Artist:Larry Sparks Hometown: Lebanon, Ohio Song: “Mama’s Apron Strings” Album:It’s Just Me Release Date: March 31, 2023 Label: Rebel Records
In Their Words: “‘Mama’s Apron Strings’ was a way of life back in the day. Women used them for working in the home and yet sometimes they would also offer up something sweet in their pockets for the children. This generation of folks were great people. Their first love was caring for their family and providing for their needs. It reminds me of my own mom and the ways she cared for our family. When it came time to make a video for ‘Mama’s Apron Strings’ it seemed right to film it at my house. I guess I am a ‘kinda back in the day’ person: my home is 145 years old and I have a few old cars including the 1950 Dodge used in the video. God has been good to me through the years and I hope everyone will enjoy this video for my current single ‘Mama’s Apron Strings.’” — Larry Sparks
There might not be a more universally beloved figure in the bluegrass world than Del McCoury. Offstage as well as on, he carries himself with a self-assured grace that is both regal and welcoming — bluegrass royalty in every sense. We talked to three of the people he’s closest to about the experience of really knowing Del McCoury up close.
Alan Bartram, bassist in The Del McCoury Band
“Joining the Del McCoury Band was one of those fortuitous right-place-right-time things, and they made it so easy. He’s as laid-back as you imagine. The same happy-go-lucky guy you see on stage is like that all day. There’s no ‘stage persona’ he changes into, and he’s not strict about anything so long as you’re taking care of business. Just do your thing and everything’s cool. I couldn’t think of a better boss.
“If he ever gets mad, it’s real subtle. Unless you’re around him a lot, you’d never even know it. There are days when he might not be in the best mood, but there’s never an outburst or a rampage. You’d have to know him to pick up signs he’s annoyed about something. Going on 84 years old, he can still get up at 4:30 a.m., fly somewhere, drive a rental van to the gig, soundcheck, go through the whole day and then get onstage at 9 p.m. and just kill it for two hours. I’ll be just whupped, but he’s still crushin’ it. And the longer he sings, the stronger he gets. God, I hope I have that stamina at his age. He hasn’t lost anything, even after we were shut down for most of 2020. Taking a lot of time off at his age, you can lose a step. I swear he didn’t.
“I’ll tell an embarrassing story on myself to show how cool he is. A few weeks ago, there was a Grand Ole Opry show on a weeknight – and I somehow forgot all about it. Had it on my calendar but just completely spaced it. So I get a call: ‘Hey, man, you playing with us tonight?’ And you know that feeling when your heart just drops? Oh my God. At that point, there was no way I could get there in time. I’m 40 minutes away, they’re on in 10. Mark Fain from the Opry house band had to fill in for me that night. I still can’t believe I did that.
“Now Del does not really use a cellphone, so I had to wait until he got home to call him. So I call, Jean answers: ‘Alan, is something wrong?’ ‘Nothing’s wrong,’ I said, ‘except I forgot I was supposed to be at the Opry tonight.’ And she giggles just as Del walks in. ‘You wanna talk to him?’ ‘Oh yeah, I need to.’ So he gets on the phone and I say, ‘Del, I am so sorry. There’s no excuse. I really blew it, just completely spaced on it.’ And he says, ‘Oh, that’s all right. If I didn’t have Jean telling me when to be down there, I’d have probably missed it, too.’ He could not have been sweeter, which was a relief. I was able to sleep that night. That’s a pretty good picture of who Del is.”
Rhonda McCoury, daughter of Del and Jean McCoury
“I don’t play music, no. Dad showed me a few things when I was a kid. But then I realized I didn’t want to get on stage and do that: ‘If I learn this, I’ll have to get on stage like Dad does! Uh uh, not for me.’
“Mom handled most of the discipline, while Dad was very easygoing. He was the one who’d help us with homework after dinner. If mom ever said, ‘Wait ’til your father gets home,’ we’d just get talked to. And we’d rather have taken a beating, we never wanted to disappoint Dad.
