Bluegrass Jam Along

In this bonus episode we're celebrating Tony Rice's best loved albums....as voted for by you! I put out a poll over my social channels as well as some popular Facebook groups and subreddits and collated all the responses. The rules were simple - just pick one album each for these 3 categories: 1. Tony Rice/Tony Rice Unit album 2. Album where Tony’s named as one of the artists (e.g. Blake...

My guest this week is Thomm Jutz. We're talking about Thomm's fascinating new project Ring-a-Bellin' , an 18 track album and, for those wanting to dive even deeper into the process behind this new release, a beautiful, hardback Ring-A-Bellin’ companion book, which includes the stories and inspiration behind each song.  Thomm talks about the idea behind the record; his unique approac...

My guest this week is Alex Graf and we're talking all things Manzanita . Alex made the shift from a more jazz based background to flatpicking a few years ago and Tony Rice's Manzanita became one of the absolute cornerstone records for him on that journey. We talk about why it became so important, what Alex learned from Tony's playing on the record and why he still finds something ne...

Welcome to this month’s Bluegrass Briefing, a monthly series of episodes taking a look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass. Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode. Podcast news Brad Kolodner interview Bill Nowlin interview Releases (The Grass is New) Del McCoury Band with Peter Rowan & David Grisman  Michael Daves & Jacob Jolliff Tony Trischka Earl Jam 2 Blue Highwa...

My guest this week is Bill Nowlin, co-founder of Rounder Records. Bill joins me to talk about Rounder's extraordinary 50 year legacy as one of the most important, influential and best loved independent labels in American roots music. We chat about how Rounder started, after Bill was randomly assigned  Ken Irwin as his college roommate, and how, along with Marian Leighton Levy, they grew Round...

My guest on the podcast this week is Brad Kolodner. Brad is a fantastic clawhammer banjo player. As well as his solo records - 'Chimney Swifts' and the recent album of solo gourd banjo tunes 'Old Growth' - Brad also plays with the band Charm City Junction , as a duet with fiddler George Jackson and with his father, Ken, as part of Ken & Brad Kolodner . He's also an awa...

My guest this week is John Wirtz. John, along with his partner Moira, runs Sore Fingers, a UK bluegrass and old time music camp that celebrates it's 30th anniversary this year. John joins me to chat about how the camp started up and how it's grown over the years to play a major role in the UK and European bluegrass scenes. We talk about some of the extraordinary tutors who have travelled...

Welcome to this month’s Bluegrass Briefing, a monthly series of episodes taking a look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass. Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode. Ted Olson interview Doc Watson 100th Birthday Celebration - part 1 - part 2 News and announcements - church street news  Punch Brothers tour dates Scroll on Buddy Atkin Guitars pallet guitar Jude Rogers - The Sou...

My guest this week is Ted Olson, professor of Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University. Ted joins me to celebrate the Rich-R-Tone record label and it's offshoot Folk Star. Rich-R-Tone was founded in 1946 by James Hobart Stanton who, in Ted's words, "was probably single-handedly the most important documentarian of Appalachian music." Ted has extensively researched...

My guest on this week's Bitesize episode is Sara Watkins, who joins me to talk about I'm With Her's Grammy winning album 'Wild and Clear and Blue'. It's an album I really love (and a conversation I loved too) and I wanted to put something out to celebrate not only the Grammy win, but also the Grammy they won for the opening track 'Ancient Light'. Sara talks...

Welcome to this month’s Bluegrass Briefing, a monthly series of episodes taking a look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass. Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode. News and announcements - church street news  Chris Thile’s Acousticamp Tony Trischka’s New York Banjo Night Bruce and Darol’s Great Big Fiddle Hang Sore Fingers Rockygrass Releases (The Grass is New) Bryan Sutton...

My guest this week is sound engineer Dave Sinko, who returns to chat about The David Grisman Quintet . We've talked about that record a lot on the podcast, but this is less about the story behind the album and more about how it influenced Dave and informed the way he approaches recording. In his words 'it changed my life.' We chat about his subsequent work with members of the DGQ, i...

