NEWS
Patsy Stoneman of the famous Stoneman family died peacefully in her sleep at age 90 on July 23. When The Stoneman Family performed in the 1960s, Patsy played the autoharp and sang. Bluegrass Today reports that Patsy, until recently, continued to perform with sisters Donna and Roni as The Stoneman Sisters.

Wayne Carson, age 72, died July 20 in hospice care. He and his wife, Wyndi Harp, lived in Franklin, Tennessee, and he suffered from congestive heart failure, COPD, diabetes, and gallstone issues. He was born Wayne Carson Head in Colorado, where his musician parents (Hank Thompson fans) performed as Shorty & Sue Thompson. (more…)

FEATURED ARTIST – TEEA GOANS
Teea Goans has a mission. She wants to give a gift to people who love traditional country music and are searching for it. She wants to bring an awareness to the new generation of country music fans who are not familiar with the classics. I wanted to make my newsletter readers aware of Teea Goans, if they aren’t already, and so I called her for an interview. “It’s all I know,” she says about her style of music. “It comes natural. My grandmother was a singer and a big Loretta Lynn fan. This is the music I grew up with, and I love it.” (more…)

FEATURED ARTIST – JODY NIX
I met Jody Nix and his Texas Cowboys in July 2008, when they came to Washington, D.C., to represent the state of Texas at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. I’d been listening to them for a while by then, on XM Radio. When I called Jody last week at his home in Big Spring, I caught him on the eve of his 63rd birthday. He says there’s no retirement in sight. “I know I won’t last forever,” he told me. “I might slow down some day.” Next month he celebrates 55 years as a fulltime musician. (more…)