16 Bluegrass Songs for Summer Vacation

It’s summer, our second in the “after times,” where road trips, national parks, and scenic byways are king. As you head off on your COVID-aware vacations this summer, don’t leave all the driving music to indie, easy listening, country & western, or rock ‘n’ roll. The chop of the mandolin, thump of the doghouse bass, and rapid-fire roll of the five-string banjo are just as suited to soundtrack your sunny forays. To prove that point, here are 16 bluegrass songs perfect for inclusion on your summer vacation playlists. (Listen to the full playlist on Spotify below.)

“Highway” – Claire Lynch

Bluegrass being an itinerant livelihood and a nomadic community, traveling songs are just as expected a feature as murder ballads, train tunes (a form of travel song unto themselves!), and moonshine running tales. This modern classic via Claire Lynch — written by Lynch and Irene Kelley — is a perfect example of the form, more ‘90s country offered by a string band than a traditional, four-on-the-F-style grassy track. It’s delightful — and perfectly winsome and longing when you find yourself listening while traveling down the highway.


“Handsome Molly” – Tim O’Brien

Our July 2021 Artist of the Month Tim O’Brien’s rendition of this bluegrass classic is a far cry from, say, a Flatt & Scruggs’ cut. O’Brien’s has a slight transatlantic bent — with a distinct island detour, perhaps through the sunny Caribbean. If you’ve found a craving to set your foot on a steamboat and sail the ocean ‘round deep inside your soul, this one’s for you.


“1952 Vincent Black Lightning” – Del McCoury Band

Another track with a transatlantic story, this ever-popular, most-requested number covered by the Del McCoury Band is a road trip staple — whether you get in or on your vehicle to hit the highway. It would be a sin to make a bluegrass summer vacation playlist and not include “1952 Vincent Black Lightning!”


“Val’s Cabin” – Laurie Lewis

A rare example of a bluegrass song actually about summer vacations, this Laurie Lewis original, “Val’s Cabin,” begins as a simple retelling of childhood memories — nostalgia being a common rhetorical device (and when attempted by many other writers, a well-worn trope) in bluegrass. But Lewis, a veteran through-hiker, wilderness excursioner, and backpacker as well as a Grammy-nominated bluegrass singer and songwriter, tinges the story with melancholy and the existential questions raised by the ever-worsening climate crisis. The song is as evocative as it is gorgeous; though the singer can’t find the way to “Val’s Cabin” any longer, every listener can.


“Paddy on the Turnpike” – Vassar Clements

If you ever happen to find yourself Crossing the Catskills on a summery jaunt, “Paddy on the Turnpike” must be in your listening rotation. Avoid the tolls, but still go for a ride on the turnpike with Vassar Clements’ wild, unpredictable, jaw-dropping, wonky fiddling. “Paddy” is a blank canvas for Clements and a study in bluegrass’ unending affinity for flat seven chords.


“Don’t Give Your Heart to a Rambler” – Tony Rice

A hit in nearly every jam circle that ever circled, “Don’t Give Your Heart to a Rambler” is almost as if “Gentle on My Mind” had been written by a much less kind or compassionate protagonist. Tony’s solo vocal stylings are as iconic as his six-string licks, nearly obliterating any memory of this song ever having been sung by anyone else. What’s more, the titular advice of the track still stands. Just don’t.


“Highway 40 Blues” – Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time

Because “Interstate 70 Blues” just doesn’t roll off the tongue. And that melodic hook should go down in history as one of the best country licks to ever lick! Cordle wrote one built for the long haul with “Highway 40 Blues.” It’ll keep you good company as you go wherever and back.


“Banjo Pickin’ Girl” – Annie Staninec

Is there any better reason to go around this world than being a banjo picker? There are never enough banjo pickin’ girls and this anthem, no matter how many times it’s picked up, studied, and retooled by another banjo pickin’ girl, always SLAPS. (Clawhammer pun intended.) Fiddler and multi-instrumentalist Annie Staninec, who’s traveled around the world making music quite a bit herself, gives an excellent old-time rendition of this favorite.


