Bluegrass Jam Along

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

• Bryan Sutton IBMA fundraiser interview
• Donate to the Bluegrass Jam Along/Bryan Sutton fundraiser to help people and communities devastated by Hurricane Helene

News and Announcements (Church Street News)

• Poor Gal: The Cultural History of Little Liza Jane

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

Billy Strings - O Billy Where Art Thou clips:

• Down To The River and Pray - Sierra Hull, Rachael Davis, Lindsay Lou
• Billy Strings & Tim Blake Nelson - In The Jailhouse Now
• Billy Strings 10/31/2024 Baltimore, MD (Complete Show)

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

This week I'm joined by bluegrass legend Bryan Sutton for a very special episode to benefit the IBMA Trust Fund and help people suffering the devastation of Hurricane Helene.

In the run up to recording the episode we asked for questions for Bryan for Bluegrass Jam Along listeners - in this interview you'll hear me put those questions to him. We talk about growing up in Asheville and how important that community was to Bryan's musical development; about his relationship with Doc Watson and the time he got to spend with him; about how he goes about learning complex music and his thoughts on practice; why learning more than one instrument is a good thing...and his admiration for Metallica's James Hetfield. We cover a lot of ground!

Everyone who asked a question donated to our GoFundMe fundraiser, which remains open after the episode goes out. If you're able to, please do consider donating whatever you can. As you'll hear from Bryan in the interview, there are people in desperate need of help as they rebuild their homes, lives and communities.

Having grown up in Asheville, one of the areas hit hardest by the hurricane, Bryan knows just how important community is at times like this. The relief effort will take months or, in some cases, over a year, so every penny donated will be incredibly important to the ongoing efforts.

All the proceeds from this episode will go to the IBMA Trust Fund so please do donate what you can via the GoFundMe campaign.

If you can't donate, or have already donated to other fundraisers, please do share this episode with anyone you think would enjoy it and help spread the word.

Thanks to the team at IBMA for all their help putting this together and getting the word out and thanks to the team at ArtistWorks for an incredibly generous donation to get things moving. Thank you to everyone who submitted a question and everyone who's donated already (and thanks in advance to those of you who donate after hearing this!)

Here's the link again - https://www.gofundme.com/f/bluegrass-jam-along-helene-fundraiser

And thanks, of course, to Bryan for taking part in this very special episode of Bluegrass Jam Along.

Enjoy the interview and happy picking,
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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)

• Donate to the Bluegrass Jam Along/Bryan Sutton fundraiser to help people and communities devastated by Hurricane Helene.
• Biscuits and Banjos
• European Bluegrass Summit
• Restring Appalachia

Releases (The Grass is New)

• Chris Eaton & Flint County - Pheasant Pie
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• New Acoustic Facebook group

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is Daniel Patrick, host of the excellent Mandolins and Beer podcast.

Daniel has interviewed dozens of great mandolin players for his podcast, but today we're going to talk about his new record Around the Clock, which features him playing with eleven of his heroes, including Tim O'Brien, Ronnie McCoury and Sam Bush, as well as some of the top players on the scene today, including Jarrod Walker, Jacob Jolliff and Harry Clark.

We chat about how the record came together and how it was recorded, as well as how Daniel chose the musicians he wanted to include. We also, of course, talk about Mandolins and Beer, the rise of podcasting in general and so much more, including our shared love for CD liner notes!

You can buy Around the Clock on Bandcamp and listen on Spotify

Check out mandolinsandbeer.com for info on the podcast and more.

Happy picking.
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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)

• Donate to the Bluegrass Jam Along/Bryan Sutton fundraiser to help people and communities devastated by Hurricane Helene.
• Celtic Connections 2025
• Blue Ridge Guitar Camp 2025
• Michael Daves’ Clarence White Muleskinner zoom class
• New Acoustic Facebook group

Releases (The Grass is New)

• I’m With Her - Espresso
• Charlotte Carrivick - Red Riding Hood
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

This week's episode is about a very special fundraiser I'm putting together.

I’m working with Bryan Sutton to raise funds to help people suffering the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene. Bryan is from Asheville, NC, one of the cities hit hardest by the hurricane, so this cause is very close to his heart.

