I Guess I’ll Go Get Stoned: 16 Roots Songs for 4/20

It’s a national holiday. Patron saint, Willie Nelson. And perhaps his heir would be Kacey Musgraves? Or Billy Strings. Or Margo Price. Or Snoop Dogg. We’ve got options. 

Bluegrass and country may be upheld as the pinnacles of wholesome, “American values” music, but in reality artists have been putting the GRASS into bluegrass since as long as that term has been in popular usage. (And damn, does it look good on a sweatshirt, too.)

We hope you ascend to new heights this 4/20, and while we’re at it we hope you enjoy these 16 high lonesome roots songs perfect for the occasion. 

Roland White – “Why You Been Gone So Long”

Roland White, his late brother Clarence, and the Kentucky Colonels are known for “Why You Been Gone So Long,” and in 2018 Roland re-recorded the number on his IBMA Award-nominated album, A Tribute to the Kentucky Colonels, with a star-studded cast of friends. 

Also known for his monthly shows at the World Famous Station Inn in Nashville (pre-COVID), every time Roland sings the line, “Nothing left to do, lord, so I guess I’ll go get stoned,” the crowd erupts with laughter. To this writer, though, that line feels less like a hilarious non-sequitur from a septuagenarian bluegrasser and more like sage wisdom. I guess I will go get stoned!


Selwyn Birchwood – “I Got Drunk, Laid & Stoned”

As modern bluesman Selwyn Birchwood put it in our premiere of this track, “This song proves that you can party to blues music.” That may seem like an obvious fact to a blues fan, but the uninitiated deserve to know the blues isn’t just about what you’ve lost, it’s about what you gain – through the music and otherwise. As Birchwood concludes, “‘I Got Drunk, Laid and Stoned’ is the epitome of what I feel is missing in a lot of blues music right now. You’ll find all of the rawness, edginess, and boundary pushing that I love…” That is the blues. 


Ashley Monroe – “Weed Instead of Roses”

No matter the occasion, when you’re reaching for flower… buds – reach for weed. Ashley Monroe makes a compelling case that men are certainly not the only ones in country who can live up to the outlaw moniker. Guthrie Trapp chicken pickin’ along is the cherry on top of this cannabis bop.


John Hartford – “Granny Wontcha Smoke Some Marijuana” 

For all those who’ve ever imagined hotboxing a steam-powered aereo plane, here’s a lazy, loping sing-along that kicks into barn-burning — or, grass burning? — country meets honky-tonk meets bluegrass. You’ll be calling it “mary-joo-wanna” now too. 


David Grisman & Tommy Emmanuel – “Cinderella’s Fella”

If you’re here, you must be celebrating 4/20, so you might know about Cinderella – a potent, hazy strain that Dawg attributes to his late friend Jerome Schwartz in Petaluma, California. If Cinderella were a princess instead of a strain of cannabis, Grisman would certainly arrive at her door with glass slipper in hand. Instead, we assume he fits her with a glass bowl instead? This performance by Grisman and Tommy Emmanuel is sweet, tender, and jaw-dropping. Classic “Dawg music.”


Courtney Marie Andrews – “Table For One”

Everyone self medicates, whether they’re aware of it or not, it’s just that touring musicians — by the very nature of their jobs — face their self medications, “crutches,” and vices everywhere they go. Courtney Marie Andrews, a lifelong Americana nomad, captures the depression and melancholy of touring perfectly in this haunting song, which reminds the listener that you don’t really want the life of the person on stage, no matter how glamorous it might seem. If the sometimes foggy dissociation of weed smoking were bottled and infused into a song, it would be this track.


New Lost City Ramblers – “Wildwood Weed”

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “What if Mother Maybelle smoked pot?” With this song — a Jim Stafford hit — The New Lost City Ramblers kinda did! 

New life side quest unlocked: smoke weed from a corncob pipe. 


Kacey Musgraves – “Follow Your Arrow”

It’s April 20th and your arrow is pointing directly at your bong. F*CK, water pipe. Follow that arrow, babies! Do you! Light up a joint. (Or don’t.) 

