On this week's episode, Chris chats with Daniel Donato. The guitarist from Nashville is taking the world by storm with his Cosmic Country, and just released his latest single "Hi-Country," produced by Vance Powell. This is a fantastic conversation with an up and coming artist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, Chris is joined by The Milk Carton Kids - a successful duo with a sound and energy that's all their own. Much of the conversation revolves around the making of their brilliant new album, I Only See the Moon. After completing an initial version of the album, the band made the decision to scrap much of what they had and dig deeper to create something more powerful. Kenneth and Joey describe how that journey unfolded - an inspiring story about what makes any form of...

Today Chris is joined by the one and only Mike Gordon - bassist, singer & songwriter for the legendary rock band Phish. Mike goes deep into his musical journey, his peak experiences on and off stage and the making of his excellent new solo album, Flying Games. He also gives us an inside look at how Phish stays synchronous and continues to evolve after 40 years as one of the most influential bands in music history. This is an expansive interview that’s packed with inspiring experiences and...

Alison Brown is a world-class banjoist, record label owner, and all around trailblazer in the music industry. Her performing/recording career has produced numerous amazing albums, collaborations, appearances and accolades. She's also created a successful record label (Compass Records) and become a leader in the music industry. Alison's excellent new solo album 'On Banjo' features an all star cast of musicians including the legendary Steve Martin, and covers a wide range of musical styles with...

Sam Bush is one of the all-time legends of acoustic music. From his work with New Grass Revival, to Strength in Numbers and his prolific solo career, Sam has set the standard for mandolin in modern day roots music. He's also a gifted singer and writer as well, with a long and storied career that intersects with so many titans of music. Chris talks to Sam about the different phases of his career, his impressions of where acoustic music is headed, the key to an authentic performance and so much...

Lindsay Lou is one of the hottest up-and-comers on the roots music scene. She's a powerhouse singer who covers a wide range of styles and has performed with countless artists as a special guest in recent years. Her new album, Queen of Time, puts her in the spotlight as a singer and as a songwriter as well. The record has a beautiful concept, incorporating recordings of conversations with her grandmother, all of which Lindsay unpacks in detail during this conversation. She also discusses her...

In their more than 20 years as a band, The Decemberists have established themselves as an influential indie-rock band with an expansive and eclectic catalog of excellent music. Chris Funk's multi-instrumental talents are at the center of their sound. Chris also works as a producer and has been a fixture on the Portland, OR music scene for years. He takes us through the seismic shifts in the music industry during their time as a band, as well as his philosophies on producing, songwriting and...

Chris Wood is a musical hero. In this talk he gets deep into his experience with music and all he's learned over his long, successful career playing everything from cutting edge jazz with MMW to some of today's best roots rock with The Wood Brothers. He unpacks the challenge of staying present, in music and life in general, and speaks very articulately about what he focuses on to stay in the moment, and stay connected to the truest version of himself. This interview contains some real gold!...

Episode 32 features an interview with the amazing Rachael Price, who is already making her mark as one of the best singers of her generation. Known mainly for her work with Lake Street Dive, she takes us inside her retro side project, Rachael and Vilray, as well as discussing LSD's rise to success and their evolving process of writing and recording, and the myriad challenges and inspiration along the way. Chris also discusses the myth of 'overnight success,' and looks at the kind of...

Episode 32 features an interview with the amazing Rachael Price, who is already making her mark as one of the best singers of her generation. Known mainly for her work with Lake Street Dive, she takes us inside her retro side project, Rachael and Vilray, as well as discussing LSD's rise to success and their evolving process of writing and recording, and the myriad challenges and inspiration along the way. Chris also discusses the myth of 'overnight success,' and looks at the kind of...

Inside the Musician’s Brain is back for season 4! In this episode, Chris talks with MC Taylor, the man behind Hiss Golden Messenger. MC is a transcendent singer/songwriter, and Hiss has been gaining major notoriety in recent years for their blend of beautiful, timeless songs with vintage rock sounds. The conversation ranges from the process behind their records, to the challenges of staying inspired and the goal/meaning of a great song. MC is a prolific artist, and is incredibly thoughtful...

Inside the Musician’s Brain is back for season 4! In this episode, Chris talks with MC Taylor, the man behind Hiss Golden Messenger. MC is a transcendent singer/songwriter, and Hiss has been gaining major notoriety in recent years for their blend of beautiful, timeless songs with vintage rock sounds. The conversation ranges from the process behind their records, to the challenges of staying inspired and the goal/meaning of a great song. MC is a prolific artist, and is incredibly thoughtful...

