No. 257, May 2014

Home Style
Porchfest goes from local New York oddity to national craze to your town 
By Kenny Berkowitz 

Her Year of Living Famously
Kacey Musgraves—a two-time Grammy winner—reflects on her whirlwind ascent 
By David Knowles 

A John Fahey Primer
The triumph & tragedy of Blind Joe Death 
By Derk Richardson 

Special Focus: 30 Under 30

Talking ’Bout Their Generation
A roundup of 30 of the world’s best acoustic artists under the age of 30 
By Mark Kemp, David Knowles & Amber von Nagel 

The Beat
On his forthcoming album, bluegrass-guitar phenom Bryon Sutton takes the mic; guitarist Muriel Anderson’s newconcept album, Nightlight Daylight; & more 

News Spotlight
Della Mae’s flatpicking guitarist Courtney Hartman is no shrinking violet 

Songcraft
Natalia Zukerman grew up in a family of classical musicians. Then she saw Susanne Vega and her life was saved by folk ’n’ roll 

Acoustic Classic
Eric Clapton’s “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out”; Led Zeppelin’s famous intro riff to their classic “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You”; the Celtic raditional tune “Bottom of the Punchbowl”

Take It Easy
Be bold: bring your guitar! 

Here’s How
3 simple steps to building a strong rhythm hand 

The Basics
Enhance your Carter-style strum patterns to add authenticity to your sound 

Weekly Workout
Use extended and modified chording to add color to your acoustic-rock sound 

AG Trade
Fender’s hippest brand rolls out the latest models in its Roots Collection; capo man Milton Kyser dead at 80; & more 

Guitar Guru

Dana Bourgeois on how to determine the value of a high-end guitar 

Kitbag
Using a different set of strings can be an enlightening exercise for guitarists of all styles 

Review: Hot Rod Old Skool 12
Hot Rod recreates classic resonators with love, care, attention to detail—and ridiculously low price tags 

Review: Epiphone Hummingbird Pro
Epiphone plugs in the classic Gibson beauty at a fraction of the cost 

Review:Ernie Ball Aluminum Bronze strings
New acoustic-guitar strings are a robust alternative to phosphor bronze and 80/20s 

Mixed Media: Playlist
Virtuoso Steve Dawson offers guitar analog to eccentric Van Dyke Parks-style Americana; & other CDs 

Mixed Media: Books
Book traces Martin from its earliest years to its status today as America’s iconic instrument