Bluegrass Unlimited’s Podcast

This week we feature banjo player Chris Warner.  We talk with Chris about the two periods of time that he spent with Jimmy Martin and also discuss his performing with Del McCoury, Tom Adams, Audie Blaylock and others.  We also talk about Chris’ time as a music store owner and instrument repairman.

This week we feature 93-year-old bluegrass, folk and country music legend Bill Clifton.  Bill has had an amazing career in bluegrass music both in the United States and Europe.  We talk with Bill about his career in bluegrass and also about his friendships with such music legends as A.P. Carter and Woody Guthrie.  This one runs longer than most of our podcasts, but with Bill having such a long career, we went ahead and let this one run long.

This week we feature Del McCoury’s brother, bass and guitar player Jerry McCoury.  In addition to spending time performing and recording with Del, Jerry has played music with a impressive list of other bluegrass greats—including Red Allen and Reno & Smiley.   We talk with Jerry about his time performing with those bands and more.

This week we feature mandolin master Ronnie McCoury and talk with him about his many years playing with his father Del and his work with The Travelin’ McCourys. We’ll also talk about his mandolin heroes, his many IBMA awards, and the latest Del McCoury Band project.

This week we feature Dan Tyminski  and talk to him about his new live album and the Dan Tyminski Band.  We will also talk to Dan about how he got started in bluegrass and his years with the Lonesome River Band and Alison Krauss and Union Station.  You will also hear several cuts from the new record.

This week we feature Rhonda Vincent’s banjo player Aaron McDaris.  We’ll talk about the various bands that Aaron has played in over the years, his purchase of the "Rocky Top" banjo from Sonny Osborne, the time he has spent in Rhonda’s band and his acquisition of the Starvey Creek Bluegrass Festival.

This week we feature fiddle player Randy Lanham.  Randy is the Education Director at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum located in Owensboro, Kentucky.  I’ll talk with Randy about his career performing music and we will discuss all of the in-person and online opportunities that he makes available through the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

This week we feature Blue Highway’s bass player and lead singer Wayne Taylor.  We talk about Wayne’s early years in bluegrass, his 30 years performing and recording with Blue Highway, the newest Blue Highway recording and the Blue Highway festival.

This week we feature banjo player Daniel Grindstaff and talk with him about his newest album Heroes and Friends.  Early in his career Daniel played with several of the first generation bluegrass legends, such as Jim & Jesse and The Osborne Brothers.  He has also been on the road with Marty Raybon and with Marty’s brother Tim.  We will talk about his time spent with those bands and will discuss some details about the new album.  You’ll also hear some cuts from the album.

This week we feature Darin and Brooke Aldridge.  We talk with them about their careers in bluegrass music, how they met, their recordings, performances and songwriting and their latest album titled Talk of the Town. During the podcast you’ll have the chance to hear a few cuts from the album.

This week we feature multi-instrumentalist and singer Keith Little.  We talk with Keith about his long career in bluegrass starting on the west coast playing with Vern and Ray and various other California bands, then working with the Country Gentlemen, going to Nashville to work with Ricky Skaggs and Dolly Parton and then back out west to work with David Grisman and Peter Rowan. 

This week we feature fiddle player Jim VanCleve.  We talk with Jim about his early days in Florida, his work with bands like Lou Reid and Carolina, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Mountain Heart and the Appalachian Road Show.  We also discuss his mentoring of the young band Indigo Roots, who are featured in our July 2024 issue.

This week we feature guitar and bass player Jed Clark.  In our July 2024 issue we include a story about the Indigo Roots Band.  The core of the band is comprised of the three Kelley siblings.  Jed often plays guitar to make up the fourth member of the band.  We talk with Jed about his early days in Arkansas performing with his brother Harry and the many bands he has performed with in Nashville.

This week we featured guitar player, singer and vocal instructor Dede Wyland.  Dede spent years performing with our July 2024 cover story artist in the band Skyline, but she has had a full career in bluegrass both before and after performing in that band.  She is also a well-known vocal instructor.  We talk with Dede about her career in bluegrass music and her current bands and projects.