“A Crooked Road” – Darrell Scott

Darrell Scott turns a literary device pretty common in songwriting on its ear, with a tender eye for detail and emotion that he brings into all of his musicmaking. Life is, after all, about the journey — not the destination. Why not take the crooked, and thereby, the road less traveled? 

Plus, take this song as suggestion: The Crooked Road, Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, is well worth a visit. Put this song on and take the Crooked Road.


“Up and Down the Mountain” – David Parmley & Continental Divide

Work life doesn’t suit you? Does “paradise” mean a fiddle and the open road? If so, “Up and Down the Mountain” is for you and your road trip playlist. Especially if you’re planning on trekking through the Rockies, Sierras, Ozarks, Applachians, or what-have-you. Turn off cruise control, watch for the runaway truck ramps, and go up and down those mountains! David Parmley & Continental Divide know something about geography and topography, after all…


“Roving Gambler” – The Country Gentlemen


Not sure why you’d be headed to Las Vegas during one of the hottest summers on record, but if you’ve got your sights set on a casino — wherever it may be — crank up “Roving Gambler” and hope your 2 a.m. slot machine binge or your evening “re-learning” blackjack ends more amiably than with gunfire. Speaking of which, perhaps “Blackjack” deserves a slot on this playlist…


“Travelin’ Prayer” – Dolly Parton

The kick-off of one of Dolly Parton’s masterpieces, her 1999 bluegrass album The Grass Is Blue, “Travelin’ Prayer” was actually written by Billy Joel. Yes, that Billy Joel. The original, from 1973’s Piano Man, featured banjo playing by Eric Weissberg and Fred Heilbrun. So of course the tune stands up to the bluegrass treatment and then some, between Stuart Duncan’s haunting fiddle cadenza to begin the track, the rip roarin’ tempo and train whistle harmonies, and the lonesome feeling of being away from your baby while he travels the world. We’re gonna assume Dolly’s blessed pen and ink added the lyric: “And keep him away from planes / cause my baby hates to fly!”


“Road to Columbus” – Kenny Baker

Growing up this writer frequented a bluegrass jam in Granville, Ohio, about 25 miles east of the state’s capital, Columbus. Like clockwork, every week as the jam wound down around noon on Wednesdays, Troy Herdman — a local bluegrass community stalwart, Doc Watson-style flatpicker, and mentor of many who lived in or around Columbus — would call this tune. Everyone would chuckle, and we’d play “Road to Columbus” as everyone, but especially Troy, hit the road to Columbus. 

Herdman passed away last week at the age of 91. I certainly wouldn’t be the musician I was today if it wasn’t for Troy, and I know quite a few others who would say the same. So no matter where I travel, I always keep “Road to Columbus” nearby. Especially when I’m headed home to Ohio.

Many pickers speculate over whether Kenny Baker and Bill Monroe were referencing Columbus, Ohio, or Columbus, Indiana. But, according to Roland White — who introduces the song with an anecdote from his time on the road with Monroe — it’s about Ohio. For this Ohioan, that’s confirmation enough!


“That’s How I Got to Memphis” – Tom T. Hall

His own recording of one of his most popular hits may sound more like straight up and down country than ‘grass, but even the most casual fan of Tom T. Hall knows that this Bluegrass Hall of Famer is bluegrass to his core. If you’re headed down I-40 from Nashville — or, really, towards Memphis from any direction, no matter how direct or circuitous, this song is a must-add for your road trip playlist.


“Where Rainbows Never Die” – The SteelDrivers

This song is about a decidedly different kind of journey, not often referred to as a “vacation,” but even so it’s a poignant, encouraging, and downright delicious song to background any journey. If you’re road weary — or life weary — “Where Rainbows Never Die” is a certified pick-me-up that doesn’t shy away from reality, like the grit and coarseness in Chris Stapleton’s lead vocal wrapping you in its warmth. There’s a comfort in life not being sugar-coated — and in knowing somewhere, west of where the sun sets, rainbows never die.