We’re putting together a one off episode of Bluegrass Jam Along where you, the podcast's listeners, get to interview Bryan! Here's how it works...

When you donate, you get to send me a question to ask Bryan in the episode, then I'll put as many questions as I can to Bryan over the course of the interview. What do you want to ask him?

(Don’t worry, you don’t have to have a question, you can just donate too!). 

All proceeds will go to the IBMA Trust Fund to help those in need. All donations, big or small, are very welcome.

This is the link to donate (and ask your question). Please do share this with as many people as you can.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/bluegrass-jam-along-helene-fundraiser

Thanks in advance!

Matt and Bryan

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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)

• Donate to the Bluegrass Jam Along/Bryan Sutton fundraiser to help people and communities devastated by Hurricane Helene.
• Appalachian Allies benefit concert
• Energy Curfew Music Hour
  • YouTube
  • Apple Podcasts
  • Spotify

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guests on the podcast this week are Lillian Werbin and Kristina Gaddy. I caught up with them at IBMA to chat about Roots Revival : A Black Stringband Symposium, a collaboration between IBMA and The Banjo Gathering.

Hosted at IBMA's World of Bluegrass, the symposium celebrated and explored Black contributions to Bluegrass and other traditional music, both historic and continuing, featuring contemporary conversations about diversity and inclusion in traditional music and the ways in which Black musicians, builders, and researchers navigate bluegrass and traditional music spaces.

We talk about how the event came together, some of the themes it explores and how discussions and events like this can become part of the continuing conversation about traditional music.

For more information on The Banjo Gathering, and to sign up for the 2024 event, which is happening this month, head to The Banjo Gathering website.

If you missed it, check out my interview with Kristina about her fabulous book Well of Souls : Uncovering the Banjo's Hidden History. You can buy Well of Souls at Elderly Instruments (which Lillian is also CEO and co-owner of!).

I really enjoyed this conversation and it helped me think about some of the issues we touched on with fresh insight and understanding. I hope you enjoy it.

Happy picking.
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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)

• Donate to help those devastated by hurricane Helene
• John Hartford tune marathon

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

This week's episode is a selection of interviews I carried out at IBMA World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, North Carolina last week.

It was the last IBMA in Raleigh before the event moves to Chattanooga in 2025, and was an amazing week, full of great conversations, events, music, instruments, picking and people. I had a fantastic time and can't tell you how much it means to me to feel so welcomed by the bluegrass and string band community.

But it was also a devastating week for the people of western North Carolina and East Tennessee, as hurricane Helene devastated the area. In Raleigh we were lucky to escape with some rain and minor delays to the street festival - others were nowhere near so lucky.

There's a desperate need for help and resources in the area so, if you'd like to donate something (however small), there's a list here of places you can go to do that. 

OK, on with the interviews. In this episode you'll hear from:

• IBMA executive director Ken White, on IBMA WOB's move to Chattanooga next year
• Christopher Howard-Williams from IBMA, EBMA and Bluegrass in La Roche, on the international bluegrass scene and some of the challenges it faces
• Patricia Butler, co-founder of ArtistWorks, on receiving a Distinguished Achievement Award
• Steve Nall (Nully) of Collings Guitars, on why their new Hill Country series is a radical departure for Collings and why bringing them to IBMA is so valuable in terms of feedback
• Brenna MacMillan, on her brand new record Dear Life, and finding community amongst her fellow musicians
• Chris Eaton, UK dobro player, on coming to IBMA for the very first time

Thanks to everyone I met out in Raleigh. Back next week with another IBMA interview - in the meantime have a great week and happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

This week’s episode is all about learning to play music.

I’ve been listening back to the interviews I’ve done over the past 3 years and so many of them touch on some really core stuff when it comes to being a musician. All of it has helped me at one point or another, so I thought I’d put together a compilation of some of my favourite bits. 

There’s something in here for everyone, whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been playing for years and just need some inspiration or encouragement.

Whether you’ve listened to all of these before, or you’re new to the podcast, this grab bag of ideas and inspiration has something for you, no matter where you are on your musical journey (which is a key theme of these conversations).

You’re going to get tips and advice from some of the leading figures in acoustic music and a couple of writers who have amazing insights to share.