This week we feature banjo player, singer and songwriter Alan O'Bryant of the Nashville Bluegrass Band.  We talk with Alan about his early days in North Carolina, his move to Nashville and early experiences there working with James Monroe, his years with the Nashville Bluegrass Band and then we move on to talk about his current musical endeavours.

This week we feature singer, guitar player and bass player Terry Eldredge.  Terry has had a long career in bluegrass and has spent time in bands with a number of our first generation bluegrass heroes.  He was also a founding member of The Sidemen and The Grascals.  He is currently performing with The Farm Hands.  We talk with Terry about the many aspects of his very interesting career in bluegrass music.

This week we feature singer, songwriter, producer and guitar player Jon Randall.  Jon will be best known to bluegrass fans as a member of Emmylou Harris' band and then as a member of the Sam Bush Band.  He is also a very successful songwriter and producer in Nashville and back in 2010 he produced a bluegrass album for our June 2024 cover story artist Dierks Bentley.  

This week we feature mandolin player Jesse Brock.  Jesse is currently a member of Authentic Unlimited and the band has two new albums out.  We talk with Jesse about his career leading up to performing with Authentic Unlimited and you'll have a chance to hear a few tracks from the band's new recordings.  

This week we feature bass player Todd Phillips.  Todd has had a long career in acoustic music performing with many legendary musicians such as David Grisman, Tony Rice and Joan Baez.  He was also a member of the Bluegrass Album Band and currently performs with the Appalachian Road Show.  We talk with Todd about many aspects of his career in bluegrass in this week's podcast.

The week we feature guitar player and songwriter Peter McLaughlin.  Peter started his bluegrass career in the Washington, D.C. area and has now lived in Tucson, Arizona for many years.  He has been active in the bluegrass music scene in the southwest for decades.  We'll talk with Peter about his work with Laurie Lewis, The Perfect Strangers, Chris Brashear, the Sonoran Dogs and more.

This week we are talking with banjo player and record label owner Alison Brown.  We talk with Alison about her career in music, starting with how she became interested in the banjo and her early days in southern California up to her recent recordings with Steve Martin.  We will also discuss her thirty years as a record label owner and talk about what is new in bluegrass from Compass Records.

This week we feature banjo player Grace van't Hof.  Our May 2024 issue features Chris Jones on the cover and Grace currently plays banjo with Chris Jones and the Night Drivers.  We talk with Grace about learning to play the banjo, her professional bluegrass journey, her love of old country music and the other unique instrument that she plays with the band, which is not quite a baritone uke and not quite a tenor guitar.

This week we feature Rick Faris.  In addition to being a great singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Rick is also a talented guitar builder and has recently moved to Owensboro, Kentucky to build guitars at the Kentucky Guitar Works.  We talk with Rick about growing up in a family bluegrass band, his years with Special Consensus, going out with is own band and building guitars.

This week we feature bass player March Schatz.  For anyone who has been around bluegrass music for a while, Mark is no stranger.  Throughout his career he has played with many of the top bluegrass artists.  He started with bands like Tasty Licks and Spectrum and also spent time with Tony Rice, Tim O'Brien, Nickel Creek and Claire Lynch.  Most recently he has been out on the road with Bela Fleck as part of the My Bluegrass Heart tour.  

This week we feature banjo player BB Bowness.  Originally from New Zealand, BB is a founding member of the band Mile 12.  Among other things, we'll talk with BB about how she became interested in the banjo, how she learned how to play and her approach to teaching students.  

This week we feature mandolin player David Benedict.  David is known for his work with the band Mile 12 and is currently recording and performing with his wife Tabitha in The Foreign Landers.  He is also known in the mandolin world for his long running weekly YouTube series Mandolin Mondays.

This week we feature fiddle player Bronwyn Keith-Hynes.  Currently Bronwyn plays the fiddle for Molly Tuttle's band Golden Highway.  We talk with Bronwyn about the band's great success over the past few years, their 2024 Grammy win and Bronwyn's new solo album.

