The Bluegrass Today Weekly Top 20 Countdown

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Episode 187: BluegrassToday Weekly Top 20 Countdown #220 Nov 04, 2026

Show notes

This week’s countdown is based on the BluegrassToday airplay survey published last Friday. There are four debuts, seven returning songs and two ties, giving us 22 songs. Rhonda Vincent holds at number one for a second consecutive week and her third week there overall. “Far Away From Home” has spent eight weeks in the countdown and has never fallen below number four.

The Countdown
20. Bronwyn — “The Ride”
19=. Junior Sisk — “The Dreams I Dream”
19=. Billy Strings — “Lay Me Down
18 The Bays Mountain Cut-Ups —
17 Andy Leftwich — “Tom and Jerry”
16 Authentic Unlimited — “City of Angels”
15 Shannon Slaughter — “I Ain’t Done Jack All Day”
14=. Jaelee Roberts — “Memories on the Moon”
14=. Bronwyn — “Sticks and Stones”
13 Jaelee Roberts — “I’m Putting You Out of My Misery”
12 Chris Jones & The Night Drivers — “See It Now”
11 Andy Leftwich — “Cliffhanger”
10 Buddy Melton — “Some Other Small Town”
9 Milan Miller — “Dance Among the Thistle”
8 Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver — “The Signs”
7 Danny Burns — “Fisherman’s Blues”
6 Dailey & Vincent — “I’ll Keep Going”
5 Jaelee Roberts — “White Liar”
4 Wyatt Ellis — “Rocky Top Bottom”
3 The Grascals — “I Can’t Stand Me”
2 Dolly Parton featuring the First Ladies of Bluegrass — “Bound to Ride”
1 Rhonda Vincent — “Far Away From Home”

BluegrassToday Gospel Airplay Feature

The programme also features five songs from the Gospel Airplay survey, including two tied for number one:

Newfound Road — “I Will Someday”
Larry Stephenson — “You Made It Right”
Laurie Lewis and The Right Hands — “This Little Light of Mine”
1=. David Parmley — “No Empty Chairs in Heaven”
1=. Ashleigh Graham — “Soldiers of Heaven”

Episode 186: BluegrassToday Weekly Top 20 Countdown – Show #219 Oct 28, 2026

Show notes

Rhonda Vincent returns to number one with “Far Away From Home,” while Dolly Parton and the First Ladies of Bluegrass move to number two.

This week’s countdown includes:

• Four debut songs, led by Laura Leigh Jones at number eleven
• Five returning songs
• No ties—twenty songs in the countdown
• A former number one returning at number seven: the Grascals with “Memories I Ain’t Missing”
• Billy Strings with two songs from “So Much For Goodbyes”
• Two songs from the Grascals’ “Not That Gone”
• A new arrival from Red Camel Collective
• IBMA award winners Billy Strings, Jaelee Roberts and Andy Leftwich

There are also two short side trips:

Grassicana:
Sister Sadie — “Marlboros in Muskogee”
East Nash Grass — “Hill Country Highway”
Laura Leigh Jones — “Have to Hold”

Gospel:
Newfound Road — “I Will Someday”
Backline — “The Gospel Way”
Kristy Cox — “I Love to Tell the Story”

Join Mike Kear in Sydney, Australia, for the BluegrassToday Weekly Top 20 Countdown.

Episode 185: BluegrassToday Weekly Top 20 Countdown Episode 218 Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

Join Mike Kear for this week’s Bluegrass Today Weekly Top 20 Countdown, featuring the songs making up this week’s Top 20 Bluegrass Airplay Chart.

There’s also time for a short detour into the Grassicana chart, with Mason Via’s hard-hitting “See It While You Can (National Parks Song),” Bronwyn teaming up with Nashville country-soul singer Timbo on “Gallatin Road,” and Laura Leigh Jones singing “Have To Hold,” written with Sierra Hull and Erin Enderlin.

We round out the Grassicana selection with another from Bronwyn’s Rattlin’ Bones album, “The Ride,” written with Melody Walker.

We visit the scrum in the top 5 and finally hear the new number 1 song of the week.