You’ll be hearing from Bryan Sutton, Sierra Hull, Scott Nygaard and Stephen Mougin, as well as best selling author Oliver Burkeman and author and neuroscientist (and banjo player!) Josh Turknett.

You’ll also hear (briefly!) from me.

I got so much from listening back to these and I hope you find something to inspire you too.

Here are links to the full interviews these came from, in case you missed them, or just want to listen again.

• Josh Turknett
• Bryan Sutton
• Sierra Hull
• Stephen Mougin
• Scott Nygaard
• Oliver Burkeman

Happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 World of Bluegrass info
• Collings Hill Country guitars
• Kruger Brothers Music Academy

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• Billy Strings ‘Seven Weeks in County’ video

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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

• Interview episodes by category

News and Announcements (Church Street News)

• Vasen & Hawtail
  • Preorder link
  • Tour dates

Releases (The Grass is New)

• Andy Statman album
  • Buy on Amazon
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is the legendary Jerry Douglas.

Jerry joins me again to chat about recording his first new album in six years. It's called 'The Set' and features the band Jerry's been playing with for a decade now.

He talks about what's special about playing with that band and why he chose to re-visit some tunes that will be familiar to his fans for this record, as well as new material, including 'The Fifth Season', which started out as a FreshGrass commission.

We also chat about some of Jerry's other long standing collaborations, including Transatlantic Sessions, the Telluride House Band and Alison Krauss and Union Station. Jerry reveals AKUS have not one but two new albums recorded.

'The Set' is out on September 20th. You'll find all the info and links to preorder on Jerry website

For info and updates on all Jerry's projects, make sure to follow him on Facebook and Instagram

It's always a joy chatting to Jerry. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!
Happy picking,
Matt

**this episode was edited post release to remove a small section of the content**

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is Fretboard Journal's Jason Verlinde.

Jason shares the story of how Fretboard Journal started, back in 2005, and how it's grown from a print magazine to include a series of great podcasts and The Fretboard Summit events.

We also chat about the current state of the acoustic instrument market and how the vintage market has changed over the past two decades, plus what people can expect from this year's Fretboard Summit, which kicks off in Chicago in just two days.

Visit fretboardjournal.com for more info on the Fretboard Journal magazine and podcasts and fretboardsummit.org for info on the Fretboard Summit.

Happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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.

This week, news of a brand new record by Daniel Patrick of the Mandolins and Beer podcast and a new flatpicking course from Grant Gordy on Peghead Nation.

There's also new music from Stephen Mougin and Ned Luberecki, Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland, Sarah Jarosz, Any Leftwich, Aoife O'Donovan and Hawktail and Jerry Douglas!

Don't forget, you'll find the new releases playlist here:

The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Also....

Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/

The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Full list of interviews

Peghead Nation

• Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is Rebecca Frazier. Rebecca was the first woman ever to appear on the cover of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine and her band Hit & Run are the only band to win all three Rockygrass, Telluride, and SPBGMA Festival Band competitions.

She joins me to chat about her new record Boarding Windows in Paradise. We talk about working with legendary producer and engineer Bill Wolf, recording with Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan and the band Love Canon and the decade gap between this and her last record.

We touch on so many different aspects of combining music with life and how we change (or don't ) over time. We also talk about our shared love of Dolly Parton's record The Grass is Blue and the influence it had on Rebecca's new record.

I loved this conversation and I hope you do too.

For more info check out rebeccafrazier.com, where you'll find links to her tour dates, social channels and YouTube.

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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

• Interview episodes by category

News and Announcements (Church Street News)

• IBMA announcement
• Lessons With Marcel Molly Tuttle book
• Peghead Nation Folk and Bluegrass Songs for Fiddle
  • Don’t forget the promo code below for a free month!

Releases (The Grass is New)

• Billy Strings Leadfoot video
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• Green Mountain Bluegrass Festival
• Rebecca Frazier High Country Road Trip video

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

This week's episode is a Food For Thought episode. If you're not familiar with them, they're a series of short episodes on a single idea, designed to get you thinking and (hopefully) deepening your understanding of a particular music related area.

This week we've got a simple idea from Dolly Parton - "Find out who you are and do it on purpose."

