Send us a text Mandolinist Jesse Cobb was a founding member of The Infamous Stringdusters in 2006, spending 5 years with the genre-bending ‘grassers before leaving in 2011. He also played with Ronnie Bowman, and the "supergroup" with Bryan Sutton, Luke Bulla, Noam Pikelny and Barry Bales. His brother Shad Cobb is one of the most sought after fiddle players in Nashville. Jesse has lived a lot, spent time logging timber, running sled dogs, and working on the railroad. Now married and livi...

Send us a text Connnecticut's Austin Scelzo is a fiddle player, teacher, singer, songwriter, band member, jam leader, Pete Wernick Jam Camp insructor, and an all-around positive force in bluegrass. He left a secure job as a school music teacher a few years ago, to pursue his bluegrass dreams, and hasn't looked back. A fiddle playing member of bands On The Trail and Rock Hearts, he is familiar to New England audiences, but he has made his mark in Nashville, and through his many wonderful YouT...

Send us a text Larry Cordle is one of the legendary songwriters and singers in bluegrass and country music. He's best known for writing #1 hits "Highway 40 Blues" for Ricky Skaggs, "Murder on Music Row" for George Strait, and "Against the Grain" for Garth Brooks. He has multiple Grammy and IBMA awards, and has written top hits for Dolly Parton, Reba McIntire, Alan Jackson, Alison Krauss, Trisha Yearwood, etc. Larry talks about the inner workings of "Music Row", his long friendships with...

Send us a text Fiddler, composer, producer and educator, Darol Anger is at home in many musical genres, some of which he helped to invent. He drove the evolution of the contemporary string band through The David Grisman Quintet, The Republic Of Strings, the Turtle Island String Quartet, Mr. Sun, etc. etc. etc. Delightful and spontaneous, he has fond memories of how The David Grisman Quintet started, the excitement when Tony Rice joined, feeling a bit awed by Richard Greene, thoughts about fid...

Send us a text Ben Garnett, guitarist, composer and teacher, is having a big impact on acoustic music. His new album, Kite’s Keep, features Darol Anger, Brittany Haas, Ethan Jodziewicz, Paul Kowert , and Chris Eldridge. His music ranges widely from bluegrass to pop, jazz to avant garde, folk to classical, and back. Ben is best known in the bluegras world as the guitarist for Missy Raines, with whose band he has appeared at GuitartownCT several times. His current tour brings him to Hamde...

Send us a text Wyatt Ellis is quickly emerging as a bluegrass star. At sixteen, he's a talented mandolinist, singer and songwriter. Winner of IBMA's 2024 Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year, he's two time IBMA nominee for New Artist of the Year. He's worked with Peter Rowan, Sierra Hull, Justin Moses, Marty Stuart, Dailey and Vincent and his bluegrass hero Bobby Osborne. He's really into songwriting, and was returning from a Nashville songwriting session when we spoke. They had to pull off t...

Send us a text Becky Buller is one of bluegrass' leading fiddle players, singers and songwriters. She has won 10 IBMA awards, including 2016 Fiddle Player and Female Bluegrass Singer of the Year, the first person ever to win both awards! She has written many well known songs, including songs on 3 recent Grammmy winning albums, by The Infamous Stringdusters, The Travelin' McCourys, and Molly Tuttle. Becky has been upfront about her own anxiety and depression, especially during Covid. S...

Send us a text Shawn Camp is one of America's leading songwriters, and for the last 12 years has been playing the role of Lester Flatt, as the guitarist and lead singer for The Earls of Leicester. His new album, songs that he and Guy Clark wrote, "The Ghost of Sis' Draper", gets released Sept. 12. Shawn wrote "Magnolia Wind", "Two Pina Coladas", and "I'm Dying for Someone to Live For". He's written hits for Garth Brooks, Gibson Brothers, Loretta Lynn, Brooks and Dunn, Josh Turner, Willie Nel...

Send us a text C.J. Lewandowski sings and plays mandolin for hard driving bluegrass band The Po' Ramblin' Boys. They've won IBMA awards and a 2019 Grammy nomination. Over the years, CJ became best friends with his mentor, bluegrass legend Bobby Osborne. "Keep on Keepin' On", with CJ and a bunch of legendary bluegrass musicians, is due for release August 22. It's the last recordings Bobby Osborne made, before his death in 2023. In this heartfelt interview C.J. talks at length about his f...

Send us a text This was a big thrill for me!! David "Dawg" Grisman just celebrated his 80th birthday, with a musical party in Seattle, with Sam Bush, Billy Strings, Ronnie McCoury, Sam Grisman, Danny Barnes, Alex Hargreaves, Dominick Leslie, Mike Marshall and more. His musical career has spanned folk, jug band, blues, classic bluegrass, newgrass, swing jazz, Dawg Music, and world music. The David Grisman Quintet, Earth Opera, Old and in The Way. "Manzanita", "The Pizza Tapes". Tony...

