Affiliations: professional folklorist, bluegrass musician and published scholar about bluegrass music.

Joined PRX: December 18, 2003

Phil Nusbaum got the Bluegrass bug a long time ago, and went on to becoming a radio host, professional player and folklore scholar. Among the things of which he is most proud are the many people who have thanked him for their introduction to Bluegrass.

Bluegrass is experiencing its second golden era, with performance standards higher than ever before. The show ties the current wave of Bluegrass to the history of the genre, with revealing interviews, commentaries and occasional performance segments.

The Bluegrass Review explores Bluegrass music in ways that dyed-in-the-wool fans appreciate. Because the show takes Bluegrass Music seriously (but not too seriously), serious music listeners from many backgrounds enjoy the show. It works especially well in programming blocks including such shows as American Routes, Thistle and Shamrock, or local productions of traditional music.

Bluegrass music has a committed following everywhere. Contact Phil for demographic information. Phil produces the show for aesthetic reasons, but you can't ignore the success he has had in fund raising. The Bluegrass Review is a dressed-up hour of a five-hour Bluegrass broadcast which regularly achieves 30-40 pledge calls/per hour during on-air fundraising. The success owes to the combination of the music and the way Phil presents it.