Bluegrass Jam Along

My guest this week is Harry Clark, a recipient of the 2022 IBMA Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year award. Harry plays mandolin with East Nash Grass as well as in Dan Tyminski's band, both of which have new records due out in 2023.  He also played in the band for Bronwyn Keith-Hynes' fabulous record 'Fiddler's Pastime.' Both Dan and Bronwyn were full of praise for Harry&a...

A couple of weeks ago I released an episode where we played Wildwood Flower back to back at two different speeds  - once at 75 bpm then again at 85. It proved so popular I've decided to do the same with some more tunes! This week it's Turkey in the Straw, again at 75 and 85 and we're in the key of G. We're using the jam along format - that means I'm kicking off playing bac...

I interviewed Tim Stafford for the podcast this week, which was an absolute treat. We talked about all sorts, from Blue Highway to Tony Rice, Billy Strings and Tim's songwriting. Tim also talked about David Grier's take on what matters when it comes to guitars, strings and picks, which is great. Tim also does a killer David Grier impersonation, which is worth hearing in its own right! He...

My guest this week is Tim Stafford. Tim is a multi award winning guitarist, songwriter, singer, producer and author. We covered a lot of ground, including the recent Blue Highway Fest, Tim's songwriting partnerships,  how bluegrass has changed in the last 15 years, why he has no time for people moaning about Billy Strings and, of course, plenty of Tony Rice chat (including the wonderful biogr...

This week we've got a bonus episode! As we've been playing Wildwood Flower for the past two weeks, I thought it would be fun to have a run through at 75 bpm, then, when we're warmed up, go through it again slightly quicker at 85 bpm. It's a bit of an experiment. We're using the jam along format - that means I'm kicking off playing backup and you're on the tune, t...

This week we're jamming along to Wildwood Flower 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 C at 85 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 (or ju...

This week we're jamming along to Wildwood Flower 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 C at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 0:38 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 Wildwood Flower. 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...

This week we're jamming along to Wildwood Flower 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 C at 85 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 (o...

This week we're jamming along to Wildwood Flower 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 C 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 chart (o...

This week we're jamming along to Wildwood Flower 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 C at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:38 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or ju...

This week we're jamming along to Wildwood Flower 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 C at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 1:15 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 Wildwood Flower. 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...

My guest this week is Kristina R. Gaddy, who joins us to discuss her fascinating new book “Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo's Hidden History”. We chat about how she came to write the book and some of the key discoveries she made along the way, in particular the banjo’s unknown history as an instrument of ritual and rebellion. Kristina’s research in diaries, letters, archives, and art, trac...

My guest this week is three time IBMA Guitar Player of the Year nominee Trey Hensley. We talk about Trey's early start in the music business, including his first appearance on the Opry, just 9 months after starting to play the guitar. We also chat about some of his heroes and influences, ranging from Earl Scruggs and Tony Rice, to Miles Davis and Van Halen, as well as his long standing collab...

My guest this week is Paul Kowert, bassist with Punch Brothers and Hawktail. Paul joins me to chat about Hawktail's wonderful new record 'Place of Growth', how the band came together, why they decided to record an album designed to be listened to in one sitting and some of the music and musicians that had a profound effect on him, including Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, Väsen and his Pun...

Hi everyone. I've had a couple of weeks off the podcast to have a holiday, but I've been mulling over something Dan Tyminski said in the interview I did with him a couple of weeks ago and wanted to share it. It's about the idea of reacting in music, rather than just playing. Dan talked about how Tony Rice did that and also how he does, and it got me thinking. The idea of music as a...

My guest this week is bluegrass legend Dan Tyminski. We chat about Dan's new EP 'One More Time Before You Go : A Tribute to Tony Rice.' We talk song selection, what Tony's music means to Dan and some of the great musicians he plays with on the record, including Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Josh Williams, Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle. We also chat about Dan's new record of bl...

This week we've got another mini jam episode. This time we're stepping things up to 85 bpm and playing 3 tunes back to back.  This week's tunes are Cherokee Shuffle in A (starts at 1:03) Blackberry Blossom in G (starts at 8:08) Big Sciota in G (starts at 14:34) We're doing all three at 85bpm and each tune follows our regular 'jam along' format. That means I play backu...

My guest this week is Chris Pandolfi, banjo player with The Infamous Stringdusters and also the host of my favourite podcast, Inside the Musician's Brain. We chat about the podcast and the lessons Chris  learned from it, as well as how the lessons we learn through music can be applied to life (and vice versa). There's so much in here, from talking about music as a journey and how the pla...

My guest on the podcast this week is guitarist and Peghead Nation founder Scott Nygaard. We chat about playing with Chris Thile and Tim O'Brien, including how Scott got the gig with Tim after a chance meeting. We also talk about how Peghead Nation was founded, the IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award they're receiving next month and how the site has developed over the years. We also cove...

My guest this week is Cameron Knowler. Cameron is a multi-instrumentalist who specialises in bluegrass, old time and jazz. I was first introduced to Cameron by Bob Minner, who I interviewed back in March 2022 (episode #177). Cameron also writes regularly for Acoustic Guitar magazine and has written a fascinating book called 'Guitars Have Feelings Too - A Method for Rural Guitarists', whi...

This week we've got something I haven't done in a while - a mini jam episode. That means we're playing 3 tunes back to back instead of focussing on just one. The idea is it feels a bit more like playing at a jam session. I know some of you use these tracks to work up to attending a jam so hopefully this will help with that! I've gone for the 3 most popular tunes from the first...

Hi everyone. This is another Food For Thought episode and it centres around the idea of perfection.  Chris Eldridge said something recently that made me think about letting go of the idea of playing perfectly - I had an experience at a jam this week that really made me understand what he meant. Have a listen and feel free to head over to Bluegrass Jamalong's Instagram or Facebook and tell us...

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...