British Bluegrass News

British Bluegrass News is a specialist publication focused on the bluegrass music scene in the United Kingdom. It began in the 1970s as a newsletter produced by Phillip Morley under the title The British Bluegrass & Old Time Music Newsletter. The early publication served an enthusiast community interested in bluegrass and related old-time music at a time when the British scene was comparatively small and dispersed. The newsletter later developed into a small A5-format magazine called The British Bluegrass & Old Time Music Journal. During the 1980s, Jan Jerrold joined the staff, helping with the publication and contributing to its development. Around this period, the title changed to The British Bluegrass News, which became its continuing working name. The publication documents and promotes bluegrass activity across the United Kingdom. Its subject matter includes British bands, performers, festivals, and the regular sessions through which the genre's local community is sustained. The British scene includes groups formed across several generations, from acts that began in the 1970s to more contemporary performers. Although the music can appear niche or relatively little known outside specialist circles, British bluegrass artists perform at festivals as well as weekly and monthly sessions throughout the country. A major institutional turning point came with the establishment of the British Bluegrass Music Association on November 3, 1990. From that point, British Bluegrass News became the association's quarterly magazine. This relationship gave the publication a formal role within the national bluegrass network and connected its editorial function with the activities of the principal British organization representing the genre. The publication's core positioning is community journalism rather than mainstream entertainment coverage. Its purpose is to make British bluegrass musicians and activities visible, provide continuity for a specialist audience, and record the development of a scene that is distributed across clubs, sessions, festivals, and local music networks. Publicly available reference material does not establish a current publisher, circulation figure, headquarters, website, financial information, or detailed editorial staff beyond the historical association with Phillip Morley and Jan Jerrold.

British Bluegrass News originated in the 1970s as a newsletter created by Phillip Morley. Its original title, The British Bluegrass & Old Time Music Newsletter, reflected both the publication's coverage and the musical interests of the British enthusiast community it served. At this stage, it functioned as a specialist communication channel for people interested in bluegrass and old-time music in the United Kingdom. The publication subsequently expanded from newsletter form into a small A5 magazine titled The British Bluegrass & Old Time Music Journal. This change represented a development in format and presentation while retaining its specialist focus. The available historical account does not provide a precise publication date for the transition or details about circulation, but it establishes that the title became a more developed periodical rather than remaining solely a newsletter. During the 1980s, Jan Jerrold joined the staff and helped the publication continue its development. The title was then changed to The British Bluegrass News, the name under which it has been known as a working publication. The renaming placed greater emphasis on the British identity of the scene and on the publication's news-oriented role. The publication's subject is the bluegrass scene throughout the United Kingdom. British bluegrass has been sustained by bands, festivals, clubs, and recurring music sessions. These activities involve performers from different generations, including groups established in the 1970s and later artists. British Bluegrass News has aimed to bring this activity to wider attention within the specialist community, particularly because many of the country's performers and events may be unfamiliar to audiences outside the genre. On November 3, 1990, the British Bluegrass Music Association was formed. British Bluegrass News subsequently became the association's quarterly magazine. This relationship marked the principal organizational milestone in the publication's known history. It positioned the magazine as an established communication and record-keeping outlet for the association and for the broader British bluegrass network. The available reference material does not identify a separate commercial parent, current editor, ownership structure, circulation, or publication website. It also does not document major controversies, acquisitions, pricing decisions, advertising campaigns, or financial results. The publication's enduring role is best understood as that of a niche music periodical supporting visibility and communication within the United Kingdom's bluegrass community.

• 1990

  Becomes the British Bluegrass Music Association magazine

  [1]British Bluegrass Newsen.wikipedia.org

  Following the formation of the British Bluegrass Music Association on November 3, 1990, British Bluegrass News became the association's quarterly magazine.

• Publication begins as a newsletter

  [1]British Bluegrass Newsen.wikipedia.org

  Phillip Morley first published the title in the 1970s as The British Bluegrass & Old Time Music Newsletter.

• Expansion into an A5 magazine

  [1]British Bluegrass Newsen.wikipedia.org

  The newsletter later developed into a small A5-format magazine called The British Bluegrass & Old Time Music Journal.

• Jan Jerrold joins the staff

  [1]British Bluegrass Newsen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1980s, Jan Jerrold joined the staff and assisted with the publication's ongoing development.

A specialist British bluegrass community publication and association magazine focused on documenting performers, festivals, sessions, and the wider United Kingdom bluegrass scene.

• Quarterly music magazine

  British Bluegrass News

  The publication's continuing working title and its principal magazine format. It covers bluegrass activity across the United Kingdom, including British bands, festivals, performers, and recurring weekly or monthly sessions. After the formation of the British Bluegrass Music Association in 1990, it became the association's quarterly magazine and served as a communication outlet for the national bluegrass community.

• Music newsletter

  The British Bluegrass & Old Time Music Newsletter

  The original newsletter title used by Phillip Morley when the publication began in the 1970s. It focused on bluegrass and old-time music for a British specialist audience and formed the foundation for the later magazine.

• Music magazine

  The British Bluegrass & Old Time Music Journal

  The intermediate title used after the original newsletter developed into a small A5-format magazine. It retained the publication's bluegrass and old-time music focus before the title was changed to The British Bluegrass News in the 1980s.

• 1990

  Alignment with the British Bluegrass Music AssociationStrategy

  Background

  The British Bluegrass Music Association was formed on November 3, 1990, creating a formal national organization for the British bluegrass community.

  Action taken

  British Bluegrass News became the association's quarterly magazine.

  Aftermath

  The publication gained an institutional role as a regular communication and coverage channel for the association and the wider United Kingdom bluegrass scene.

  Source

• Transition from newsletter to magazineStrategy

  Background

  The original newsletter format evolved into a small A5 magazine as the publication developed its role within the British bluegrass community.

  Action taken

  The title was presented as The British Bluegrass & Old Time Music Journal before later becoming British Bluegrass News.

  Aftermath

  The change established a more formal periodical identity while preserving the publication's specialist musical focus.

  Source

1. 1British Bluegrass Newsen.wikipedia.org