Bluegrass Jam Along Interviews

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 Sessions Other bits Sign...

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 w...

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...

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...

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) Energy Curfew Music Hour tickets Releases (The Grass is New) Kelly Hunt - Ozark Symphony The Grass is (mostly) New Spotify playlist Scroll on Buddy Mandolin Cafe In My Ea...

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) Grammy Nominations Releases (The Grass is New) Catilin Canty ‘Quiet Flame’ video (with Paul Kowert) The Grass is (mostly) New Spotify playlist Scroll on Buddy ArtistWorks...

2023 is the 20th anniversary of the release of Mike Marshall and Chris Thile's album of mandolin duets 'Into the Cauldron'. To mark the anniversary and celebrate the album, and the influence it's had on a whole generation of mandolin players, I've put together two very special episodes. This is part 2, featuring interviews with mandolin players who were influenced by and l...

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) Earl Scruggs’ 100th Birthday Celebration Bluegrass Guitar Sicily - With Bryan Sutton and Chris Eldridge Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New Spotify play...

2023 is the 20th anniversary of the release of Mike Marshall and Chris Thile's album of mandolin duets 'Into the Cauldron'. To mark the anniversary and celebrate the album, and the influence it's had on a whole generation of mandolin players, I've put together two very special episodes. This is part 1, featuring a brand new, in-depth interview with Mike Marshall. We chat a...

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. Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New Spotify playlist Scroll on Buddy Elderly Instruments named America’s Top Small Business In My Ears Bear Family CDs We Shall All Be Reunited - Revisiting The Bri...

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. Bluegrass Jam Along News Clarence White Tribute - part 1 Clarence White Tribute - part 2 Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New Spotify playlist Scroll on Buddy Mandolins and Beer podcast Earl Scrugg...

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Clarence White - one of the undisputed greats of bluegrass guitar. To mark the occasion, and to celebrate Clarence, I've been speaking to people who knew and played with him, as well as musicians who were influenced by his playing. This is part 2, featuring all new interviews with Russ Barenberg, Diane Bouska, Michael Daves and Tim Stafford. Rus...

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. Bluegrass Jam Along News Clarence White Tribute part 1 Sweet Relief Musicians Fund News and announcements (Church street News) Celtic Connections Oh, Didn’t They Ramble - Rounder Records book Blue Ridge Guitar Camp...

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Clarence White - one of the undisputed greats of bluegrass guitar. To mark the occasion, and to celebrate Clarence, I've been speaking to people who knew and played with him, as well as musicians who were influenced by his playing. This is part 1, featuring all new interviews with David Grier, who knew Clarence in the final year of his life, and...

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. Bluegrass Jam Along News IBMA episode News and announcements (Church street News) Caitlin Canty and Chris Eldridge - ‘Come By the Highway Home’ Nechville Billy Failing banjo Sarah Jarosz tour dates Releases (The Gr...

This week's episode is a special IBMA World of Bluegrass 2023 round up. I was incredibly lucky to be nominated for an IBMA Momentum Award for the podcast, so I made the trip over from the UK to Raleigh for the awards ceremony and the conference.  While I was there I interviewed a few people, some you'll be very familiar with, some maybe less so, about their experiences of IBMA and what i...

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. Bluegrass Jam Along News IBMA website Martin Simpson & Thomm Jutz interview News and announcements (Church street News) IBMA music award winners Releases (The Grass is New) Martin Simpson & Thomm Jutz recor...

My guests this week are Martin Simpson & Thomm Jutz, who join me to talk about their wonderful new record 'Nothing But Green Willow : The Songs of Mary Sands and Jane Gentry.' The album brings together a selection of British folk songs collected in Appalachia in the early 20th century by Cecil Sharp and Maud Karpeles. Alongside Martin and Thomm it features a range of incredible artis...

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. Bluegrass Jam Along News Bluegrass Jam Along website Peghead Nation Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course News and announcements (Church street News) Punch Brothers - Energy Curfew Music Hour Relea...