So many of us think we should decide what kind of musician (or person!) we want to be, then work to become that, but the reality is we've all got something within us that's authentically and uniquely 'us' and we should all be doing our best to lean into it. Not that it's wrong to learn from and be inspired by others, just that only they can be themselves (and we can only be ourselves!)

I hope you find it useful! Back next week with another interview for you.

Happy picking,
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 news & info

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is Alister Atkin of Atkin Guitars.

I've been following Atkin's progress for a few years now and have been blown away by the quality of guitars they're producing. They combine some cutting edge techniques with a bespoke approach, to bring out the uniqueness of every guitar they make. As Alister puts it: 'We're all about getting the feel and the sound of the instrument, and the aura of a great instrument.'

We talk about some of these processes, including baking wood, freezing guitar bodies and even 3D printing moulds, as well as how Alister got into guitar making in the first place. We also chat about Atkin's White Rice model, a tribute to the Martin D28 owned by Clarence White, then Tony Rice (hence the name!) and the new range of electric guitars they're making.

You can find info and drool over their guitars at https://atkinguitars.com/ and follow the Atkin Guitars Instagram feed for updates.

But what I'd really urge you to do is to find one and play it, which you can do by checking the list of Atkin Guitar dealers around the world.

It was a fascinating chat - I hope you enjoy it.

Happy picking,
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

Last week we lost Happy Traum, one of the shining lights of acoustic music for over half a century.

It’s hard to fully grasp, in our online world where everything is right there whenever we need it, just what an enormous contribution Happy and the Homespun team made to helping people learn roots and acoustic music.

I was lucky enough to get to chat to Happy a couple of times for the podcast, and he spoke about how strongly he felt that their role was to document, as well as teach. Watching the videos they put out with Tony Rice, Doc Watson, Norman Blake and Bill Monroe (and many more) it’s hard to think of a bigger contribution to documenting an era of music!

To celebrate Happy's extraordinary influence, which will continue for many years through Homespun's legacy, I'm re-posting the chat I had with him for the podcast back in June of 2022. Countless people learned to play an instrument thanks to the books, tapes, videos, CDs, DVDs and downloads Homespun put out, with some of the leading names in roots music, including Tony Rice, Norman Blake, Bill Monroe, John Hartford, Sam Bush and many, many more.

Happy shares the story of how Homespun was born, around a kitchen table, as well as memories of working with some of those iconic musicians, many of whom became friends along the way.

Happy will be dearly missed by those who knew him, as well as by people like me, who didn't, but whose lives were enriched by his work.

Thank you Happy!

Matt

Visit Homespun's website to check out their extraordinary catalogue  

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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 award nominees

Releases (The Grass is New)

• David Grisman & the Rounder Album Band - Live at Grass Valley
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

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My guest this week is Roger Siminoff. Not only is Roger an authority on instrument making, the physics of music and tap tuning, he's also an expert on the life and work of Lloyd Loar.

Loar worked at Gibson in the early 1920s and oversaw the production of some truly remarkable, game changing instruments - most notably the F5 mandolin, which went on to become an integral part of bluegrass music and shape how we see mandolins for the next 100 years.

We talked about Lloyd Loar's background, why his approach to making mandolins was both revolutionary, yet also harked back 200 years to the golden age of violin making and how Roger ended up researching Loar for a magazine piece (a piece that went on to develop into an interest in Loar's work, a deep friendship with his widow, the discovery of some long lost instruments and, ultimately, a life's work for Roger himself).

It was a fascinating conversation - I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

To find out more about Roger and his books, visit siminoffbooks.com

In particular check out The Life and Work of Lloyd Allayre Loar and The Art of Tap Tuning

Roger mentions Dan Beimborn's wonderful Mandolin Archive site, detailing all the known Loar-signed instruments out there.

For more on mandolins, including info and a truly excellent forum, I can highly recommend Mandolin Cafe

Happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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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 Black String Band Symposium
• Volunteer at IBMA
  • Email [email protected] for more info

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• East Nash Grass at DelFest
• Tony Rice Native American vinyl reissue

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

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- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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My guest on the podcast this week is Chris Eldridge, guitarist with Punch Brothers and Mighty Poplar.

Chris is not only one of my favourite guitarists, he's also one of my favourite people I've had on as a guest, so I'm delighted to welcome him back to Bluegrass Jam Along to celebrate the podcast's 400th episode.