Your weekly helping of bluegrass favourites, fresh discoveries and a little fun along the way, hosted by Mike Kear.

Episode 184: Bluegrass Today Weekly Top 20 Countdown — Episode #217 Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

It's another action-packed week on the Bluegrass Today Weekly Top 20 Countdown with Mike Kear!

We've got THREE ties this week, giving us 23 songs in our Top Twenty! There are eight countdown debuts, seven returning songs, four former Number Ones, and a brand-new song at the top of the chart.

Highlights this week include:

Jaelee Roberts makes the week's highest debut, entering at Number Three with "White Liar".
Donna Hughes makes a big leap from Number Seventeen to Number Six with "Give Me a Trail".
Dolly Parton joins the First Ladies of Bluegrass for "Bound to Ride", from the Stanley Brothers' 80th anniversary tribute album.
Appalachian Road Show returns with "Della Jane's Heart", our longest-serving song at 23 weeks on the countdown, including five weeks at Number One.
Ashby Frank has two songs on the chart, including former Number One "Everybody's Got Their Nine Pound Hammer".
Wyatt Ellis holds strong at Number Two after debuting at the top last week.
And Rhonda Vincent has TWO songs on this week's countdown
and wait till you hear who's got the New Number One song on Bluegrass Radio!

Charlotte has her hands full with artist biographies, while Brian continues his campaign to make life difficult for the bloke supposedly running the programme!

Join Mike Kear for two hours of great bluegrass music, chart movement, artist stories and a little good-natured mischief.

It's all here in Countdown #217!

Based on the weekly Bluegrass Today radio airplay chart.

Episode 183: Bluegrass Today Weekly Top 20 Countdown — Show #215 Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

This week there’s plenty of movement, with a new number one, two debuts, eight returning songs and two ties — giving us a total of 22 songs in the countdown.

Benson makes a dramatic return with Firsts And Forevers, jumping from outside the countdown last week all the way to number one. Jaelee Roberts remains close behind with Memories on the Moon, while Rhonda Vincent, Buddy Melton and Milan Miller round out the top five.

Our two debuts this week come from Donna Hughes with Give Me a Trail and The Grascals with Dancin’ Girl. The Grascals also have a second song in the countdown with That Girl Made a Wreck of Me.

We also step away from the main countdown for a couple of special features. First, a look at an unusual Appalachian cat sanctuary project using AI-generated close harmony in its music, including the song God Sends Me Cats. Then we check the top three on the Bluegrass Today Weekly Gospel Airplay list, featuring Ricky Skaggs, Belles Of Blue and this week’s gospel number one, Caroline Owens featuring The Isaacs with Old Time Church.

Plus music from Red Camel Collective, Alan Bibey, Daryl Mosley, Dailey & Vincent, High Fidelity, Lonesome River Band, Kenny & Amanda Smith, Danny Burns, Chris Jones & The Night Drivers, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and more.

Hosted by Mike Kear from Hawkesbury Radio in Sydney, Australia.

Episode 182: BluegrassToday Weekly Top 20 Countdown – Show #214 Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Countdown #214 brings plenty of movement, with a new number one, six debuts, six returning songs and — for the first time since May 24 — no ties at all.

This week’s highest debut comes from Lonesome River Band with “Walking Back to Bluefield,” while other new entries include Dailey & Vincent, The Grascals, Daryl Mosley and Songs From The Road Band.

There are also a couple of side trips along the way. We take a look at numbers 5 through 2 on the Grassicana list before returning to Danny Burns’ “Fisherman’s Blues,” which is number one there and number five in the Bluegrass Top 20.

We also feature three selections from this week’s Bluegrass Today Gospel list: Appalachian Road Show with “Long Time Traveling,” Pitney Meyer with “Rivers of Living Water,” and Kenny and Amanda Smith with “The Inventor.” The final two share the number one position on the Gospel list.

And at the top of the main countdown, Milan Miller completes quite a comeback. “Dance Among the Thistle” was out of the Top 20 last week, but returns this week all the way at number one.

Episode 181: BluegrassToday Weekly Top 20 Countdown 213 Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

Countdown 213 brings one of the biggest reshuffles we’ve had in a while.

