Inside the Musician's Brain

Sam Bush is one of the all-time legends of acoustic music. From his work with New Grass Revival, to Strength in Numbers and his prolific solo career, Sam has set the standard for mandolin in modern day roots music. He's also a gifted singer and writer as well, with a long and storied career that intersects with so many titans of music. Chris talks to Sam about the different phases of his career, h...

Lindsay Lou is one of the hottest up-and-comers on the roots music scene. She's a powerhouse singer who covers a wide range of styles and has performed with countless artists as a special guest in recent years. Her new album, Queen of Time, puts her in the spotlight as a singer and as a songwriter as well. The record has a beautiful concept, incorporating recordings of conversations with her grand...

In their more than 20 years as a band, The Decemberists have established themselves as an influential indie-rock band with an expansive and eclectic catalog of excellent music. Chris Funk's multi-instrumental talents are at the center of their sound. Chris also works as a producer and has been a fixture on the Portland, OR music scene for years. He takes us through the seismic shifts in the music...

Chris Wood is a musical hero. In this talk he gets deep into his experience with music and all he's learned over his long, successful career playing everything from cutting edge jazz with MMW to some of today's best roots rock with The Wood Brothers. He unpacks the challenge of staying present, in music and life in general, and speaks very articulately about what he focuses on to stay in the momen...

Episode 32 features an interview with the amazing Rachael Price, who is already making her mark as one of the best singers of her generation. Known mainly for her work with Lake Street Dive, she takes us inside her retro side project, Rachael and Vilray, as well as discussing LSD's rise to success and their evolving process of writing and recording, and the myriad challenges and inspiration along...

Inside the Musician’s Brain is back for season 4! In this episode, Chris talks with MC Taylor, the man behind Hiss Golden Messenger. MC is a transcendent singer/songwriter, and Hiss has been gaining major notoriety in recent years for their blend of beautiful, timeless songs with vintage rock sounds. The conversation ranges from the process behind their records, to the challenges of staying inspir...

This week on Inside the Musician's Brain, Chris is joined by guitar master Bryan Sutton. For years, Bryan has been one of the most sought after session musicians in Nashville, appearing on albums by Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, Béla Fleck and many more. Eventually he stepped out as a solo artist, putting out a number of exceptional albums under his own name. In addition...

Episode 29 of Inside the Musician's Brain features rising musical star Madison Cunningham. Madison has quickly been making a name for herself as an exceptional singer, songwriter and guitar player. She takes us through her unique introduction to music at an early age, her influences, her process, and how she dealt with the untimely shut down of 2020. Now Madison is back with a vengeance, and her s...

On this episode of Inside the Musician's Brain, Chris' guest is rock and soul powerhouse Maggie Rose. Maggie is an inspiration in so many ways, with an amazing story of perseverance and evolution through the different phases of her career. She discusses the obstacles that country music presented early on, and her transformation as an artist in the wake of those obstacles. Maggie also breaks down h...

Chris' guest for Episode 27 is the talented and prolific Cory Wong. Some of you may know Cory as a member of the trendsetting funk/soul collective Vulfpeck. But in recent years he has also struck out on his own, releasing a staggering amount of music (11 albums in 2 years!) as well as some of the highest quality music video content out there. The man is a machine, and the music is stellar! Chris a...

One this episode of Inside the Musician's Brain, Chris talks to up-and-coming bass badass Karina Rykman. Karina has been playing bass with Marco Benevento's band in recent years, but is poised to strike out under her own name, with a highly anticipated debut album on the way. She breaks down the vision and process behind her new music, as well as the story behind her musical journey that got her t...

On this episode of 'Inside the Musician's Brain,' Chris sits down with Greensky Bluegrass to take an in depth look at their new album, 'Stress Dreams.' Learn what these songs are about and how they came to life as each member of the band breaks down one of the songs on their album. It's a fascinating look inside the creative process and the experiences that drive the songwriting for one of the mos...

On this week's episode, Chris is joined by Nate Hilts, a member of The Dead South, a four-piece acoustic band from Saskatchewan. The band's unique take on bluegrass has made them a live act not to be missed. Nate and Chris talk about the band's 4th album, "Easy Listening for Jerks, Parts I & II," which has been described as "Carter Family meets Addams Family." They also discuss Nate's musical back...

