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Bluegrass Jam Along

Matt Hutchinson
  • 5.0 (80)
  • MUSIC INTERVIEWS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

"Bluegrass Jam Along is a great, great podcast" - Chris Eldridge The IBMA Award winning podcast for anyone and everyone who loves bluegrass. Every week we feature interviews with musicians, writers, instrument makers and other key figures from the bluegrass and string band world, plus regular news and new releases. Guests include Alison Krauss, Sierra Hull, Tim O'Brien, Wyatt Rice, Jerry Douglas, Sarah Jarosz, Jarrod Walker and David Grisman.For more info visit https://bluegrassjamalong.com

  1. 23H AGO

    Celebrating the Legacy of Rich-R-Tone/Folk Star with Ted Olson

    My guest this week is Ted Olson, professor of Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University. Ted joins me to celebrate the Rich-R-Tone record label and it's offshoot Folk Star. Rich-R-Tone was founded in 1946 by James Hobart Stanton who, in Ted's words, "was probably single-handedly the most important documentarian of Appalachian music." Ted has extensively researched Stanton and the Rich_R-Tone label for a project he co-produced for Bear Family Records - The Rich-R-Tone/Folk Star Story: Appalachia On Record, 1946-1954. Featuring 317 expertly remastered recordings spread over 12 CDs and including a 144-page hardcover book, this set, produced by Ted Olson, Matteo Ringressi, and Richard Weize, features newly researched liner notes and a complete discography. Many of these recordings are incredibly rare and are taken from 78 rpm discs held in private collections. We talk about Stanton's background in jukebox repair and distribution and how that helped shape his vision for the label; why both place and time are so vital in this particular story; the importance of Rich-R-Tone being a label based in Appalachia, rather than being a major label coming to the region just to record local talent and how Stanton played an important role in The Stanley Brothers' career. It's a fascinating story and one I knew very little about before my conversation with Ted, who was a pleasure to chat with as always. During the conversation  we play excerpts of three tracks from the box set. You'll hear (in order): The Stanley Brothers - Molly and TenbrooksWilma Lee Cooper - The Tramp on the StreetThe Caudill Family - Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body DownFor more info on the box set visit Bear Family Records To hear my previous interviews with Ted, check out the two episodes below: The Bristol Sessions and BeyondDoc Watson's 100th Birthday Celebration (featuring Happy Traum, John McEuen from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, T. Michael Coleman, Jack Lawrence, Lindsay Craven of MerleFest and Ted Olson) Support the show === Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins - Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets - Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews - Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts

    1h 7m

  2. FEB 11

    Bitesize - Sara Watkins on I'm With Her's Grammy Winning 'Wild and Clear and Blue'

    My guest on this week's Bitesize episode is Sara Watkins, who joins me to talk about I'm With Her's Grammy winning album 'Wild and Clear and Blue'. It's an album I really love (and a conversation I loved too) and I wanted to put something out to celebrate not only the Grammy win, but also the Grammy they won for the opening track 'Ancient Light'. Sara talks about the process behind writing the record, which began to take shape shortly after the pandemic, why collaboration was so important and the central themes that emerged during the process. We also talk about community and connection in music and how the line between audience and stage is a little thinner in folk music than for some other formats. This comes from a longer conversation we had in 2025. You'll find the full interview with Sara here. Sara also mentions an interview I did with her bandmate Sarah Jarosz, about her album 'Blue Heron Suite'. For more info on I’m With Her, including upcoming tour dates and to buy I’m With Her vinyl, CDs and merch, visit imwithherband.com For regular updates follow Sara on Instagram and Facebook Support the show === Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins - Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets - Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews - Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts

    22 min

  3. FEB 6

    Bluegrass Briefing - February 2026

    Welcome to this month’s Bluegrass Briefing, a monthly series of episodes taking a look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass. Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode. News and announcements - church street news  Chris Thile’s AcousticampTony Trischka’s New York Banjo NightBruce and Darol’s Great Big Fiddle HangSore FingersRockygrass Releases (The Grass is New) Bryan Sutton/Billy Strings videoAlasdair Fraser & Natalie HaasTony Trischka Earl Jam 2 (preorder)Della Mae Scroll on Buddy Willie Nelson (preorder) Other bits Full list of interviewsCollings Guitars Happy picking. Matt Support the show === Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins - Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets - Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews - Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts

    13 min

  4. JAN 28

    Dave Sinko on How 'The David Grisman Quintet' Changed His Life

    My guest this week is sound engineer Dave Sinko, who returns to chat about The David Grisman Quintet. We've talked about that record a lot on the podcast, but this is less about the story behind the album and more about how it influenced Dave and informed the way he approaches recording. In his words 'it changed my life.' We chat about his subsequent work with members of the DGQ, including Grisman himself, and recording Tony Rice for a project with Alison Brown. We also discuss how that first DGQ record set the standard for what acoustic instruments could and should sound like, the contributions Bill Wolf and Bob Shumaker made to recording acoustic music and how Dave approaches miking instruments, based on what he learned from the first DGQ album, including on Chris Thile's latest Bach album, an extraordinary and challenging project to work on. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did. Support the show === Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins - Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets - Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews - Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts

