In early April I got the chance to go and hang out at SoreFingers, the UK bluegrass and old time camp, for a night. I'd recently interviewed John Wirtz about Sore Fingers' 30 year history for the podcast (link below) and he invited me along to meet the staff and tutors, hang out and watch…
Read MoreIn this bonus episode we're celebrating Tony Rice's best loved albums….as voted for by you! I put out a poll over my social channels as well as some popular Facebook groups and subreddits and collated all the responses. The rules were simple – just pick one album each for these 3 categories: 1. Tony Rice/Tony…
Read MoreIf you were listening last week, you'll know that my interview with Trey Hensley about Flatt and Scruggs at Carnegie Hall was the 500th episode of Bluegrass Jam Along. To celebrate I thought I'd put together an episode with a few of my highlights and favourite moments from those first 500. You'll hear from: Alison…
Read MoreThis week's episode is another special recorded at IBMA's World of Bluegrass in Chattanooga. I have four shorter interviews for you, each with someone connected to Dark Shadow Recording. First up is Becky Buller. Becky came onto the podcast in August of 2024 to chat about her record Jubilee. This time we're talking about her…
Read MoreThis week we're celebrating IBMA World of Bluegrass as it prepares to make the move to Chattanooga after a successful decade in Raleigh. First I'll be talking to former IBMA Executive Director, and current board member, Paul Schiminger about the history of World of Bluegrass, how it started, the various cities it's been hosted in…
Read MoreWe're celebrating 50 years of the David Grisman Quintet with a special set of 3 episodes. This week is part 3, featuring the man himself, David Grisman. I chat to David about how the Quintet came together and developed over those early years, how it built on the work he'd already done with The Great…
Read MoreWe're celebrating 50 years of the David Grisman Quintet with a special set of 3 episodes. This week is part 2, featuring Todd Phillips, who was in the band before it was even a band! We chat about how he got to know David Grisman and how, through taking mandolin lessons from him, they started…
Read More2025 marks 50 years since The David Grisman Quintet first got together, an event that changed string band music forever. The DGQ played a huge part in the careers of some incredible musicians, including Tony Rice, Mike Marshall, Darol Anger and Todd Phillips, as well as including collaborations with Stéphane Grappelli. Their first record, The David…
Read MoreMy guest this week is Tim Stafford, who joins me to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the best loved and most influential albums in bluegrass. 'JD Crowe & The New South' was recorded in January 1975 and released in August the same year. Tim joins me to chat about what makes it such…
Read MoreMy guest on the podcast this week is Eric Skye, who joins me to celebrate the album 'Phillips, Grier & Flinner'. Released in 1999 on Compass Records, it marks the first collaboration between bassist Todd Phillips, guitarist David Grier, and mandolinist Matt Flinner and features three original tunes from each. We chat about how Eric…
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