Interview Archives - The Bluegrass Situation

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Chris Thile Dives Into New Audible Variety Show, 'Energy Curfew Music Hour'Punch Brothers’ new audio-based variety show, The Energy Curfew Music Hour, takes listeners to a fictitious, not-so-distant future where, as the show materials describe, “diminishing resources and extreme weather have ushered in a worldwide effort to ration electricity. America has instituted a weekly 'energy curfew' where the power grid goes…

'Things Done Changed' For Jerron Paxton – Now He Writes the Songs, TooThe music, sparse and spooky, sounds at the same time strangely universal and possibly from the last century, but as Jerron Paxton notes in his album title, Things Done Changed. The major difference on Paxton’s fifth album (including his 2021 duet set with Dennis Lichtman) is a big one. He…

Billy Strings Could Play Whatever He Wants – And Still Chooses BluegrassThe first time I heard Billy Strings’ name was in 2014, from a guitar picking pilot friend of mine from northern Kentucky who was working up in Michigan. I first met him at the Frankfort Bluegrass Festival in Illinois two or three years later, by which time I’d played a…

Woody Platt Seamlessly Steps Into His Solo Career On ‘Far Away With You’After over 20 years behind the wheel of Western North Carolina-based bluegrass and roots band Steep Canyon Rangers, founding member Woody Platt is forging a new path ahead as a solo artist with his debut album, Far Away With You. Released on October 11, the 10-song project sees the GRAMMY…

GC 5+5: Emily Rose & the Rounders

Out Now: Morgan Harris

Amythyst Kiah Enjoys Challenging Assumptions

A Simple Daily Practice Brought About Liv Greene's 'Deep Feeler'

InterviewOct 29, 2024

GC 5+5: Noeline Hofmann

Artist: Noeline Hofmann Hometown: Bow Island, Alberta, Canada Latest Album: Purple Gas EP What's your favorite memory from being on stage? It’s nearly impossible to narrow down, but one of my favorite memories from the stage happened this October while on tour with Colter Wall. For the better part of the tour, Corb Lund – a fellow…

InterviewOct 25, 2024

Woody Platt's Release Show Became a Hurricane Benefit, Raising Thousands

On October 11, singer-songwriter Woody Platt stood onstage at 185 King Street, a cozy music venue in the depths of the small mountain town of Brevard, North Carolina. And what was supposed to be an album release party for Platt’s Far Away With You became a fundraiser for flood victims of Hurricane Helene, which devastated…

InterviewOct 24, 2024

Out Now: The Accidentals

Our next band featured on Out Now is the Accidentals, a group that I met over a decade ago, tucked under the oak trees in Northern Michigan at Interlochen Artist Academy. Interlochen is a hub for music and arts education. Katie Larson and Savannah Buist (founders of the band) attended the academy at the same…

InterviewOct 23, 2024

Writer Ann Powers Discusses Her Acclaimed Joni Mitchell Book, 'Traveling'

Journalist, author, and cultural critic Ann Powers released her latest book, Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell, in June of this year. A thought leader in pop and pop culture criticism – and an occasional BGS contributor – Powers considers this legendary figure in folk and American music with deliberation and intention. Traveling isn't merely a…

InterviewOct 22, 2024

BGS 5+5: Mark Stoffel

Artist: Mark Stoffel Hometown: Murphysboro, Illinois Latest Album: True Tones Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): Dr. Pretzel and recently The Mandolinator What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician? Before I picked up the mandolin, I played the piano, inspired by my mom who was an accomplished classical…