Tag: lindsay lou

Lindsay Lou, Shani Ghandi and Sierra Hull Empower Bluegrass Women

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When Lindsay Lou moved to Nashville in 2015, the singer-songwriter and instrumentalist unknowingly planted seeds that would bear fruit over a decade later. Upon learning that women wrote two of her favorite bluegrass songs—“I Only Exist,” made popular by Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, and “All I Ever Loved Was You” performed by Ricky Skaggs—she began compiling a list of other songs in the genre written by women.

Eventually, that list of songs began to look like an album. Energized by the prospect of impending motherhood, Lou sketched out what would become Bluegrass Women, a 10-song collection and accompanying documentary that came out in August. The LP faithfully but creatively celebrates these women-penned tunes, and is undoubtedly one of the year’s best releases in the genre.

Lou tapped a best of the best roster of women artists for the project, with contributions from Alison Brown, Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, Brittany Haas, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, Gena Britt and many others. To produce Bluegrass Women, she called upon celebrated producer/engineer/mixer Shani Gandhi, whose knack for stepping back and letting the magic happen made her essential to capturing the intimate camaraderie you hear on the recorded songs.

“All of us have had our own experience of being the only woman in the room, whether it be on a session or in a jam, or at a show,” Lou tells BGS. “So, when you get together and all of us have some shared experiences that are unique and special, but shared, it just creates this vibe that’s really, really cool.”

Below, BGS chats with Lou, Gandhi and Hull about Bluegrass Women.

BGS: This is such an ambitious project, both in its concept and just the sheer fact that you were able to pull together so many musicians to make it happen. How did the idea for the album initially come to you?

Lindsay Lou: Not long after I moved to Nashville in 2015, so a little over 10 years ago, my partner at the time and I were renting a room in our friend’s house. I was in the living room area with my computer set up, trying to get some work done, and I remember writing on a piece of paper, “‘I Only Exist,’ Jimmie Stanley” and “‘All I Ever Loved Was You,’ Dorothy Skaggs.” I remember writing those two things on a piece of paper.

I don’t know if it was in a jam or something but I had found out those two songs were written by them, and it just surprised me. It felt like a delight. It felt like a little unexpected bit of encouragement to hear that women’s voices had made it into these songs in ways that you didn’t even realize it. I thought there had to be so many more like this and I created the intention of keeping my ear to the ground.

Over the last 10 years the list got bigger. Then I got to the point last year where it had been brewing and brewing and brewing. Then all of the sudden with government websites being scrubbed of the word “women” and I’m six months pregnant doing this very womanly thing of creating new life, all of the elements came together where it felt like now is the time.

So, I started more seriously making the list. It felt like the perfect thing to do while I was preparing myself to have my world turned upside down, just to have this be the last thing I do before everything changes. So, I just sent a text message out to everybody, like, “Here’s what I’m doing. Do you want to be a part of it? When are you available?” Then I created this big, crazy Excel sheet with everybody’s availability, and was able to put together four bands. Pretty much everybody I reached out to was down.

Listening to the record, I could feel that sense of camaraderie that I would assume you felt working together. Shani and Sierra, I’d love to hear from each of you about what drew you to working on the album.

Shani Gandhi: I had so many thoughts, because my initial reaction was like, “Oh my God, Lindsay Lou,” and, “Oh, what a cool project!” She immediately listed off all the people she’d already asked, and I’m like, “I’m so in.” Then part of me—and I’m sure these girls can relate—we can also get a little prickly at things like, “Oh, let’s do this thing for the sake of being women.” Then I was like, “No, this doesn’t feel like that.” I’ve been a part of and said no to a couple of things that felt that way, and this just didn’t feel like that. It wasn’t scraping the bottom of the barrel for some women who do these things. It was literally the best of the best of the best, with these amazing songs that I only knew half of…

I was just immediately in, and I didn’t even ask her, “How are you doing this, and what are your plans for this?” I was like, “Oh yeah, I’m all around in.” I couldn’t believe she was able to not only get these incredible people, like pretty much everyone on her wish list minus maybe two people. Not only that, you were able to actually get them into the studio. So often with these records, you have to be like, “Okay, so-and-so’s in Maine, so-and-so’s here, so-and-so’s there. We’re gonna have to have to send it out.” You lose that magic of everyone being there, which is so essential to bluegrass, particularly. And it wasn’t like that. Everyone showed up. It was really amazing.

Sierra Hull: Lindsay and I just being friends, it really could have been any project and I would have said yes. I love Lindsay and I’m a fan. She came and sang on my record. So, that’s part of what’s fun about having talented friends. You can call upon each other. You can pull from people that you not only love their talent, but you love them as people, and you want to bring them in to spread their good vibes on your record. I was just honored to be thought of and included as part of it.

And a lot of these songs are songs I grew up with, like “I Only Exist” and “I’ve Endured” and “All I Ever Loved Was You.” I did grow up sitting in the jam circle, and nine times out of 10, I was the only female sitting in the jam circle with these guys singing and playing these songs. And I fell in love with those songs. But then to be able to celebrate the fact that they are written by women and get to be in a room with so many ladies that I love and have been friends with for a long time—we don’t always get the opportunity to work together like that, like Shani said, having everybody in the same space.

There are a lot of projects you get to be a part of, and you are kind of farming stuff out here and there because we’re all moving at 100 miles an hour, trying to meet somewhere in the middle and trying to make music and collaborate. The fact that we were able to come together and actually record this music as a group was super fun. And I’m just on a little bit of it, but the fact that you guys were able to do that with the whole thing, I imagine that was really special.

Lindsay, a moment ago you mentioned creating a spreadsheet to figure out how to get everyone in the room together. Once you cleared those logistical hurdles, what was your time in the studio together actually like?

LL: I decided to do it in four days, so I picked four days where I could create four bands with all of the people, and decided on two or sometimes three songs a day because that felt like a good pace. The reason that we love bluegrass, and I’m pretty sure everybody I know feels the same way, is that experience of playing it together in a room, hearing the harmonies form and change the air in the middle of a jam, and just breathing together.

It’s acoustic music, so it’s such a special thing that shines the brightest when it’s informal and in almost like a living room jam setting. I wanted it to feel like that, so I told everybody, “We’re gonna circle up. We’re gonna play these songs just like we’ve played them hundreds of times, and the arrangement, I’m sure, will present itself.” All of us are listening and just wanting to serve the song, and on the same page.

So many of us are leaders in our own world, and it just felt like a really nice fluid [process]. I’m kind of there holding the space and curating the thing, but then there’s space for people to be like, “Oh, I think this sounds like that goes there. This sounds like the thing that we do here.” So, everybody gets to lead in their own way or in the space that makes sense.

Shani, how does that compare to your experience being on the other side of the room?

SG: It was everything Lindsay said, then just to add on to it, we started every song with everyone on the floor—no microphones, just huddled around in a circle. Every single song started like that. What she was saying about everyone being their own artist, literally everyone you hire is also a solo artist in their own respect, so it really felt like a true collaboration. It wasn’t like Lindsay saying, “Now you do this. Now you do this.” It was people pitching in as if it was a band. It felt so organic like that.

Then we’d send people off to their little stations to do their thing. But we harnessed that magic and created what we needed to on the floor. Then it was just about, like, let’s make sure we don’t lose that magic when we get to the mics, which is where the true professional came in. That was really fun for me to watch.

Then, singing harmonies together, like in all my years, I’ve literally never recorded two harmonies at once. I’m like, “Let’s just do them one at a time.” And Lindsay was like, “No, we’re doing them at the same time.” And it was so fun. It was great. We ran out of rooms, so we had to put two twin fiddles in the same room. I was like, “This is gonna be horrible.” And it was great. It was amazing. Every part of it felt so organic and so raw and exactly what it needed to be right there in the moment.

Same question to you, Sierra. How did your time in the studio on this album compare to other experiences you’ve had?

SH: I was just a little sliver of the big project. It’s fun to hear them talk about it. When she was talking about people having their own bands or leading their own bands and then coming into this situation to become a band—I think there’s something about that when you’ve been the leader in a session before. Everybody has a little bit of experience that they’re bringing to the table.

Sometimes it’s the opposite of what you would think. There’s a tendency to almost step back and not have that [attitude of], “Well, I’ve got to take the reins.” Nobody’s trying to be the big dog in the room. Everybody’s just kind of going, “Cool, let’s hear each other. Let’s communicate well about what this needs to be.” Egos get checked at the door in a different kind of way when you’ve got people that have a lot of experience, if that makes sense.

And maybe being female does play into that a little bit, I don’t know. But there’s something really fun about that because it feels like you’re just there to make good music. Nobody’s trying to prove anything in some kind of crazy way. If I need to play three notes to make this song sound good, that’s what I’m going to do. If I need to contribute more here, I can. If I need to step back a little here, then I can do that. Everybody just has really good ears and can listen and respond in that way.

It was really fun just to be in the studio with that group of ladies. Having known Lindsay for so long and then also having worked with Shani so much on some of my own projects, when you have people like that, who you know are going to deliver something special, I think there is an ease about the room when people have trust with one another. I think you guys did a good job of kind of curating that.

SG: That was all Lindsay. To have that enormous list of players, and then to be like, “This person is going to go with this person, and they’re going to do these songs”—I just felt like you absolutely nailed that. That blew my mind, because everyone just worked together so well.

SH: That is bluegrass. When you’re pulling from your world, it’s like you’re just bringing in your friends, bringing in your community. So that inevitable, spider-web kind of thing that we were talking about earlier just naturally does its thing.

LL: Bluegrass, it’s like infinite possibilities within a box… There’s a thing that makes sense that we’re all listening for, and we can all hear it, you know? Sometimes you’ve got to try a couple things, but it’s like the music knows what it wants, and we’re just there.

SH: Especially these kinds of songs, too. It’s different if you come into a record and Lindsay’s like, “Hey, here’s 10 songs I wrote that are mine,” and the possibilities are endless. Not that you couldn’t make these songs with endless possibilities, either, but I never got the impression that that’s the point of this. It’s to honor these songs, to do them justice with this group of people, but not to, like, rewrite the script, because the songs are so strong on their own. Really, you just need to show up and play the part the song needs and what the particular group together is asking for. Like Lindsay just said, it’s like you almost immediately recognize what that needs to be, because these are songs we’ve all been listening to for our entire lives.

SG: And everyone knew when it was the take. Everyone knew when we needed to do three more takes, and everyone knew when we had done the take. It makes my job really easy because, especially with players like this, I pretty much put a microphone in front of them and back away slowly and they know exactly [what to do]. It’s a really fun experience.

It sounds like an experience where intuition—both shared and individual—was really allowed to be a guiding force, both for the players and for you, Shani, behind the board.