This week on Inside The Musician’s Brain, you get the opportunity to take a leap into not one, not two, but five musician’s brains! That’s right, today’s episode features Chris talking with the other members of The Infamous Stringdusters to introduce their new album, Toward the Fray. During their conversations, Chris and the band take us through the album track by track and give us a behind the sc...

Today, Chris has the opportunity to sit down and talk with bluegrass legend and master of the banjo Béla Fleck, who just released a new album titled My Bluegrass Heart. The two take an in depth look at this album, as well as taking a trip to the past to find out how Béla's career unfolded and he lets Chris in on some of his artistic process that has led him to be the legend he is. Béla Fleck is be...

Hello and welcome to the third season of Inside The Musician’s Brain! We are thrilled to be back, especially with our first guest of the season, Grammy award-winning songwriter, musician, and Chris’ old friend Aoife O’Donovan. Along with releasing three critically-acclaimed solo albums, Aoife is the co-founder of the bands I’m With Her and Crooked Still, she is the featured vocalist on The Goat Ro...

For today’s season finale of Inside The Musician’s Brain, Chris is thrilled to welcome Grahame Lesh (Midnight North, Terrapin Family Band). The pair begin by discussing Terrapin Crossroads, the music venue/restaurant in San Rafael, California that was founded by his father and Grateful Dead member Phil Lesh. Grahame shares how it has served as the perfect place for his band Midnight North to play...

In today's episode, you get a double dose of killer interviews! First, Chris sits down with Craig Ferguson (Owner/Promoter for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival) to take you behind the scenes of how the legendary festival is planned and executed. The second interview is with Panda's longtime friend and collaborator Chris Eldridge. The two discuss learning music, playing together throughout the year...

It’s time for another episode of Inside The Musicians Brain! In today’s episode, Chris talks with vocalist, banjo player and guitarist Molly Tuttle about her new EP of cover songs titled ...but i’d rather be with you, her process for making this EP as well as her process in general, and Molly shares her journey with alopecia.  Molly Tuttle is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is be...

Welcome back to Inside The Musican’s Brain! After a few weeks off, Chris is back with a fresh new episode featuring an interview with his friend Oliver Wood (Wood Brothers). Today, Chris begins by taking us through some state-altering breathing exercises that he has been digging recently. Getting into the interview, Oliver discusses how weird the last year has been but how he has spent the time ma...

Today on Inside the Musician’s Brain, Chris begins the episode by sharing his thoughts about music genres, why we have them, and why they don’t really matter. The episode continues with Chris talking with successful singer-songwriter Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek, I’m With Her) about creating her first concept album and how it came to be. Sara also shares the moment she realized at a young age that b...

In today’s episode of Inside the Musician’s Brain, Chris takes time to share his optimistic views and thoughts about the timeline for live music coming back this year. He also shares an interview with Ronnie McCoury (Del McCoury Band, The Travelin' McCourys) that he taped in May of 2020, two months into the pandemic. During their conversation, Chris and Ronnie discuss their individual realizations...

Chris’ interview with Oteil Burbridge (Allman Brothers Band, Dead and Company) continues with more conversation about playing the banjo and the thrill of having a beginner’s mindset while learning a new instrument. Oteil also shares memories from his time with Col. Bruce Hampton in the popular band Aquarium Rescue Unit and how the Colonel helped him to see what lies underneath the music. Just Anno...

Today, Chris talks with Oteil Burbridge, the legendary bass player and member of bands such as Dead and Company, The Allman Brothers Band, and Aquarium Rescue Unit. They dive deep into Oteil’s spiritual awakening, the importance of family in his life, and what he thinks the future of touring will look like in a post-pandemic world. Oteil also shares the story of how he got into playing the banjo a...

In today’s episode, Chris chats with acclaimed singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz about ways she has stayed creative during the pandemic, her newest album World on the Ground, her songwriting process, and much more. Chris also takes time to highlight some of his favorite livestream shows that he recommends to check out. Sarah Jarosz is a Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter originally from Wimberley...