     This week's podcast features banjo legend Larry McNeely.  McNeely famously played with Roy Acuff for many years on the Grand Ole Opry and is also well known for performing with Glen Campbell.  Larry shares the details of his long career as a bluegrass banjo player in this week's podcast.

This week we feature Travis Book, the bass player for the Infamous Stringdusters.  Jerry Garcia is on the cover of our March 2024 issue and many of today's bluegrass musicians have been influenced by the music of The Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia.  Travis Book is one of them.  We talk about Travis' bluegrass journey and the Garcia influence.

This week we are talking with guitar player Eric Thompson.  Jerry Garcia is on the cover of the March 2024 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited and Eric performed in a band with Jerry prior to Garcia forming The Grateful Dead.  We talk with Eric about his long career in music and his days performing with Garcia.  

This week we are talking with Chris Joslin, the Executive Director of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum about some exciting events and projects that are coming up this year at the museum and at other locations in and around Owensboro, Kentucky.  This includes a special Jerry Garcia exhibit at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the ROMP festival, The Kentucky Guitar Works and more.

This week we feature guitar player and singer Jimmy Haley.  This month Terry Baucom is on the cover of Bluegrass Unlimited and Jimmy, along with Terry Baucom, was famously an original member of Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver.  He later also performed with Terry in the band Baucom Bibey Graham & Haley.  We talk with Jimmy about his career in bluegrass and his relationship with Terry Baucom.  

This week we feature guitar player, singer and songwriter Wes Golding.  Since Terry Baucom is on the cover of our February 2024 issue, we are talking with musicians this month who have performed with Terry over the years and Wes is someone who has known Terry since they were teenagers and Wes was in the band Boone Creek with Terry.  We talk with Wes about his career in bluegrass and his work with Terry in Boone Creek.

This week we feature fiddler Mike Hartgrove.  Terry Baucom is on the cover of our February 2024 issue and Mike spent time in a few bands with Terry over the years.  We'll talk to Mike about his career in bluegrass, his time spent with Terry Baucom and his fiddle set-up and repair business.  I hope you enjoy the Mike Hartgrove podcast.

This week we feature Bill Amatneek, the author of the new book Discovering Tony Rice.  Bluegrass Unlimited ran excerpts from Bill's book in our December 2023 and January 2024 issues. We talk with Bill about his time spent with Tony Rice in the David Grisman Quintet and the writing of his new book.  

This week we feature Dudley Connell.  A founding member of the Johnson Mountain Boys and a long-time member of the Seldom Scene, Dudley talks about his career in bluegrass music and updates us on what the Seldom Scene is up to in 2024.  

This week we feature C.J. Lewandowski, the mandolin player with the Po' Ramblin' Boys.  C.J. was working on a recording project with Bobby Osborne at the time of Bobby's passing.  We talk about that project and about C.J.'s friendship with Bobby Osborne.  We also discuss the latest from the Po' Ramblin' Boys and C.J.'s acquisition of his Lloyd Loar mandolin.  

This week we feature fiddler, singer and songwriter Laura Orshaw.  We talk with Laura about her early life in bluegrass, her work with the Po' Ramblin' Boys and her latest solo projects.

This week we feature Danny Roberts, the Grascals' mandolin player.  Danny has been working on a new solo album, the Grascals are also working on a new album for their 20th anniversary year in 2024, and Danny keeps busy when he is off ther road reparing and setting up mandolins.  We'll talk about all of that and more on this edition of the Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine podcast.

This week we feature singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jody Stecher.  Jody has a new album out with the band Mile 12.  The album is titled Mile 77.  We talk with Jody about his long career in music and about the new album.  You'll also hear a couple of cuts from the record.

This week we feature singer, songwriter and guitar player Jim Lauderdale.  Jim has recently put out an album with the Po' Ramblin' Boys.  We talk with Jim about his long career in music which includes recording with bluegrass legends like Ralph Stanley and winning two Grammy awards. We will also discuss his success as a songwriter in country and bluegrass music, his recording with the Po' Ramblin' Boys, and much more.