SH: Just to brag on Shani real quick, since she’s being so modest, but there’s something to be said about when you know you’ve got somebody on the other side of the microphone that’s making what you’re hearing sound really good, too. It takes the pressure away from worrying about that part. When you hear good and you feel good, you can play good. You can just relax and be at ease. Shani is so good at making these instruments sound the way we want them to sound.

LL: Yeah, Shani would show up with these epic lists of exactly what she needed—and everything that needs to get done… It’s really easy to take for granted how big of a thing that is that all of us can just walk into the room, play in a circle, and then sit down and record the song. She could get sounds really quick and fluidly and communicate with us really seamlessly. All of the things that she had to do in order to lay that groundwork, so that we could show up and just easily do what we do—so much thought and detail and preparation and time went into that.

SG: We’re all just bragging on each other but this is what we do. But not only did you curate the best of the best of the best, who just happened to be females, you also chose really good people. Everyone is just good humans all around. There were no bad vibes, and that’s probably my favorite part about this. … So much of playing music, especially in the studio, is the hang and the collaboration, especially when you’re on microphone and talkback. There’s a lot of patience that has to be there for everyone and for yourself, and for the technology, and it was a really dreamy situation because the vibes were just really good.

You’ve each repeatedly alluded to this egolessness that allowed the project to blossom in the way it did, and I’d assume that has at least some connection, conscious or otherwise, to the meaning of the project itself: celebrating women in the genre, celebrating pioneering artists who came before you, trying to continue to blaze the trail for those who come after you.

To close our conversation, I imagine each of you has experiences—perhaps some are good, likely some are not—with feeling like an outlier in a male-dominated genre, and I’m wondering how those perspectives showed up, or didn’t show up, in the room with you.

LL: I’ve been on my own journey of diving into the concept of femininity and being a woman in this world, on a sort of philosophical level outside of bluegrass and music and the work that I do. I’ve read a couple books that had a big impact on me and one was called The Confidence Code. It talked about how women, for example, won’t apply for a promotion unless they think that they’re 100 percent qualified. But a man will apply if he thinks that he’s at least 60 percent qualified. Women don’t score as high on an exam if they have to check something about their gender, that they are a female, before they take the test.

It’s like there’s this blanket thing on a societal level that we’ve internalized, I think, about feeling like we need to prove how great we are, that we’re perfect because we’re women. I think it’s a really internalized thing that I’ve experienced, and that it seems like a shared experience… Whenever I’ve been in a jam, I don’t feel like, “Oh, I can’t step in to sing a harmony because I’m a girl,” or, “I can’t do this.” I just want to be in there, and I want to feel the music, and I want to feel those harmonies ringing to each other.

So, I just step in there and I do it. Nobody has ever given me a look like, “Hey, you’re not supposed to be here,” because what I sang was in tune. Nobody’s gonna see Sierra come into a jam and play the way she plays, and be like, “Get out of here, little girl.” You know what I mean? It’s just good. You can tell that she not only loves the music but has spent so much time honing in on it and putting love into it as her craft.

SH: I don’t think any of us are trying to do anything just to be like, “Oh, let me be the woman that’s celebrated.” Everyone that’s on this record just loves the music, as Lindsay said, and wants to feel like we have a seat at the table. We’ve all worked really hard to put the time into the art and craft. And like Lindsay said, she steps into a jam, she’s going to sing in tune. She’s going to sound great. So people are going to want that. Like, why not?…

But when you can actually take a step and look at where we’re at right now, I mean, so much of the music that I personally have been inspired by over the last five or 10 years, a lot of it has been made by women. That’s exciting, because when I was growing up all of my mandolin heroes, especially, were men. They just were. Darn near every one of them I could point to. But I had people like Sam Bush, when I’m nine years old, taking time to jam with me. Chris Thile, when I’m like 10 years old, taking time. My heroes, despite the fact that I was a female, they knew I loved this music.

SG: I had the gift of being completely naive to all of this. I didn’t pick my career knowing that it was so male-dominated. I literally had no idea until the first day of college when I showed up and looked around the room and met my fellow classmates, and I was the only woman. I was the first woman to graduate from my degree. I didn’t know this going in, so I can’t even say I was like, “Oh, I’m gonna kick some doors down.” It kept being like that. I was like, “Oh, maybe Nashville will be different,” and it wasn’t.

What has been so special to me has been when I do work with the younger generation—I teach a little bit for NYU and I do as many panels as I can—these young women come up to me and say it’s important to see myself represented by you. I didn’t realize how important that was, having not had it myself but being too naive to have missed it, if that makes sense. Now it’s become really important and it’s something that I think about a lot. How can I do this better for the next generation? Because that’s usually all anyone needs.

Photo Credit: Sawyer Gieseke

Lindsay Lou’s Bluegrass Women Features These Twenty Talents

Posted on by Editor

Lindsay Lou’s Bluegrass Women arrived in August 2026 as a true gift to the genre.

Nascent for over a decade, this project took root back in 2015 when Lou started a list containing two titles — “I Only Exist” and “All I Ever Loved Was You.” Though primarily associated with the men who popularized them, both bluegrass standards were written or co-written by women. Thus marked the start of an impassioned cataloguing as Lou realized, “If these two songs have surfaced for me, then there have got to be so many more. I would keep this list somewhere I could see it in my office, wherever I lived,” she relayed recently in an interview with Live for Live Music.

Ten years later, ten traditional songs had made their way to the forefront of her list, all of which were written, co-written, or first performed by women. While forging her own career in this male-dominated sphere, she found encouragement in her continuous unearthing of women among the forebears.

Women have always been essential to the architecture of the bluegrass, however quieted their contributions may have been. With more women in the spotlight than ever before, Lindsay Lou felt inspired to weave a throughline between contemporary “bluegrass women” and their ancestors. In March 2025, she partnered with co-producer Shani Gandhi to round up an intergenerational cast of twenty women defining the genre today. A Tetris of tour schedules, this star-studded cast managed to complete the compilation in only four days of recording, with Lou masterminding ensembles and arrangements.

Together, this collection of women celebrates their musical predecessors, shedding new light upon many of the women woven throughout bluegrass history. Join us as we explore, in no particular order, the tremendous trove of talent responsible for the masterpiece that is Bluegrass Women.

Laurie Lewis

Truly a singular talent, Laurie Lewis remains an unwavering pillar of the bluegrass scene and beyond. A hero to every participant on Bluegrass Women, Lewis’s singing, songwriting, and fiddling continue to inspire across generations.

Among her inordinate accolades includes co-founding The Good Ol’ Persons in the ‘70s, one of the first prominent all-women bluegrass groups. Her musings traverse across genres, slinging folk, Americana, and country influences to boot. She is heralded in the music scene as an avid collaborator, producer, teacher, and mentor, in addition to actively tending to her own projects. Her most recent record, O California! arrived in January 2026, released by her band, Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands.

The inaugural notes of Bluegrass Women are played by Laurie Lewis and Tatiana Hargreaves in a glorious twin fiddle kick on the opening track “All I Ever Loved Was You” (though recorded and popularized Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley, its lyrics were penned by Skagg’s mother, Dorothy). Hargreaves has said of her fiddling counterpart, “I wouldn’t be playing the music I play if it weren’t for Laurie Lewis,” a sentiment that echoes the interconnectedness of musicianship at the project’s core.

Tatiana Hargreaves

Of her fiddling counterpart, Laurie Lewis boasts, “Tatiana Hargreaves is a versatile, powerful, and deep musician. Not just a damn good fiddler.” Having recorded her debut album at age 14 and winning first prize at the Clifftop Appalachian Fiddle Contest the same year, Tatiana Hargreaves has truly packed a punch in the decade and a half (and change) since. With a range of styles under her belt, Hargreaves’ fluency in both bluegrass and old-time grants her a dextrous dynamism. At present, she teaches improvisation and bluegrass fiddle at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and primarily records and performs in a duo with prolific banjo player Allison de Groot (also featured on Bluegrass Women), and with her four-piece old time band, Hard Drive.

On Bluegrass Women, Hargreaves lends her fearsome fiddling to three tracks — “All I Ever Loved Was You,” “Jubilee,” and “Won’t You Come and Sing for Me.”

Allison de Groot

A clawhammer banjo player from Winnipeg, Canada, Allison de Groot became familiar with the scene by way of The Duhks, a renowned Canadian folk-fusion band likewise out of Winnipeg. As she traced the lineage of the clawhammer banjo, she became enamored with its prominence in the American South and became a teacher and performer. Between lessons and many trips to the southeastern United States, a love affair with old-time took root. Her duo with Tatiana Hargreaves continues the centuries-long conversation between fiddle and banjo; their creative alchemy doulas the dialogue to new depths.

De Groot lends her banjo playing to the tracks “I’ve Endured” and “High on a Mountain” on Bluegrass Women.

Maddie Witler

While primarily known for her virtuosic mandolin playing, Maddie Witler began her musical journey at age 9 on the fiddle. If those skills weren’t enough, in the time since, Witler has made her acquaintance with most stringed instruments, adeptly fluent in each language. After growing up in the greater LA area and moving to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music, she became a founding member of the illustrious Lonely Heartstring Band. In 2019, Witler joined Della Mae, one of the most prominent all-women groups of the contemporary bluegrass landscape, parting ways with them in 2022. In 2021, Witler released her first solo album, Astronaut, debuting her skills as a songwriter, singer, and arranger.

On Bluegrass Women, Witler edifies the tracks “All I Ever Loved Was You,” “Jubilee,” and “Won’t You Come and Sing for Me” with her apt mandolin contributions.

Alison Brown

Alison Brown, too, is a widely influential instrumentalist whose work has permeated across generations. She reunited with her love of bluegrass banjo playing when, after receiving an MBA from UCLA, she quit her job on Wall Street to tour with Alison Krauss & Union Station. She also toured with Michelle Shocked before forming her own group in 1993, The Alison Brown Quartet. With 12 solo albums, a Grammy, and multiple Grammy nominations under her belt, Brown is largely regarded as one of the most accomplished banjo players of our time.

Of recording with Alison Brown and Laurie Lewis for Bluegrass Women, Lindsay Lou speaks to the experience’s profoundness in her four-part YouTube series documenting the album’s recording.

She reflects, “We’ve seen mentorship and cross-generational connection and collaboration happen on stage with men plenty, but you haven’t seen it as much with women historically. To be a part of a session with Laurie and Alison, who have been doing this for so many more years than anybody else on the session, you instantly have this reverence.”

Alison Brown lends her banjo playing to the tracks “All I Ever Loved Was You,” “Jubilee,” and “Won’t You Come and Sing for Me.”

