Bluegrass Jam Along

My guest this week is Chris Thile and he joins me to chat about The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers. We talk about how the album came together and why, after 20 years as a band, it's only now they've got round to making a fully instrumental record. Chris also tells me how Brittany Haas joining the band and their first project together, Energy Curfew Music Hour, sowed the seeds for the album and why not having vocals on it left space for instrumental voices to shine. Chris also talks...

My guest this week is fiddler, string arranger, composer and session musician Matt Combs. After decades working in the service of other people's music, including a stint in the Opry house band, Matt has just put out his first solo record 'Fifty Years of Clown School.' We chat about why now felt like the time to put out his own record, as well as the reasons why he shelved a previous project he'd already recorded, and what he learned in decades of playing and arranging for other people. We als...

My guest this week is singer-songwriter Kristy Cox and we're chatting about her brand new album 'Winds of Change', due out on October 9th. Kristy explains why this record is her rawest and most personal yet and how, through her long term collaboration with producer Jerry Salley, plus her co-writers on the album, she created a journey that took heartbreak and turned it into hope. We also chat about her background growing up listening to bluegrass and country in Australia, before moving t...

My guest this week is Bertolf Lentink, better know as simply Bertolf. Bertolf grew up listening to bluegrass at home in the Netherlands with his parents and learned to play guitar with his father. Then he discovered other bands, including the Beatles and Radiohead, and began writing songs of his own. After several albums in a pop/rock, singer-songwriter vein, he was drawn back to his initial love of bluegrass and decided he wanted to make a bluegrass record. Bluefinger was recorded in Nashvil...

My guest this week is Julian Lage and we're talking about his extraordinary solo guitar album 'World's Fair'. Julian will be known to many of you as a jazz player but is also widely known in the bluegrass and string band world through his wonderful duet records with Chris Eldridge of Punch Brothers and Mighty Poplar. In fact, Julian's first recording was an acoustic duet with David Grisman as part of the 'Dawg Duos' album. Julian talks about the challenges and opportunities of playing solo, h...

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 Sean Sullivan interviewLindsay Lou’s Bluegrass Women interviewJulian Lage Australian tour dates News and announcements - church street news Bela Fleck pre-order Releases (The Grass is New) Billy Strings - So Much For GoodbyesLindsay Lou - Bluegrass WomenBryan Sutton - From Roots to Bra...

My guest this week is 5 time Grammy award winning engineer, mixer and producer Sean Sullivan. Sean has worked with dozens of artists, including Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, The Steeldrivers, The Del McCoury Band, Michael Cleveland, Andrew Marlin, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway and Mighty Poplar. We chat about his route into recording and how he only came to love string band music when he started working on it. Sean also talks about what he learned in his time at The Butcher Shoppe Stu...

My guest this week is Lindsay Lou. I chatted with Lindsay a while back, about her record Queen of Time. This time we're talking about her brand new record Bluegrass Women. Lindsay reveals how the project came about and why she wanted to make a record celebrating the contributions of women to bluegrass. We talk about the musicians on the record - including Sarah Jarosz, Sierra Hull, Molly Tuttle, Laurie Lewis and Alison Brown - and why mentorship and multi-generational music making a...

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 Bluegrass Album Band reissueBlue Waters BluegrassDawg at 80 videos Releases (The Grass is New) Lindsay Lou - Bluegrass WomenMike Marshall Sings BluegrassKen and Brad Kolodner - Hand’s CoveNew Acoustic Collective - Double Course Scroll on Buddy Telluride d...

To celebrate Punch Brothers' new record, The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers, I'm reposting a fascinating conversation I had with Brittany Haas after she joined the band. This is the first Punch album with Brittany in the line-up so I thought it would be fun to listen back and hear how she joined the band and what her first shows were like. I'd interviewed Gabe Witcher a few days after he played his final shows with Punch Brothers at Telluride and, almost exactly a year later to the day, ...

My guest this week is Jerry Douglas and we're celebrating the reissue of Boone Creek's first album. Boone Creek has a fascinating story behind it, which we covered in last week's interview with Scott Billington, who put together the reissue for Craft Recordings. In this episode I chat with Jerry about the place Boone Creek had in his career, his memories of the original sessions and what the band were trying to achieve, what it was like to hear the lost tracks for the first time in 50 years a...

My guest this week is Scott Billington. Scott is a Grammy winning record producer, an author, a record company exec and a musician. But what we're chatting about in this episode is a fascinating story about a pivotal string band album and it's journey to being reissued with extra tracks that went missing for decades. The record in question is Boone Creek's debut album Boone Creek, from the band Jerry Douglas and Ricky Skaggs formed after they left J.D. Crowe and the New South. Scott talk...

