Fervor Coulee Bluegrass Blog

I have been a roots and bluegrass music writer for twenty years, having also hosted bluegrass radio and presented concerts. I currently write for Country Standard Time and Exclaim! while maintaining a blog at fervorcoulee.wordpress.com. I'm proud to be a member of the Polaris Music Prize Jury. Please contact me at fervorcoulee@gmail.com.

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Becky Buller Songs That Sing Me review

Donald Teplyske  |  November 21, 2025

Becky Buller has been prominent in bluegrass circles for more than twenty years, moving from her Minnesota base to (if I am not misremembering) play with Valerie Smith much of a lifetime ago. That association proved fruitful to both Smith—who recorded some of her finest music during the period—and Buller whose profile continued to grow while with and after departing Smith's band ...

Larry Sparks Way Back When

Donald Teplyske  |  November 21, 2025

Larry Sparks "Way Back When" Rebel Records 2025 marks 55 years of 'solo' recording for Larry Sparks. Few Bluegrass Hall of Fame members have more consistently presented their brand of bluegrass over that time and his latest for Rebel Records, for which he has been recording since 1977, is no exception. Always one of the most soulful of bluegrass vocalists, on Way Back When ...

The Western Thistles- The Western Thistles

Donald Teplyske  |  August 16, 2025

Funny how time slips away during a series of memorable months. Seemingly one week we are basking in the warmth of April's false promise, and the next the chill of autumn is curing the leaves of nearby river valleys. The Western Thistles released their debut album a season ago, and I've had it in hand for several weeks. Time doesn't always allow for focused listening and ...

Blueberry Music Festival, August 1-3, 2025

Donald Teplyske  |  August 9, 2025

Stony Plain, Alberta: When you have repeatedly and publicly proclaimed an event as being your annual 'happy place,' listing highlights of a three-day festival is fraught with the possibility of misunderstanding. Blueberry Music Festival lived up to and surpassed every expectation one could have had for the International Bluegrass Music Association's Two-Time Event of the Year ...

Be careful what you wish for- the radio edition

Donald Teplyske  |  May 28, 2025

My mom had a favourite idiom, one utilized by parents since the time of Aesop: Be careful what you wish for. It was something she could fall back on in just about every situation—a desire on our part to be older, an expression of frustration with a teacher, a hope for an event to arrive more quickly... Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. I wanted to host a ...