In this special episode we're chatting about Bela Fleck's ground breaking record Drive. It's a record that's really important to Chris, and also played a key role in the early days of both The Infamous Stringdusters and Punch Brothers.

Chris talks about first hearing the record, why it grabbed his attention so much and why it holds a key place in not only Bela's output, but also in the rich tradition of progressive, instrumental string band music. We also talk about the remarkable contributions made by the players Bela assembled for this record, including Sam Bush, Mark Schatz, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Mark O'Connor and, of course, Tony Rice.

It was a fascinating conversation to get to have. Drive is one of my favourite records and I know it's a favourite of so many bluegrass fans and players too.

Thanks Chris and here's to the next 400 episodes!

Happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

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- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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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 

• Gabe Witcher interview
• Brittany Haas interview

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• Fretboard Summit
• IBMA Bluegrass Ramble

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

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- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest on the podcast this week is Brittany Haas, fiddle player with Hawktail and, now, Punch Brothers!

I interviewed Gabe Witcher last June, a few days after he played his final shows with Punch Brothers at Telluride. Almost exactly a year later to the day I spoke with Brittany to chat about joining the band as his replacement. Brittany had just played with Punch Brothers at Telluride, so there was a lovely symmetry to it.

We chatted about how Brittany got the gig, the challenges of replacing one of your favourite fiddle payers in a band you love, how knowing the rest of the band really helped with that process (both musically and socially), how her first shows with the band have been and what Punch Brothers 3.0 might look like.

Brittany also has a brand new record of fiddle duets with Lena Jonsson, called The Snake, which you can stream in all the usual places as well as buy on Bandcamp

Happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 International Booth info 
  • Contact Christopher Howard Williams (IBMA board member) via the contact form on the Bluegrass in La Roche website
• Nice Like That Kickstarter page
• Blue Ridge Banjo Camp

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• Punch Brothers’ set at Telluride 2024

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guests this week are Ruth Oxenberg and Rob Schumer.

They join me to talk about a very special series of concerts they've curated called Bluegrass on Hudson, which are happening at The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, in New York's Hudson Valley.

But we start by talking about a wonderful documentary they directed and produced called Bluegrass Journey. It's a movie I've watched multiple times and really love. We chat about how they got into bluegrass in the first place (including how the Del McCoury Band almost became their wedding band!), how a TV news segment on bluegrass turned into a feature length documentary, their experience of filming the movie at Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival and some of the legends of bluegrass who feature in the movie, including the Del McCoury Band, Peter Rowan, Tim O'Brien, Jerry Douglas, Chris Thile and an iconic performance of Shenandoah by Tony Rice.

If you haven't seen Bluegrass Journey I'd urge you to check it out.

This was a wonderful conversation. I hope you enjoy it!
Happy picking,
Matt

Watch Bluegrass Journey on Amazon Prime

Bluegrass on Hudson info and tickets

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

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- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

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- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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My guest this week is Tony Trischka, who returns to Bluegrass Jam Along to chat about his superb new record Earl Jam.

We talk about  Tony receiving a thumb drive containing 200 unheard recordings of Earl Scruggs jamming with John Hartford, and his amazement at not just how many tunes were on there that he'd never heard Earl play, but also hearing Earl play in different styles and tunings too.

Tony started transcribing the breaks and that was the start of the project that became Earl Jam, which features performances from Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Sam Bush, Del McCoury and Sierra Ferrell, alongside many more incredible musicians.

It's a wonderful record and, as always, it was a joy chatting to Tony.

For more info on the album, to buy or stream Earl Jam and to check Tony's tour dates, visit tonytrischka.com

Happy picking,
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 - Weekly Mandolin Workout

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• Billy Strings and Bryan Sutton at Blue Ridge Guitar Camp

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

Today - June 8th - is Tony Rice's birthday. To celebrate, I'm reposting the chat I had with Alison Krauss as part of the 'Church Street Blues' 40th anniversary celebrations last year. The final episodes ended up being almost 5 hours long, so I thought it would be fun to re-post this as a standalone episode for those who missed it (or just want to listen again to celebrate Tony's birthday).

In this episode Alison talks about what Tony's music means to her and shares some memories of spending time one on one with Tony.