Nah, do. 


Charlie Worsham feat. Old Crow Medicine Show – “I Hope I’m Stoned (When Jesus Takes Me Home)”

We’ve loved Charlie Worsham and the bluegrass bona fides underpinning his brand of modern country for quite a while, but it’s extra perfect when he sits in and otherwise collaborates with the fellas in Old Crow Medicine Show. Heaven’s golden streets? Overrated. What about its fields of pot?! I mean… it will have amber waves of cannabis, will it not? It’s called “heaven.” 


Margo Price “WAP”

She’s partnered with Willie’s Reserve to release her own branded strain of weed, “All American Made,” and she’s infamous for smokin’ and tokin’. But in this Daily Show with Trevor Noah spot featuring comedian Dulce Sloan, Price is called upon to prove the point that if “WAP” were a country song, the universe would still be as upset at its radical centering of female pleasure and agency. (She’s right, of course.) Thank GOD for Sloan and Noah making this point, because it’s given us this country-rendition of Price singin’ “Need a hard hitter, a deep stroker/ a Henny drinker, need a weed smoker.” Perfection. 


Chris Stapleton – “Might As Well Get Stoned”

Look, you can’t mess with the hits. This list wouldn’t/shouldn’t exist without this song on it. Chris Stapleton, perhaps the biggest crossover artist — crossing over from bluegrass to mainstream, of course — in roots music since Alison Krauss proves his allegiance to whiskey and weed in this jam from his smash major label debut, Traveller

It’s like he took Roland’s advice! Might as well…


Peter Rowan – “Panama Red” 

Peter Rowan’s career has been well-peppered with southwestern and Latin folk-flavored bluegrass, but did you know he wrote “Panama Red”? This live recording is suitably trippy for 4/20, with a slight atonal warble as if the record were slightly warped on the turntable and the pickers holding on for dear life to Peter’s delightfully languid phrasing — that somehow drives as much as it lays down for a weed-induced siesta. Everybody’s acting lazy…


Billy Strings – “Dust In A Baggie”

He means kief, right? Right?? 


Guy Clark – “Worry B Gone” 

How every “worried man” in Americana, country, and the blues still has a job when “worry B gone” exists is perplexing, isn’t it? Granted he was not a medical professional, but Guy Clark’s endorsement surely must stand for something. Don’t give me no guff, give me a puff!


Willie Nelson – “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die”

Did you know that funerary and embalming processes are actually incredibly harmful to the environment and often non-sustainable? But this style of cremation must be ideal. Do it for the earth. Think green. HaHA!


John Prine – “Illegal Smile” 

Love that plant peeking from behind John Prine like a shoulder angel. Let’s all do Prine proud and don illegal smiles today, how about it? 

With that in mind, let’s not celebrate today without also striving towards decriminalization, decarceration, and the expungement of criminal records for anyone currently imprisoned on marijuana charges. Illegal smiles no more!


Pictured: Limited edition BGS herb grinder. Want one? Let us know in the comments and we might add them to the BGS Mercantile!

Harmonics with Beth Behrs: Margo Price

It’s Americana April here on Harmonics, and this week brings a conversation with one of host Beth Behr’s all-time favorite artists — Americana or otherwise — Nashville’s very own Margo Price.

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This past year may have temporarily pulled Price off the never-ending road of touring, but that doesn’t mean the pace has slowed down; being a mother is a never-ending rush of another kind. She and Beth talk about this time spent at home, from spending time with her children and attempting to instill in them a respect for the earth and for others, to navigating the complexities of a songwriting relationship with her husband, singer-songwriter Jeremy Ivey.

Price also shares her feelings on becoming the first female artist on the board of Farm Aid (a full-circle, bittersweet moment after her family lost their farm when she was young,) the advice she’s gleaned from the greats like Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris, working with longtime friend Sturgill Simpson as the producer on her latest album That’s How Rumors Get Started, and so much more.

Hear our first installment of Americana April with last week’s episode featuring Fiona Prine, and stay tuned next week for a conversation with singer-songwriter and poet Courtney Marie Andrews.