“Home Sweet Home” – Flatt & Scruggs

Home never feels so sweet as when you’ve just returned after a long, restful, relaxing vacation. So we’ll close our summer vacation playlist with Flatt & Scruggs’ rendition of this tune pulled directly from the American songbook, “Home Sweet Home.” We hope a banjo roll always greets you at your door, and if not, this playlist will at least cover that for you. Wherever you roam, there’s no place like home! And no music like bluegrass.


Editor’s Note: Check out our follow up playlist, Take the Journey: 17 Songs for a Sunny and Warm Summer Vacation

LISTEN: Kashena Sampson, “Hello Darkness”

Artist: Kashena Sampson
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Song: “Hello Darkness”
Album: Time Machine
Release Date: September 10, 2021
Label: New Moon Records

In Their Words: “This is a cover song by the Dutch rock band, Shocking Blue. I asked my best friend if she could choose one song for me to cover which one would she choose, it was this. I love Shocking Blue and I think it’s a great song and I connect to the lyrics, especially with what I was going through at that time in my life. To me, this song carries the message of yearning for someone who you cannot be with. It goes along with what a lot of the songs on this record are about. My struggles with codependency, fantasizing in relationships and thinking someone outside of me was the answer to my problems. It is a very heavy feeling when you think that someone else can fix you and you find out that they are not the answer. A good portion of the songs on this record are about a relationship I had with someone I cared for very much, who had gotten into some trouble and was incarcerated. I went into rescue mode and believed I had to save them in order to be ok.” — Kashena Sampson


Photo credit: Laura Partain

MIXTAPE: Ben Reddell’s Stars of the Grand Ole Echo

Heya! I’m Ben Reddell, GM of Bedrock LA, and curator of the Grand Ole Echo. What a year, am I right? 2020 had the music world completely shut down, which saddened me to no end. Through the power of computers I was able to remotely finish my EP, LA Baby! And live music is possible soon? Don’t tempt me with a good time! With that being a possibility, this month has found me taking out the ole Rolodex and seeing what all my LA pals have been making in this trying time, this new normal, on this road to recovery. (Don’t hit me!)

If you’re new to Grand Ole Echo, it’s the swinging Los Angeles country and roots show here in beautiful Echo Park on Sunday afternoons. As you will see proven by this playlist, I curate the GOE with a very eclectic mix of roots music. We love our traditional country here in Echo Park, but we also like to let our freak flag fly with the hippie-dippie, pot-smoking types as well. Hopefully all of these folks will be playing live on my stages again, and when they do, I hope to cut a rug with you. Here’s a playlist of some of those folks. — Ben Reddell

Tony Hannah – “My Old Car”

Tony is kinda new to my attention. She was booked for 2020 GOE, but you know. Anyway she is super fun, and this track is pure LA bliss, Beach Boys, ’80s country punk. A little bit of everything.

Mara Connor – “Blues Runs the Game”

My pal Mara Connor made an awesome EP this year of some beautiful tunes. My favorite on this one is her cover of Jackson C. Franks’ “Blues Runs The Game.” The whole EP is like you’re floating on a cloud, it’s simply divine.

Sam Morrow – “Getting by on Getting Down”

I can’t wait to see all of these bands live again. But boy howdy am I ready to have my face melted with some loud, guitar-driven music. And boy does Sam Morrow deliver that here with this tune. The whole record really cooks.

Joe Bourdet – “Unwritten Story”

My pal Joe Bourdet really delivered a beautiful country-rocker opus with his EP Meadow Rock. This is the perfect summer song to sit on the porch and feel the wind caress your face. And that’s not hyperbole!

Sie Sie Benhoff – “Night Train”

My pal Sie Sie released this country cooker, “Night Train.” The song is so sweet and so tough at the same time — emblematic of what I love about Sie Sie. She the nicest gal you’re ever gonna meet, but she could also probably chew on nails.

Victoria Bailey – “Skid Row”

My buddy Victoria made an amazing record last year despite it all. The whole thing has awesome honky-tonk energy and she sings it with some great power. “Skid Row” is like an Asleep at the Wheel-style number that really makes you wanna dance.

Eric Roebuck – “Need a Change”

My buddy Eric put out the single “Need a Change” this year and it’s a mean, heady, ’70s rock jam. Really great guitar playing by Eric on this one. Eric’s previous band, Professor Colombo, was one of my favorites. But I just know this kid is on to something and I expect some sick stuff coming from him in the future.