This week we feature singer, songwriter and fiddler Corrina Rose Logston Stephens.  Corrina and her husband, Jeremy Stephens, are in the band High Fidelity and they both also spent time performing with Jesse McReynolds.  Since Jim & Jesse are on our cover this month (December 2023), we thought it would be nice to talk with Corrina about her time performing with Jesse and find out what High Fidelity has been up to lately.  You will also hear some music from High Fidelity.

.    This week we feature fiddle and banjo player Buddy Griffin.  Jim & Jesse McReynolds are on the cover of our December 2023 issue and as part of his long and distinguished bluegrass career Buddy performed with Jim & Jesse, and continued to perform with Jesse after Jim's passing.  At the same time he performed with Jesse, Buddy was also performing with Bobby Osbourne.  Since the bluegrass world lost both Jesse & Bobby this year, we felt it was a great time to feature Buddy on the podcast and talk with him about working with both of these bluegrass legends.

This week we feature Noah Wall, the singer and fiddle player with The Barefoot Movement.  We talk with Noah about her career in music thus far, including her time at ETSU and the origin of The Barefoot Movement, all the way through the band's current Christmas tour and the series of new singles they are releasing every month this winter.  You will also hear some new music from the band.

This week we feature the Blue Highway’s Dobro player Gary Hultman.  Gary grew up performing with his family's band and is a graduate of the bluegrass program at ETSU.  He performed with the Boxcars before joining Blue Highway in 2019.

This week we feature the talented Dobro and bass player Jeff Partin, who is currently performing with Rhonda Vincent and the Rage.  We talk with Jeff about getting his start with his family’s band as a young kid, the various groups he has performed and recorded with over the years, his work as a recording engineer and his upcoming new album.

This week we feature the extremely talented multi-instrumentalist, and the IBMA's five-time Dobro Player of the Year, Justin Moses.  We talk with Justin about how he got started playing music in his family’s band, the various bands that he has performed with since that time and his touring with Bela Fleck over the past couple of years.

This week we feature multi-instrumentalist and singer Gaven Largent who plays the Dobro with East Nash Grass and the Dan Tyminski Band.  Jerry Douglas is on the cover of our November 2023 issue and so our podcasts this month highlight Dobro Players and first up is Gaven Largent.

This week we feature banjo player Cory Walker.  Cory is currently performing and recording with the band East Nash Grass, as well as others, like The Dillards, Tim O'Brien and Jason Carter.  He has also recently come out with a solo album titled School Project.  We will talk with Corey about his bluegrass banjo journey to date and the new recording.

This week we feature guitarist Ben Garnett.  Missy Raines is on the cover of our October 2023 issue and Ben is the current guitar player in Missy’s band Allegeheny.  We’ll talk with Ben about his move from rock and jazz guitar to bluegrass music while he was in college, about being a member of Missy’s band, and his newest solo recording.

This week we feature mandolinist Steve Smith.  Our cover story artist for October 2023 issue is Missy Raines. Steve and Missy performed and recorded in the mid-1980s in a band called Cloud Valley.  We’ll talk with Steve about his work with Missy and trace his career up through the present day, highlighting bands he has performed with, recordings he has been involved in and his work teaching music lessons and running music instructional events.

This week we feature guitar master Jim Hurst.  Our October 2023 cover story artist is Missy Raines.  Jim and Missy have worked together as members of Claire Lynch’s band and also as a duo.  We talk with Jim about guitar pickin’, various aspects of his career and his work with Missy Raines.

This week we feature singer, songwriter and band leader Claire Lynch.  Our October 2023 cover story artist is Missy Raines.  Claire and Missy have a history of working together in Claire's band.  We talk with Claire about her career in bluegrass music and about having Missy in the band.  She also tells us what she has been up to lately in her relatively new home country of Canada.

