David Royko

Bela Fleck Perpetual Motion (Sony Classical) Bela Fleck isn't the first to perform Bach on the banjo -- from Pete Seeger in the '50s to John Bullard in the '90s,...

Sean Watkins Let It Fall (Sugar Hill) Sean Watkins is the guitarist for the sensational and hard-to-classify band Nickel Creek. Since he sings a fair share of NC's tunes, it...

Mark O'Connor Hot Swing! (OMAC) Even if the critical verdict is still out -- and may always be -- on Mark O'Connor's true value in the classical world, in the...

Don Stiernberg Unseasonably Cool (Blue Night) John Parrott and Don Stiernberg The Swing Sessions (Cronyn) Jazz mandolinists -- not bluegrass mandolinists who moonlight in jazz -- are a rare breed....

Tony Rice Unit Unit of Measure (Rounder) Because he has recorded so frequently, both as leader and as part of several high-octane collectives, it is surprising to realize that it...

Area Code 615 Area Code 615/Trip in the Country (Koch) If you dial 615, you're calling Nashville. Thirty years ago, if you were arranging a Nashville recording session for a...

This week, the Arts Watch page is featuring the best and worst concerts of the year as chosen by Tribune freelancers and staff writers; today's lists are by music writers...

Bluegrass festival: The Old Town School of Folk Music hosted a unique bluegrass festival Saturday night -- nine bands, each named Special Consensus. To commemorate the group's 25th anniversary and...

For a branch of the humanities that typically thrives on things harmonious, partisans of various musical genres tend to view one another with the suspicion of enemy camps in wartime....

Here's a rundown of some of this year's more notable holiday releases: ROCK, ETC. Ringo Starr, "I Wanna Be Santa Claus" (Mercury): Whether paying homage to Gary Glitter's glam-rock stomp...