Katie Jo – “I Don’t Know Where Your Heart’s Been”

My pal Katie Jo is a real sensation. She put out this single this year and I simply love the Patsy Cline vibes. Katie’s got an amazing voice and live she’s a showstopper.

Trevor Beld Jimenez – “Get Ready to Fly”

My pal Trevor put out his solo record, I Like It Here, last year and it’s simply divine. My favorite tune is “Get Ready to Fly.” It’s just so sweet and happy, much like Trevor.

Pacific Range – “Studio Walk”

My friends Pacific Range put out their amazing album High up the Mountain. These dudes were one of my favorite bands to book on the porch at GOE when they were first starting out. They just would electrify the air when they were out there.

Mail Order Cowgirls – “Brand New Start”

I’ve was made aware of this band through my co-worker Meg at Bedrock. I’ve seen them show up to the studio in western regalia a few times, but I’ve never met them. Anyway I think they are cool as shit. They had a self-titled EP come out this year which is great. Hoping to get them on a GOE soon.

Los Bolos – “Why Get Sober”

This year Los Bolos put out The Best of the Greatest Hits and it was really hard not to crack open an afternoon beer when I put it on for the first time. Sure I was in lockdown, but there was a real good party going on in my head.


Photo credit: Chris Phelps

LISTEN: Chris J Norwood, “Good Guy With a Gun”

Artist: Chris J Norwood
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Song: “Good Guy With a Gun”
Album: I Am Not Cool
Release Date: August 20, 2021
Label: State Fair Records

In Their Words: “I struggled with whether or not to include this song on the album. I’d already written several songs about my father’s suicide that appeared on my last album, so I worried that I was rehashing something lyrically that I’d already covered. But I realized that losing a parent at a young age is always going to be a part of me. It’s part of my story. It’s tangled all in my roots. And it’s good for me on a personal/spiritual/emotional level to keep talking about it, writing songs about it, and singing about it. Truth be told, we as a country need to talk more openly about suicide. Especially as it relates to the gun debate and gun culture. This song also happens to be one of my kids’ favorite songs off the new album. They love the music, and they’re too young to understand all the nuance in the lyrics. The only part they really like singing is, ‘Daddy was a good guy, and always did the best he could. He’d do anything to protect the ones he loved.’ And honestly, that’s how I chose to remember my father.” — Chris J Norwood


Photo credit: Alyssa Leigh Cates

WATCH: Ramblin’ Ricky Tate, “Drifting”

Artist: Ramblin’ Ricky Tate
Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama
Song: “Drifting”
Release Date: July 30, 2021

In Their Words: “Everyone has lost a love or felt homesick, I’d bet a lot of those people have reached for a whiskey glass a time or two as well. ‘Drifting’ is a tune I wrote about just that. This song is about having hope for better days to come when you feel down. Recorded and filmed field recording style on location in a 140-year-old building, this song has a natural reverb unlike anything you will hear in a studio. I put my heart into this song and I love how the video turned out and I’m honored to share it with y’all.” — Ramblin’ Ricky Tate


Photo credit: Jordan Hudecz

In This Unearthed 1968 Live Recording, Johnny Cash Sings “I’m Going to Memphis”

New music from Johnny Cash is coming in September from a surprising source. Members of the Owsley Stanley Foundation have partnered with Renew Records and BMG to release a never-before-heard capture of a Johnny Cash concert in 1968. The upcoming release, titled Bear’s Sonic Journals: Johnny Cash At the Carousel Ballroom April 24 1968, was captured by in-house sound engineer Owsley “Bear” Stanley only days prior to the release of Cash’s legendary live record At Folsom Prison. That means the new album will provide another window through which we’ll be able to hear Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, and the Tennessee Three (guitarist Luther Perkins, bassist Marshall Grant and drummer W.S. Holland) at their peak, performing songs that shaped an entire genre. John Carter Cash, the country stars’ son, describes it as “what I believe to be one of the most intimate and connected shows I have ever heard.”