“He’s the epitome of greatest father in the world. Patient, working his tail off all the time. If someone’s car wasn’t running, he would fix it. If there was some math we didn’t understand, he would explain it. Back then we had to put covers on our school books, and he’d help do that.
“He had the logging day job for a long time but didn’t seem frustrated by that. He’d grown up on a farm, working from the time he was a kid. I never heard him complain. He worked for our uncle’s company and could take any time off he needed. But over time, he did realize, ‘This is a little dangerous and maybe I should not do it for the rest of my life.’ Then when the boys started playing, too, that’s when he really got focused on music more.
“He’s not really different, offstage or on. What you see is what you get. He’s always been laid-back and funny, loves to tell stories. He doesn’t change much – except for his suit. There’s no grey area, this is him and it’s the way he’s always been. Like anybody else, you don’t want to make him mad. But 99 percent of the time he’s calm and mild-mannered. About all he does is think about music.
“About the only time he ever gets nervous before a show is when it’s the Opry – especially at the Ryman, where he played with Bill Monroe. But mostly, he never gets too nervous. Maybe a little frustrated if allergies kick up and affect him, not that anyone else would notice the way he does. ‘I’m not of right voice today.’ He just enjoys music so much, nerves never boil to the surface. It became even more enjoyable when the boys started playing, and they’ve just gotten better and better over the years. That’s the most fun for him, onstage with them.
“Mom and Dad have a pool, which Dad loves. He’ll be tinkering with the bus and jump in the pool to cool off. Deer and turkeys are always around the house; he’ll feed them, and he likes to deer-watch. You’ll wonder where he is and then see him standing in the pool watching the deer or turkey walk by, and all you see is his head.
“When we were kids, Dad was just our dad and music was what he did for a living, no different from anyone else’s dad’s job. Ours plays music and sings. But he’s always loved it so much. He had music on all the time, the band guys were over to rehearse inside and outside the house. School nights, we’d go to sleep hearing the band play downstairs.”
Dierks Bentley, Country Artist and Friend
Photo by Chris Hollo, Courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry
“I moved to Nashville in 1994 to be a country singer and was really disillusioned with the scene at the time. It just did not feel authentic and I didn’t know how it would fit for me. I was having a hard time until I randomly went to the Station Inn on a Tuesday night. Walked in and saw these guys wearing loose, baggy clothes and playing bluegrass. I just fell in love with it on the spot. Jason Carter, who was the fiddler for Del McCoury Band, became one of my best friends and turned me on to a lot of bluegrass. It quickly became my favorite genre.
“That’s how I got to know Del’s band. I drove with Jason out to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 1997, which is where I finally met Del himself. Nicest guy ever, always with a big smile. Del just is who he is. Driving back cross-country in my truck afterward, we got pulled over by the Arkansas State Police, who claimed they smelled marijuana as we drove by at 75 miles per hour. They had the dogs out sniffing the tires, doing the big search. ‘Man,’ I said, ‘we’re just going back from the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.’ To them that meant we were a bunch of hippies. But they finally let us go and I got Jason back in time for the Tuesday night gig at the Station Inn.
“They say Nashville’s a 10-year town, and it took me almost that long to get a record deal. That was 2002. My first record, I brought the Del McCoury Band in to cut a song for it. Second record, too. I also suggested to Del that he cut Sinatra’s ‘Learnin’ the Blues’ and got a credit in the liner notes, which was about the biggest moment of my fledgling career up to that point. I have yet to get my own Del McCoury Band cut, but it’s on my wish list. Some songwriters want a George Strait cut, but I want the Del McCoury Band – and I’ve made enough money that it’s actually true! As you know, there’s no money in bluegrass. I’d like to do a Del & Dierks album at some point, too.
“I tell people all the time that Del McCoury really is responsible for the success I’ve had in country music. His work ethic is something everybody can learn from, and also the way he doesn’t compete with anybody else. That’s why he and the band are always laughing, having fun, in a good mood. The only person you’re competing with is yourself from the day before, trying to get better. In a town where everybody else talks shit all the time, they all enjoy what they’re doing because they’re not looking at what others are doing. Sure, Del looks back to Bill Monroe. But as far as contemporaries go, I’ve never seen a group of guys more present and having more fun. That’s an approach I’ve taken with country music, just trying to compete with myself. Whatever success I’ve had, it’s because of that.”