Welcome to the Bluegrass Briefing for July 2026, your monthly look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass and beyond. Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode. News and Announcements (Church Street News) McCoury & Douglas Family Pickin PartyBéla Fleck's My Bluegrass Heart tour Releases (The Grass is New) Natalie & Brittany Haas - North NodeNoaBass - Late BloomerVoices: A Folk Opera Scroll on Buddy Punch Brothers - Found in a Frozen Fog Other bits Full list ...

This week's Bitesize episode comes from a fascinating conversation I had with Tristan Scroggins in 2021. In this section Tristan reflects on what it means to come to bluegrass as an 'outsider' and how culture and connection aren't just about geographical borders. Growing up in New Mexico, despite learning traditional bluegrass from his father, Tristan felt a disconnect from the roots of the music. Later, when he moved to Nashville, he found himself wondering exactly why he loves bluegrass so ...

My guest this week is Missy Raines and we're talking about one of her all time favourite records - The Seldom Scene's Act Two We talk about how Missy grew up listening to The Country Gentlemen and The Seldom Scene, thanks to her parents' love of bluegrass, and how the band played a formative role in her early musical life, in particular how Tom Gray influenced her to become a bass player. We also discuss the shift that was happening in bluegrass and string band music in the early '70s and wha...

Welcome to the June 2026 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) Craft Recordings Boone Creek reissue (preorder)CDLPDownloadGabe Witcher's Gig Ledger Pro app51st Annual Father's Day Bluegrass FestivalMarcel Ardans' Winfield DocumentaryFly in FestivalOften Herd tour datesScroll on Buddy Punch Brothers play Star WarsOther bits Fu...

My guests on the podcast this week have an astonishing 24 Grammy awards between them and they represent two musical world I love - the first is bluegrass and string band music and the second is opera. Renée Fleming and Béla Fleck join me to chat about their wonderful new collaboration The Fiddle and the Drum, a project which explores Renée's long-held love of American folk and Appalachian music. The album includes guest appearances from several musicians from in and around the string band wor...

My guest this week is Tim O'Brien and he joins me to chat about 'The Tim O'Brien Songbook', a handpicked selection of 40 of his songs, complete with notation, chords, Nashville number charts and thoughts from Tim on singing and songwriting. We talk about Tim's journey from being an instrumentalist, to a singer, then a songwriter, and some of the key points along the way, as well as how he set about choosing the songs for the book. He shares his thoughts on co-writing and why songs don't alway...

My guest this week is Sierra Hull and we're chatting about her instrumental project The Movements. We talk about how the piece came about, as the result of a FreshGrass Concerto commission, how she approached writing the piece, with and for her current band (Avery Merritt, Erik Coveney, Mark Raudabaugh, and Shaun Richardson), and the challenges presented by releasing a project like this. We also discuss how the piece has developed since it was first written and how she and the band inco...

My guest this week is John Reischman and we're talking about his fantastic record The Salish Sea, recorded with his band The Jaybirds. We chat about the band's long history together and the journey behind this record, including the Freshgrass Concerto Commission that led to the title track. John also shares his memories of first meeting Tony Rice and how he came to play with The Tony Rice Unit in the 1980s, including recording the albums Still Inside and Backwaters. You can fi...

My guest on the podcast this week is fiddle player Andy Leftwich and we're chatting about his new album Aced. Andy talks about his love for instrumental music, including how hearing Mark O'Connor's The New Nashville Cats as a child inspired him. He also talks about contest fiddling and his 15 year stint with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, alongside Cody Kilby, who features on Aced as well as its predecessor The American Fiddler. After a decade and a half with Ricky, Andy ch...

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 Recent interview episodesAppleSpotifyNews and Announcements (Church Street News) Todd Phillips fundraiserNorth Carolina Guitar CelebrationCraft Recordings Tony Rice reissueReleases (The Grass is New) Punch Brothers - New Bike videoJarrod Walker - NighthawkI'm With Her - Sing Me Alive Scroll o...

In early April I got the chance to go and hang out at SoreFingers, the UK bluegrass and old time camp, for a night. I'd recently interviewed John Wirtz about Sore Fingers' 30 year history for the podcast (link below) and he invited me along to meet the staff and tutors, hang out and watch some music. While I was there I got to interview Michael Daves and Tony Trischka (links to their episodes also below), but I also took the opportunity to wander round, mic in hand like a roving reporter, and...

Tony Trischka returns to Bluegrass Jam Along to talk about his new record Earl Jam 2, the follow up to the first volume of a fascinating project that began when Tony was sent a thumb drive of recordings of Earl Scruggs and John Hartford jamming together at home. Volume 2 also has a great line up of special guests, including Billy Strings, Bruce Molsky, Molly Tuttle, Del McCoury, Sierra Ferrell and Sister Sadie. Tony tells the fascinating story of how Farayi Malek ended up adding vocals to one...