Hasee Ciaccio

Hasee Ciaccio is a musician and educator residing in North Carolina. Her upright bass playing has earned high praise in the bluegrass circuit, with Ciaccio having recorded and toured among the likes of Laurie Lewis, Alice Gerrard, and bluegrass powerhouse group Sister Sadie. Ciaccio is also on the board of Bluegrass Pride, an organization working to uplift LGBTQ+ bluegrass musicians of all levels.

Ciaccio’s bass playing lays the foundation for much of Bluegrass Women. She’s featured on seven of the ten tracks — “All I Ever Loved Was You,” “Like a River,” “I Only Exist,” “Jubilee,” ”Won’t You Come and Sing for Me,” “Freight Train,” “Your Lone Journey,” and “CC Rider.”

Courtney Hartman

A champion flat-picker, Courtney Hartman grew up in Colorado with nine siblings, four of whom she played music with. Because they needed one to play guitar, and inspired by her mother taking lessons, Hartman gravitated to the instrument following stints with piano, fiddle, and violin.

After attending Berklee College of Music, Hartman spent seven years recording and touring with Della Mae. Her newest solo album, With You, began during an isolated, heavy moment. Shortly after discovering that she was pregnant, a string of tumultuous events (her husband falling off a ladder and rendered immobile for months, a totaled car, being dropped from her booking agency) ravaged her life in quick succession. Following the birth of her daughter, Hartman forged her own list of women to draw inspiration from — ones who had continued their creative practice in the midst of becoming mothers. Their navigation of caregiving and musicianship imbued faith that she, too, could straddle both. With You features many of the mothers that inspired Hartman, both as co-writers and musical guests.

In a full-circle moment, Hartman joined Lindsay Lou’s project, the entirety of which was recorded while Lou was pregnant with her first child. Hartman is credited on the tracks “I Only Exist,” “Like a River,” and “Freight Train.”

Gena Britt

Gena Britt, a connoisseur of both bluegrass banjo and bass, is no stranger to a project like Bluegrass Women. In 2001, Britt co-founded Daughters of Bluegrass, a collective of over 40 women in bluegrass who have recorded four albums to date. In addition to being a highly sought-after studio vocalist and instrumentalist, with solo projects also under her belt, Gena is currently a member of the dynamic Sister Sadie.

Gena is featured on six tracks on Bluegrass Women — “Your Lone Journey,” “Freight Train,” “Like a River,” “High on a Mountain,” “I Only Exist,” and “CC Rider.”

AJ Lee

A prominent presence in today’s bluegrass scene, AJ Lee is lauded for her acute mandolin skills, unparalleled vocals, and sharp songwriting. Hailing from the Bay Area, at age 7 she was asked to join The Tuttles, a family band consisting of bluegrass educator Jack Tuttle and his two children, (you guessed it) Molly and Sully. Around the time she graduated high school in 2015, AJ sewed the seeds culminating in her own band, AJ Lee and Blue Summit. The group just released their fourth full-length album, Cover to Cover, earlier this month.

On Bluegrass Women, AJ’s artistry can be found on the tracks “Freight Train,” “Like a River,” and “I Only Exist.”

Wila Frank

Wila Frank is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer based out of Nashville. One half of the emergent folk duo Paper Wings, and fiddler/electric guitarist for Lindsay Lou, Frank also champions her own stirring solo repertoire. Her debut album, Black Cloud (2023), received critical acclaim, and a 2026 single release, “Emergency Contact,” hints towards more in the works (we hope!).

Frank appears on half of Bluegrass Woman, credited on the tracks “Like a River,” “High on a Mountain,” “I Only Exist,” “CC Rider,” and “Your Lone Journey.”

Brittany Haas

Widely regarded as one of the most prolific fiddlers of her generation, Brittany Haas is an absolute flurry of talent. Her playing is sensitive, inspired, and expansive. Her current projects include her duo with her cellist sister (Natalie Haas), the innovative instrumental project, Hawktail, and as the newest member of the Grammy-winning Punch Brothers. A teacher and performer, Haas’s playing is infectiously inspiring to all who listen.

Haas joins Bluegrass Women on the tracks “High on a Mountain” and “I’ve Endured.”

Sally Van Meter

Another former member of the Good Ol’ Persons alongside Laurie Lewis, Sally Van Meter is a musical giant in her own right. Though primarily recognized for her dobro playing, Van Meter is dextrous on an assortment of string instruments. With a professional music career that began in 1976, Sally Van Meter’s past five decades have been an impressive spread of performance, teaching, touring, and recording.

Van Meter plays on “CC Rider,” a traditional 12-bar blues song first written and recorded by Ma Rainey, the “Mother of Blues.” The song was later covered by a vast assortment of artists, at one point becoming a mainstay opening number for Elvis Presely.

Sierra Hull

Legendary mandolinist, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Sierra Hull could fill a dictionary with the accomplishments of her career, despite being just 34 years old. A six-time Grammy nominee and the first woman to receive the IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year honor (having now won seven times), Sierra Hull is a groundbreaking artist in the bluegrass scene. She released her fifth studio album, A Tip Toe High Wire, last year.

Hull’s talent enriches two tracks on Bluegrass Women — “High on a Mountain” and “I’ve Endured.” Of the songs, Sierra remarks, “These are songs that seep into your DNA. When you can step out of your own original lane for a minute and go back to what feels like the source, there’s something really powerful about that. It takes me back to who I am in a really grounding kind of way.”

Bronwyn

As anyone who’s heard a Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway record knows, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes is an astonishing fiddler, with brilliance and fire emanating through her every performance. Recently, though, she’s exposed even more of her talents to the world — she’s begun a solo project as simply Bronwyn, playing, singing, recording, and touring original material. Her third album, Rattlin’ Bones, was released on the same day as Bluegrass Women.

The amicable dissolution of Golden Highway allowed for Bronwyn to open up the floodgates of self-discovery; in fact, she cites bandmates Molly Tuttle and Shelby Means as chief proponents of Bronwyn exploring her voice. She says, “There was a large part of my life where I didn’t sing and was only interested in playing the fiddle, but being on tour with Golden Highway and around Molly and Shelby, these great female bluegrass vocalists, it shifted everything.”

Bronwyn’s fiddling appears on the tracks “Freight Train,” “Like a River” and “I Only Exist” on Bluegrass Women.

Molly Tuttle

Molly Tuttle herself, too, joins the record — yet another nod to the interweavings present among this group of women. Tuttle’s reputation precedes her, as the first woman to win IBMA’s Guitar Player of the Year (an award she earned two years in a row). Likewise, her albums Crooked Tree (2022) and City of Gold (2023) with her band, Golden Highway, each took home the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album. For her new solo album, So Long Little Miss Sunshine (2025), Tuttle shifts into new stretches and shapes, tackling elements of pop, rock, flat-picking, and country in one fell swoop.

Tuttle joins for the song “Freight Train,” penned by the superlative Elizabeth Cotten, a self-taught, left-handed guitarist who wrote the song around the age of 11 in the early 20th century.

Emma Rose

Yet another multi-hyphenate talent, Emma Rose is a groundbreaking singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and sought-after upright bass player. She was a founding member of the juggernaut all-women outfit, Big Richard, and she currently tours with Lindsay Lou, while also nurturing a solo project, under the names Emma Rose or Sounds of Honey.

Emma Rose lends bass playing to Bluegrass Women on “I Only Exist,” “High on a Mountain” and “I’ve Endured.”

Sarah Jarosz

Sarah Jarosz’s sublime vocals, instrumental prowess, and narrative-driven songwriting render her an unsurpassed talent. With seven full-length solo albums to her name, three albums with supergroup I’m With Her (alongside Aoife O’Donovan and Sara Watkins), and a sprawling inventory of collaborations, Jarosz’s contributions to the roots scene have been nothing short of magnificent.

Jarosz is featured on the track “I’ve Endured,” written by the brilliant Appalachian singer, songwriter, and banjo player Ola Belle Read.

Phoebe Hunt

A fiddler of dynamic abundance, Phoebe Hunt has explored for decades the multiplicity of sound her instrument can produce. She’s spent years touring for various projects and for her own solo work, all the while founding a non-profit called Fuel Our Fire, garnering transformational songwriting experiences for at-risk communities. She’s also a gifted educator, and she began an initiative to help parents teach their children how to play the ukulele during the pandemic. Her most recent album, Nothing Else Matters (2023) features only the voice and fiddle, a peeled back honoring of her musicality in its most vulnerable form.

Hunt joins on Bluegrass Women for an awe-inspiring rendition of Hazel Dickens’s “Won’t You Come and Sing For Me.”

Jenni Lyn Gardner

Jenni Lyn Gardner is a robust singer, songwriter, producer, and mandolinist. She rose to prominence in the bluegrass scene when she joined Della Mae in 2010, and remained in the band for nearly a decade-long stretch. She’s also fronted her own solo project, and has served as a producer on countless albums and tracks across the roots music landscape.

Jenni Lyn Gardner joins Bluegrass Women for two tracks — “CC Rider” and “Your Lone Journey,” a song co-written by Doc Watson and his wife, Rosa Lee.

Aoife O’Donovan

One of the most treasured voices in bluegrass, Aoife O’Donovan is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and guitar player. She’s widely known for her lead vocals as a founding member of the unparalleled Crooked Still (which fellow Bluegrass Women musician Brittany Haas later joined) and for her role as one-third of I’m With Her. O’Donovan has a penchant for evocative lyrics, textured storytelling, and hypnotic vocals. In addition to her many collaborations and features, O’Donovan has released four critically acclaimed albums of solo work.

On Bluegrass Women, Aoife is featured on the track “Your Lone Journey.”

Find out more about Lindsay Lou’s project with an episode of her mini-doc on BGS.

Lead image: Tatiana Hargreaves, Laurie Lewis, and Lindsay Lou by Sawyer Gieseke

Lindsay Lou Brings Bluegrass Women Together in Mini-Doc Series

Posted on by Editor

Lindsay Lou captures an incredible moment of creativity with her new album, Bluegrass Women. Recording it when she was about six months pregnant, she co-produced the special project with Shani Ghandi, who was also expecting. BGS is delighted to share the third episode of a mini-doc series that provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of making the album, as well as the friendships that forged this momentous collection of songs.

The bluegrass women interviewed in the video below include Courtney Hartman, Brittany Haas, Tatiana Hargreaves and Allison de Groot, while many other women in the bluegrass community are seen lending their support as studio musicians. (Watch Episode One and Episode Two.)