It was a wonderful conversation to get to have and I hope you enjoy it.

If you missed the Church Street Blues episodes,  featuring Wyatt Rice, Bryan Sutton, Chris Eldridge and many more, you can listen here:

Part 1 
Part 2

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

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My guest this week is Jacob Jolliff, who joins me to talk about his wonderful new record Instrumentals 2: Mandolin Mysteries

We talk about the process of writing the record and how many of the tunes began on piano rather than mandolin, plus the great band Jacob assembled to record and tour the album. We also chat about what it was like to sit in with Bela Fleck for part of the My Bluegrass Heart tour and some of the things Jacob leaned from Bela about rehearsing and leading a band in the process.

You can buy Mandolin Mysteries on Bandcamp on vinyl and as a digital download.

For more info, visit jacobjolliff.com or follow Jacob on Instagram or Facebook

You'll also find some cool performances of tracks from the record on Jacob's YouTube channel.

Happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 international stage
• Fisher Center’s Bluegrass on Hudson 2024 Series

Releases (The Grass is New)

• David Grisman’s Unexpurgated Grass
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

In my ears

• Alan Rusbridger - Play It Again

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, who returns to chat about her great new record 'I Built a World', which comes out on Friday May 24th.

This is Bronwyn's first record as a lead singer and we chat about her song choices, the musicians she chose for the record, the wonderful line up of backing singers she has and how the record came together.

We also talk about the journey Bronwyn's been on over the past couple of years with Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway, including winning a Grammy.

You can pre-save 'I Built a World' on all the usual streaming platforms.

If you missed it first time around, here's my first interview with Bronwyn, chatting about her last record 'Fiddler's Pastime'

For news and updates follow Bronwyn on Instagram

Hope you enjoy this one and happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 

• Blue Ridge Music Center Summer Series
• Blue Highway Fest
• IBMA tickets

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• Billy Strings Marc Maron interview

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is Oliver Burkeman, best-selling author of the book 'Four Thousand Weeks - Time Management for Mortals.'

'Four Thousand Weeks' isn't a book about bluegrass, or American acoustic music...or even about music. But, it addresses so many of the the things that can trip us up and stop us from making the space in our lives for the things we love, like music.

I'm not entirely sure this podcast would exist if I hadn't read Oliver's book. The fact that it's lasted long enough for this to be episode #388 is definitely down to me staying on the bus (Oliver will explain what that means in the interview!)

We tend to defer our happiness to some unspecified point in the future, when all our chores are done, or work is finished, or the kids grow up or we retire. But Oliver argues strongly in favour of doing the things that make us happy right now.

I struggle with that, and I presume many of you do as well, so I decided to invite Oliver to come onto the podcast to talk about it and offer some advice.

This was a really fun conversation, full of big, but simple ideas, which I'm sure will resonate with many of you. I got a lot out of this one and I hope you do too.

You'll find more info on Oliver and the book at www.oliverburkeman.com. While you're there, I really recommend signing up to his mailing list, 'The Imperfectionist', for regular smaller doses of inspiration on how to build a meaningful life in an age of bewilderment.

Happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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

• Dave Sinko interview

News and announcements - Church Street News 

• North Carolina Guitar Celebration
• Telluride Lineup

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is legendary sound engineer Dave Sinko.

Dave joins me to talk about his 17 year collaboration with Punch Brothers, including running their live sound, from using mics and pickups on every instrument, right down to single mic shows (and most points in between).

We also chatted about Dave's long standing collaboration with Edgar Meyer, recording some of the most influential records in all of acoustic music, including Uncommon Ritual, plus why building a racing yacht is very similar to building a mandolin (who knew!) and why he prefers the term 'recordist' to engineer.

This was such a fascinating conversation. Enjoy!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 Industry Awards
• My recent interview with Jim Mills

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 

• Church Street Blues reissue
• Church Street Blues 40th Anniversary Episode part 1
• Church Street Blues 40th Anniversary Episode part 2

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• Toy Heart Alison Krauss episode

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is Stephen Mougin, guitarist in The Sam Bush Band and founder of Dark Shadow Recording.

In this episode we talk about Stephen's work as a band coach. We chat about his training as a vocal teacher, what bands should be working on, including how they should be rehearsing, why preparing for the studio isn't really all that different from preparing to play live and how to listen to music in order to learn from it.

