Stay Connected“Bluegrass Jam Along is a great, great podcast” – Chris Eldridge
The IBMA Award winning podcast for anyone and everyone who loves bluegrass.
Every week we feature interviews with musicians, writers, instrument makers and other key figures from the bluegrass and string band world, plus regular news and new releases.
Guests include Alison Krauss, Sierra Hull, Tim O’Brien, Wyatt Rice, Jerry Douglas, Sarah Jarosz, Jarrod Walker and David Grisman.
For more info visit https://bluegrassjamalong.com
Copyright: © 2024 Bluegrass Jam Along
Tony Trischka returns to Bluegrass Jam Along to talk about his new record Earl Jam 2, the follow up to the first volume of a fascinating project that began when Tony was sent a thumb drive of recordings of Earl Scruggs and John Hartford jamming together at home.
Volume 2 also has a great line up of special guests, including Billy Strings, Bruce Molsky, Molly Tuttle, Del McCoury, Sierra Ferrell and Sister Sadie.
Tony tells the fascinating story of how Farayi Malek ended up adding vocals to one tune, after Alison Krauss had done the scratch vocal but wasn't well and couldn't record the final vocal.
As with volume 1 it's a great record, full of variety and superb performances.
You can hear more in my conversation with Tony about Earl Jam Volume 1
For more info on Tony and to buy both records, visit www.tonytrischka.com
Thanks to Sore Fingers bluegrass and old time camp for inviting me down to record this interview while Tony was there teaching banjo!
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Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)
Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks
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My guest this week is Michael Daves and we're chatting about the superb new record he has out with Jacob Jolliff, We Like Jim & Jesse!
The record, released on Michael's own label Wild Geranium Records, celebrates the music of first generation bluegrass legends, brothers Jim and Jesse McReynolds.
Michael talks about meeting Jesse in 2019 - he was 90 or 91 at the time and still writing new tunes every day - and how that sparked the idea for the record. We also chat about Jesse's unique contribution to the history of bluegrass mandolin, how one of their biggest hits was written on the spot in response to an argument and why Jim and Jesse's vocal blend is every bit as important to their sound as Jesse's mandolin playing.
We also talk about Fables, Michael's recent release that pays tribute to a very different act...R.E.M.
This interview was recorded at Sore Fingers, the wonderful UK bluegrass camp that runs every Easter (and has for the past 30 years). Later this week I'll be bringing you an interview with Tony Trischka, also recorded at the camp, plus a special episode celebrating Sore Fingers.
You'll find Michael and Jacob's record on Bandcamp, where you'll also find Michael's R.E.M. tribute Fables
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Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)
Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks
- 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:
- Review us on Apple Podcasts
My guest on this episode is Bryan Sutton.
We're talking about Bryan's new project From Roots to Branches, the follow up to his 2006 album Not Too Far From the Tree, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
The new album features a series of duets with musicians from the wold of bluegrass and beyond, plus a couple of unreleased tunes he recorded with Doc Watson and Tony Rice.
We chat about the original idea behind Not Too Far.... and how the new project differs; who Bryan chose to record with this time (including Billy Strings, Chris Eldridge, Sierra Hull, Trey Hensley, Joe Bonamassa and more); why he's choosing to release it as a series of tracks over several months, before putting the full album out, and how it feels to have gone from recording with his heroes to taking on the mentor role for the next generation of flatpickers.
You'll find all the tracks released so far on Spotify, Tidal and all other streaming platforms.
There's a great video for The Devil Went Down to Deep Gap on YouTube.
You can get bluegrass guitar lessons from Bryan Sutton on ArtistWorks (I can highly recommend them).
Oh, and Bryan wrote and recorded the cool theme tune you'll hear on this episode too!
===
Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)
Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks
- 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:
- Review us on Apple Podcasts
In this bonus episode we're celebrating Tony Rice's best loved albums....as voted for by you!
I put out a poll over my social channels as well as some popular Facebook groups and subreddits and collated all the responses.
The rules were simple - just pick one album each for these 3 categories:
1. Tony Rice/Tony Rice Unit album
2. Album where Tony’s named as one of the artists (e.g. Blake & Rice/ Skaggs & Rice/Tone Poems)
3. Any album Tony plays on but isn’t named as an artist (e.g. DGQ, Bluegrass Album Band, JD’s 0044….or anything else)
I had over 400 votes in total. In this short episode I reveal what won in each category, what the most popular album was overall and also what pickers like Chris Thile and Trey Hensley chose as their favourites!
You'll find links to previous podcast episodes celebrating Tony Rice on bluegrassjamalong.com
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Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)
Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks
- 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:
- Review us on Apple Podcasts
My guest this week is Thomm Jutz.
We're talking about Thomm's fascinating new project Ring-a-Bellin', an 18 track album and, for those wanting to dive even deeper into the process behind this new release, a beautiful, hardback Ring-A-Bellin’ companion book, which includes the stories and inspiration behind each song.
Thomm talks about the idea behind the record; his unique approach to music, creativity, and life; how imagery, psychology, and tradition inform his work and the importance of process, authenticity, and staying true to your artistic journey.
