What's The Reason For This Podcast

🔥🪕 The Fretliners took over the dungeon for a WTRFT Session, and this one is the perfect companion piece to When the Kettle Sings . They came in swinging with songs off the brand new record, stripped down around the mic and played the way this band does best: live, loose, and ridiculously tight. 🎶 In the session: 🌲 “Whippoorwill” A groovy opener that immediately sets the tone. 🐢 “Snapping Tur...

🔥🪕 The Fretliners are back in the dungeon, and more importantly, their brand new album When the Kettle Sings drops TODAY. This episode is all about the record. We dig into the two-year process behind it, how the band wanted to capture something more raw and alive, and what happened when T Bone Burnett and Daniel Tashian helped bring that vision into focus. 🎙️🔥 Instead of building the album piec...

🌱🎻 Grassfed Bluegrass is growing up fast, and Riley and Miller came on WTRFT to talk about how the hell they’re pulling it off. They went from bluegrass fans and festival volunteers to building their own festival on the Outer Banks and basically learning everything as they go. 😅 We get into: 🎟️ Booking bands 🏕️ Finding the right venue 🍺 Beer, vendors and logistics 🚽 The extremely glamorous wo...

🔥 Water Tower 💦 finally made it into the dungeon and this one is equal parts bluegrass, punk rock, busking, internet chaos, and good old fashioned DIY hustle. These guys call themselves punk rock bluegrass , which sounds confusing until you hear the story. They started with traditional string music, punk rock roots, DIY flyers, busking on freeway off ramps, and a whole lot of figuring it out as...

🎸🔥 Jon Stickley finally made it onto WTRFT and this one goes DEEP. We talk Broke Mountain , learning bluegrass on the fly, the difference between East Coast and Colorado bluegrass, the influence of Jeff Austin , and what happens when a guitar player gets so good that he starts casually discovering new things he didn’t even know he could do. 😂 We also get into: 🪕 The absolutely ridiculous Broke...

🔥 Season 3 keeps getting weirder in the best way. This week we’ve got Austin Kress , better known as Stony McBlaze , in the dungeon and this one is a full send. 😂🌿🎤 Austin breaks down how a homeschooled Christian kid chasing serious acting in LA somehow turned into one of the internet’s favorite stoners, built a massive following, ended up at the X Games, and then had to figure out how the hel...

🚨 Season 3 keeps rolling with Ben Wright of the Henhouse Prowlers and Bluegrass Ambassadors. This one goes way beyond bluegrass. 🎻 We get into: 🌍 How the Henhouse Prowlers became musical ambassadors around the world 🪕 The wild story of Ben buying his first banjo for $199.99 🤝 Why music can connect people even when they don’t speak the same language 🇳🇪 Playing banjo alongside an ancestor of th...

🚨 SEASON 3 IS HERE — and we’re kicking it off with a bang. For the first episode of Season 3 of What’s The Reason For This? , we’re joined by Cotter Ellis of Goose for a conversation from the Mishawaka in Colorado. Since our last conversation, a lot has changed. 💿 Goose released Big Modern! 🏟️ Played Madison Square Garden ⛰️ Took over Red Rocks 🏠 Crashed a Colorado house party 🚀 And continued...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This? , Kodi sits down with the incredible Lindsay Lou for a conversation about bluegrass, motherhood, finding your voice, and shining a light on the women who helped build this music from the very beginning. 🪕🔥💙 Lindsay takes us back to growing up in a huge musical family 🎶👨‍👩‍👧‍👦, singing harmonies as a kid, and eventually heading toward a completely...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This? , Kodi and co-host Shay welcome Bronwyn back to the dungeon nearly one year after their first conversation — and holy hell, a LOT has happened. 🪕🔥 From stepping away from Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway to building her own band, driving the van, writing her own music, and now releasing her new album Rattlin' Bones , Bronwyn is officially spreading he...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This? , Kodi and co-host Shay welcome North Fork Crossing into the dungeon for a hilarious, high-energy conversation about Montana bluegrass, life on the road, finding your sound, and what it really takes to build a band from the ground up. 🪕🏔️🔥 The Bozeman crew takes us back to the beginning — from meeting as teenagers at Montana Fiddle Camp to reconnecting...

🎧 This What’s the Reason for This Session brings a little Montana bluegrass straight from Bozeman into the dungeon as North Fork Crossing takes over the cave for a rowdy, intimate set packed with originals, stories, mountain-town energy, and plenty of banter. 🪕🏔️🔥 The session kicks off with “Portland Rose,” an original off the band’s new record featuring Silas Ray on vocals. 🚂🌹🎶 It’s a hard-...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This? , Kodi welcomes Mason Via to the dungeon for a conversation that spans everything from growing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains to touring the world with Old Crow Medicine Show —and ultimately betting on himself to forge his own path. 🏔️🪕✨ Mason shares the winding road that's made him one of the most exciting voices in modern bluegrass. What starts as a...