My guest this week is Michael Daves and we're chatting about the superb new record he has out with Jacob Jolliff, We Like Jim & Jesse! The record, released on Michael's own label Wild Geranium Records, celebrates the music of first generation bluegrass legends, brothers Jim and Jesse McReynolds. Michael talks about meeting Jesse in 2019 - he was 90 or 91 at the time and still writing new tunes every day - and how that sparked the idea for the record. We also chat about Jesse's unique cont...

My guest on this episode is Bryan Sutton. We're talking about Bryan's new project From Roots to Branches, the follow up to his 2006 album Not Too Far From the Tree, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The new album features a series of duets with musicians from the wold of bluegrass and beyond, plus a couple of unreleased tunes he recorded with Doc Watson and Tony Rice. We chat about the original idea behind Not Too Far.... and how the new project differs; who Bryan chose to...

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 & Rice/ Skaggs & Rice/Tone Poems) 3. Any album Tony plays on but isn’t named as an artist (e.g. DG...

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 approach to music, creativity, and life; how imagery, psychology, and tradition inform his work and the importance ...

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 new in it every time he listens. You'll hear about: How Tony's jazz influences shaped his approach to guitarThe imp...

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 interviewBill Nowlin interview Releases (The Grass is New) Del McCoury Band with Peter Rowan & David Grisman Michael Daves & Jacob JolliffTony Trischka Earl Jam 2Blue Highway - Live at ETSU! A 30-Year Retrospective (preorder)Jesse Apppelman Other bits ...

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 Rounder from a small enterprise releasing a couple of records a year into a successful label, responsi...

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 award-winning radio broadcaster for Folk Alley and Bluegrass Country Radio, jam leader, festival organiser, community builder a...

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 across the Atlantic to teach at Sore Fingers over the years and how they've helped thousands of people dev...

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 interviewDoc Watson 100th Birthday Celebration - part 1 - part 2 News and announcements - church street news Punch Brothers tour dates Scroll on Buddy Atkin Guitars pallet guitarJude Rogers - The Sound of Being HumanBrittany Haas w/ Paul Kowert & Mike Gaisbacher - Impromptu Sessions ...

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 Stanton and the Rich_R-Tone label for a project he co-produced for Bear Family Records - The Rich-R-Tone/Folk Star St...

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 about the process behind writing the record, which began to take shape shortly after the pandemic, why collaboration was so important and...

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 AcousticampTony Trischka’s New York Banjo NightBruce and Darol’s Great Big Fiddle HangSore FingersRockygrass Releases (The Grass is New) Bryan Sutton/Billy Strings videoAlasdair Fraser & Natalie HaasTony Trischka Earl Jam 2 (preorde...

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, including Grisman himself, and recording Tony Rice for a project with Alison Brown. We also discuss how that first...

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 scene and the birth of Rounder Records. We also chat about some of the musicians who came out of ...

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). Crucially though, this volume doesn't just present a series of tunes as research pieces, it includes...

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 episodesInspiration for Musicians episode News and announcements - church street news Dawg at 80 on NugsBilly Strings Tiny Desk ConcertNPR Tiny Desk ContestOld Settler’s Music Festival Releases (The Grass is New) Sam Grisman ProjectCarolina Chocolate ...

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 RiceWyatt Rice, on recording Church Street BluesBryan Sutton, on the journey all musicians go onGabe Witcher, on leaving Punch Brothe...

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 groundbreaking, the initial skepticism from the press, the audience's enthusiastic reception and some...

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 December 8th 1962 and we have another Flatt and Scruggs milestone - their performance at New York's Carnegie Hal...

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 registrationAlison Krauss & Union Station - Live - vinyl reissueBela Fleck Jingle All the Way tour dates and vinyl reissueIBMA WebinarThursday, December 4, from 12-1PM ESTFrom the Table to the DSPs and Back Again: How To Make...

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 unique approach to music, particularly when it comes to their joint sense of timing. David also shares his thoughts ...

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 music. Craig began his journey into music journalism in his late teens, driven in part by a curiosity about why Ame...

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 for his new album 'Larkspur', including why he chose to use film as a starting point for the t...

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 releaseCraig Havighurst bookBlue Ridge Guitar Camp Releases (The Grass is New) Buy the records mentionedAlison Brown & Steve Martin album (Compass Records)Wes Corbett - Drift (Bandcamp)I’m With Her/Iron & Wine (...

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, if you can find a copy (but why that's not necessarily true of other albums). This extract comes from a two p...