Listen and subscribe to Harmonics through all podcast platforms and follow Harmonics and Beth Behrs on Instagram for series updates!

This episode of Harmonics is brought to you by BLUblox: blue light blocking glasses, backed by science. Reclaim your energy and block out the unhealthy effects of blue light on your mental and physical health. Take 15% off your order with code “HARMONICS”

The BGS Radio Hour – Episode 205

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 from Sara Watkins featuring her old bandmates from Nickel Creek, newly released tracks from Shakey Graves’ archive, and so much more! Remember to check back every Tuesday for a new episode of the BGS Radio Hour.

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Sara Watkins (feat. Nickel Creek) – “Blue Shadows on the Trail”

Sara Watkins recently sat down with BGS to talk about the set of film classics that defined her childhood, and are featured on her new album. With songs like “Pure Imagination” and “Moon River,” this album isn’t just for kids, even if it was first imagined as a collection of lullabies. Instead, it’s a meditative look at these songs which have impacted more than just one generation. And who could forget this classic from the 1980s classic comedy Three Amigos?

The Ladles – “Pages”

Here’s a song about the experience of reading through an old journal and being confronted with your past self — not a particularly comfortable experience. However, for Katie Martucci of The Ladles, it’s a reminder that at any given moment, we only know what we know, and we’re all doing the best we can.

The Antlers – “Porchlight”

“Porchlight” is about a powerful partnership, “knowing somebody so well as to recognize when they’re lost, and helping them find their way back home.”

Andrew Adkins – “This Old Knife”

When asked to be a part of a tribute album to singer-songwriter John Lilly, Andrew Adkins knew exactly what song he wanted to sing: one that he’d had a remarkably personal connection to the first time he heard it.

Shakey Graves – “Roll the Bones”

It’s hard to believe that Shakey Graves’ debut album Roll the Bones came out 10 years ago. Since the album’s quiet 2011 release, he’s emerged from the shadows, releasing multiple albums and garnering a substantial following. In celebration of the decade since, Shakey brings us Roll the Bones 10, a deluxe edition which also features 15 unheard songs from the same era as the original album.

Bridget Rian – “Trailer Park Cemetery”

Inspired by a trailer park cemetery seen while driving through Florida, this song is more a commentary on life than it is death. Bridget Rian says she has a “fear of being forgotten, of not making a difference” with her life – and this song was a mode of expressing this fear.

Jason Davis (feat. Dan Tyminski) – “Modern Day Jezebel”

Dan Tyminski sings lead and plays guitar on this tasty modern bluegrass tune from Jason Davis.

Peggy Seeger – “Gotta Get Home By Midnight”

Folk legend Peggy Seeger is our Artist of the Month for April here at BGS, and we’re so grateful to have been able to speak with her on her new album First Farewell, her lifelong career in folk music, her hopes for social justice and peace, and much more.

Garrison, Gordy, Hargreaves, Walsh – “Sports”

Bluegrass instrumental supergroup Garrison, Gordy, Hargreaves, Walsh have set their fun, rollicking instrumental tune “Sports” to a zany, hand-drawn music video by banjoist Danny Barnes.

Donovan Woods – “Whatever Keeps You Going”

Canadian singer-songwriter Donovan Woods recently joined BGS for 5+5 on reading lots of fiction, a memorable London show, writing with Lori McKenna, and more.

The Sweet Lillies – “My Brother’s Hill”

Boulder’s The Sweet Lillies bring us their version of a tune originally released by The Stray Birds, a song they chose because they were deeply inspired by its stunning vocal harmonies, its beautiful and meaningful lyrics, and its old-timey structure.

Giri Peters – “Fallin'”

Those who frequent bluegrass festivals in the south may already be familiar with the young savant Giri Peters. Giri and his sister Uma quickly gained popularity in the last number of years for their impeccable musical skills, not to mention at such a young age. Giri, originally known as an up-and-coming mandolinist, has continued to grow as a songwriter and solo artist. His most recent single is a testament to his musical and artistic growth, and brings much promise of an exciting career ahead.

