My guest this week is Marcel Ardans, from the Lessons With Marcel YouTube channel. Marcel has spent hours (probably weeks) transcribing the playing of bluegrass players. In this episode he picks four of his favourites and we chat about their styles, influences and what makes them unique. First up is Billy Strings, followed by Trey…
Read MoreMy guest this week is Emma John, author of the wonderful book 'Wayfaring Stranger – A Musical Journey in the American South'. We chat about what made a British journalist and cricket fan want to travel to North Carolina and write a book about bluegrass, the key lesson Emma learned from the Kruger Brothers and…
Read MoreMy guest on Bluegrass Jam Along this week is Happy Traum. Happy founded Homespun with his wife, Jane, in 1967. In the 55 years that followed, Homespun has helped hundreds of thousands of people learn to play music and has worked with some of the all-time bluegrass greats, including Tony Rice, Norman Blake, Bill Monroe,…
Read MoreYesterday was June 8th 2022 and would have been Tony Rice's birthday. As a tribute to Tony I've put together a compilation of some of the conversations I've had for this podcast where the guests mentioned Tony. I wanted to wait till today to release it as yesterday, Tony's actual birthday, I was speaking to…
Read MoreI've just released the 200th episode of Bluegrass Jam Along! I can't believe it's come around after just 14 months! Thanks to all of you, whether you've been listening a few days or since the start. I'd really love it if you head to wherever you get your podcasts and leave a review. It would…
Read MoreMy guest this week is current IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year Bronwyn Keith-Hynes. We chatted about her fantastic record Fiddler's Pastime, which features guest performances from Sierra Hull, Tim O'Brien and Sarah Jarosz. Check it out – it's great! We also talked about Bronwyn's current gig as fiddle player for Molly Tuttle and Golden…
Read MoreMy guest (again) this week is Jake Eddy. Jake was my first ever guest on Bluegrass Jam Along. If you want to check out that episode it's here Jake came back to chat to me about his latest project, 'Nor' Easter', a new collaboration with mandolin legend Andy Statman. Jake explains how the project came…
Read MoreMy guest this week is Tony Trischka, who the New York Times called 'the father of modern bluegrass'. Tony has been at the forefront of the folk and bluegrass worlds since the 1960s. Our conversation focusses on his 2021 album Shall We Hope, described on Tony's website as “a dramatized listening experience. It invites its…
Read MoreMy guest this week is Wes Corbett. Wes is the current banjo player in the Sam Bush Band and has previously played with Molly Tuttle, Joy Kills Sorrow, The Bee Eaters and hammered dulcimer virtuoso Simon Chrisman. I chatted to Wes about his recent instrumental record Cascade, co-produced by Punch Brothers' Chris Eldridge and featuring…
Read MoreMy guest this week is Bob Minner. Bob has been the acoustic guitarist for country icon Tim McGraw for almost 30 years now, and he's also a fantastic bluegrass picker. His latest project, 'From Sulphur Springs To Rising Fawn : The Songs of Norman Blake' is a wonderful tribute to the music of Norman and…
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