The Kruger brothers moved from Switzerland to Wilkesboro in 2003. But their history with American music began when they listened to country radio as children. Jens and Uwe started playing the guitar and banjo, and Jens came to America in the early 1980s to play with the patron saint of bluegrass, Bill Monroe.
When Monroe asked Jens about his aspirations, Jens told Monroe he wanted to play bluegrass music.
“You can’t because you’re not from Kentucky,” Monroe told him. “Go home, write your own music, and then come back.”
Jens took Monroe’s advice and played with his brother in various ensembles, configurations, and styles in Switzerland. In 1995, Jens and Uwe connected with Landsberg to form the Kruger Brothers. With an ensemble approach more like a classical string quartet than a bluegrass band, they forged an elegant musical blend steeped in European and American styles.
Continue reading the Kruger brothers’ story from our March 2012 issue.
North Carolina is known for many things, but nothing more important this week than the qualities of endurance, resilience, and hope.
By day, this adventure park in the Triad is a fall festival to die for. By night, the undead come alive for Halloween tricks. Welcome to one man’s vision of year-round merrymaking.
North Carolina’s border dances across the mountains as it traces four different states. Life here can be more remote, but good neighbors are never far away.
The Blue Ridge Parkway stands out among America’s national parks: Unfurling across six Appalachian mountain chains, it connects dozens of rural communities and binds together generations of families through shared memories.
