I don’t hate on anyone who likes it. Certainly not my place or intent… LOL
I’ll just be happy to flatpick a little “I’ll Fly Away” or something one day…
Again, I’m loving some of the SOLO flatpicking stuff I’m finding.
So… am I a heretic?
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I am from the bluegrass state (Kentucky) and grew up with a disliking of most BG vocals. Somewhere along the line something flipped for me. I realized it when I was listening to Hazel Dickens and I was really enjoying her singing. She had a voice that few would say is objectively good, but I was really enjoying it.
I think many of the suggestions above are great. Alison Kraus is a good gateway drug to other bluegrass 
(Besides that, they are a phenomenal band).
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Seems to me that the “stars” in bluegrass are great players, and the “stars” in other genres (at least some of them) are great singers. That’s kinda my overall general observation, I know that’s not always true, but I do see what you mean @PopsInABox.
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This is one of my favorites. Check this out:
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This is sick…
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I agree with you on. John Cowan. He’s one of my singers of any type music.
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Another couple of bands you might want to sample are the original lineups of The Country Gentlemen (late 1950s to early 1960s I believe) and The Seldom Scene (early 1970s, I believe).
what about this singing??
The singing you don’t like, is it older classic bluegrass groups or all bluegrass groups?
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Certainly not all. As I mentioned earlier, im finding it really to be the male, nasally tonality and, much more so, falsetto.
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Actually i quite enjoyed that. While, if im being honest, I did find his voice a little nasally. However, nothing sounded forced or contrived. That was his natural range.
Having said that, ill be looking up some of their other stuff to try. Thank you for posting that.
Nah, you’re not a heretic. There’s so much variety in bluegrass vocals. I’m not personally drawn toward the high nasal stuff either, though I appreciate it more over time.
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I’m a heritic. I don’t like much of Bill Monroe’s singing, but over time there are a few songs that are ok. Same is true for Del (Gasp). But over time and getting to go to a yearly Del concert for five years runninng it’s become an aquired taste and now I turn up the volume everytime his songs come on.
But the deal is the vast, vast majority of bluegrass bands don’t sing that way anymore. Seek out The Grascals, The Lonesome River Band, The Bluegrass Album Band… in my mind the more tradiional side of bluegrass has replaced country music for me because I don’t understand country music anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I want everyone to get to listen and sing what ever makes them happy.
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I am right there with on describing Del McCoury as an acquired taste. Once I got it, I really got it. It’s funny, it took much longer for my wife to “acquire the taste” of Del’s voice. I knew she finally got it when we saw Sam Bush at the Ryman and he surprisingly invited Del out to sing a few songs with him (I saw she was either excited or she was excited for me )
I’m not a big Bill Monroe singing fan either, I much prefer hearing his songs sung by others.
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A few you might consider checking out:
Dan Tyminski w/ AKUS - Dust Bowl Children
Blackberry Bushes - Salt Creek w/ ad hoc lyrics
Adam Steffey - Don’t Let your Deal Go Down
Sierra Ferrell - Don’t Let your Deal Go Down
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I hardly ever listen to early bluegrass. There’s not much about the sound that I enjoy, particularly the singing. However the fact that they invented the style deserves tremendous respect and I’m glad people are making it sound even better today.
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@PopsInABox I just had a thought— you may like East Nash Grass. James Kee very much tends to sing in his natural baritone range and doesn’t push his voice much. And, man the instrumentals are top tier.
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Also, this has to be one of the mashiest tracks I know… even if it’s not in B.
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I did enjoy this… thanks for posting.
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There’s quite a variety of styles within bluegrass.
Here’s something I did the other night at a jam in Fremantle, Western Australia: https://youtu.be/nFP3IX0yHfI
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If you like flatpicked guitar and baritone vocals, you can’t go wrong with Larry Sparks. Plenty of him to explore on Youtube.
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