Bluegrass Jam Along

My guest this week is guitarist Ethan Sherman. Ethan joins me to talk about his new record 'Passages', which is due out on March 8th. We chat about working with producer Wes Corbett on the project, why it was important to write for specific players and how Ethan came to string band music in the first place. We also chat about a wonderful book Ethan co-wrote with Adam Levy called 'St...

Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly 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  Lessons With Marcel Tony Rice video Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist Scroll on Buddy Earl Scruggs’ D18 Other bits Sign up for emails h...

My guest this week is Missy Raines. We talk about Missy's wonderful new album 'Highlander' and her journey from being a bass player to becoming a singer/songwriter and bandleader. Along the way Missy talks about being part of a musical tradition, what that means to her, how working with producer Alison Brown shaped the record and why it felt like coming home to a place she'd ne...

Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly 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  Song Farmers Casey Driessen’s Blue Ridge Fiddle Camp Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist Scroll on Buddy Scott Nygaard on playing for peo...

My guest this week is fiddle player George Jackson. George, originally from New Zealand,  now living in Nashville, won the 2022 IBMA Instrumentalist Of The Year Momentum Award. He's played with a wide range of artists with artists such as The Jacob Jolliff Band, Jake Blount, Tall Poppy String Band, The Local Trio, Front Country, Peter Rowan and Missy Raines. He joins me to chat about a fascin...

Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly 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  Steve Gulley Memorial Scholarship Bluegrass Today piece Crandall Creek website New Mexico Banjo Camp Discovering Tony Rice Book Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is...

My guest this week is Kyle Tuttle. Lots of you will know Kyle as the banjo player in Molly Tuttle's band Golden Highway, but he also has a fantastic new record called 'Labor of Lust', which he's joining me to chat about in this episode. We talk about the roots of the record, the theme that runs through it, Earl Scruggs' influence on Kyle (and the banjo in general) and usin...

Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly 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  Michael Daves Facebook page Bluegrass in La Roche Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist Scroll on Buddy Alex Hargreaves ArtistWorks course...

This is the final episode in the series celebrating Earl Scruggs' 100th birthday.  My guest for this one is Jim Mills. Jim is a fantastic banjo player, who spent over a decade playing with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. He's also an expert on pre-War Gibson banjos, so is the perfect person to talk about how the banjos Earl played influenced the sound and, as a result, the type of ban...

Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly 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  IBMA official showcase Ramble applications  Green Mountain Bluegrass & Roots Festival Releases (The Grass is New The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist Scroll on Bu...

This is part 3 of the celebration of Earl Scruggs' 100th birthday.  In this episode we're talking about Earl's influence on the younger generation of players and also celebrating his wonderful guitar playing. You'll hear from: Trey Hensley, on Earl being his main influence on the guitar, as well as getting to meet and play with Earl Kyle Tuttle, on why no banjo record is comple...

Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly 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 Earl Scruggs 100th birthday celebration part 1 Part 2 Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist Other bits Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/ The Grass...

This is part 2 of the celebration of Earl Scruggs' 100th birthday.  Earl's influence on bluegrass is huge, as you'll hear from my guests this week. You'll hear from: Jerry Douglas, on Earl being one of the first sounds he heard and why starting The Earls of Leicester felt like a calling Alison Brown on why the timing of Earl's arrival on the bluegrass scene (and the wider...

Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly 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 Earl Scruggs 100th birthday celebration part 1 News and announcements (Church Street News) Earl Scruggs Center - Center Stage shows Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist S...

January 6th would have been Earl Scruggs' 100th birthday. To celebrate Earl and his extraordinary influence, I've been speaking to people who knew, played with and have been inspired by him. This is part 1, featuring three amazing banjo players: Tony Trischka Kristin Scott Benson Alan Munde They all share their thoughts on Earl and his contribution to music and the banjo, as well as why...

Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly 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 Josh Turknett interview episode News and announcements (Church Street News) Nickel Creek tour dates Sore Fingers Summer School Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist Scroll...

For this week's episode I'm doing something I don't normally do - reposting an old interview. In fact, I don't think I've ever done it before. The reason I'm doing it is that so many of us make resolutions at this time of year to practice more, play better or just improve on our instruments. My guest in this interview has some wonderful advice on all of those things....

Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly 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 Jerry Douglas talks about the Earl Scruggs 100th birthday concert Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist Scroll on Buddy Nickel Creek - Blackberry Session Other bits Sign u...

January 6th 2024 would have been Earl Scruggs' 100th birthday. I'm putting together a very special set of episodes to celebrate. As part of them I spoke to Jerry Douglas, who's organising a spectacular night of music at The Ryman on Earl's birthday to mark the occasion. This is a taster taken from a much longer chat I had with Jerry. We talked about putting the show together an...

It’s almost the end of 2023. Where did the year go?! I’m already working on some exciting stuff for 2024 but, before we head into the holidays, I wanted to have a look back at 2023 on Bluegrass Jam Along as it’s been an extraordinary year. I’ve had the opportunity to speak to some truly amazing guests. You’ll hear excerpts from a few of them in this episode, along with a recap of all the interview...

Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly 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) Peghead Nation - Gypsy Jazz Mandolin Essentials, taught by Aaron Weinstein Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course Delfest lineup Releases (The Grass is Ne...

My guest this week is Ted Olson. Ted is Professor of Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University.  He's also written liner notes and essays for some wonderful projects, including “Doc Watson – Life's Work: A Retrospective,” and the fantastic  “Nothing But Green Willow: The Songs Of Jane Gentry and Mary Sands” by Martin Simpson & Thomm Jutz. Ted joins me to talk about three...

Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly 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) Lessons with Marcel - Mickey’s Fiddle Tune Arrangements book Sierra Hull tour dates Billy Strings Europe 2023 Mini Tour Documentary Releases (The Grass is New) Rachel Bai...

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  3  tunes with a more open feel, they&ap...

Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly 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) MerleFest Lineup IBMA Emcee masterclass Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New Spotify playlist Scroll on Buddy Atkin Guitars D37 12S model (Instagram link...