    51 min

  5. JAN 21

    Tony Trischka on New York in the 1970s and the Roots of New Acoustic Music

    My guest this week is Tony Trischka, who returns to chat about the New York bluegrass scene in the early 1970s. New York and the surrounding area played a huge role in the development of bluegrass and in the genesis of what would become known as New Acoustic music. Tony talks about the early days of his career, including the bands Country Cooking and Breakfast Special and the overlap between that scene and the birth of Rounder Records. We also chat about some of the musicians who came out of the New York scene in the 1960s and 70s, including David Grisman, Andy Statman, Stacy Phillips, Russ Barenberg and Bela Fleck, and how those players began to collaborate with the musicians emerging from the San Francisco Bay Area and Nashville scenes. Tony also talks about his early solo albums, including Banjoland, Hill Country and (a personal favourite of mine) A Robot Plane Flies over Arkansas. It was, as always, a treat chatting with Tony. I hope you enjoy this one. If you missed the David Grisman Quintet episodes we mention, you'll find them here: Part 1 (Darol & Mike) - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/celebrating-50-years-of-the-david-grisman-quintet-part/id1556697198?i=1000711133817 Part 2 (Todd) - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/celebrating-50-years-of-the-david-grisman-quintet-part/id1556697198?i=1000712407689 Part 3 (David) - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/celebrating-50-years-of-the-david-grisman-quintet-part/id1556697198?i=1000713402530 Support the show === Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins - Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets - Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews - Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts

    48 min

  6. JAN 16

    Kristina R. Gaddy - Go Back and Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo

    My guest this week is Kristina R. Gaddy, who returns to chat about her new book, a collaboration with Rhiannon Giddens, called Go Back and Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo. The book picks up on the research Kristina did for her previous book Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo's Hidden History (you can hear our conversation about that here). Crucially though, this volume doesn't just present a series of tunes as research pieces, it includes both banjo transcriptions and standard music notation, so people can play the music and give it a place in the current repertoire. We talk about why so little music was collected from black people in the Americas (fewer than 10 songs before 1861 were collected in the United States that we definitely know are from Black musicians); why these tunes were collected and how; how the way they were collected (and who did the collecting) shaped what was gathered and much more. As always, it was fascinating talking to Kristina. You can find out more about Go Back and Fetch It (and buy the book) via the University of North Carolina Press. For more on Kristina and updates on her research, follow her on Instagram and Substack Support the show === Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins - Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets - Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews - Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts

    49 min

  7. JAN 7

    Bluegrass Briefing - January 2026

    Welcome to this month’s Bluegrass Briefing, a monthly series of episodes taking a look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass. Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode. Pod news Highlights from the first 500 episodesInspiration for Musicians episode News and announcements - church street news  Dawg at 80 on NugsBilly Strings Tiny Desk ConcertNPR Tiny Desk ContestOld Settler’s Music Festival Releases (The Grass is New) Sam Grisman ProjectCarolina Chocolate DropsAlasdair Fraser & Natalie HaasMichael Daves EP Scroll on Buddy Is Bluegrass Too Fast? Other bits Full list of interviewsCollings Guitars Happy picking. Matt Support the show === Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins - Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets - Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews - Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts

    13 min

  8. 12/17/2025

    Highlights from the First 500 Episodes - Alison Krauss, Wyatt Rice, Bryan Sutton, Gabe Witcher, Brittany Haas, Chris Eldridge, Sarah Jarosz, Sara Watkins and Mike Marshall

    If 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 Krauss, on two different car journeys with Tony RiceWyatt Rice, on recording Church Street BluesBryan Sutton, on the journey all musicians go onGabe Witcher, on leaving Punch BrothersBrittny Haas, on joining Punch BrothersChris Eldridge, on Bela Fleck's Drive albumBryan Sutton (again), on Doc Watson and his influenceSarah Jarosz, on her album Blue Heron SuiteSara Watkins, on I'm With Her's Wild and Clear and Blue and Mike Marshall, on playing with Tony Rice and what he learned from other musiciansThis journey has been a lot of fun and I can't wait to get stuck into the interviews I already have lined up for the next set of episodes. Thanks to all my guests and to all of you who've listened over the past four and a half years. If you want to hear a bit more about my journey with the podcast, check out this interview I did with Daniel Patrick from the Mandolins and Beer podcast. Finally, if you know anyone who you think would like this episode, please share it with them! Matt Support the show === Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins - Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets - Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews - Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts

    1h 25m
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5
out of 5
80 Ratings

About

"Bluegrass Jam Along is a great, great podcast" - Chris Eldridge The IBMA Award winning podcast for anyone and everyone who loves bluegrass. Every week we feature interviews with musicians, writers, instrument makers and other key figures from the bluegrass and string band world, plus regular news and new releases. Guests include Alison Krauss, Sierra Hull, Tim O'Brien, Wyatt Rice, Jerry Douglas, Sarah Jarosz, Jarrod Walker and David Grisman.For more info visit https://bluegrassjamalong.com

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