There are so many fascinating insights that will be invaluable to bands and individual musicians, as well as to music fans who just want to understand more about the music they listen to.

To find out more about Stephen's band coaching, check out the band coaching video on his website or visit www.stephenmougin.com

There's also plenty of info on Stephen's studio and record label at
www.darkshadowrecording.com

Happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 

• Library of Congress list

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• Billy Strings a capella quertet
• Jacob Jolliff Vera performance

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

**This interview was originally posted in September 2022**

My guest this week is Kristina R. Gaddy, who joins us to discuss her fascinating  book “Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo's Hidden History”.

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

Kristina R. Gaddy joins me again to celebrate the paperback release of her fascinating  book “Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo's Hidden History”.

We chat about the reception to the book's publication in hardback, what information has come to light since publication, Kristina's hopes that her book will inspire others to pick up where she left off and dig deeper, plus how Beyonce's 'Cowboy Carter', featuring Rhiannon Giddens (who wrote the foreword to Kristina's book)  increased the attention on the themes the the book deals with.

It was a treat getting to chat to Kristina again. If you missed the original episode,  I've reposted it as the episode before this (#380) so you can listen again.

To buy the book, follow these links:

US:

https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393866803

UK/Europe:

https://wwnorton.co.uk/books/9780393866803-well-of-souls

To find our more, visit Kristina’s website and Instagram

The film mentioned at the end is The Librarian and the Banjo 

Happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

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- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

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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 

• Church Street Blues reissue

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

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- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is Matt Glaser, Artistic Director of Berklee's Center for American Roots Music.

Matt joins me to celebrate 15 years of the program, but also to delve into some of the themes of his superb Keynote  Speech at IBMA 2023. In the speech, Matt sets out the idea that American music can be seen as one thing, rather than simply a series of genres,  and goes on to give countless examples of early musical connections between styles.

We chat about his approach, how music education differs in the UK and US and why being curious is more important than being right.

There's a link to his IMBA speech below and I strongly recommend you go and check it out if you haven't seen it. It's wonderful.

I loved this conversation and hope you do too.

You can find out more about Berklee and the Roots Music Program  at https://college.berklee.edu/focused/roots

Here's Matt's 2023 IBMA keynote speech

Happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

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- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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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 

• Fretboard Summit
• Rhiannon Giddens on collaborating with Beyoncé on 'Cowboy Carter'

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• David Benedict ‘How I Transcribe’ 
• Hillary Klug Kickstarter

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

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- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

This week we're jamming along to Temperance Reel and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping.  It's four times through in the key of G at 75 bpm.

Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done.

If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch),  just head to bluegrassjamalong.com

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

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This  week we're jamming along to the classic tune Temperance Reel. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing.

Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and jam along!

If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch),  head to bluegrassjamalong.com

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

This week we're jamming along to Temperance Reel and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of G at 75 bpm.

Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done.

If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch),  just head to bluegrassjamalong.com

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

This week we're jamming along to Temperance Reel and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of G at 75 bpm.

Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done.

If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch),  just head to bluegrassjamalong.com

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 ticket info

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• Bob Minner - Sulphur Dell

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is Lindsay Lou, who joins me to talk about her wonderful record Queen of Time.

We talk about the arc of Lindsay's creative journey, from her previous record Southland to this record, and beyond. We also chat about why it's important to know where you came from, both personally and musically, and why that led to Lindsay using interviews with her grandmother on two tracks on the record, plus I got the chance to ask about Lindsay's recent experience of joining the Transatlantic Sessions tour in the UK.

This was a fascinating conversation to get to be part of. 

You can find out more about Lindsay at www.lindsayloumusic.com

For regular updates follow Lindsay on Instagram

Happy picking.
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 

• Well of Souls - Kristina Gaddy

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• Punch Brothers - Just What I Needed

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is Bill Amatneek, who joins me to talk about his fascinating new book 'Discovering Tony Rice.'

Bill shares his memories of playing with Tony in the David Grisman Quintet, officiating at Tony's wedding to Leela and spending time with him on the road. He also talks about how an article on Tony turned into a 260 page book and what he learned about Tony from interviewing his friends, musical colleagues and family in the process.