Artist:Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Living In a Song” Album:Living In a Song Release Date: February 10, 2023 Label: Compass Records
In Their Words: “This is a song that Trey started after a long weekend of touring. Our producer Brent Maher and I finished it with him, and I just love it. I like the way Trey sings the first verse. It kills me every time! I guess one of the things that’s different on this album is that I’m singing a lot more of the harmonies. I’ve always sung a little bit, but I’ve definitely dug into it more lately. I love the tenor harmony part, and I love the sound of duets, so it’s been fun to take over more of that role in our group.” — Rob Ickes
“This song just appeared one day when we had a particularly long leg of a tour, and we were having a particularly long drive through Ohio. I’ve always loved sad songs and traveling songs, so this one just felt natural. I wrote a big chunk of this song in just a few minutes in a hotel room on that previously mentioned trip and finished it up with Rob and Brent Maher. Like a lot of other songs, this one is partly fact and partly fiction…you can decide which is which.” — Trey Hensley
Artist:Williamson Branch Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Joy to the World” Album:Very Merry Christmas Label: Pinecastle Records
In Their Words: “Christmas time has always been the most joyful of celebrations for our family. We love the silliness of claymation cartoons, as well as the gifts under a festive Christmas tree. But ultimately, we celebrate the time when God came to dwell among us. Very Merry Christmas is our musical expression of the joy that we experience in every aspect of the holiday season. ‘Joy to the World’ the Lord is come! That’s a great reason for celebration. And what better way to celebrate than with banjos, fiddles and voices raised in praise?” — Kevin Williamson, Williamson Branch
For the past eight or so years I’ve been making this joke that we (the music industry) should “Give women Americana.” As in, if we gave the entire genre — and bluegrass and country and old-time and folk, for that matter — to women and femmes and non-men, I wouldn’t so much miss the men and the music would certainly be well cared for and well set up for the future.
My point, as I continue to make this joke year after year to many puzzled reactions, is that women and femme roots musicians have and will always be my favorite artists, creators, songwriters, and pickers. As I crafted my debut solo album, 1992 – often with incredibly talented women like producers and engineers (and pickers) Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, mastering engineer Anna Frick, photographer Laura E. Partain – the music that inspired, informed, and challenged me most through this release was all made by women. (Ask me sometime about my monthly Spotify playlist, Don’t Need No Man.) When BGS approached me to make a Mixtape to celebrate 1992, I knew I had to share some of the women who helped me realize, musically, artistically, socially, emotionally, that there could be a home for me in bluegrass, largely because they had created such a home exactly for me. Here are a few of my bluegrass, old-time, and country inspirations, all of whom have filtered into this album in one way or another. – Justin Hiltner
Ola Belle Reed – “High On the Mountain”
1992 was tracked in Ashe County, North Carolina, in a little town called Lansing nestled into the Blue Ridge Mountains, right where Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina meet. I love it out there on the mountain, in the wind, in the clouds, on the rocky little road cuts and switchbacks through the hills. Lansing also happens to be the hometown of a legendary Appalachian musician and bluegrass forebear, Ola Belle Reed. A banjo she once owned and had signed hung on the wall beside me while I tracked every song. I definitely see my album as stemming from the lineage of Ola Belle, humbly and gratefully. Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer – “Hold Each Other Up”
I’ve been so lucky to collaborate with folk icons, Grammy winners, and children’s music legends Cathy & Marcy in so many different contexts and scenarios, every single one delightful and fulfilling. They’re amazing mentors and encouragers and while we recorded 1992 we had to take the chance to channel their amazing attitudes and worldviews into a COVID-inspired (or -instigated) track, “Hold Each Other Up.” I love getting to pick and sing with these two, and their engineering, production, wisdom, and guidance all made this record possible.