Reflecting on the similarities between songwriting and motherhood, Lindsay Lou tells BGS, “At some point when I was in the middle of making/releasing the Queen of Time album, I did a reiki session that someone had gotten me as a gift, and was surprised when the woman doing the work on me asked if I was pregnant. I said, ‘No, but I’m making a record, which is kinda the same thing.’ She told me she asked because my sacral chakra was really amped, which is the region that represents creativity/creation.”

She continues, “I had always talked about songs that I’ve written being like children, who come through you and not from you and that take on a character based on who you let them hang around as they grow into themselves, but I’d never made the connection in quite that way before—between creating new life and creating art and music. It makes sense though, and it’s cool to hear myself talk about it here while I’m in the middle of doing it all. In spite of all the physical challenges, being pregnant really was such vibrant and beautiful time for me. There’s so much excitement looking forward to a dream you can’t quite see all the details of quite yet.

“There was a time when a woman was supposed to shut herself away for all this child bearing and rearing,” she adds. “So much has changed and it’s not taboo to have a full, well-rounded life that includes being a mother and working. Even medically speaking, continuing to be as physically active as you were before pregnancy has been shown to actually be a positive thing. It’s not just all— ‘Go away, rest, and don’t bother us, and you can’t do anything else now that you’re a mother. Leave that to the men. A woman’s place is in the home.’

“It’s meant a great deal to me to see other women touring, still having their careers, and not being secretive about having babies at the same time,” she concludes. “If even one person sees this and feels the same way, I’d consider it a win.”

Photo Credit: Sawyer Gieseke

The Other 22 Hours: Lindsay Lou

Posted on by Editor

What does it mean to witness ourselves transform? Singer-songwriter and bluegrass powerhouse Lindsay Lou, a frequent collaborator with artists like Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, and Sierra Hull, as well as a member of the Sweet Water Warblers and a festival staple in her own right, joins us to explore the tender, high-stakes choreography of modern artist-parenthood.

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Celebrating her landmark all-women project, Bluegrass Women, Lindsay reflects on giving historical weight to the women who shaped roots music. She also gives unvarnished clarity about postpartum identity, surviving festival chaos with a 15-month-old strapped to her chest on stage, and the quiet revelation that comes when we stop trying to compartmentalize who we are. This episode is a deep dive into creative endurance, presence, and why artists pursuing their craft is a gift to their family rather than a subtraction.

Go Deeper:

In This Episode:

– Lindsay Lou
– The Sweet Water Warblers
– Rolling Stone Stateside Festival
– Grand Targhee (Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival)
– Sam Grisman
– Ep 145 Derek Trucks
– Ep 12 Leyla McCalla
– Ep 39 Joe Henry
– Meshell Ndegeocello
– The Stanley Brothers
– Keith Whitley
– Ricky Skaggs
– Ola Belle Reed
– Tim O’Brien
– Ep 147 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
– Bluegrass Album Band
– David Grisman
– Scott Vestal
– Shani Gandhi
– Ep 11 Lucius
– Rachael Price
– Fran’s Eastside Tavern (Fran’s)
– Rachel Baiman
– Ep 85 Caroline Spence

Watch: View this entire conversation above or on YouTube.
Explore: Find similar conversations in these themed playlists.
Connect: Join the conversation on Instagram.

The Other 22 Hours is hosted by Aaron Shafer-Haiss (producer, mixer, musician) and Michaela Anne (songwriter, artist, creative coach). More about Aaron’s work. More about Michaela Anne’s work.

Produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Original music written, performed and produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss.

Photo Credit: Sawyer Gieseke

Earl Scruggs Music Festival Honors a Bluegrass Banjo Hero

Posted on by Editor

The sheer beauty and alluring magic of the Earl Scruggs Music Festival is akin to the film Field of Dreams. That adage of, “If you build it, they will come.”

Why else would one of the premier bluegrass gatherings be held at an equestrian center in the middle of nowhere, just off a rural highway, surrounded by vast farm fields in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, and work to absolute perfection year after year?

Well, it does. And for its fifth anniversary, the festival, held at Tryon International, once again invited a slew of the marquee names when it comes to the “high, lonesome sound” and those arena acts orbiting the genre itself: The Avett Brothers, Greensky Bluegrass, The Del McCoury Band, Béla Fleck, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Alison Brown, Mountain Grass Unit, Lindsay Lou, Della Mae, East Nash Grass, The Earls of Leicester, and more.

“He was my gateway. If it weren’t for Earl, I wouldn’t be me,” says Brown, a world-renowned banjoist and co-founder of Compass Records. “Earl was a traditionalist, in the sense that he created this style that we all play, which we consider to be the cornerstone of bluegrass. But, he was an adventurer. He was not afraid to take the banjo to places it hadn’t been before.”

Born just down the road from the festival grounds in Cleveland County in 1924, Scruggs revolutionized the banjo when he perfected a three-finger approach to the instrument. With clawhammer banjo using down-picking (using the thumb and middle or index finger), “Scruggs Style” utilized the thumb, middle and index, resulting in a rapid picking tempo known as “rolls.”

“When I was first starting to learn [banjo], I was playing out of the Earl Scruggs book,” says Michael Bont, banjoist for Greensky Bluegrass. “And I’ll never forget, there was this morning where I had been practicing the rolls and trying to play the songs, and it was ‘Little Cabin Home on the Hill.’ That’s the song [where I went], ‘Oh my god, I’m doing it.’ It never ceases to amaze me [how Earl developed] this new style of playing an instrument.”

At age 21, Scruggs joined Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys. On Dec. 8, 1945, Scruggs found himself on the Grand Ole Opry at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium when Monroe debuted his new sound to numerous standing ovations. Although Monroe had built this “muscle car” of a band that would showcase a whole new genre of music, it was Scruggs who was the gasoline that put Monroe’s vision into motion. Not long after, Scruggs would form the wildly popular Flatt & Scruggs with his Blue Grass Boys bandmate, guitarist Lester Flatt; when that duo broke up, he created the groundbreaking Earl Scruggs Revue with his sons Randy and Gary. A third son, Steve, later joined the group, too. In 2012, Earl Scruggs passed away at age 88.

Behind the festival is a partnership between the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby (in Cleveland County), Isothermal Community College and WNCW 88.7 FM (both located in nearby Spindale). Coming together to share the story of Scruggs and expand his legacy in the 21st century, the trio built this annual gathering from the ground up, where it’s now become a bona fide bastion of bluegrass music and camaraderie.

“When you go into the first [festival], you never know if it’s going to be successful, and you always hope the next year is bigger,” says Mary Beth Martin, executive director of the Earl Scruggs Center. “But, then to be crossing this milestone of year five is pretty amazing — people are marking it on their calendar every year.”

Since its inception, the festival has showcased some of the biggest names in bluegrass and beyond: Alison Krauss & Union Station, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Tanya Tucker, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Wood Brothers, Peter Rowan, Old Crow Medicine Show, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, etc.

“Honestly, just the love that people have for the music and for the acts we’re bringing in is really touching and inspiring,” Martin says. “Because, at the same time, they also have that same love for Earl, and we’re continuing to put his legacy front and center.”

Friday afternoon. Heading backstage, I approach the green room trailer for The Earls of Leicester, a Grammy Award-winning bluegrass group that exclusively performs songs from the Flatt & Scruggs repertoire. Knocking on the door, dobro legend Jerry Douglas answers. As someone who personally knew Scruggs and spent decades getting to interact with the man himself, onstage and off, Douglas can’t help but be proud of what the festival is cultivating from both sides of the microphone.

“Every little niche of [Earl’s] musical life is being explored here,” Douglas says. “And, like Earl, the festival is doing [what he did] — staying open-minded and taking the music forward. There’s room for everybody, and we’re just pushing the envelope a little bit more.”

For Douglas, he remains in awe of Scruggs and the music he created.

“Every time I go away from it and come back to it and listen to it again, I’m amazed all over again that it even happened the first time,” Douglas notes. “And how a guy like him played this kind of music, and was able to push a whole band, a whole idiom that far.”

Before I exit the trailer, Douglas pulls an antique red bow tie out of his travel bag. Placing it on the table, he looks at it, then looks at me. “That was Cedric’s,” Douglas says.

“Cedric Rainwater?” I reply in amazement.

“Yep,” Douglas grins. “I’m letting our bass player wear it tonight.”

That evening, EOL bassist Daniel Kimbro is sporting the bow tie, this incredibly powerful symbol of Howard “Cedric Rainwater” Watts, a first-generation name etched into the bedrock of bluegrass, a musician who played bass in Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, the “Original Bluegrass Band” when Monroe debuted his new sound alongside Scruggs in the mid-1940s. Watts would later become a member of Flatt & Scruggs’ Foggy Mountain Boys and Hank Williams’ Drifting Cowboys.

Right after the whirlwind performance ends, Kimbro walks sidestage and tracks down Douglas. He hands the tie back and thanks him for letting him wear it, if but for a moment. “Keep it, it looks good on you,” Douglas says with a smile. Kimbro is rendered speechless by the poignant gesture.

Following EOL was Béla Fleck, who closed out the Flint Hill Stage on Friday night with his project, My Bluegrass Heart, which has been the banjo wizard’s highly successful return to his musical roots in recent years.

“I didn’t know I was a banjo person. Then I heard Earl Scruggs play the banjo, and suddenly I was a banjo person. He was the spark, and he’s that for a lot of people,” Fleck says backstage. “Something about Earl has that sound that makes people go, ‘Well, I don’t know what that is, but I’ve got to hear more, and I’ve got to figure out what it is’ — he had that effect on me.”

Featuring a rotating cast of stellar musicians, Fleck presented fiddler Michael Cleveland, bassist Mark Schatz, guitarist Jake Stargel, Dobro player Jeff Partin, fiddler Maddie Denton and mandolinist Harry Clark (the latter two of East Nash Grass) to a raucous audience soaking it all in.

“The part of that [musical] language that all banjo players always come back to is Earl Scruggs,” Cleveland says. “It doesn’t matter what else I’m doing, I can always turn on Flatt & Scruggs and it’s like hearing it for the first time.”

The festival grounds also showcase an endless sea of bluegrass activities and educational opportunities to immerse oneself in the history and lore of not only the genre itself, but that of Western North Carolina, too. There were numerous musical workshops and live audience Q&A sessions with artists, and even the “Spirits of Bluegrass,” a cultural collaboration and tasting area sponsored by The Bluegrass Situation and featuring local/regional distillers.

Saturday evening. The Del McCoury Band is headlong into its Flint Hill Stage set. Nowadays regarded as the elder statesmen of bluegrass, the 87-year-old McCoury represents the finest in traditional sounds. He also remains this sponge of curiosity, this open-minded, kind heart and carefree, welcoming soul that mirrors the ethos of Scruggs in more ways than just the music.

