It was probably 2011 when Brian Beken first came onto my radar: he was singing lead vocals and playing fiddle, guitar, mandolin, and more with MilkDrive, an internationally-touring, Austin-based band that was creating a totally exhilarating and unique brand of string band music. They quickly became one of my favorite bands, and I wound up recruiting all of Brian’s bandmates to play on my own debut album Helium Taxi. Brian dropped by to help engineer, and that was the first time I met him. Several years later, I watched with great interest as he joined legendary Texas songwriter Robert Earl Keen’s band, first on fiddle and later on electric & acoustic guitar as well. Before Keen’s retirement from touring in 2022, though, the pandemic of 2020+ gave Brian the opportunity to dive into the process of making his first solo album, and it’s a thrilling contrast to everything he’s worked on to date. New Geography, released in May 2023, is a wildly eclectic album that shows multiple new sides of Brian’s expansive musical personality. It’s a wonderful record, and I was so happy to have a chance to pick Brian’s brain about its fascinating creation. While there are co-writes on many of the songs with friends he’s made in all the phases of his 20+ year music career, he played every note and sang every word you’ll hear on it. Visit Brian’s website for more on his background and his upcoming activities.

I’ve been a huge fan of Grant Gordy since shortly after his eponyous debut album was released in 2010. It was either Dennis Ludiker or Noah Jeffries who pointed me in Grant’s direction and I’ve followed his career very closely ever since. Periperhal Visions is Grant’s second album of original compositions delivered by a truly stunning string ensemble featuring Alex Hargreaves on fiddle and Dominick Leslie on mandolin. Aidan O’Donnell on bass rounds on the quartet on this new album, whereas future Punch Brother Paul Kowert handled the low end on 2010’s Grant Gordy. Don‘t let the many years between these two releases make you think Grant hasn’t been busy, though. In 2020, Grant released Interpreter, a mostly-electric, mostly-jazz-standards album. He is also natural collaborator who has been featured on numerous incredible albums through the years, here are just a few of my personal favorites: two LPs with Mr. Sun featuring fiddle legend Darol Anger albums with mandolinist (and Mr. Sun member) Joe K. Walsh, including Walsh’s excellent 2023 solo release If Not Now, Who?, and a unique collaboration with Hargreaves and bassist Greg Garrison called Bluegrass and the Abstract Truth a masterful guitar duets record with Ross Martin, Year of the Dog He frequently tours with these acts and others, and he teaches regularly through camps, workshops, and online sessions. Please support his music directly through Bandcamp and visit his website.