My guest this week is John Reischman and we're talking about his fantastic record The Salish Sea, recorded with his band The Jaybirds. We chat about the band's long history together and the journey behind this record, including the Freshgrass Concerto Commission that led to the title track. John also shares his memories of first…
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 MoreMy guest this week is Alex Graf and we're talking all things Manzanita. Alex made the shift from a more jazz based background to flatpicking a few years ago and Tony Rice's Manzanita became one of the absolute cornerstone records for him on that journey. We talk about why it became so important, what Alex…
Read MoreThis week's Bitesize episode features a conversation I had with Chris Eldridge from Punch Brothers and Mighty Poplar celebrating Tony Rice's classic album Church Street Blues. Chris talks about Tony's ability to combine big musical gestures with intricate detail, how other musicians played better when they played with Tony and why you should listen to…
Read MoreThis Bitesize episode features a conversation I had with Wyatt Rice for a set of episodes in 2023 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Tony Rice's 'Church Street Blues' album. Wyatt talks about his experience of playing on the sessions aged just 17, hanging out with Tony, the first time he saw an Ovation guitar…
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 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 MoreToday – June 8th – is Tony Rice's birthday. To celebrate, I'm reposting the chat I had with Alison Krauss as part of the 'Church Street Blues' 40th anniversary celebrations last year. The final episodes ended up being almost 5 hours long, so I thought it would be fun to re-post this as a standalone…
Read MoreIt’s almost the end of 2023. Where did the year go?! I’m already working on some exciting stuff for 2024 but, before we head into the holidays, I wanted to have a look back at 2023 on Bluegrass Jam Along as it’s been an extraordinary year. I’ve had the opportunity to speak to some truly…
Read MoreThis interview is an extended version of the one that appeared in the first part of the Tony Rice Church Street Blues 40th anniversary celebration. I talked to Wyatt for almost an hour and we covered some areas that weren't directly related to the Church Street Blues episode, but are fascinating as an insight into…
Read More