“If I hadn’t heard Earl Scruggs when I did, I wouldn’t be playing today,” McCoury says in a humble tone. “There’s something that just struck me about him. He was a genius. All of those great banjo players learned from Earl.” (To note, although McCoury is well-known for his guitar playing, he originally started out in the bluegrass realm as a banjo picker.)

“High on a mountain oh, wind blowin’ free/Thinking about the days that used to be,” McCoury’s high, powerful tenor voice rings out, his signature tone ricocheting around the arena and across the nearby fields. “High on a mountain oh, standin’ all alone/Wondering where the years of my life has flown.”

Sitting sidestage watching McCoury intently was 19-year-old Murphy Campbell. Performing earlier in the day as part of the Blue Ridge Music Trails presentation, Campbell, a native of Western North Carolina, is a rising old-time banjo player/singer. For her, music is not only tradition, it’s life, and to see McCoury in all his glory was something she was grateful for, and inspired by.

“We all have this common goal of preservation, and to see people do it on such a large scale is deeply encouraging,” Campbell says. “I’m not used to stuff like this, it’s crazy to watch it from [sidestage]. I never thought that me playing the banjo would get me here to sit and watch [Del] play.”

As of late, Campbell is in the midst of recording new renditions of old ballads that were cherished and collected by her ancestors over a century ago in Mitchell and Yancey counties in North Carolina. Those tunes were cataloged in the book English Folk Songs from Southern Appalachia, with Campbell’s relatives writing down their ballads back in 1918, on a date that coincides with Campbell’s exact birthday.

“We’re all grasping onto something that has roots, because no one feels like they [have roots] anymore” Campbell says when asked about the massive revival in string music in recent years. “And they hold on hard, real hard.”

And when it comes to North Carolina musical roots, you’d be hard-pressed to find deeper ones than those of The Avett Brothers. Tying a bow on the weekend with the honors of playing the Sunday finale, the Avetts roared across the stage with their mesmerizing blend of Americana, bluegrass and folk stylings, the culmination of which being this incredibly vibrant tone of heart and soul.

“Three words that became hard to say/I, and love, and you,” Scott Avett howled to the heavens, an audience of thousands of joyous faces in the grandstands completely mesmerized and singing along to every single word. “What you were then, I am today/Look at the things I do.”

“Earl Scruggs used to be the model for a technique when I started [playing banjo],” Avett says. “And the more I learned about Earl, followed what he did, and paid close attention to his creativity, I realized he was a pioneer in more than just a technique, he was a pioneer in being an individual.”

For Avett, “being an individual” is a core value of the band’s ethos, and something that genuinely reverberates throughout the festival and the artists taking the stage. All of this circling back to Earl Scruggs and what it means to be original and authentic, whether it’s in reference to one’s music and art or simply the way one interacts with the world at-large — this deep, intrinsic sense of curiosity and camaraderie, passion and purpose.

“Doc [Watson] told us personally, ‘You’re on your path. Stay on your path. You’re not on Doc Watson’s path,’” Avett says. “Tom T. Hall told us the exact same thing, Willie Nelson would say the same thing now. I think Earl would say, ‘You guys need to do what you do,’ and we take that to heart.”

See photos from the Flint Hill Stage at the 2026 Earl Scruggs Music Festival.

All photos courtesy of Earl Scruggs Music Festival. Lead image of The Avett Brothers: Bain Stewart.

The Origins and Evolution of Jamgrass – And Where It Goes From Here

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Whether it’s Bill Monroe, Sam Bush, Sister Sadie, or Billy Strings, bluegrass has always pushed boundaries. At the forefront of that movement sits jamgrass, which brings together a barrage of influences performed with grassy, stringed arrangements and an improvisational sensibility that makes each song and show feel like a living organism – and results in each performance having its own qualities and quirks.

However, despite many tying the origins of jamgrass to ’90s upstarts like Leftover Salmon and Yonder Mountain String Band, its roots actually go back at least a half-century – and in some cases to the very origins of bluegrass music itself.

“When Bill Monroe started the Blue Grass Boys and they came on the Grand Ole Opry with that band, they were so far removed and different from other string bands of that same era even though they had the same instrumentation,” says Bush. “They were light years ahead of all the rest of the music on the Grand Ole Opry in terms of progressiveness and innovation, so in his own way Bill Monroe was a rebel. The Opry audience was just astounded with the way they played, and then when Bill introduced a great fiddler like Chubby Wise and the banjo playing of Earl Scruggs, that’s what kicked what we call bluegrass into gear.”

That same trailblazing spirit of Monroe could also be found in Bush himself several decades later, with the formation of the Bluegrass Alliance and, shortly after, New Grass Revival. The latter went against the grain of traditional bluegrass in nearly every way imaginable, from covers of Jerry Lee Lewis, Bob Marley, and The Beatles to their long hair and the tie-dye they dressed themselves in. All more akin to Deadheads and the hippie movement than bluegrass at the time. Per Bush, the group was inspired by bands that had already deviated from the old-time ways of bluegrass like the Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse, the Country Gentlemen, the Dillards, the Greenbriar Boys, Area Code 615, and even John Hartford – who he’d later pay tribute to with his 2022 album Radio John.

That being said, New Grass Revival and the movement they helped spark also held the tradition of bluegrass in as high regard as anyone, even as the band pushed the music in a direction it had never been before. “We always said that if you want to play newgrass, you first have to know how to play bluegrass,” recalls Bush.

The band’s rise gave way to the progressive leaning newgrass movement that saw an influx of outside influences and experimentation flood into the music that Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys made famous, with one of the most notable being Leftover Salmon. Formed in 1989 – the same year New Grass Revival first broke up – in Boulder, Colorado, Salmon brought together acoustic and electric arrangements with percussion to create an offshoot of newgrass they coined “Cajun slamgrass.” The outfit’s hybrid sound was an instant hit, and by the early ’90s the band found itself on the H.O.R.D.E tour with rock and jam bands like Phish, Widespread Panic, Spin Doctors, and Blues Traveler. This further connected the worlds of bluegrass and jam, resulting in what many refer to as the official launch of the jamgrass movement later in the decade when Yonder Mountain String Band burst onto the scene.

In fact, Yonder’s bassist, Ben Kaufmann, recalls attending that H.O.R.D.E tour and credits it for sending him down the rabbit hole of bluegrass. But being from Boston and growing up a Deadhead, he knew that any music he’d go on to create would be radically different from what had come before it.

“We didn’t grow up in the rural South,” explains Kaufmann. “We were suburban kids, which was critical to whatever Yonder ended up achieving. If we weren’t, the band likely would’ve leaned much more traditional. We thought the music of Flatt & Scruggs, Bill Monroe, and the Stanley Brothers were the coolest things ever, even though it was born out of an environment that’s not ours.

“That, combined with the influences of our formative years, helped to mold our own little version of what a bluegrass band could be, even though not everyone thought it was the ‘right’ way to play it. For a while the bluegrass community didn’t want any part of us, which made me realize that if people weren’t going to invite us to their party that we’d create our own, which is exactly what we did.”

From there, Yonder integrated their high-strung and energetic live show even more than the jam band circuit, piecing together the foundations of what would soon become the jamgrass scene in the process. That momentum reached a fever pitch for the band in the late 2000s when the band was headlining bigger rooms than it ever had before and landing opening slots on arena tours with the Dave Matthews Band and Widespread Panic, similar to the gigs New Grass Revival had opening similar venues for Leon Russell in 1979.

Thinking back on that era of the band, Kaufmann says it made him understand the full potential of what jamgrass and bluegrass could achieve if given the opportunity, which he says is now being realized with artists like Billy Strings, Mountain Grass Unit, and others.

“Even in the late aughts when Yonder was at max room capacity and opening these arena shows, we wondered if bluegrass would ever work in rooms this big. And, to our amusement, it did – you just needed to fill the venue with the right people. We didn’t know if that would be us headlining those places one day, but playing those gigs showed us it was something that could happen.

“With that in mind, it’s no surprise to see a young gun like Billy Strings come along and set the world on fire. In the little amount of time we’ve spent together it was obvious that he is a special talent, so observing his rise and all he’s done for this kind of music has been mind-blowing.”

Yonder’s success lit a spark for the jamgrass movement that’s been burning ever since, with countless performers crediting the band for the influence they’ve bestowed upon them. One of those people is Kyle Tuttle, who grew up following the band around on tour in the early 2000s before eventually landing a spot playing in founding member Jeff Austin’s band after Austin departed Yonder in 2014.

“I was just starting to see real bluegrass and already loved the Grateful Dead, so when Yonder Mountain String Band came along and overlapped with those two worlds, it was like a dream come true,” Tuttle explains. “I’d been seeing all these suit-and-tie bands playing straight bluegrass and loved it, but at the same time I was also wondering where I fit into it. Then Yonder pops up and it feels like what I’d been waiting my whole life to discover.”

Tuttle played his first gig with the Jeff Austin Band in 2016 and remained in the group up until the singer’s untimely death in 2019. He went on to perform with the GRAMMY Award-winning Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway from 2021 to early 2025. Now he leads his own collective, the Kyle Tuttle Band, where he intertwines original compositions with traditional bluegrass covers and other off-the-wall influences as he puts his own spin on what jamgrass is.

“It’s a common perspective for people to not want you to mess with their bluegrass and tradition, whereas the jamgrass world tends to be more wide open,” admits Tuttle. “Fans nowadays are ready to hear whatever interesting mashup you create, which makes for a really nice union.”

With how wide open the jamgrass has become, even bands outside its periphery have found their way into the community from time to time. Take Fruition for example, a band that began busking on the streets of Portland over 15 years ago with a mix of string instruments and a poppy folk sound that sits on the far outer reaches of the jamgrass spectrum. Similar to how Yonder struggled to be embraced by the bluegrass community in its early days, Fruition’s Kellen Asebroek said it was the jamgrass community that first embraced and welcomed the band when nobody else would. “There’s no telling where we’d be if they hadn’t welcomed us into their family.”

“I was introduced to [jamgrass] in 2002 before I even knew what it was,” recollects Asebroek. “My uncle was a big Leftover Salmon fan and gave me an audience recording from the ’90s to listen to that left me in awe wondering what the hell it was they were doing. I grew up in more of a punk, reggae and classic rock world, so that was the first time I heard something remotely grassy. It wasn’t until we started Fruition and were busking on the street that people began referring to us as a jamgrass band. That being said, Fruition tends to be on the more structured side, so much so that I wouldn’t even call ourselves a jam band. We’ve always been in a unique place in that world in the sense that the jamgrass community is who took us in as babies and showed us around even though we were on the fringes of it.”

