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What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone has been enjoying the first week of fall. Here in Raleigh, it’s IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Awards) week, so there’s a ton of great (and free) pickin going on all over the city. It’s an awesome event and I’m hoping to make it over to a few shows over the course of it. Last night I was able to catch a show at the Pour House and saw this 13-year-old kid named Wyatt Ellis absolutely shred on the mandolin. This is the second time I’ve seen him perform. When I went to the Billy Strings show in Winston Salem this past March, Billy brought him out as a special guest and played a couple songs with him. He’s definitely the real deal and played the hell out of some Bill Monroe songs last night. I figured this would be a good week to write about a bluegrass record (even though it’s always a good week to do that). What better to write about with a bunch of live music going all around town this week than a live album recorded by two bluegrass legends, Flatt and Scruggs At Carnegie Hall, recorded in the fall of 1962 at the peak of the folk music revival. It’s a great show, and it starts off with a favorite of mine, Salty Dog Blues, followed by a ripping fiddle tune, Durham’s Reel. Me and Dom always talk about how we enjoy the banter and jokes and everything going on between the songs on these live bluegrass albums. It’s what separates a great show from a good show to me. Especially back then, having a funny and charismatic personality was almost as important as the music as far as a performance is concerned. I like the track Mama Blues on here, where Earl Scruggs is having a conversation with his guitar about it missing its mama. It’s a fun track on here and is exactly what I was just writing about. I love bluegrass but more specifically, I love live bluegrass. Even though by the time this comes out the festival will be over, I hope if you’re in Raleigh you got to make it so some of the shows going on for IBMA.