Bluegrass Jam Along

This week we're jamming along to the classic tune Big Sciota and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm.  backing track starts at 00:31 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a c...

This week we're jamming along to the classic tune Big Sciota and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm.  backing track starts at 00:29 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord...

This week we're jamming along to the classic tune Big Sciota and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, then the tune and we swap over.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:32 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord...

This week we're jamming along to Big Sciota. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and jam along! If you want a c...

My guest this week is Steve Nall, better known as Nully, head of production at Collings guitars. I didn't realise till we sat down to chat that it was exactly five years to the day since Bill Collings passed. We talked about Bill, his approach to guitar making (and life in general), as well as how the business has developed, with and without him and how Nully got into guitar building in the f...

My guest this week is Marcel Ardans, from the Lessons With Marcel YouTube channel. Marcel has spent hours (probably weeks) transcribing the playing of bluegrass players. In this episode he picks four of his favourites and we chat about their styles, influences and what makes them unique. First up is Billy Strings, followed by Trey Hensley, Molly Tuttle and Tony Rice. Check out Marcel's fantas...

This week we're jamming along to Fiddler's Dram and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of D at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:34 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord char...

This week we're jamming along to Fiddler's Dram and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of D at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:24 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (o...

This week we're jamming along to Fiddler's Dram and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping.  It's four times through in the key of D at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:48 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a...

This  week we're jamming along to the classic tune Fiddler's Dram. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and...

My guest this week is Emma John, author of the wonderful book 'Wayfaring Stranger - A Musical Journey in the American South'. We chat about what made a British journalist and cricket fan want to travel to North Carolina and write a book about bluegrass, the key lesson Emma learned from the Kruger Brothers  and so much more. I loved this one - it feels as much a conversation about life an...

My guest on Bluegrass Jam Along this week is Happy Traum. Happy founded Homespun with his wife, Jane, in 1967. In the 55 years that followed, Homespun has helped hundreds of thousands of people learn to play music and has worked with some of the all-time bluegrass greats, including Tony Rice, Norman Blake, Bill Monroe, John Hartford, Sam Bush and many, many more. Happy share the story of how Homes...

Yesterday was June 8th 2022 and would have been Tony Rice's birthday.  As a tribute to Tony I've put together a compilation of some of the conversations I've had  for this podcast where the guests mentioned Tony. I wanted to wait till today to release it as yesterday, Tony's actual birthday, I was speaking to Happy Traum of Homespun, who was a good friend of Tony's and wor...

This week we're jamming along to Shove the Pig's Foot a Little Further Into the Fire and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:36 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you&a...

This week we're jamming along to Shove the Pig's Foot a Little Further Into the Fire and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:30 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you'...

This week we're jamming along to Shove the Pig's Foot a Little Further Into the Fire and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:29 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes...

This  week we're jamming along to the classic tune Shove the Pig's Foot a Little Further Into the Fire. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other thr...

Hi. We haven't had a Food For Thought episode for a while, but I've had something in my head all week based on a few Facebook posts I saw. The general theme was whether something can be called bluegrass if it has a  non-traditionally bluegrass instrument in it (e.g. pedal steel or accordion). In the episode I play a clip of my interview with Tristan Scroggins where he discusses genre and...

I've just released the 200th episode of Bluegrass Jam Along! I can't believe it's come around after just 14 months! Thanks to all of you, whether you've been listening a few days or since the start. I'd really love it if you head to wherever you get your podcasts and leave a review. It would also be great if you could share this podcast with anyone, and everyone, you think...

This week we're jamming along to Cattle in the Cane and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of A at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:27 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart...

This week we're jamming along to Cattle in the Cane and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of A at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:28 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or...

This week we're jamming along to Cattle in the Cane and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping.  It's four times through in the key of A at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:47 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a c...

This  week we're jamming along to the classic tune Cattle in the Cane. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and...

My guest this week is current IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year Bronwyn Keith-Hynes. We chatted about her fantastic record Fiddler's Pastime , which features guest performances from Sierra Hull, Tim O'Brien and Sarah Jarosz. Check it out - it's great! We also talked about Bronwyn's current gig as fiddle player for Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway. You can order Fiddler's Pasti...

My guest (again) this week is Jake Eddy. Jake was my first ever guest on Bluegrass Jam Along. If you want to check out that episode it's here Jake came back to chat to me about his latest project, 'Nor' Easter', a new collaboration with mandolin legend Andy Statman. Jake explains how the project came about (very quickly!), what the process was and talks about some of the amazin...