It Sounds Better in Maryland.

3 September 2014:

      I admit my faults; my prejudices. But I've been spoiled. Treated like a spoiled child in a candy shop. Everyone knows I live in Virginia and sneak across the Potomac River to enjoy the bluegrass music in Maryland. I'm frequently asked why I do it so I'll say it once again for the record:  every weekend, every day of every weekend and sometimes on Thursdays, I can find entertaining, first-class bluegrass within a 70-mile range of my home in Virginia. But not in Virginia. I find it in Maryland. Last December I commenced my Maryland Traditional Bluegrass Calendar to document how much Traditional bluegrass was going on in Maryland. In January or February I plan on making a report of the findings, and then continue the calendar/schedule/listings on into 2015. The unscientific research is strictly mine and doesn't include Old Time music, or non-traditional bluegrass groups of which, there are plenty in Maryland, working the clubs, festivals, public picnics, and County-sponsored public concerts. No. My only concern is traditional bluegrass;  music done in what is commonly referred to as "the Baltimore style" or  "the Maryland/Baltimore style." The nick-names are strictly regional and probably have nothing to do with reality. Suffice it for me that I like whatever it is, and I like what I'm hearing when I have the opportunity to seriously listen to it.