In this episode
Thomm explains:
About Thomm
Thomm Jutz is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter, producer, guitarist, and media composer and veteran of the American Roots Music scene, with over 25 years' of experience in the industry. His latest project, Ring-a-Bellin' combines an 18-song album with a beautifully illustrated companion book, providing a multi-dimensional experience that captures the essence of his artistic process and journey.
Recent work includes Nothing But Green Willow: The Songs of Mary Sands and Jane Gentry (2023, with Martin Simpson), a transatlantic exploration of the women who contributed to Cecil Sharp’s folk song collection, featuring Sierra Hull, Odessa Settles, Angeline Morrison, and Tim O’Brien.
Resources & Links
Thomm's Website
Thomm Jutz and Martin Simpson discuss Nothing But Green Willow on Bluegrass Jam Along
===
Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)
Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks
- 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:
- Review us on Apple Podcasts
My guest this week is Alex Graf and we're talking all things Manzanita.
Alex made the shift from a more jazz based background to flatpicking a few years ago and Tony Rice's Manzanita became one of the absolute cornerstone records for him on that journey. We talk about why it became so important, what Alex learned from Tony's playing on the record and why he still finds something new in it every time he listens.
You'll hear about:
and much more.
To find out more about Alex, including his great teaching resource Alex's Acoustic Club, head to alexgrafmusic.com
For news, updates and great free content on improving your playing, check out Alex's Instagram and YouTube
===
Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)
Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks
- 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:
- Review us on Apple Podcasts
Welcome to this month’s Bluegrass Briefing, a monthly series of episodes taking a look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass.
Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode.
Podcast news
Releases (The Grass is New)
Other bits
Happy picking.
Matt
===
Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)
Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks
- 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:
- Review us on Apple Podcasts
My guest this week is Bill Nowlin, co-founder of Rounder Records.
Bill joins me to talk about Rounder's extraordinary 50 year legacy as one of the most important, influential and best loved independent labels in American roots music.
We chat about how Rounder started, after Bill was randomly assigned Ken Irwin as his college roommate, and how, along with Marian Leighton Levy, they grew Rounder from a small enterprise releasing a couple of records a year into a successful label, responsible for the career of one of the most awarded artists in the history of the Grammys.
Bill shares how they discovered Alison Krauss, via a demo tape she wasn't even the lead vocalist on, and subsequently signed her when she was just a teenager. We talk about how Alison's success, along with that of other artists like George Thorogood, helped Rounder establish themselves and how Rounder managed to position themselves at the forefront of industry developments, including releasing the first ever bluegrass CD.
We also chat about some of the iconic records Rounder put out over the years, from artists like JD Crowe, Norman Blake, Tony Rice, Tony Trischka and Alison Krauss, and how the founders eventually decided to sell Rounder. That led to a new label, Down the Road Records which, in a lovely full circle moment, put out Alison Krauss and Union Station's return to bluegrass 'Arcadia' in 2025.
This was a fascinating conversation about a fascinating legacy.
If you want to hear more about Rounder's history, I can highly recommend Bill's book Vinyl Ventures: My Fifty Years at Rounder Records and David Menconi's Oh, Didn't They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music
===
Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)
Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks
- 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:
- Review us on Apple Podcasts
My guest on the podcast this week is Brad Kolodner.
Brad is a fantastic clawhammer banjo player. As well as his solo records - 'Chimney Swifts' and the recent album of solo gourd banjo tunes 'Old Growth' - Brad also plays with the band Charm City Junction, as a duet with fiddler George Jackson and with his father, Ken, as part of Ken & Brad Kolodner.
He's also an award-winning radio broadcaster for Folk Alley and Bluegrass Country Radio, jam leader, festival organiser, community builder and ambassador for old-time and bluegrass music, as well as serving on the board of the IBMA.
We chat about Brad's route into old-time music - which took longer than you might think, given his upbringing - as well as his love of gourd banjos, the different projects he's involved with and why community and connection is so important as a musician.
Check out bradkolodner.com for more info.
The tracks played in the show are:
Check out Brad's website or Bandcamp page to buy his releases
===
Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)
Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks
- 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:
- Review us on Apple Podcasts
My guest this week is John Wirtz.
John, along with his partner Moira, runs Sore Fingers, a UK bluegrass and old time music camp that celebrates it's 30th anniversary this year.
John joins me to chat about how the camp started up and how it's grown over the years to play a major role in the UK and European bluegrass scenes. We talk about some of the extraordinary tutors who have travelled across the Atlantic to teach at Sore Fingers over the years and how they've helped thousands of people develop their musical skills, whilst helping to shape a community in the process.
2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the first event and this year's courses feature some wonderful tutors, including Tony Trischka, Michael Daves, Jacob Jolliff, Mike Compton, Stephen Mougin and Becky Buller.
For more info, visit the Sore Fingers site at www.sorefingers.co.uk
===
Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)
Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks
- 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:
- Review us on Apple Podcasts
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