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Bluegrass Briefing – November 2026

Here's your Bluegrass Briefing for November, our 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. Pod news Chris Thile interview News and announcements – Church Street News  Peghead Nation Norman Blake course Craft Recordings Tony Rice reissues…

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Bitesize – Marcel Ardans on Billy Strings’ Guitar Style

This week's episode features a segment of a conversation I had a while back with Marcel Ardans of the Lessons With Marcel YouTube channel. Marcel has spent hundreds of hours transcribing guitar breaks from some of our favourite pickers, so I thought it would be fun to find out what he learned in the process….

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Chris Thile – The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers

My guest this week is Chris Thile and he joins me to chat about The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers.  We talk about how the album came together and why, after 20 years as a band, it's only now they've got round to making a fully instrumental record. Chris also tells me how Brittany Haas…

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Matt Combs – Fifty Years of Clown School

My guest this week is fiddler, string arranger, composer and session musician Matt Combs. After decades working in the service of other people's music, including a stint in the Opry house band, Matt has just put out his first solo record 'Fifty Years of Clown School.' We chat about why now felt like the time…

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Kristy Cox – Turning Heartbreak into Hope Through Songwriting

My guest this week is singer-songwriter Kristy Cox and we're chatting about her brand new album 'Winds of Change', due out on October 9th. Kristy explains why this record is her rawest and most personal yet and how, through her long term collaboration with producer Jerry Salley, plus her co-writers on the album, she created…

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Bertolf – From The Netherlands to Nashville (and Back Again)

My guest this week is Bertolf Lentink, better know as simply Bertolf. Bertolf grew up listening to bluegrass at home in the Netherlands with his parents and learned to play guitar with his father. Then he discovered other bands, including the Beatles and Radiohead, and began writing songs of his own. After several albums in…

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Julian Lage on World’s Fair, Playing Solo and the Art of Interpretation

My guest this week is Julian Lage and we're talking about his extraordinary solo guitar album 'World's Fair'. Julian will be known to many of you as a jazz player but is also widely known in the bluegrass and string band world through his wonderful duet records with Chris Eldridge of Punch Brothers and Mighty…

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Bluegrass Briefing – September 2026

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. Pod news Sean Sullivan interview Lindsay Lou’s Bluegrass Women interview Julian Lage Australian tour dates News and announcements – church street news …

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Sean Sullivan – Capturing More Than Just Music

My guest this week is 5 time Grammy award winning engineer, mixer and producer Sean Sullivan. Sean has worked with dozens of artists, including Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, The Steeldrivers, The Del McCoury Band, Michael Cleveland, Andrew Marlin, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway and Mighty Poplar. We chat about his route into recording and how…

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Lindsay Lou – Bluegrass Women

My guest this week is Lindsay Lou. I chatted with Lindsay a while back, about her record Queen of Time. This time we're talking about her brand new record Bluegrass Women. Lindsay reveals how the project came about and why she wanted to make a record celebrating the contributions of women to bluegrass. We talk about the…

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