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…
Read MoreMy guest this week is Tony Trischka, who returns to chat about the New York bluegrass scene in the early 1970s. New York and the surrounding area played a huge role in the development of bluegrass and in the genesis of what would become known as New Acoustic music. Tony talks about the early days…
Read MoreMy guest this week is Kristina R. Gaddy, who returns to chat about her new book, a collaboration with Rhiannon Giddens, called Go Back and Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo. The book picks up on the research Kristina did for her previous book Well of Souls: Uncovering the…
Read MoreWelcome to the 500th episode of Bluegrass Jam Along! My guest this week is Trey Hensley, who joins me to celebrate the very first record he bought – Flatt and Scruggs at Carnegie Hall. This historic album was a pivotal moment for bluegrass and also served as a personal intro to the music for many…
Read MoreMy guest this week is Alison Brown. Alison was the first woman to win an IBMA award in an instrumental category, winning Banjo Player of the Year in 1991. She's also a sought after producer, with credits including Dale Ann Bradley, Peter Rowan, Missy Raines and Bobby Osborne and she spent three years as a…
Read MoreMy guest this week is Tom Nechville from Nechville Banjos. Tom joins me to chat about 40 years of making banjos, including what he's learned along the way and some of the innovations he's brought to the banjo, including his revolutionary Heli-Mount head tightening system. We also chat about why he chose to sell his…
Read MoreMy guest on the podcast this week is Chris Eldridge, guitarist with Punch Brothers and Mighty Poplar. Chris is not only one of my favourite guitarists, he's also one of my favourite people I've had on as a guest, so I'm delighted to welcome him back to Bluegrass Jam Along to celebrate the podcast's 400th…
Read MoreMy guest this week is Tony Trischka, who returns to Bluegrass Jam Along to chat about his superb new record Earl Jam. We talk about Tony receiving a thumb drive containing 200 unheard recordings of Earl Scruggs jamming with John Hartford, and his amazement at not just how many tunes were on there that he'd…
Read MoreKristina 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…
Read More**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…
Read More