Also on the fringes of jamgrass is Daniel Donato, who began picking country and bluegrass tunes on Nashville’s Broadway strip as a teenager before launching his own project, Cosmic Country, in 2015 after seeing shapeshifting country singer Sturgill Simpson at the Ryman. The sound that grew out of that moment is equal parts Simpson and the Dead, but Donato says that bluegrass legends like Bill Monroe are also critical to what he creates as well, even though he utilizes mostly electric instrumentation.

“Jerry Garcia also had a really sophisticated understanding and appreciation for bluegrass music,” compares Donato. “The arrangements of the Dead were not succinctly bluegrass, but there was a ton of bluegrass influence that went into the way he played, especially with Old & In The Way and the Jerry Garcia Band. My goal has been to tap into a similar feeling, but with a slightly more prominent country twang.”

Someone else who’s spent plenty of time in the jamgrass scene despite not always producing music that would be categorized as such is Sierra Hull. The mandolin prodigy grew up on a heavy dose of traditional bluegrass in East Tennessee, with acts like Blue Highway, the Seldom Scene, and Lonesome River Band being the soundtrack of her youth. While she’s tended to lean more towards “chambergrass” and singer-songwriter styles in her adult life, she also takes plenty of time to let loose and jam, whether it’s stretching out her own material or joining artists like Cory Wong, the String Cheese Incident, Greensky Bluegrass, Béla Fleck, and Sam Bush on stage. The latter of whom she credits – along with luminaries like Peter Rowan and David Grisman – for planting the seeds that later grew to become jamgrass.

“For people like me, [Sam] was such a huge gateway to a lot of these other musicians who were really open-minded about what they played and who they collaborated with,” confides Hull. “Coming from a more traditional background, what I’ve enjoyed most about getting out to these bluegrass and jam festivals [is] mixing it up with folks. I’ve become a fan of jamgrass from seeing it all happen up close, rather than having grown up on albums – which I feel is the case for a lot of fans of jam music. The recorded music is still awesome, but the live shows are where the spirit and energy of jamgrass truly live.”

Hull continued, stressing how despite the current momentum behind jamgrass it’s still a very niche genre that nobody gets into expecting to become famous from it, which makes the heights Billy Strings and others are taking it to that much more mesmerizing.

“There’s something really cool about seeing folks who maybe don’t know who Bill Monroe or Doc Watson is, but they can go to a Billy show and immediately connect to the authenticity of what the music is,” exclaims Hull. “We live in a day and age where people are ripping on their pedals and doing more progressive stuff than they ever have before with string music, but at the same time most all of these bands have their moments where they throw that all away and just play a straight-up bluegrass tune. Seeing people resonate with that is central to what this music is and does.”

Another woman staking out a career in and around jamgrass is Lindsay Lou, who first discovered the subgenre witnessing the early days of Greensky Bluegrass performing in Michigan. Although she’d already been vaguely familiar with Yonder and Leftover Salmon, Lou credits Greensky’s sound and proximity to her as the driving factors for introducing her not just their music, but jamgrass as a whole.

“Greensky was my gateway to the jam world, because we were both part of the same scene,” says Lou. “I started hanging with them and soon found myself at festivals with other like-minded bands that sent me diving into the music of the Grateful Dead and others.”

One of those artists she wound up connecting with was a young Billy Strings, who she’d grow close with and later live across the street from in Nashville. The two would even go on to co-write a number of songs together including “Freedom” and “Nothing’s Working,” which both appeared on Strings’ albums Home and Renewal, as well as the latter appearing on Lou’s Queen Of Time. “It’s been really cool having written songs with Billy and hearing him perform them to arenas packed with 30,000 all singing along.”

“It’s no surprise to me that Billy has brought so many people to jam and bluegrass music in the same way that Yonder and Greensky did for so many before him, including Billy himself,” she stresses. “It’s been so much fun watching a young hippie kid like him take a traditional song to places you never thought it could go due to him embracing the musical conversation that jam music is centered around.”

Someone at the heart of the Billy Strings phenomenon is Jarrod Walker, who’s played mandolin in the Michigander’s band since 2018. Similar to Sam Bush, Walker believes the roots of jamgrass can be traced all the way back to Bill Monroe, due to how he took popular songs of the day and breathed new life into them with stringed arrangements – similar to how modern day jam bands pull from influences far and wide to create something entirely new. And although he credits Sam Bush as being a central figure for the movement, he also holds the Seldom Scene – who recorded an extended version of the Grateful Dead’s “I Know You Rider” (simply called “Rider”) on its 1973 album Act III – in a similarly high regard.

“There have been a smorgasbord of different influences in jamgrass from the very beginning with Irish and English music and gospel and blues – all of it was an integral part of what Bill Monroe originally did,” says Walker. “Then someone like Jerry Garcia comes along and follows Monroe like people would soon be following the Dead, which led to Old & In The Way, continuing the prophecy that’s still playing out to this day.”

But even as that prophecy continues to play out, Walker is amazed by where it’s taken not just the Billy Strings band, but string music as a whole. Having been accustomed to gigging at performance art centers and other smaller, seated venues for most of his pre-Billy picking days, he says that the experience of performing at rock clubs and now arenas with fans going crazy for bluegrass music has been mind-boggling and a phenomenon he’ll never stop being captivated by.

“[Playing arenas] is something none of us saw coming and is a combination of being at the right place at the right time and the contributions of everyone who came before us that paved this path for us to do it,” states Walker. “Billy is also a fantastic musician and student of bluegrass whose love for the music combined with his other influences is emblematic of the cohesion that is core to jamgrass and everything it stands for.”

Like all forms of music, jamgrass is a living, breathing organism that is constantly evolving and bringing new ideas and influences to the table. Whether it’s traditional and progressive bluegrass or rock, blues, punk, soul, country and everything in between, it all has a place in the jamgrass setting and is without a doubt the biggest driving factor of the genre’s success. It truly is a “rising tide lifts all boats” scenario that may have been a long time coming to arrive, but now that it’s here and thriving shows no signs of departing anytime soon.

“It took a long time for listening tastes to catch up with this kind of music and these instruments, but it’s no surprise to me that someone as talented as Billy is having the success he’s having,” declares Bush. “It’s only natural that the music is going to grow, and it’s in a really healthy place right now. But even with the rise of jamgrass you still have good ole Del McCoury leading the pack with his Bill Monroe style of bluegrass, and the same audience that loves jamgrass loves him too.”

Continue exploring our Jamgrass in July coverage here. This content brought to you in partnership with Preston Thompson Guitars.

Photo Credit: Sam Bush courtesy of Crossover Touring; Sierra Hull courtesy of the artist; Ben Kauffman courtesy of Crossover Touring.

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Lindsay Lou, Rising Appalachia, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Another week, another roundup of excellent new roots music for you to enjoy! You Gotta Hear This…

To get us started, JM Clifford premieres a performance video for “Hard Luck Man,” a contemplative song inspired by his experiences walking the streets of New York City, encountering veterans panhandling and down on their luck. It’s a song of compassion built around his observations and the idea that no one should be invisible or alone. Then, we go to Chicago, where singer-songwriter Elizabeth Moen reckons with another kind of man, “Renaissance Man” – or, as she puts it, the proverbial “fuckboy.” Anger, justice, and comeuppance ooze out of the acoustic-yet-rockin’ track. You can watch a new music video for the song below.

In bluegrass, Lindsay Lou has announced a brand new album, Bluegrass Women, celebrating the vibrant and supremely talented community of women that surround her in music. The first single from the album (which will release next month) is “All I Ever Loved Was You,” a beloved song in the bluegrass canon written by Ricky Skaggs’ mother. Tatiana Hargreaves, Laurie Lewis, Maddie Witler, Alison Brown, and Hasee Ciaccio join Lou on the track; the album boasts a star-studded rotating lineup of incredible women. Plus, Jaelee Roberts of Middle Tennessee has a new bluegrass single out today, “Memories On The Moon.” She first heard the track at a song swap at a bluegrass songwriting camp. Immediately impressed, she knew she had to record it. You’ll also immediately see why.

Rounding us out, Asheville-based folk and Americana group Rising Appalachia unveil a new track and video, “Chance at Wholesome.” Picking up on the thread laid down by Elizabeth Moen, Rising Appalachia also take big-talking men to task. As Leah Song puts it for BGS, “This is for the man who shows up all talk and no action.” Watch the brand new video below as you look ahead to their fall album, Trade My Troubles, out in October.

It’s all right here on BGS, and we hope you enjoy. You Gotta Hear This!

JM Clifford, “Hard Luck Man”

Artist: J.M. Clifford
Hometown: Allendale, New Jersey
Song: “Hard Luck Man”
Album: Things That We Can’t Change
Release Date: July 10, 2026 (video); October 16, 2026 (album)

In Their Words: “I’m an elementary school teacher in Brooklyn. I do a lot of my songwriting before my first class of the day. One morning I sat down to write and the lines, ‘Light a candle for the hard luck man/ Left his mind in the mountains of Afghanistan’ popped into my head. It felt like the rest of the song wrote itself. Living in New York City, I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen a person on the street holding up a sign that says, ‘Veteran. Please help.’ These days, it seems like we can’t agree on much, but taking care of our veterans should be something we can all get behind.” – JM Clifford

Lindsay Lou, “All I Ever Loved Was You”

Artist: Lindsay Lou
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “All I Ever Loved Was You”
Album: Bluegrass Women
Release Date: July 10, 2026 (single); August 14, 2026 (album)

In Their Words: “Written by Dorothy Skaggs, mother of Ricky Skaggs. I’ll never forget hearing Ricky and Keith Whitley sing this duet while playing in Ralph Stanley’s band. The harmonies and tenderness of it blew me away. Like many of these songs, I sang it for years before I knew who wrote it. I recall one time in particular singing it with Billy [Strings] in the kitchen at a party. Neither of us had an instrument in hand and there weren’t any around, so we just sang it. It’s such a strong harmony song it stands on its own powerfully.

“There’s nothing lacking in the instrumentation though on the Bluegrass Women arrangement of this track! The twin fiddles and harmonies by Tatiana Hargreaves and Laurie Lewis (cross-generational iconic players and women in bluegrass) and a strong groove held down by Hasee Ciaccio on bass and Maddie Witler on mandolin, give it a feeling like being in an old-time honky-tonk dancing with your darlin’. Add Alison Brown on banjo for a classic, rolling, poppy bluegrass sound and I’m not sure what more a song like this could want. When I reached out to Ricky to comment on his mama as a songwriter, he clarified that his parents had a very loving relationship, but she hit on a real good one anyway when she came up with the lyrics for ‘All I Ever Loved Was You.'” – Lindsay Lou

Track Credits:
Lindsay Lou – Guitar, vocal
Tatiana Hargreaves – Fiddle, harmony vocals
Laurie Lewis – Fiddle, harmony vocals
Maddie Witler – Mandolin
Alison Brown – Banjo
Hasee Ciaccio – Bass

Elizabeth Moen, “Renaissance Man”

Artist: Elizabeth Moen
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Song: “Renaissance Man”
Album: Fields on Fire
Release Date: July 10, 2026 (video)

In Their Words: “I wanted to write something that I’d hope people would want to sing along to real loud in the car. It’s fun, cheeky, and a song to heed the warning of or find solace in after a bad situationship. Good luck out there this summer! It’s the Renaissance Man’s (or woman’s or person’s) prime season I fear!