Laurie Lewis – “I’m Gonna Be the Wind”
Long before I ever got the chance to tour and perform with Laurie Lewis she was a hero of mine, someone I looked up to and knew would be a bluegrass legend and stalwart who could or would accept me for who I am. Turns out, often in bluegrass, it is okay to meet your heroes, because when we met and I got to work for her, it turned out I was absolutely right. Her writing style, her artistic ethos, and the way she infuses pure bluegrass energy and her personality into everything she does reminds me I can be who I am, play the music I play, and write the way I write. This song picks me up whenever I’m down and gives me self-confidence and optimism when I need it most.
Alice Gerrard & Hazel Dickens – “Mama’s Gonna Stay”
I never had the honor of meeting Hazel before she passed in 2011, but Alice Gerrard and I have become friends over the past six years and honestly, if 17-year-old Justin knew he’d become friends with this Bluegrass Hall of Famer, he’d die. We happen to share a birthday, too. Alice is a gem, a trailblazer, an unassuming and unrelenting activist and organizer and community builder. She inspires me in all of the above, but especially in her willingness, across her entire career, to write music about things no one else was writing about. This song, which Laurie Lewis turned me onto (she performs it as well), is a perfect example.
Playing shows and recording totally solo is often terrifying. Especially as a bluegrass banjo player used to playing in five-piece lineups. It took many years and lots and lots of practice time and experimental shows to figure out how exactly I wanted to arrange songs, build shows, create and ride a storytelling arc during my shows, guide an audience, and do all of that confidently with just a voice and banjo. Artists and pickers like Elizabeth Cotten gave me frames of reference for what I was doing that felt solidly bluegrass, but still building a show and sound that feels fully realized and not lacking for being minimal.
Missy Raines – “Where You Found Me”
Missy Raines is another hero of mine that I feel so lucky to now call a friend. Despite coming from different generations and very different circumstances we have so much in common. It just sometimes astounds me that we can have seemingly endless conversations around if bluegrass (or country or roots music) are accepting and open; meanwhile one of the winningest pickers in the history of bluegrass and the IBMA – that is, Missy Raines – has always been both accepting and open. Who needs the sexist, homophobic, womanizing, problematic elements of bluegrass when you have absolute badass legends like Missy!? I once covered this song for a “Cover Your Friends” show and it continues to devastate me to this day.
Caroline Spence – “Scale These Walls”
When I first moved to town, Caroline Spence was one of maybe four or five people I knew in all of Nashville. We spent a lot of time together in those early years, back in 2011 and 2012, and pretty soon after that we wrote a song together, “Pieces.” We both loved it a lot, performed it here and there with different lineups and bands, but it never landed on a record ‘til now. “Scale These Walls,” from Caroline’s most recent album, is constantly stuck in my head. I love how it showcases her jaw-dropping skill for writing dead-on hooks that feel so organic and never corny. I love this song.
Molly Tuttle – “Crooked Tree”
Molly Tuttle and I wrote “Benson Street,” a track off my new album, together about five or six years ago. It’s a cute little number about longing told through the lens of an idyllic Southern summer. I love every chance I get to make music or write music with Molly. She’s a constant source of inspiration for me and proof positive that you can be a proverbial crooked tree in bluegrass and still carve a pathway to success. Plus, she’s another great example of a picker who can command an entire audience totally solo. Trying to steal tricks from Molly Tuttle? Couldn’t be me.
Rhiannon Giddens – “Following the North Star”
Rhiannon Giddens is the blueprint. When I think about my artistic future and the way I want to be able to glide between media, between contexts, between areas of expertise and subject matter, between pop and roots and so many other musical communities, I think of Rhiannon. The way she has built her career around her artistic and political perspective, so that no matter what she does it feels grounded in her personality and selfhood is exactly how I want to be as an artist and creator. Plus, I always want to be as big of a music nerd and as big of an old-time nerd as her.
Maya de Vitry – “How Bad I Wanna Live”
Maya is one of those writers and musicians who just makes me feel seen and heard and understood, and I know I’m only one in a huge host of people who would say the same. The vulnerability and transparency in her writing and the emotional and spiritual availability within it are astounding. Plus, she’s almost always, constantly challenging herself to consider the ways she creates and makes music outside of consumerism and art as a commodity. I moved to Nashville to be challenged, musically and artistically, by those around me and I feel so lucky to have Maya around me and a member of my community.
