you almost 1/3 of the cost. Multiyear discounts are available and the process is almost all online. In this case, you can get billed for the subscription or if you choose to pay by credit card, they will call to get the credit card number.

If you're looking for a taste of the magazine before committing to 12 issues, then you'll be disappointed by the site. For the current issue, all you'll see, with two exceptions, is the table of contents. You can see their National Bluegrass Survey, which lists the top five singles and albums for the current (actually just past) month. You can also read an album review from the current month's issue.

If you're looking for other information about this style of music, I think you'll also be disappointed. Most of the information on the site is out of date. The last Pic (as in picture) of the Month was October 2000. The last listings for New Releases was July 2001 and the last entries for concerts was May 2001.

Of course, you can order some Bluegrass Unlimited merchandise from the site. There are BU hats and bumper stickers available as well as back issues of the magazine. You have to call or order by snail mail, however; there is no online ordering available.

The magazine may be well worth a subscription, but you won't be able to determine that in advance from this site. Your best bet is to try to find a newsstand issue to peruse before ordering. As far as this virtual version, I'd give it a pass; it's more of a Blurgrass Limited.

iBluegrass Magazine

iBluegrass Magazine seems to promise a lot of information when you first enter the site. The navigation bar has a lot of entries that can overwhelm a first-time visitor. It remains consistent, if not identical, from page to page. There is a database of concerts and festivals that seem to be up-to-date, but a little sparse. There are some interesting news articles and interviews that are not limited to big-name stars. The CD Reviews look interesting. Some of the pages seem a bit frivolous, but to each their own.