“This character song is written in the perspective of the many individuals who inspired it. Though the epidemic of f*ckboy is not constricted to the confines of Chicago’s city limits, there seemed to be, especially in my 20s, a considerable amount of them in town. The one time they admitted the truth was when they’d say, ‘I’m a bad idea for you, really.’ Lesson learned that if someone says that to you, run.” – Elizabeth Moen

Track Credits:
Elizabeth Moen – Nylon-string guitar, lead vocal
Tristan Huygen – Electric guitar
Gus Martini – Bass
Spencer Tweedy – Drums
Gus Martini – Background vocal

Video Credits:
Alexa Viscius – Photographer
Grace Coudal – Assistant photographer
Anika Ladero – Stylist
Kelsey Denvir – Assistant stylist
Grace Makuch – Graphic design

Rising Appalachia, “Chance at Wholesome”

Artist: Rising Appalachia
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
Song: “Chance at Wholesome”
Album: Trade My Troubles
Release Date: July 10, 2026 (single/video); October 2, 2026 (album)

In Their Words: “This is for the man who shows up all talk and no action. Says you are his queen and then buckles his knees once the chase is over. The one who speaks the game, but doesn’t have the backbone to show up and do the work. For the man that still sees a woman as a second-class citizen. For the narcissists, the broken poets, the dreary addicts who will gladly drag you down with them before they will lift you up and see you shine. Oh the wounded masculine (and thank God they aren’t all wounded). This one is for you.

“Heartbreak is timeless and we have all danced its messy dance. Shattered and stoic. Unkempt and wildly alive. The battered soul doing its best to revive after the storm comes through. I fell in love with a man who was a weathervane in a tornado – a broken man who toted his scars as trophies and would rather spin into patterns of harm than simply lean into care; a chaos worshipper at the altar; mercurial and magical in his fire and poetry. What else can we do but turn the page and sing?” – Leah Song

Video Credit: Earthbased Media

Jaelee Roberts, “Memories On The Moon”

Artist: Jaelee Roberts
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Memories On The Moon”
Label: Mountain Home Music Company
Release Date: July 10, 2026

In Their Words: “‘Memories On The Moon’ is honestly one of my favorite songs that I’ve ever recorded. Last year, I was at Donna Ulisse and Jerry Salley’s songwriters’ workshop – all of us sitting in a circle sharing songs – when ‘Memories On The Moon’ co-writers Keith Barncastle and Rebekah Speer played a song demo (sung by third co-writer, Billy Droze) through a little speaker in the room. From the very first listen, I knew I had to record it. I didn’t know when I’d get the chance, but I remember looking at them and saying, ‘I want this song.’

“The lyrics hit me immediately. What makes this song so special to me is how deeply personal, yet universal, it feels. It was originally written from the perspective of losing a partner and learning how to live with that kind of heartbreak and absence. But I think it can also speak to anyone who’s experienced loss in any form – a breakup, distance, change, or simply missing someone you love. To me, that’s what makes a truly great song: when people can hear it and find pieces of their own story inside of it.

“When we got into the studio, it honestly felt like magic. Tony Wray on acoustic guitar, Alan Bartram on bass, Justin Moses on mandolin and Dobro, and Ron Stewart on banjo brought so much heart and depth to the track. Zack Arnold added harmony vocals that elevated everything even further – his voice and ideas were truly the finishing touch. I have fallen completely in love with this recording, and I’m beyond grateful that I got to be the one to bring this song to life and share it with all of you. I truly hope that it touches your hearts the way that is has mine.” – Jaelee Roberts

Track Credits:
Jaelee Roberts – Lead vocal
Ron Stewart – Banjo
Tony Wray – Guitar
Alan Bartram – Upright bass
Justin Moses – Resonator guitar, mandolin
Zack Arnold – Harmony vocal

Photo Credit: Lindsay Lou by Sawyer Gieseke; Rising Appalachia courtesy of the artist.

30 Jamgrass Sitch Sessions

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

What do you mean this whole time we could have been the Jamgrass Situation!?

Ever since the earliest days of BGS we’ve been posting about bluegrass, hosting bluegrass shows, and shooting bluegrass Sitch Sessions. Our often-viral performance videos have been the bread and butter of the brand. Along the way, with our borderless and wide open “rootsy” purview, quite a bit of bluegrass “coloring outside the lines” has been celebrated on our site and jamgrass has permeated everything we’ve done. As the years went on, the influence of bluegrass’s current biggest phenomenon became more and more apparent on the site.

You can see this fact – obviously! – throughout our archive of Sitch Sessions. It’s quite the collection of first-rate jamgrass. Over more than 15 years we’ve had dozens of Sitch Sessions and YouTube videos feature some of the best and most beloved jamgrass acts around. One of our very first viral sensations was a now-retired clip of Billy Strings himself. But so many more have featured on our site and channels: Yonder Mountain String Band, The Lil Smokies, Elephant Revival, Front Country, Punch Brothers, Fruition, Greensky Bluegrass, Town Mountain, Mountain Grass Unit, Lindsay Lou, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, the Travelin’ McCourys, the Hillbenders – and many, many more.

From rooftops in downtown L.A. to Falkenberg, Sweden, to DelFest in Cumberland, Maryland, to the powdery slopes above Lake Tahoe to Telluride, Colorado, and back again. Across the trajectory of BGS over time, jamgrass has been an indelible through line of the work we do and the content we create. And we wouldn’t have it any other way!

To celebrate Jamgrass in July, enjoy exploring these 30 jamgrass Sitch Sessions. And dive into the archive here and here to see even more! Just for today, just for this month – let’s be the Jamgrass Situation.

“Take a Chance on Me” – Yonder Mountain String Band

We’ve gotten the chance to collaborate with Yonder Mountain String Band quite a bit over the years, but this Sitch Session has always been a highlight of our content together. YMSB have been carrying the jamgrass banner for a long time; they are stalwarts of the subgenre, for sure!

“Miss Marie” – The Lil Smokies

But why did the Lil Smokies have to retire!? We miss them so much already. If you miss them as much as we do, check out our final interview with the group posted in April 2025 on the heels of their excellent last album, Break Of The Tide.

“Cedarwood Pines” – The Brothers Comatose

Across the decades and generations you can always count on the Bay Area to produce excellent jamgrass. The Brothers Comatose certainly fit that descriptor! “Cedarwood Pines,” shot on a picturesque DTLA rooftop in 2017, features a classic lineup of the group and (gasp!) electric guitar!? (That’s how you know it’s jamgrass.)

“If Something Breaks” – Front Country

Speaking of Bay Area jamgrass – and bands we wish hadn’t retired! Front Country may be no more, but we’re glad we have our Sitch Session memories. And of course, the members of FroCo have gone on to do even more excellent things in roots music. For instance, have you heard BERTHA? Now there’s some jamgrass, too.

“Wasting Time” – Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats

Sometimes a band that isn’t a jamgrass band is a jamgrass band, you know what we mean? Now, are Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats always a jamgrass band? Perhaps no. But here, in our Sitch Session, or in many of their live, all-skate jam or festival or collaboration set contexts? Could be jamgrass… It’s always in the ear of the beholder, after all.

“Winter to Pry” – The Deer

That time we shot sessions at Old Settler’s in Austin, Texas, was one of the best. Such a great range of acts, sounds, and styles. The Deer turned out a perennial favorite Sitch Session for us, which we returned to time and time again as winter would roll in. The outdoor Austin shoot and the Deer’s offering of the song would always warm us up.

“All Day All Night” – River Whyless

If you miss River Whyless, worry not, this band hasn’t retired, they’ve just slowed down a bit and re-intentionalized their performing and touring rhythms. We once featured the group on our stage at Bonnaroo and while their sound always defied perfect categorization, here on “All Day All Night” and on festival stages – and elsewhere, to be sure – they often fit the jamgrass bill perfectly.

“Hey Boys” – The HillBenders

Recently the HillBenders have slightly shuffled their lineup, but the Missouri-based band are still one of the most party-ready groups on the bluegrass and jamgrass scenes. Their work with Keller Williams and Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry are the jammiest of their offerings, but the threads and vibes of jams and jamgrass are woven throughout their work.

“Home In Your Heart” – Elephant Revival

One of our coolest Sitch Session locations ever! Out in the desert in Pioneertown, California, with Elephant Revival. This has always been such a memorable one. Here’s another group we greatly miss.

“Dance You Hippy Dance” – Tim O’Brien

What do you call a forefather who’s also a currentfather? That’s what Tim O’Brien is to jamgrass, a foundational figure who’s also active in the music and in moving it forward. And what would jamgrass be without dancing hippies? Nothing! It would be nothing!

“Burn Them” – Greensky Bluegrass

One of our most-viewed Sitch Sessions of all time, and it’s no wonder. Greensky Bluegrass epitomize the ethos of jamgrass – community, longevity, collaboration, and of course, jams. Every time we collaborated with Mason Jar Music, who produced this session, the results would be stellar. With 1.5 million views and counting… jamgrass is where it’s at.

“Death Comes Knockin’” – Fruition

When bands and performers would route through Los Angeles, we often jumped at the chance to link up and capture some content. In 2016, we met up with Fruition in Echo Park to shoot “Death Comes Knockin’” a rocking, macabre song that’s as old-timey as it is jammy. Fruition have always been good at infusing the traditional into their progressive sounds. An essential band of the modern jamgrass movement.

“My Oh My / Boll Weevil” – Punch Brothers

Okay, now just because they can also play classical doesn’t mean Punch Brothers aren’t a jamgrass band! It’s bluegrass, it’s jam band, it’s jamgrass. I mean, you can’t be a string band playing that many Radiohead covers and not be considered jamgrass, right? Right.

“Coming Back To You” – Town Mountain

North Carolina has birthed some high-quality jamgrass over the years. Another band we’d wish out of retirement if we could, Town Mountain combined jam band appeal with country twang and bluegrass drive (and silliness, too). They were jamgrass even before they added a drum kit and a pedal steel, but towards the end of their tenure there they seemed to creep ever closer to the jammy center.

