We posted several times last year about the demise of Bluegrass Now, which had published continuously for 18 years. Stung by the widespread downturn in print periodicals, publishers Wayne and Deb Bledsoe closed the magazine down after the December 2008 issue.

Bluegrass Now tried going all-digital in March 2008, hoping that eliminating the print and mailing costs would allow them to survive with an online subscription model, but unfortunately for the entire bluegrass community, it was not to be.

The Bledsoes spelled it out in in their farewell message…

Although Bluegrass Now has avoided the magnitude of problems afflicting the major publishers, the economic downturn has impacted us in a variety of ways. After prolonged deliberations, we have decided that rather than compromise the integrity and quality of the magazine, which we have sought to maintain since its inception in 1990, we will cease publication at the end of this year.

One thing left unresolved was the status of the existing online subscribers when the magazine closed up shop. That issue has finally been resolved, and all current subscribers as of 12/08 will be offered an online subscription to Flatpicking Digital, the online home of Flatpicking Guitar magazine.

FGM publisher Dan Miller explains how the switch-off will work.

“Before they went out of business they were only offering a digital version of the magazine, so I’m allowing all of those people who still had issues remaining on their subscription to Bluegrass Now to have a one year digital subscription to Flatpicking Guitar Magazine – both our digital magazine and the audio files.”

Former BN subscribers can contact FGM for more details if they have not yet been contacted about this offer.

It’s been great to see the tremendous interest in Steve Martin’s upcoming banjo CD within the overlapping banjo and bluegrass communities.

Martin has been a banjo picker since before he made it big, first as a comedian and later as a film actor, author and playwright. When I was first learning to play banjo in the mid-1970s, Martin’s comedy act was in its hey day. Though he used the banjo primarily as a prop in his show, he always played seriously and gave the old five string a renewed visibility in the pop culture.

The final (December 2008) online issue of Bluegrassnow.com had a lengthy article about the CD, written by IBMA’s Nancy Cardwell. She takes us into the studio while the CD, The Crow, was being recorded, talks with producer John McEuen, and reports on the goings on when she was there.

“John McEuen invited me over to the studio for a couple of days in October, when he and Steve were in town to work on the record. Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Earl & Gary Scruggs, Stuart Duncan and Jerry Douglas were there, also.

The songs I heard so far are great–looking forward to hearing the whole CD soon.”

Nancy also provides a good bit of background on Steve’s discovery of the banjo, which he did along with McEuen, a childhood friend.

John and Steve met each other the summer before their senior year at Garden Gate High School. “We used to play chess every lunch period,” John said. “There wasn’t a whole lot to the conversation other than ‚Äòcheck’ and ‚Äòcheckmate.’ I think I said ‚Äòcheckmate’ more often,” he added, laughing. “We worked at Disneyland and sometimes would play chess by telephone, from two different stores, when business was slow.” (more…)

When we noted last week that Bluegrass Now would cease publication after this current (12/08) issue, it was noted in the comments section that no statement from the publishers had been issued.

Longtime publishers Wayne and Deb Bledsoe have now released such a statement on the magazine’s web site.

For our long-time friends and supporters, Deb and I would like to let you know that our December edition will be the last issue of Bluegrass Now.

As I’m sure most of you are aware, the current downturn in the U.S. economy has taken its toll on most industries, and bluegrass has been no exception. While Bluegrass Now’s fan-base support has remained strong, many corporations have had to reassess their disbursement priorities with regard to such things as advertising. It should be noted however, that the decline in advertising revenue is not unique to the music industry. The Chicago Tribune announced recently its intentions to file for Chapter 11, and the New York Times and Wall Street Journal are considering similar actions due to the sharp decline in advertising revenue.

Although Bluegrass Now has avoided the magnitude of problems afflicting the major publishers, the economic downturn has impacted us in a variety of ways. After prolonged deliberations, we have decided that rather than compromise the integrity and quality of the magazine, which we have sought to maintain since its inception in 1990, we will cease publication at the end of this year.

Deb and I have enjoyed tremendously our 18-year run with Bluegrass Now. We sincerely hope that the magazine has been instrumental in helping to advance the industry, because it has brought us priceless friendships with a multitude of fans, artists and industry leaders. I find it especially gratifying that a significant number of our writers and technical staff has been with us from the beginning and there is no way to thank these people for their support and unwavering confidence. (more…)

We have learned that Bluegrass Now will cease publication with the December edition.

The state of the economy has had a considerable effect on the music business and Bluegrass Now had already felt the impact earlier, when it was decided that the magazine would cease in its print version and become an Internet-only publication. That change took place in the Spring of this year.

Wayne and Deb Bledsoe, the publishers, have now decided that Bluegrass Now will not be published beyond the issue of the December 2008 edition, thus terminating an 18 year period in which they were major contributors to the international bluegrass music business.

We will have further details and comments about the demise of Bluegrass Now shortly.