Recorded in the heart of the counterculture movement of the ‘60s in San Francisco, the new collection is slated for a September 24 release on a CD/2 LP set. To promote the project (as if we needed anything more to be excited about), the Owsley Stanley Foundation and Renew/BMG have released “I’m Going to Memphis” from the concert, and it is absolutely brimming with Cash’s signature charisma and debonair delivery. So many of classic country’s textures line the recording: tick-tack electric guitar, train-beat shuffle, brash acoustic rhythm, and of course, rich, velvety vocals to round out the arrangement. It’s a snapshot of one of country music’s most fertile moments in history and we’ll be wearing this one out all summer in anticipation for the rest of the live album’s release.

Listen to the official audio and check out this feature from Rolling Stone about new music from Johnny Cash.


 

The BGS Radio Hour – Episode 213

Welcome to the BGS Radio Hour! Since 2017, this weekly radio show and podcast has been a recap of all the great music, new and old, featured on the digital pages of BGS. This week, we bring you new music off of the beautiful new album Quietly Blowing It from Hiss Golden Messenger, as well as new music from Chris Thile, Maya De Vitry, and many more! Remember to check back every week for a new episode of the BGS Radio Hour.

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Nefesh Mountain – “Somewhere On This Mountain”

BGS caught up with Nefesh Mountain on a recent 5+5, where the duo shared a mission statement for their career: “Invent, inspire, repeat!” They also told us about their favorite onstage moment and about the artists that have influenced them greatly.


Beta Radio – “I Need My Prayers”

Beta Radio’s new track, “I Need My Prayers,” was a surprise to Benjamin Mabry when he wrote it within 15 minutes. In speaking about the song’s meaning, he told BGS, “I was in a mental and spiritual place of needing something to hold onto, I felt like I had lost all my footing in the world and didn’t know where to turn. And a lot of personal things felt like they were falling apart. So… I guess I just needed my prayers.”

Maya De Vitry – “Working Man”

Maya De Vitry’s “Working Man” was inspired by the creation of railroads in the United States, and more specifically, how the men who physically laid down the tracks are often not the ones credited with building them. This led her to reflect upon the people in our society who are overworked, underpaid, and overlooked, which ultimately helped her write “Working Man.”

Rory Feek – “Time Won’t Tell”

In speaking with BGS recently about “Time Won’t Tell,” Rory Feek shared how he first heard this song, and how it has become even more special to him after his wife’s passing.

Wilson Banjo Co. – “When The Crow Comes Down”

Wilson Banjo Co. co-wrote “When The Crow Comes Down” with acclaimed Nashville songwriter Jordan Rainer. The song features a “spooky theme” and pure Appalachian tone, and has a wonderful music video to accompany it.

Chris Thile – “Ecclesiastes”

Chris Thile has long woven religious themes into his songwriting, but never so much as on his new album, Laysongs. When we asked him if he enjoyed talking about religion outside of his art, Thile stated that it’s always been an instinct of his to intertwine what he’s thinking about with religious imagery. “Ecclesiastes” expresses the depth of Bible verse Ecclesiastes 2:24 instrumentally, which Thile did purposefully. In his words: “What language is incapable of properly expressing, instrumental music steps up and says, ‘I got this.’”

Hiss Golden Messenger – “Glory Strums (Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner)”

“Glory Strums (Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner)” comes from Hiss Golden Messenger’s latest album, Quietly Blowing It. Recorded in the summer of 2020 in Durham, NC, Quietly Blowing It reflects a joyful spirit that combines N.C. warmth with an LA glow.

Phil Leadbetter – “I Will Always Love You”

When Phil Leadbetter first heard Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” live, he was blown away. Years later in 2010, he recorded the track with his Scheerhorn guitar, but it was ultimately lost after some time. However, when Leadbetter recently found the track, he knew it would work perfectly for his new collection of resophonic guitar songs, Masters of Slide: Spider Sessions. 

Mason Via – “Big City”

Mason Via’s “Big City” is what he calls, “a personal hillbilly mantra of sorts,” and it’s the first single off of the American Idol contestant’s debut album with Mountain Fever Records.