🎧 This week on What's the Reason for This? , Kodi sits down with High Country Hustle for a conversation about building one of Colorado's fastest-rising bluegrass bands, surviving life on the road, making records the right way, and why community will always matter more than algorithms. 🪕🏔️✨ Coming straight out of Durango, High Country Hustle has spent nearly a decade carving out their own sound....

🎶🔥 This week in the dungeon, High Country Hustle brings the heart of Durango to the basement with a session full of timeless bluegrass, fresh originals, and the kind of musicianship that makes you want to pull up a chair and stay awhile. 🪕🏔️✨ Fresh off the release of their new album New Old Roads , the band delivers a three-song set that perfectly blends traditional roots with modern Colorado...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This? , Kodi welcomes Wisconsin's own Chicken Wire Empire into the dungeon for a conversation packed with Midwest bluegrass, European tours, Grateful Dead jams, and why some of the best bands in the country are coming from places people never expect. 🪕🧀🔥 When people think of bluegrass, they usually think of Kentucky, Tennessee, or Colorado... but Chicken Wi...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi sits down with guitarist, songwriter, and rock & roll torchbearer Duane Betts for a conversation about legacy, finding your own voice, overcoming addiction, and the deeply personal journey behind his new album, Isle of Hope . 🎸🔥 Fresh off the release of Isle of Hope , Duane opens up about growing up surrounded by one of the most iconic musica...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This? , Kodi sits down in the dungeon with Randy Steele of High Cold Wind for one of the most honest, emotional, and inspiring conversations we've had yet. 🪕🔥❤️ Fresh off an unforgettable week at the 52nd Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Randy shares the story behind his journey from firefighter and EMT to award-winning songwriter, bluegrass frontman, and one o...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This? , Kodi flies solo in the dungeon with Front Porch , the Northwest Arkansas bluegrass outfit that's quietly building one of the most unique sounds in the scene today. 🪕🔥🌲 What starts as a conversation about bluegrass quickly turns into a deep dive into community, creativity, festivals, and why music matters now more than ever. These guys may call Arkan...

🎶🔥 This week in the dungeon, Front Porch brings their Northwest Arkansas sound to Colorado for a session packed with heartfelt songwriting, rich harmonies, and the kind of road-worn authenticity that feels right at home in a late-night basement jam. 🪕✨ Fresh off a long drive through Kansas (and a highly recommended stop at Nafi's Pub 🍻), the band settles into the dungeon for a three-song sess...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This? , Kodi and Shay welcome Broken Compass Bluegrass into the dungeon for a conversation packed with jamgrass philosophy, festival culture, improvisation, and the next generation of bluegrass absolutely ripping the torch forward. 🪕🔥🌲 Hailing from Grass Valley, California, Broken Compass Bluegrass might be one of the hottest young bands in the scene right...

🎶🔥 This week in the dungeon, Broken Compass Bluegrass rolls in from Grass Valley, California with a session full of haunting harmonies, cosmic storytelling, and the kind of emotionally driven bluegrass that sticks with you long after the last note fades out. 🌲🪕✨ Blending progressive bluegrass, rich vocal layering, and deeply cinematic songwriting, the band delivers a three-song set that feels...

🎶🔥 This week in the dungeon, Foggy Memory Boys bring the spirit of Taos, New Mexico straight into Morrison for a session packed with wildgrass energy, rich harmonies, and stories that feel like they were pulled straight from a late-night festival campsite. 🌵🪕✨ Blending bluegrass, jamgrass, folk storytelling, and outlaw country vibes, the Foggy crew delivers a three-song session that perfectly...

🎻🔥 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi and Shay sit down with New Mexico’s own Foggy Memory Boys for a conversation full of wildgrass chaos, festival lore, lamp camp philosophy, and the beautiful madness of building a band from the ground up. 🌵✨ What started as a trio of friends jamming in Taos turned into one of the most unique sounds in the Southwest scene… 🎶 Teaching themselves...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This? , Kodi heads into the dungeon with Jon “Barber” Gutwillig of The Disco Biscuits for a deep dive into improvisation, originality, the evolution of the jam scene, and what it really means to create something completely your own. 🎸🔥 Fresh off a massive run of Vegas aftershows during Phish Sphere weekend, Barber opens up about the mindset behind improvisat...