This week we feature Dean Osborne.  As the Director of Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music at the Hazard Community and Technical College, he worked closely with our September 2023 cover story artist Bobby Osborne at that school, as well as other projects, including the Osborne Brothers Hometown Festival.  We talk with Dean about his career in bluegrass music and his relationship with Bobby and Sonny Osborne.

This week we feature the Grascals bass player Terry Smith.  Terry has had a long and interesting career in bluegrass music and part of time—13 years—he performed with the Osborne Brothers.  Since we have Bobby Osborne on the cover of this month’s issue and are remembering Bobby, we will talk with Terry about his time with the Osbornes and other aspects of his bluegrass career.

This week week we feature Lauren Price Napier of the Price Sisters.  Our September issue honors bluegrass legend Bobby Osborne.  Lauren studied mandolin with Bobby and spent a lot of time creating over one hundred YouTube videos with Bobby and her husband Scott Napier under the title "Tremolo Tuesday."  We talk with Lauren about her career in bluegrass and her time spent with Bobby Osborne.

This week week we feature singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Darrell Scott.  Darrell’s career has seen him as a prominent part of the musical worlds of Americana, country, folk and bluegrass.  Recently he has put a new band together called the Darrell Scott String Band and recorded a new album called Old Cane Back Rocker.  We talk with Darrell about various aspects of his career, the new band and the new album.

This week we feature mandolin player Mark Stoffel.  Being from Germany, Mark has an interesting bluegrass story.  He is probably best known in his role as the long-time mandolin player for Chris Jones & The Night Drivers.  We talk with Mark about his bluegrass journey, his work with Chris Jones, his 2020 solo album Coffee and Cake and his new soon-to-be released album True Tones.

This week week we feature songwriter David Stewart.  A highly successful songwriter, David has written several number one bluegrass songs for our August 2023 cover story artist Lorraine Jordan and her band Carolina Road.  I talk with David about those songs and other highlights of his long career, including walking all the way from Wyoming to Nashville to play on the Grand Ole Opry!

This week week we feature Grammy award winning bluegrass singer, guitar player and songwriter Molly Tuttle.  We talk with Molly about her background in bluegrass, her Grammy winning album Crooked Tree and her newest album City of Gold.  We’ll also listen to a few tracks from the new recording.

This week we feature bluegrass veteran Raymond McLain.  Raymond has had a long and distinguished career as a bluegrass performer, recording artist, educator, and world-wide ambassador of bluegrass.  He talks about his family's history, his interactions with first generation bluegrass legends, and his work at various college level bluegrass programs.

This week we feature singer and guitar player Josh Richards, a long-time member of Michael Cleveland’s band Flamekeeper. We talk with Josh about his early years in bluegrass and his long relationship with Michael Cleveland.  We also discuss Michael's newest recording and talk about singing, songwriting, and guitar picking.

This week I’m talking with singer and guitar and mandolin player Jeff White.  Michael Cleveland is on the cover of our July 2023 issue and Jeff was a co-producer on Michael’s newest album.  I’ll talk with Jeff about his work with Michael on that recording and also his current work with the Earls of Leicester, his long relationship with Vince Gill, his work with Alison Krauss and his current touring with Lyle Lovett.

This week we feature fiddler, singer and songwriter Mike Mitchell.  Mike has a fairly new album out titled Fathers and Sons and a few cuts from that album have been rising up the bluegrass charts.  We talk to Mike about his recording, his band, his songwriting and his work at the Floyd Music School in Floyd, Virginia. 

This week we feature a master of the flatpicked guitar, and the current IBMA “Guitar Player of the Year,” Cody Kilby.  Our July 2023 cover story is about Michael Cleveland and Cody performed on Michael’s newest album.  We’ll talk with Cody about his background in bluegrass, his work with Michael Cleveland, a solo album that he will be releasing soon, and his work recording and performing with the Traveling McCoury’s.

This week we feature the six time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year, Dale Ann Bradley.  We talk with Dale Ann about her background in music, singing, and songwriting, her work with the various bands she has performed with over the years and her new solo album Kentucky For Me.