Courtney Hartman – “Moontalk”
Courtney Hartman’s “Moontalk” makes me feel like every single song I’ve ever written about the moon is good and right and allowable. (We both have quite a few songs about the moon, actually.) “Moontalk” feels like Mary Oliver incarnate in bluegrass-informed picking and singing. It feels meditative and contemplative, but not timid or insular – something I’m always trying to accomplish in solo contexts. I’m constantly inspired by Courtney and the way she centers community building in her music and life. She’s another one who, though she thrives performing and making music solo, you know that music came from a multitude of folks pouring through her.
Dale Ann Bradley – “He’s the Last Thing On My Mind”
I thank a few artists who have inspired and influenced me in a huge way in 1992’s liner notes and Dale Ann Bradley is one of them. I feel like I am constantly ripping off and (poorly) mimicking her vocal runs, phrasing, licks, and delivery. I think she might have the best bluegrass voice of all time, or at least it’s very very high up on the list. When I first moved to town I worked as an intern at Compass Records and just getting to be a small part of the team that worked a handful of her records meant so much to me.
Lee Ann Womack – “Last Call”
Lee Ann Womack is another who I thank in the album’s liner notes, another who I emulate vocally as much as I can get away with. I used to wear out this track and this album, Call Me Crazy, listening on repeat over and over. When I found out this song was co-written by an openly gay songwriter, it rocked my world. I already heard so much queerness in LAW’s catalog, and this confirmation came at a time when I needed to feel like I was given permission to exist in bluegrass, country, and Nashville. I know now that no one needs that permission, but it was critical then.
Linda Ronstadt – “Adios”
During the 1992 recording session I recorded a solo banjo rendition of this song, one I’ve been performing for years at shows. It means so much to me and Linda’s performance is stunning in its power and tenderness, a combination I’m often striving for. I hope to release it some time soon as a single, then again on a deluxe vinyl edition of 1992. It will not be the last time I pay tribute to Linda and her incredible career and catalog – plus, she is a huge bluegrass fan! It just makes sense to me.
Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt – “Wildflowers”
When I had the pleasure of being a guest on the hit podcast Dolly Parton’s America, I sang this song and “Silver Dagger” among a few other from Dolly’s catalog that I felt had queer under/overtones. The response to my on-air picking was enormous, and there were immediate demands to release my versions of the songs. Cathy, Marcy and I recorded “Wildflowers” together during the 1992 sessions and it’s one of my favorite tracks that resulted from that week on the mountain. It’s gotten quite a lot of play, which I’m so grateful for, and always gives me an opportunity to talk about Trio and Dolly and how the story in “Wildflowers” parallels many a queer journey. It’s the perfect track to round out this Mixtape and I thank you for reading and listening along.
With a welcoming smile and an incredibly expressive tenor voice, Del McCoury has enchanted audiences since the 1960s. He’s that rare entertainer who’s both confident and humble, giving him the ability to fit in anywhere from bluegrass festivals to Bonnaroo. Every time we’ve been able to spend time with Del over the years, it’s been a privilege. In a small gesture of gratitude, we celebrate his artistic endeavors this week in a series we’re calling Del in December.
In the days ahead, look for a decade-by-decade recap of McCoury’s exceptional life and career written by North Carolina journalist David Menconi. We’ll also share one of our favorite interviews with Del about his album, Almost Proud, which just received a Grammy nomination. In addition, there’s an exclusive holiday video coming up, as well as a testimonial from Del’s inner circle who tell us what he’s really like as a boss, a father, and a friend. (No surprise: He’s a great guy!)
We’ve been fortunate to share many of Del McCoury’s most recent collaborations on BGS, including his recordings with Vince Gill, Junior Sisk, and Billy Strings. We even got an invitation to his 80th birthday party at the Grand Ole Opry. Perhaps our favorite moment, though, is this special video from The Bluegrass Situation archives of McCoury teaming up with fellow bluegrass legend Sam Bush. Stick around ’til the end and check out Del’s banjo pickin’ skills, too!