It's a fascinating insight into one of the most extraordinary musicians of our time and was a truly wonderful conversation to get to be a part of.

You can buy the book from Vineyard Press

Happy picking,
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 Music Festival lineup
• Mike Marshall and Caterina  Lichtenberg’s mandolin retreat

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• The Last Repair Shop

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is singer-songwriter, producer, author, and playwright Michael Johnathon.

Michael is probably best known as the founder, producer and host of The Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour. He joins me to talk about Woodsongs' extraordinary history, from its humble beginnings in a tiny room with an audience of 12, to being broadcast on 537 radio stations and heard by over two million listeners.

We also chat about his SongFarmers project, a global network where musicians become leaders and mentors in their communities through monthly gatherings.

You can find out more about SongFarmers at www.songfarmers.org

You can also find out more about Woodsongs at www.woodsongs.com, where you can listen to and watch hundreds of past episodes, including performances from some of the greatest names in roots and acoustic music.

The movie Michael mentions is Caney Creek: The Legend of Alice Loyd

Thanks for listening and happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 

• North Carolina Guitar Celebration
• Chris Thile’s Acousticamp

Releases (The Grass is New)

• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• New Music Streaming Bill
  • Pitchfork
  • Mixmag

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 'String Theories'. I've been working with it for a couple of weeks and it's really inspired me to focus more on where I want to get to on guitar. I can't recommend it enough.

Ethan is also Michael Buble's touring guitarist - but we don't really talk about that at all!

You can find out more about the book on the String Theories website and more about Ethan at ethanshermanmusic.com

Happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 never left to begin with.

It's a great record and I really enjoyed the conversation.

To find out more about Missy, including links to her social channels and ArtistWorks bass school, visit www.missyraines.com

Happy picking.
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 people to dance to

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 fascinating project he's working on with Tristan Scroggins, called The Old Time 100. George and Tristan recorded 100 fiddle tunes in a day. Our conversation starts off with the obvious question ('Why?') and spreads from there into a wide ranging chat about how they chose the tunes, which versions they went for, how the tracks were recorded, why their key purpose is educational (although they sound great to listen to as well!)  and the differences (and similarities) between old time and bluegrass.

I really enjoyed this one.

To find out more about The Old Time 100, including transcriptions, videos and more, follow the links below. 

Instagram

• Tristan’s Instagram
• George’s Instagram

Patreon

• Tristan's Patreon
• George's Patreon

Happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 (mostly) New 2024 playlist

Scroll on Buddy

• Bela Fleck - In Defence of Rhapsody in Blue
• Richard Davis Foundation Conference for Young Bassists

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 using effects on the banjo, both to change the sound in the studio and to get a fuller sound live, particularly as the venues Kyle plays with Molly keep getting bigger.

It's a great record and I had a fantastic conversation with Kyle.

You can find out more about Kyle and connect at:

- Kyle's Instagram
- Kyle's Facebook page
- kyletuttle.com

Happy picking!
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 banjo people look for to this day.

If you want to find out more about Jim, including infohon his business buying and selling vintage banjos, check out his website prewargibsonbanjos.com

If you haven't checked out parts 1- 3 ( featuring Tony Trischka, Kristin Scott Benson, Jerry Douglas, Alison Brown. Tim O'Brien, Trey Hensley, Kyle Tuttle, Alan Munde and Willow Osborne), go and listen to those too!

Happy picking.
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 Buddy

• George Jackson & Tristan Scroggins - Old time 100 
  • Tristan’s Instagram
  • George’s Instagram
• Chris Thile & Billy Strings videos

Other bits

• Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/
• The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist
• Full list of interviews
• Peghead Nation
  • Use the code ‘jamalong’ for a free month of any course

Happy picking.

Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

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 complete without a tip of the hat to Earl Scruggs and why Earl is perhaps one of the most imitated musicians in history
• Willow Osborne, on Earl's influence on her as a very young picker and how that influence is still there in the young players she sees today

If you haven't checked out Part 1 (Tony Trischka, Kristin Scott Benson and Alan Munde) or Part 2 (Jerry Douglas, Alison Brown and Tim O'Brien), go and listen to those too!

Happy picking.
Matt

Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!)

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: