In what way is Sam’s performance on The Tonight Show Bluegrass? I can’t even find any Newgrass in it. Is it just because Sam is a great mandolin player and he used to play some Bluegrass? I think Sam Bush and Chris Thile must be cut from the same cloth, but it sure isn’t a Bluegrass one!

In what way was it implied that his performance would be bluegrass?

We have been very careful here on The Bluegrass Blog not to try and define bluegrass, though our readers will surely have their own unimpeachable opinions about that.

Here is what we say in our New Reader FAQ:

Q: How do you define what is and isn’t bluegrass?

A: In a nutshell, we don’t. Our treatment of the subject will be intentionally expansive, including news about artists who some bluegrass fans may feel are more focused on old time, folk, country, newgrass or another musical style other than “bluegrass,” strictly construed.

It might be best to say that we will post news and information of interest to fans, students, players and purveyors of bluegrass and related musical styles rather than simply news about bluegrass music. We trust that our readers will be quickly able to discern which content is of interest to them and follow the links provided for additional information.