Show notes
Kodi & Shay sit down with Larry Keel — two-time Telluride Flatpicking Champion, bluegrass legend, and all-around mountain soul — for a deep dive into 🎸 roots, reinvention, and finding your center after 30+ years on the road.
☕ The guys kick things off with a caffeine-fueled chat before diving into Larry’s Virginia upbringing — where a banjo-picking dad, a musical brother, and a tight-knit Appalachian community helped forge one of bluegrass’s most distinctive pickers.
🎶 Larry opens up about: 🌄 How growing up in the mountains shaped his songwriting and worldview. 🎸 Crafting a unique sound that blends bluegrass, reggae, jazz, and psychedelic grooves — all without losing his soul. 🧠 The long road to “finding his own voice” after years of mimicking Tony Rice, and why individuality is everything in music. 💿 Writing with Tim O’Brien, Peter Rowan, and Jeremy Garrett (yep, that new Stringdusters track!), plus Del McCoury recording one of his songs now up for Grammy consideration. ❤️ His 30-year musical (and real-life) partnership with his wife, Jenny Keel — who learned bass just to play by his side. 🎸 The new duo album with John Stickley, featuring tributes to Jeff Austin and stripped-down, two-guitar magic.
🌌 Larry also gets real about the grind of touring, the business behind the art, and how gardening, fishing, and staying centered keep him grounded in a noisy world.
🎧 Highlights you don’t want to miss: 🎵 How he sneaks Bill Monroe licks into reggae tunes (because, why not?). 💬 The legacy of Jeff Austin and how his energy still inspires every note. 🔥 Electric Larry Land — his psychedelic, free-flowing side project that melts faces and opens minds. 🌱 The balance between hard work, heart work, and homegrown tomatoes.
💬 “If something doesn’t grow, it dies,” Larry says — and after this conversation, you’ll understand how he’s kept his music thriving while helping evolve the entire jamgrass scene.
🎧 Tune in for stories, laughs, and the kind of wisdom that only comes from a lifetime of picking, planting, and pushing musical boundaries.
👉 Follow Larry at LarryKeel.com and stream the new Stickley & Keel album everywhere now — or better yet, buy the record, hit a show, and help keep this legend on the river. 🎣🎵
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