Send us a text Banjo master Kyle Tuttle just finished up three years with Molly Tuttle (no relation) and Golden Highway, during which time they played 250 shows, won two Grammys, and many IBMA awards. He previously played in the Jeff Austin band. Jeff was a founder of Yonder Mountain String Band. Kyle is closely aligned with the so called "Jam Band" style of bluegrass, but also leads his own band, and performs more traditional bluegrass regularly at Dee's in Nashville, with many top players. ...

Send us a text Chris Eldridge, son of Ben Eldridge of The Seldom Scene, is one of the most renowned guitarists in acoustic music. After getting a Grammy nomination as a member of The Seldom Scene, he co-founded multiple IBMA award winning bluegrass band The Infamous Stringdusters. He then joined Chris Thile and The Punch Brothers, and the rest is history. He also tours with legendary jazz guitarist Julian Lage, played in the house band on "Live From Here" (formerly Prairie Home Companion), te...

Send us a text Pete Wernick, fondly known as Dr. Banjo, co-founded Hot Rize in 1987 with Tim O'Brien, Mike Scap, (soon replaced by Nick Forster) and Charles Sawtelle. Originally from NYC, he had a PhD in sociology, taught at Cornell, hosted a bluegrass radio show, and played in the progressive bluegrass band Country Cooking, with Russ Barenberg, Kenny Kosek, Tony Trischka and Andy Statman before moving to Colorado with his wife Joan. Pete has written numerous highly regarded books on bluegras...

Send us a text Vickie Vaughn plays bass for the multi-awarded bluegrass band Della Mae. They will be touring soon, performing a tribute to Hazel Dickens. Vickie is an in-demand studio musician in Nashville, and fronts The Vickie Vaughn Band. Her second album gets released in November. She was classically trained as a singer, and sings lead in her band. She also toured and sang harmony for years with country music star Patty Loveless. Vickie is an eloquent voice for women in bluegrass an...

Send us a text Maddie Denton is a young fiddle player, singer and songwriter based in Nashville. She's been with the hot young band East Nash Grass for 7 years. During that time she taught high school biology, coached their golf team, and also played with the Dan Tyminski band for 4 years. Now she's a full time musician, touring and recording with East Nash Grass. Lots of stories, from her youth winning Texas fiddle contests, making the somewhat difficult transition to bluegrass (tough ...

Send us a text Brenna Macmillan is a young singer, songwriter, banjo player, studio musician and band leader living in Nashville. From Kentucky, her story is fascinating and unusual. Home schooled with 12 siblings, nine of whom were Liberian war orphans adopted by her parents, she and her brother performed as the duo Theo and Brenna for many years, even as she worked full time, went to college, and became a chemist. Her first album was released to great acclaim last October. She is now devoti...

Send us a text Shelby Means played bass for Della Mae, and currently plays bass and sings with Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway. Her debut, self titled album comes out May 30, 2025. She sings lead, and wrote almost all the songs. We spoke at length about her bluegrass upbringing, her love of singing and songwriting, how she gets inspiration from Missy Raines, Molly Tuttle and Bronwyn Keith Hynes, and her views on playing the bass. Her bucket list singing partner might have been Billie Ho...

Send us a text Grant Gordy is one of the most inventive and brilliant guitarists in acoustic music. After six years with the David Grisman Quintet, he plays with Mr. Sun, as a duo with guitarist Ross Martin, and with his own group feat. Alex Hargreaves and Dom Leslie. In our chat Grant talks about fatherhood, bluegrass, jazz, Charlie Parker and Tony Rice, his approach to soloing, the importance of rhythm, his sense of humor, and a lot in between. A unique and wonderful guy and musician.

Send us a text Richard Greene, one of the most innovative and influential fiddle players of all time, grew up in L.A. and studied classical music until his encounter with the pyrotechnic fiddling of Scotty Stoneman. With Bill Monroe, he invented the fiddle chop. With Seatrain he became the first rock musician to play electric violin. He was a member of the legendary band Muleskinner, with Peter Rowan, David Grisman, Bill Keith and Clarence White. His advanced techniques influenced every fiddl...

Send us a text Fiddle star Tammy Rogers has been a huge force in country and bluegrass, from her early days touring with Trisha Yearwood and Patty Loveless, through her twenty years with The Steel Drivers. Also a fine singer and songwriter, she has a great love and admiration for the music, which comes through loud and clear in her words and her playing. A real treat to talk to.