This week there’s a new number one, with Jaelee Roberts taking “Memories on the Moon” to the top after sitting at number two last week.

Rhonda Vincent makes the highest debut of the week at number two with “Far Away From Home,” while Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen reach a new peak at number three with “Looking Past You.”

There are eight debuts and seven returning songs this week, meaning only five songs from last week’s countdown remain. Ties at number nine and number five also mean we have 22 songs in the Top 20 this time around.

Other highlights include Danny Burns jumping ten places to number four with “Fisherman’s Blues,” Bronwyn appearing twice in the Top Ten, and former number one “Country Boy Rock & Roll” from Wyatt Ellis returning after more than six months away.

We also take a look at the top of the Bluegrass Today Gospel chart, with Backline at number two with “The Gospel Way,” and Caroline Owens featuring The Isaacs at number one with “Old Time Church.”

Join Mike Kear for Countdown 213 and another very busy week in bluegrass.

Episode 180: Bluegrass Today Weekly Top 20 Countdown #211 Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

There’s plenty of movement in this week’s countdown, including two debuts, seven returning songs, a tie at number 19, and a change at the top.

Tim Stafford makes a huge jump from number 11 to number two with Right Amount of Wrong, while several familiar songs return after time away from the Top 20
We also hear new chart action from The Grascals and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, plus strong moves from Milan Miller, Danny Burns, Jaelee Roberts, Buddy Melton, and others.

There’s also time for a quick look at the other Bluegrass Today airplay charts, with Darin & Brooke Aldridge topping the Weekly Gospel chart with You Don’t Knock, and Claire Lynch debuting at number two on the Grassicana chart with Season of Sleep.

And with a little room left on the clock, there’s something extra from Dolly Parton — a wonderfully loose and funny a cappella medley from Live and Well that shows another side of Dolly at work on stage.

Hosted by Mike Kear from Hawkesbury Radio in Sydney, Australia.

Episode 179: BluegrassToday Weekly Top 20 Countdown #210 Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

A very strange week on the BluegrassToday Weekly Top 20 Countdown — and one where some of the records apparently needed reminding that this is a weekly chart!

There’s a new #1, just one debut, an extraordinary nine returning songs, and two ties — at #20 and #11.

Some of those returns really stretch the definition. Shawn Camp’s Soldier’s Joy 1864 comes back after 21 weeks away, Jeff Brown & Wayne Taylor return after six months, Yonder Mountain String Band after 28 weeks — and Alison Krauss & Union Station reappear after an astonishing 75 weeks!

Meanwhile, several records manage the increasingly remarkable feat of appearing on the countdown for consecutive weeks.

At the top, after a show full of records coming back from the wilderness, the only debut of the week does something completely different: Buddy Melton’s Some Other Small Town debuts at #1. It’s the sixth song performed by Buddy to reach the countdown and his second to make it all the way to #1.

Plus, we check the BluegrassToday Gospel chart, featuring Jeff Tolbert and Primitive Road, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, and a brand-new #1 from Ricky Skaggs.

Two hours of bluegrass — well, one minute short this week, but who’s counting?

Episode 178: Bluegrass Today Weekly Top 20 Countdown number 207 Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

This week on the Bluegrass Today Weekly Top 20 Countdown, the chart keeps us guessing once again with plenty of movement throughout the Top 20.

There's a new number one, and elsewhere the countdown brings us 3 debut songs, 8 returning favourites, and a tie at number 17, giving us a total of 21 songs this week.

Along the way we hear new music from Darren Nicholson, Laney & Bishop, and Danny Burns, while familiar favourites from The Grascals, Dailey & Vincent, Jaelee Roberts, Kenny & Amanda Smith, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, and many more continue their climb.

We also congratulate Daniel Grindstaff & The Uptown Troubadours, whose Grand Ole Opry debut has been recognised with the Power Performance Award at the Mightier Than The Sword Awards, as their recording of "Denver" makes one of the most remarkable chart comebacks we've seen in quite a while.

Join Mike Kear for two hours of the very best in today's bluegrass music, counting down the Bluegrass Today Weekly Top 20 from #20 to this week's #1.

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