This week we feature singer and songwriter Casey Penn.  Casey, who also plays guitar and fiddle, is a regular columnist for Bluegrass Unlimited writing a column called "The Story Behind the Song."  She has recently released a new CD on the Mountain Fever label titled One Step Away and we talk with Casey about that recording.

This week we feature Jason Barie, the fiddle player for our June 2023 cover story band Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers.  We talk with Jason about his work with the various bands he has performed with over the years and about his new solo recording titled Radioactive.

This week we feature guitar player, singer, and songwriter Robbie Fulks and talk about his new Compass Records release titled Bluegrass Vacation.  We will first talk about Robbie’s early days in music and his long and distinguished career to date.  That will lead up to talking about the new recording and the all star bluegrass cast of musicians that Robbie called in to help him record the album.

This week we feature Tara Nevins of Donna the Buffalo and talk with her about her career in music, her work with Donna the Buffalo, her Grass Roots festivals and the associated Culture Camp, a music and dance instruction camp that provides a wide variety of music and dance classes in July each year.  We hope you enjoy the Tara Nevins podcast.

This week we feature Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer.  After battling breast cancer Marcy, along with her partner Cathy, have produced a released a new film titled All Wigged Out.  The film takes the viewer through a musical journey of the trials and tribulations of cancer diagnosis and treatment.  Tom Paxton says of the film, “All Wigged Out is heartwarming, touching, hilarious and so relatable.”  We talk with Cathy and Marcy about their careers in music and about the making of the new film.

This week we feature guitar player and singer Leon Morris.  Leon has been well-known in the Washington, DC area bluegrass scene for decades and Putuxent Music recently released an album titled The Best of Leon Morris.  We talk with Leon about his long career in bluegrass music and the new album.

This week we feature banjo player Greg Cahill who has had a very long and distinguished career with the Chicago-based bluegrass band The Special Consensus.  We talk with Greg about his nearly 50 years with that band and about the band’s newest album.

This week we feature singer and guitar and mandolin player Mark Newton.  Mark has had a long career in bluegrass music playing with bands like the Heights of Grass, Knoxville Grass, the Virginia Squires and Bill Emerson.  Mark has recently had some medical issues required both liver and kidney transplants.  I will talk to Mark about various aspects of his bluegrass career and the challenges of his medical problems.

This week we feature the Infamous Stringdusters guitar player Andy Falco.  The Stringdusters have recently released a tribute album to Flatt & Scruggs.  We talk with Andy about his early days in bluegrass, his work with the Stringdusters, and the new album.

This week we feature mandolin player and singer Andrew Marlin and his work with the new all-star band Mighty Poplar.  Andrew is best known for his work with the band Mandolin Orange, now known as Watch House.  However, he recently joined up with Noam Pickelny, Chris Eldridge, Greg Garrison, and  Alex Hargreaves to record the self-titled album Mighty Poplar.  We talk with Andrew about his career in music to date and his work with this new band.

This week we feature guitar player and singer Mo Pitney.  Mo is best know as a country music star, but like a number of well known country performers, Mo started out in bluegrass and has come back to it with a recording and great video of the classic “Old Home Place.”  We talk with Mo about his bluegrass days and the new recording.

This week we feature fiddle player Bob Forrester.  Bob is the son of two people who have great importance in bluegrass music as they were both members of Bill Monroe’s early bands.  Bob’s father was fiddler Howdy Forrester and his mother, Billie, was known during her time with Monroe as Sally Ann Forester and played the accordion in Monroe’s band. 

This week we feature banjo player, recording artist, and banjo instructor Ross Nickerson.  We talk with Ross about his career in bluegrass music and the various books, videos, and workshops that he has created for bluegrass banjo players.

This week we feature the phenomenal singer and guitar picker Trey Hensley and his musical partner, Dobro master Rob Ickes.  We talk about how they came to start performing together and their newest recording, Living In A Song.