Artist:Becky Buller Hometown: St. James, Minnesota; now Manchester, Tennessee Song: “Last Christmas” Album:The Perfect Gift Label: Dark Shadow Recordings
In Their Words: “Folks react strongly to this song. They either love, love, love it or they absolutely cannot bear to hear it; there is NO in-between. So … was including it on my first-ever Christmas record a risky move? Probably. Is kicking off the album with it complete insanity? Yup! But y’all know how crazy I am by now. It’s our daughter Romy’s fault I even considered trying ‘Last Christmas’ in the first place. She was having a Wham! moment during the 2021 holiday season. I guess I just heard the song so many times, my mind started studying on how I could bluegrass it up. What my guest dream team of that day (Barry Bales, Ron Block, Sierra Hull, Todd Livingston, Stephen Mougin, and Dan Tyminski) came up with is a little bit different from the original version … But I hope you’ll give our rendition of ‘Last Christmas’ a spin and have a Totally ‘80s Christmas party while you’re listening!” — Becky Buller
“Honestly, when Becky brought me this idea, I wasn’t too sure about it. It’s a little far out — on paper. As we all started to arrange it, experimenting with different ideas, the song really blossomed into a FUN bluegrassy track. The more they played it, the more it grew. The players all really brought their ‘A’ game and turned this tune into an energetic cut that puts a unique stamp on the song.” — Stephen Mougin, Producer
Artists:Dierks Bentley Featuring Billy Strings Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “High Note” Release Date: November 18, 2022 Label: Capitol Records Nashville
Editor’s Note: “High Note” will be on Bentley’s upcoming 10th album. The studio version of “High Note” ends with a super-jam featuring Jerry Douglas on Dobro, Sam Bush on mandolin, and Billy Strings and Bryan Sutton on guitar.
In Their Words: “Bryan Sutton first tipped me off to Billy Strings about seven years ago mentioning that the future of bluegrass was in good hands. I was totally blown away the first time I saw him. I’ve cut songs like these since my first record, and I knew I wanted to have him on this one, I’m such a huge fan. It was a lot of fun to have him, Jerry, Sam and Bryan all passing licks around — having them all on this record means a lot to me personally.” — Dierks Bentley
Celebrating a new record, Alpenglow, produced by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, the six-piece band has gone from storming shaggy local bars in Duluth to playing their famously fast roots-n-roll in the biggest venues and festivals in the world.
Twenty years in, Simonett is keeping it fresh by letting masters like Tweedy bring his punky minor chord sensibility to the band’s warm acoustic camaraderie (bassist Tim Saxhaug, banjo player Dave Carroll, mandolinist Erik Berry, fiddle player Ryan Young, and cellist Eamonn McLain round out the group) with standout songs like “Starting Over” not shying away from the expectations that come from recognition and giving your art to the world — with the brightness of the banjo always leading the way.
Editor’s note: Trampled by Turtles is the BGS Artist of the Month for November. Check out our Essential Trampled by Turtles playlist and keep an eye out for more exclusive interviews and content throughout the month.
Artist:Nick Dumas Hometown: Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Song: “We’d Go to Town” Album:Details Release Date: November 11, 2022 (Single) Label: Skyline Records
In Their Words: “There is something about this song — maybe it’s the energy, the dynamics, the vocals, or the nostalgia — that will change your mood and get you smiling. Every time I hear this song, it just makes my day a little bit brighter. This song reflects the perspective of an adult reminiscing on his youth working hard on his family’s farm, and the rewards that person earned for their hard work. I think this song is relatable because many of us have memories of times where we worked hard and struggled, but the rewards made it worth the fight. I had so much fun recording this tune. Although this is a pretty straightforward bluegrass song, the band dynamics add such a creative flavor and a powerful dynamic to the song. The vocals and instrumentation are about as good as it gets in the industry, and there’s no doubt this song will get your body moving.” — Nick Dumas
Photo Credi: Hana Dumas
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