This week on Inside the Musician's Brain, Chris is joined by guitar master Bryan Sutton. For years, Bryan has been one of the most sought after session musicians in Nashville, appearing on albums by Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, Béla Fleck and many more. Eventually he stepped out as a solo artist, putting out a number of exceptional albums under his own name. In addition to being a guitar virtuoso, Bryan is also an incredibly deep thinker when it comes to music,...

Episode 29 of Inside the Musician's Brain features rising musical star Madison Cunningham. Madison has quickly been making a name for herself as an exceptional singer, songwriter and guitar player. She takes us through her unique introduction to music at an early age, her influences, her process, and how she dealt with the untimely shut down of 2020. Now Madison is back with a vengeance, and her second album, Revealer, is on the way this fall. She breaks down the inspiration behind this new...

On this episode of Inside the Musician's Brain, Chris' guest is rock and soul powerhouse Maggie Rose. Maggie is an inspiration in so many ways, with an amazing story of perseverance and evolution through the different phases of her career. She discusses the obstacles that country music presented early on, and her transformation as an artist in the wake of those obstacles. Maggie also breaks down her latest album, Have A Seat, and the inspiration that world famous Fame Studios in Muscle...

Chris' guest for Episode 27 is the talented and prolific Cory Wong. Some of you may know Cory as a member of the trendsetting funk/soul collective Vulfpeck. But in recent years he has also struck out on his own, releasing a staggering amount of music (11 albums in 2 years!) as well as some of the highest quality music video content out there. The man is a machine, and the music is stellar! Chris and Cory talk about the keys to staying productive, the process behind Cory's expansive...

One this episode of Inside the Musician's Brain, Chris talks to up-and-coming bass badass Karina Rykman. Karina has been playing bass with Marco Benevento's band in recent years, but is poised to strike out under her own name, with a highly anticipated debut album on the way. She breaks down the vision and process behind her new music, as well as the story behind her musical journey that got her to where she is now. Karina also takes us inside her experience jamming with Phish on stage at MSG...

On this episode of 'Inside the Musician's Brain,' Chris sits down with Greensky Bluegrass to take an in depth look at their new album, 'Stress Dreams.' Learn what these songs are about and how they came to life as each member of the band breaks down one of the songs on their album. It's a fascinating look inside the creative process and the experiences that drive the songwriting for one of the most successful modern string bands on the scene today. Chris also talks about the Stringdusters...

On this week's episode, Chris is joined by Nate Hilts, a member of The Dead South, a four-piece acoustic band from Saskatchewan. The band's unique take on bluegrass has made them a live act not to be missed. Nate and Chris talk about the band's 4th album, "Easy Listening for Jerks, Parts I & II," which has been described as "Carter Family meets Addams Family." They also discuss Nate's musical background and journey, and the touring and live shows of The Dead South. Inside the Musician’s...

This week on Inside The Musician’s Brain, you get the opportunity to take a leap into not one, not two, but five musician’s brains! That’s right, today’s episode features Chris talking with the other members of The Infamous Stringdusters to introduce their new album, Toward the Fray. During their conversations, Chris and the band take us through the album track by track and give us a behind the scenes look at their songwriting process, sometimes even writing over Zoom, and what it was like to...

Today, Chris has the opportunity to sit down and talk with bluegrass legend and master of the banjo Béla Fleck, who just released a new album titled My Bluegrass Heart. The two take an in depth look at this album, as well as taking a trip to the past to find out how Béla's career unfolded and he lets Chris in on some of his artistic process that has led him to be the legend he is. Béla Fleck is best known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones Fleck...

Hello and welcome to the third season of Inside The Musician’s Brain! We are thrilled to be back, especially with our first guest of the season, Grammy award-winning songwriter, musician, and Chris’ old friend Aoife O’Donovan. Along with releasing three critically-acclaimed solo albums, Aoife is the co-founder of the bands I’m With Her and Crooked Still, she is the featured vocalist on The Goat Rodeo Sessions with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma and Chris Thile, and she was a part of the radio...

For today’s season finale of Inside The Musician’s Brain, Chris is thrilled to welcome Grahame Lesh (Midnight North, Terrapin Family Band). The pair begin by discussing Terrapin Crossroads, the music venue/restaurant in San Rafael, California that was founded by his father and Grateful Dead member Phil Lesh. Grahame shares how it has served as the perfect place for his band Midnight North to play and rehearse. They also dive deep into the making of Midnight North’s new album, There’s Always a...

In today's episode, you get a double dose of killer interviews! First, Chris sits down with Craig Ferguson (Owner/Promoter for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival) to take you behind the scenes of how the legendary festival is planned and executed. The second interview is with Panda's longtime friend and collaborator Chris Eldridge. The two discuss learning music, playing together throughout the years, and share some wonderful stories from their days partying and jamming in Nashville. You'll...