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 SeriesBlue Highway FestIBMA ticketsReleases (The Grass is New)The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlistScroll on BuddyBilly Strings Marc Maron interviewOther bitsSign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/The Grass is (mo...

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 ...

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 newsDave Sinko interviewNews and announcements - Church Street News North Carolina Guitar CelebrationTelluride LineupReleases (The Grass is New)The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlistOther bitsSign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlistFull list o...

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 sim...

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 episodeNews and announcements - Church Street News IBMA Industry AwardsMy recent interview with Jim MillsReleases (The Grass is New)The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlistOther bitsSign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlistFull list of interviewsPeghead NationUs...

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 episodeNews and announcements - Church Street News Church Street Blues reissueChurch Street Blues 40th Anniversary Episode part 1Church Street Blues 40th Anniversary Episode part 2Releases (The Grass is New)The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlistScroll on BuddyToy Heart Alison Krauss episodeOther bitsSign up for em...

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...

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 listReleases (The Grass is New)The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlistScroll on BuddyBilly Strings a capella quertetJacob Jolliff Vera performanceOther bitsSign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 ...

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...

**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”. We chat about how she came to write the book and some of the key discoveries she made along the way, in particular the banjo’s unknown history as an instrument of ritual and rebellion. Kristina’s research in diaries, letters, archives, and art, traces the banjo’s beginnings from the...

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 reissueReleases (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 playlistFull list of interviewsPeghead NationUse the code ‘jamalong’...

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...

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 SummitRhiannon Giddens on collaborating with Beyoncé on 'Cowboy Carter' Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlistScroll on Buddy David Benedict ‘How I Transcribe’ Hillary Klug Kickstarter Other bits Sign up for emails...

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 Support the Show. === - Sign up to get updates on new episodes...

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 Support the Show. === - Sign up to get updates on new episodes...

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 Support the Show. === - Sign up to get updates on new...

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 Support...

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 playlistScroll on Buddy Bob Minner - Sulphur Dell Other bits Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlistFull list of...

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...

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 GaddyReleases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlistScroll on Buddy Punch Brothers - Just What I NeededOther bits Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlistFull list...

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...

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 lineupMike Marshall and Caterina  Lichtenberg’s mandolin retreat Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlistScroll on Buddy The Last Repair Shop Other bits Sign up for emails...

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...

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 CelebrationChris Thile’s Acousticamp Releases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New 2024 playlist Scroll on Buddy New Music Streaming BillPitchforkMixmag Other bits Sign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/The Grass...