Johnny Flynn, Robert Macfarlane – “Ten Degrees of Strange”

This Duos of Summer feature, “Ten Degrees of Strange,” comes from Robert Macfarlane and Johnny Flynn’s recent collaboration, Lost in the Cedar Wood. A week into lockdown, Macfarlane, a Cambridge University academic and bestselling author, reached out to his good friend and musician, Johnny Flynn, asking if he would like to write a song together. In speaking about working with Macfarlane and writing during the midst of the pandemic, Flynn said: It started as just a song, and then it became a few songs… but it held me in place and kept me from completely spinning out.”

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers – “Living Left to Do”

In the words of Joe Mullins, “‘Living Left To Do’ is about enjoying our calling, celebrating God’s goodness, and the blessed assurance of life eternal. We’re ready to live, love, laugh, and have a lot more to do!'”

Lea Thomas – “Hummingbird”

Lea Thomas’ “Hummingbird” was inspired by a dream she had, in which she turned into a white wolf and ran across the countryside, taken aback by the beauty and interconnectedness of life.


Photos: (L to R) Chris Thile by Josh Goleman; Maya de Vitry by Kaitlyn Raitz; Hiss Golden Messenger by Chris Frisina

WATCH: Charlie Worsham, “Half Drunk”

Artist: Charlie Worsham
Hometown: Grenada, Mississippi
Song: “Half Drunk”
Album: Sugarcane EP
Release Date: July 16, 2021
Label: Warner Music Nashville

In Their Words: “‘Half Drunk’ tells the story of the first time I told my wife I loved her. I’d just been fired by my publisher and my manager had quit management that week, but I was singing that day in one of my favorite rooms in all the world, the Station Inn. Powered by Yazoo Pale Ale, applause, and a sense that this girl I was crazy about might just be more special and more permanent than the whole music industry thing, I turned to Kristen, said those three magic words, and she said ‘I love you too.’ I hope this song inspires a lot of drunken making out and maybe a few last-time-saying-I-love-you-for-the-first-time moments.” — Charlie Worsham


Photo credit: Jason Myers

WATCH: Caroline Jones & The Trenwiths, “If I Needed You”

Artist: Caroline Jones & The Trenwiths
Hometown: South Florida
Song: “If I Needed You” (from The Raglan Sessions)
Label: Independent / Mailboat Records

In Their Words: “I spent most of last year making my sophomore album in New Zealand. While there, I was fortunate enough to meet The Trenwiths, a Kiwi bluegrass band, who became great collaborators and even better friends. Before I returned to America this spring, we set up a bunch of hay bales and recording equipment on a friend’s farm in Raglan, New Zealand, to capture us jamming on some of our favorite country/bluegrass classics and a few originals. The Raglan Sessions is the result. I have always loved the song ‘If I Needed You.’ Emmylou Harris is one of my favorite country voices, so I gravitate towards her and Don Williams’ duet version. Keith Pereira, a NZ country singer-songwriter, is also featured in this particular performance.” — Caroline Jones


Photo credit: Laura Tait

LISTEN: The Flatlanders, “She Belongs to Me”

Artist: The Flatlanders
Hometown: Lubbock, Texas
Song: “She Belongs to Me” (Bob Dylan cover)
Album: Treasure of Love
Release Date: July 9, 2021
Label: Rack ‘Em Records / Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “I loved this song the first time I heard it and have never grown tired of it. Although it is written from the male perspective it touches upon the plight of a strong woman living in (what is still) a man’s world. Dylan was prescient in his understanding of so many of the dilemmas that have now become almost common knowledge. Butch, Joe, and I have shared an appreciation of Dylan’s artistry and wit from the beginning and after performing this for so many years I am happy to finally have a recorded version of it on a Flatlanders release.” — Jimmie Dale Gilmore

“From swapping songs sitting on some floor after midnight in Lubbock, Texas, to stage after stage from Italy to New Zealand, Jimmie’s voice and this song still echo the miles and smiles The Flatlanders have shared. This was always a great song to dream on.” — Butch Hancock


Pictured L-R: Butch Hancock, Joe Ely, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Photo credit: Paul Mobley