Grammy Nominated Fiddle Champ Byron Berline Talks Bluegrass

I just had a cool conversation with 2X GRAMMY nominee and 3X National Fiddle Champion Byron Berline. Byron opened up as he shared about his life in Bluegrass music, Oklahoma's International Bluegrass Festival, film scoring, his Guthrie, Oklahoma music shop and concert hall Byron's Double Stop Fiddle Shop, tips for upcoming fiddlers/musicians, and some other notable Oklahoma artists on the scene like Red Dirt Rangers, The Hunt Family and the Rockin' Acoustic Circus. 

In addition to earning Grammy nominations for Best Album of the Year for his 1996 release Fiddle & Amp; A Song, and Best Song of the Year for his Country Instrumental performance, "Sally Goodin" by Byron, with Earl Scruggs and Bill Monroe, Byron's also worked with The Rolling Stones, Emmylou Harris, Elton John, The Band, etc.; scored hit movies like Back To The Future, Basic Instinct, and others; and continues to tour internationally while impressing local audiences with his music. 


Byron regularly draws crowds and generates much support with his swingin' brand of Bluegrass at Oklahoma's International Bluegrass Festival held annually in Guthrie. OIBF is a vibrant scene for international and local Bluegrass artists, scholarship awards and an, overall, great time. For more information, visit www.oibf.com.


Byron's a working artist and smart businessman with solid wisdom about staying musical and finding success one genre at a time. 

Fired up and Fearless

In the April issue of Vogue, glam gal and fearless redhead Rihanna offered much style and substance. Where some may opt for avoidance about the incident that changed perception and career trajectories, others are openly expressive about its impact; available to everyone should be forgiveness and the opportunity for reinvention especially with lessons learned.

I especially appreciated how Rihanna chronicled her reinvention as quoted in Vogue, "It actually gave me a lot of liberation ... I was able to tap into the personal part of my music," Rihanna said. "I started to tell stories through my music that were actually my stories ... before that ... there was still a little bit of protection, there was still an innocence to me ... I keep using the word unapologetic ... There's a freedom that comes with all that. Where you feel like you don't have to make an excuse for being yourself."

As an artist and on a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate your fearlessness?  How great is your willingness to expose the raw and transform it into the bangin' sound of just right?
Who needs 10 when you've got the power and creativity to deliver a redhot 11?

Fistful of Amazing

One of my favorite performances of all time is Pink’s “Glitter in the Air,” at the 2010 Grammy Awards (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3stsDXki__U).  Her tender and ever-to-be-emulated tribute of love seems something to strive for: to love and be loved; to creatively transmute the roses-are-red emotion into unique, personal lyric; to sing w/ handheld mic and spin without stunt double while splashing droplets of inspiration over an audience that has seen and done it all; to create new levels of amazing through an impeccably audacious performance; to express sans fear.

Such beauty is now classic.

If ever there was moving art avec audio, this was it. Caravaggio in the form of a 21^st century rebel who delivered daring physicality, lyrical transparency and sweet emotion that left us all wondering, with mouths agape, what can I … how can I … what will I?

Whatever your answer, be amazing.