My guest this week is Tony Trischka, who returns to chat about the New York bluegrass scene in the early 1970s. New York and the surrounding area played a huge role in the development of bluegrass and in the genesis of what would become known as New Acoustic music. Tony talks about the early days of his career, including the bands Country Cooking and Breakfast Special and the overlap between that...

My guest this week is Kristina R. Gaddy, who returns to chat about her new book, a collaboration with Rhiannon Giddens, called Go Back and Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo . The book picks up on the research Kristina did for her previous book  Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo's Hidden History  (you can hear our conversation about that here ). Cruc...

Welcome to this month’s Bluegrass Briefing, a monthly series of episodes taking a look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass. Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode. Pod news Highlights from the first 500 episodes Inspiration for Musicians episode News and announcements - church street news  Dawg at 80 on Nugs Billy Strings Tiny Desk Concert NPR Tiny Desk Contest Old Settler’...

If you were listening last week, you'll know that my interview with Trey Hensley about Flatt and Scruggs at Carnegie Hall was the 500th episode of Bluegrass Jam Along. To celebrate I thought I'd put together an episode with a few of my highlights and favourite moments from those first 500. You'll hear from: Alison Krauss, on two different car journeys with Tony Rice Wyatt Rice, on r...

Welcome to the 500th episode of Bluegrass Jam Along! My guest this week is Trey Hensley, who joins me to celebrate the very first record he bought - Flatt and Scruggs at Carnegie Hall. This historic album was a pivotal moment for bluegrass and also served as a personal intro to the music for many fans. We chat about why Flatt & Scruggs' performance at Carnegie Hall, on December, 1962 was...

This week's Bitesize episode celebrates one of the most important dates in bluegrass music - December 8th.  The main reason this date is so important is that it marks the first time Earl Scruggs joined Bill Monroe at The Opry, on December 8th 1945, leading many people to describe it as 'the birth of bluegrass'. That makes 2025 the 80th anniversary of bluegrass! Fast forward to Decem...

Welcome to this month’s Bluegrass Briefing, a monthly series of episodes taking a look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass. Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode. News and announcements - church street news  European Bluegrass Summit registration Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live - vinyl reissue Bela Fleck Jingle All the Way tour dates and vinyl reissue IBMA Webinar...

My guest this week is David Grier, who joins me to celebrate the classic album 'The White Brothers - Live in Sweden' (recently remastered and reissued in an expanded form as 'The New Kentucky Colonels - Live in Sweden'). We talk about what makes this recording special, including the fact it was recorded live and never intended for release, and why Clarence and Roland had such a...

In an age where pop culture dominates the airwaves, understanding the rich variety of music beyond the mainstream becomes increasingly important. In this week's episode, journalist and broadcaster Craig Havighurst joins me to talk about his new book "Musicality for Modern Humans," his journey of exploring musical literacy and the importance of 'listening for' something in...

My guest this week is Eddie Barbash. We chat about his unique journey as a saxophonist who has embraced the world of fiddle tunes. He shares insights into the challenges and joys of transitioning from jazz to fiddle music, the intricacies of improvisation, and the importance of social music-making.  Eddie also talks about his three year journey playing with Sierra Hull and the recording process fo...

Welcome to this month’s Bluegrass Briefing, a monthly series of episodes taking a look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass. Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode. News and announcements - church street news  Old & In the Way Live vinyl release Craig Havighurst book Blue Ridge Guitar Camp Releases (The Grass is New) Buy the records mentioned Alison Brown & Steve Mar...

This week's Bitesize episode features a conversation I had with Chris Eldridge from Punch Brothers and Mighty Poplar celebrating Tony Rice's classic album Church Street Blues . Chris talks about Tony's ability to combine big musical gestures with intricate detail, how other musicians played better when they played with Tony and why you should listen to Church Street Blues on vinyl,...

My guest this week is Darol Anger, who joins me to discuss his new album 'Diary of a Fiddler 2 - The Empty Nest'. We chat about the original 'Diary of a Fiddler', released in 1999, and how the second volume celebrates and deepened Darol's connection to the fiddle community, in particular the players he's taught, mentored and collaborated with since the first record ca...