June Star – “I Don’t Wanna Know”

“Human beings are messy emotional creatures,” says June Star’s Andrew Grimm. “Sometimes when we struggle to communicate in relationships it’s because there’s the voice we speak with and that voice in our head. ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’ bounces between a professed love to another person and a confessed loneliness on the inside.”

Miles Gannett – “Thunder River, Tumbling Down”

Miles Gannett heard the melody and some lyrics of this song, including the lines “Thunder River, tumbling down; catch your babes before they drown” in a dream — and it kind of creeped him out. He sat with it for a couple of years before it all came together in this final semi-apocalyptic song.


Photos: (L to R) Shakey Graves by Magen Buse; Sara Watkins by Jacob Boll; Peggy Seeger by Vicki Sharp

LISTEN: Leftover Salmon, “Boogie Grass Band”

Artist: Leftover Salmon
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Song: “Boogie Grass Band”
Album: Brand New Good Old Days
Release Date: May 7, 2021
Label: Compass Records

In Their Words: “This old Conway Twitty song was recommended for the band by our friend Ronnie McCoury years ago. It speaks to where we sit on the musical spectrum. We love country, bluegrass and rock music and like to do them all at the same time! This song acknowledges that while taking it taking it in a uniquely Salmon direction.” — Vince Herman, Leftover Salmon


Photo credit: John-Ryan Lockman

WATCH: Annie Moses Band, “In My Grandpa’s Pulpit”

Artist: Annie Moses Band
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “In My Grandpa’s Pulpit”
Album: Tales From My Grandpa’s Pulpit
Release Date: April 16, 2021
Label: Gaither Music Group

In Their Words: “My grandpa was a larger-than-life man. His life was the backdrop for the project, Tales From My Grandpa’s Pulpit. D. Riley Donica was a crack shot, expert horseman, bush pilot, armchair historian, a deputy sheriff, and the preacher at the same mountain church for 50 years. He grew up in a place riddled with violence. He lived through the murder of his father and, many years later, his stepfather. In the prime of his life he was responsible for having a sheriff brought to the area to help with the issues of crime. The sheriff was murdered within a week, leaving behind a widow and three young children. There was an eye witness to the murder, but no one would testify out of fear. The killer was a known quantity and hired by a crime boss that ran all manner of illegal filth between four states — Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas. Their headquarters was a place called Dogpatch and it sat right where these four states met and only a couple of miles from my grandpa’s brand new church house.

“So Grandpa picked a fight with the bad guys by writing in his weekly newsletter and preaching against the silence and cowardice of the community that allowed a safe haven for these murderers. One week later the new church house was burned to the ground. The close of this story involves a few steely-eyed, Clint Eastwood-style confrontations, the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation and the murderer being convicted and put in prison, because my grandpa was courageous. Through the years he became known as a minister of the gospel who taught with his Bible on top of the pulpit and his gun on the shelf below. He frequently and famously said, ‘It ain’t right to do nothing when something ought to be done.’ The song ‘In My Grandpa’s Pulpit’ is a snapshot of his story.” — Annie Dupre


Photo credit: David Bean

LISTEN: June Star, “I Don’t Wanna Know”

Artist: June Star
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Song: “I Don’t Wanna Know”
Album: How We See It Now
Release Date: April 16, 2021
Label: WhistlePig Records

In Their Words: “Human beings are messy emotional creatures. Sometimes when we struggle to communicate in relationships it’s because there’s the voice we speak with and that voice in our head. ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’ bounces between a professed love to another person and a confessed loneliness on the inside.” — Andrew Grimm, June Star


Photo credit: Shane Gardner

WATCH: The Sweet Lillies, “My Brother’s Hill”

Artist: The Sweet Lillies
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Song: “My Brother’s Hill”
Album: Common Ground
Release Date: June 4, 2021
Label: Americana Vibes

In Their Words: “We selected ‘My Brother’s Hill’ because we were deeply inspired by the composition’s stunning vocal harmonies, beautiful and meaningful lyrics, and old-timey structure, especially the cross tuning of the violin. We felt with our instrumentation and devotion to harmony singing that it would be a fun challenge to recreate the song. We started performing the song in 2019. Our version was truly well-received, at which point we began to consider recording it. As luck would have it we ran into the song’s composer Oliver Bates Craven at Folk Alliance in 2020 and were able to ask his permission to record the song. Oliver was enthusiastic at the prospect of hearing his song recorded by us. This gave us the encouragement we needed to go ahead and show it to our producer Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth. Tim immediately and resoundingly said, ‘Yes, let’s do it!’ Having the approval from the songwriter and our producer, as well as the enthusiasm of the band, the decision was made to record ‘My Brother’s Hill.'” — Julie Gussaroff, The Sweet Lillies


Photo credit: Michael Weintrob

WATCH: Andrew Adkins, “This Old Knife”

Artist: Andrew Adkins
Hometown: Fayetteville, West Virginia
Song: “This Old Knife”
Album: April in Your Eyes – A Tribute to the Songs of John Lilly
Release Date: April 16, 2021
Label: Diamond Ranch Records

In Their Words: “I’ve always admired John Lilly as a person and as a songwriter. The first or second time I saw him perform, he played ‘This Old Knife’ and I was in love. I literally stuck my hand in my pocket and held the knife that my father gave to me. When asked to be a part of this album, I knew exactly what song I wanted to sing, because I’ve sang it so many times since I first heard it that night.” — Andrew Adkins


Photo credit: Tara Fowler

WATCH: Sonja Midtune, “Los Angeles”

Artist: Sonja Midtune
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Los Angeles”
Album: Dreams Melt Away (EP)
Release Date: April 2, 2021

In Their Words: “‘Los Angeles’ is a song with multiple meanings. What starts as a love song quickly turns into an analogy about the relationship; pretty on the surface, but messy underneath, just like Los Angeles. It asks the question, ‘Are WE Los Angeles?’ and ends with me accepting L.A. as my home, but wow, I am lost here. The music video was shot by my boyfriend at all of my favorite unique L.A. spots that I’ve discovered through the years. He loves the song. 🙂 We had a blast!” — Sonja Midtune


Photo credit: Michelle Lanning

The Show on the Road – Caroline Spence

This week on The Show On The Road, we feature a conversation with an admired and sharp-witted singer-songwriter in the fertile Nashville Americana scene, Caroline Spence.


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A sought-after lyricist who mines her own vulnerabilities and lovelorn past to tell delicately crafted story-songs, Caroline Spence’s voice seems to always hover angelically above the page, bringing to mind new-wave country pop heroine Alison Krauss or her vocal hero, Emmylou Harris.

Growing up in Charlottesville, VA daydreaming to Harris’ signature twangy honey-toned records like Wrecking Ball, Spence admittedly was a bit starstruck when the silver-maned lady herself came on board to sing harmonies on the title track of Spence’s newest LP, Mint Condition. It quickly became a critic’s darling and an Americana radio staple nationwide.

As a conversationalist, she usually leads with cheerful southern modesty, but beginning with her 2015 debut, Somehow, Spence wasn’t afraid to push at country music’s guy-centric boundaries. She brought aboard a talented group of genre-defining collaborators like blue-eyed soul hero Anderson East and pop-folk favorite Erin Rae to give the songs new heft. Her follow-up Spades And Roses brought more lush atmospherics to her yearning acoustic stories, elevating the clear-eyed feminine power behind emotive songs like “Heart Of Somebody.”

While Spence will tell you she is just furthering the empowered spirit of roots songwriter pioneers who came before her, during this time of high anxiety, her deeply felt love songs like “Sit Here and Love Me” and “Slow Dancer” seem especially fitting, touching on her bouts of depression and her inability to connect with the ones who are trying to help her through.

Sometimes sad songs truly do make people happy, and if you’re feeling a bit low, maybe pop on her newest single “The Choir,” about finding your people when you need them most.


Photo credit: Angelina Castillo