“One Horse Town” – Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper Featuring Charlie Starr

Fiddling phenom Michael Cleveland is as traditional as they get, but whether in his work with Jason Carter or his many jaw-dropping features – with Béla Fleck, or Billy Strings, or Tommy Emmanuel, or whomever – he’s known to shred his way through some jamgrass, too. Partnering here with Charlie Starr of Southern rock group Blackberry Smoke, Cleveland and his band Flamekeeper are remarkably jamgrass.

“Billy in the Lowground” – Kenny G, Ed Helms, Bryan Sutton, and Gabe Witcher

A virtual jam for pandemic times creates virtual jamgrass of the highest – and most random – sort! One of our crowning achievements across the history of BGS will be getting Kenny G in on a COVID benefit bluegrass jam. For Whiskey Sour Happy Hour, our pandemic-era virtual variety show, the sensational wind specialist performed “Billy in the Lowground” with Bryan Sutton, Gabe Witcher, and our co-founder Ed Helms. ICONIC. If Kenny G is playing bluegrass, it’s gotta be jamgrass.

“Turn Around” – Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams

Calling Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams “jamgrass artists” would be woefully reductive and simplistic. Still, it wouldn’t be right to exclude them from this list. Across their varied and diverse careers they’ve collaborated, recorded, and performed with some absolutely seminal figures in Americana, jam band, and bluegrass. Here, we caught up with the duo while sailing aboard our favorite roots music cruise, Cayamo.

“How Many Times” – Rainbow Girls

Something about Rainbow Girls is just a perfect fit for a jamgrass playlist – and we don’t just mean the rainbows. Also captured aboard a Cayamo voyage, this Bob Marley cover by the Bay Area-bwased folk group encapsulates so many of the facets that we love about jamgrass, from the material to the joy they bring forth in the music to their humor and community mindset.

“House of the Rising Sun” – Peter Rowan, Sam Bush, and Friends

There wouldn’t be no jamgrass without these fellas! At MerleFest last year Sam Bush hosted the iconic Late Night Jam and there were quite a few Late Night-jamgrassy moments. Whenever jamgrass gets to the point of having its own canon of recognizable material, like bluegrass, old-time, jazz, and others, “House of the Rising Sun” will surely be found among those songs. Absolutely nonnegotiable.

“Takes So Long, Goes So Fast” – Lindsay Lou

Decked out in snow gear, in a gondola above Lake Tahoe, with a bunch of hippies and wooks and music fans at WinterWonderGrass? Yep, that might be jamgrass. Lindsay Lou has become a stalwart in the younger jamgrass generations, and certainly not just because of her many connections to Billy Strings. As a performer herself or a collaborator or artist at large, she’s a favorite at jamgrass festivals and events.

“Fishin’ in the Dark” – AJ Lee & Blue Summit

Jamgrass filtering down through the generations! A fantastic up-and-coming bluegrass band, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, offer their rendition of a jamgrass classic first recorded by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Who are Nitty Gritty if not a jamgrass outfit? While AJ Lee and band are much more than “just” jamgrass, they fit that moniker oh so well. This Sierragrass Sitch Session has been a fan favorite.

“Lonesome Dove” – Mountain Grass Unit

Shouldering the jamgrass mantle for Gen Z, Mountain Grass Unit have jammed with everyone from Billy Strings to Kesha to Shania Twain. These fellas are making a name for themselves right at the very center of the jamgrass universe, but while still carving out their own sound and their own identity. An exciting act to be watching and following along with at this juncture, their new album is set for release in late August.

“The Missing Stair” – Big Richard

You know what’s a prerequisite for being or becoming a jamgrass band? Big Richard energy. This group of supremely talented women have got it. We’d love to see them on more jam band and jamgrass festival lineups – a welcome palate cleanser, indeed.

“Fiery Gizzard” – the Travelin’ McCourys

Del McCoury Band have been known to dip a toe in the jamgrass waters regularly, but when the boys are “released” from their duties with their father and bandleader and go out as the Travelin’ McCourys is when they really lean into the jams. Their live shows are some of the highest quality jamgrass out there, the most elite bluegrass virtuosity lent to the jammiest, rip-roaringest tunes and songs.

“The Road Is a River” – Jim Lauderdale

Country’s modern renaissance man Jim Lauderdale is oh-so-many things – and jamgrass is one of them. With Lillie Mae and Frank Rische at his side, that seems especially true in this Rootsy Summer Session shot in Sweden. With as much tai chi as Lauderdale does, of course he belongs on this list!

“High Country” – Leftover Salmon

Leftover Salmon are one of THE most important and impactful artisan purveyors of jamgrass around. We were lucky to finally get a Sitch Session with the group a few years ago at WinterWonderGrass in Colorado. WWG is one of the best jamgrass assemblages around these days, and the festival just announced BajaWonderGrass in Mexico for April 2027.

“Weight of the World” – Clay Street Unit

Another group on the cutting edge of jamgrass and actively building its future is Clay Street Unit. Born out of the fertile jamgrass territories surrounding Denver, Colorado, the band just released their debut album earlier this year. So there’s still ample opportunity to get in on the “ground floor” of a group that is certainly going places.

“These Chickens Eat Fascists” – Pixie & the Partygrass Boys

We’d like to thank Pixie & the Partygrass Boys for representing anti-fascism in jamgrass. It’s an important beat and we need more folks giving us such a hilarious point of solidarity as “These Chickens Eat Fascists.” Two things jamgrass is always going to be: open and accepting of everyone, and a goddamn party!

“Not Quite Spring” – Kyle Tuttle

A premier banjoist in jamgrass, Kyle Tuttle has performed with so many greats in the subgenre, from Jeff Austin and Molly Tuttle to Lindsay Lou to Leftover Salmon – and many, many more. His own solo albums and solo shows (which are, gratefully, becoming more and more frequent) are jamgrassy top-to-bottom. If you’re lucky, catch him at Bluegrass Mondays at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge in Nashville these days, where he’s often holding court with impeccable bands backing him up.

“Islands In the Stream” – Love Canon

A jamgrass tributary in the mighty jamgrass river coursing towards the roiling jamgrass sea is cover songs from outside of bluegrass and roots music altogether. Ever since the Earl Scruggs Revue, New Grass Revival, and others in the earliest days, this has been an important plank in the jamgrass platform. Love Canon are one of the bands who did it best, offering bluegrassified versions of absolute bangers – like “Islands In the Stream,” here featuring Lauren Balthrop on vocals.

Lead Image: AJ Lee & Blue Summit

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Tenille Townes, Mac Cornish, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

It’s Friday and it’s new music time! We’ve got a few things on the slate that you simply gotta hear.

Starting us off, quickly rising bluegrass up-and-comer 16-year-old Asher Brinson gives us a sneak preview of his upcoming single, “Midnight Hurricane,” the title track for an album the young songwriter and picker has set for release in early April. “Midnight Hurricane” features Sierra Hull on mandolin and Lindsay Lou on vocals – and Brinson more than holds his own among the talented roster on the track.

Also in bluegrass sounds, Jesse Smathers turns the clock and calendar back to the primordial musical ooze before bluegrass with his rendition of “Take A Drink On Me.” The track was inspired by Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, with whom Smathers shares a hometown. As the artist and mandolinist puts it, “This tune is a prime example of early popular dance music” – the kinda stuff that inspired the earliest bluegrass artists like Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, and many others. In the hands of Smathers and his band, it’s a bluegrass song fit for any era.

There’s Good Country to enjoy below, as well. Mac Cornish unveils a new track, her cover of Ian & Sylvia’s “Trucker’s Cafe.” You can almost catch the glint of bright sunshine off a chromed truck stop diner listening to the tune, lush with pedal steel and honky-tonkin’ guitar. The boot scootin’ track was recorded in Nashville and produced by Andrija Tokic.

To round us out, Tenille Townes returns to the site with “The Acrobat,” a contemplative and resonant song featuring another of our favs, Lori McKenna. “When you’re barely hanging on it’s easy to let go,” Townes sings, her voice rich with emotion and conviction. The song is the title track for Townes’ upcoming album, set for release in April, and is a fitting nexus point for the LP. “After losing my way for a while,” Townes shares with BGS, “this song felt like such an important anchor for this album.” You can watch the brand new music video for “The Acrobat” below.

Take a scroll and enjoy your listen – You Gotta Hear This!

Asher Brinson, “Midnight Hurricane”

Artist: Asher Brinson
Hometown: Newport, North Carolina
Song: “Midnight Hurricane”
Album: Midnight Hurricane
Release Date: March 6, 2026 (single); April 3, 2026 (album)

In Their Words: “When Chris Henry and I got together to write, I told him I was having an ‘off’ day and he said to let it flow – say whatever was on my mind. Those thoughts became the first line of ‘Midnight Hurricane.’ Growing up on the North Carolina coast, hurricanes have always just been a part of my life. And it seemed like they always hit at night! Midnight is quiet, but your thoughts aren’t, and hurricanes are like that — all of your feelings hitting at once. It’s a love story wrapped in chaos and after the storm, there’s a calm that makes you appreciate what’s steady and real. With Sierra Hull on mandolin and Lindsay Lou on vocals, this song instantly became one of my favorites. I feel like they both added just the right touch. While hurricanes unfortunately bring destruction, they also have a way of bringing people and communities together… to uplift each other, support, and rebuild.” – Asher Brinson

Track Credits:
Asher Brinson – Guitar, lead vocal
Cory Walker – Banjo
Jason Carter – Fiddle
Christopher Henry – Bass, baritone vocal
Sierra Hull – Mandolin
Lindsay Lou – Tenor vocal

Mac Cornish, “Trucker’s Cafe”

Artist: Mac Cornish
Hometown: Currently Nashville, Tennessee, but grew up in the Bay Area, California
Song: “Trucker’s Cafe”
Release Date: February 27, 2026

In Their Words: “This single is a cover of the Ian & Sylvia song, ‘Trucker’s Cafe.’ The song is from their 1969 record, Great Speckled Bird, which they also used as the name of their newly formed band, including the likes of Buddy Cage and David Briggs. Ian and Sylvia are a huge influence on me because of their blending of folk, rock ‘n’ roll, and country – especially on this album and this song. The song is a subversive take on the trucking country fad of the 1960s and ’70s, taking the perspective of a heartbroken truck stop diner waitress. The vocals are distinctly folk with their vibrato and falsetto, but the instrumentation is all rockin’ country goodness with walking bass and ripping pedal steel. I’ve always said that the best year in music was 1969. This is one of the many songs I absolutely love from that year in music and it only felt right to record a cover and honor my influences. My cover was recorded in October of 2025 at the Bomb Shelter in Nashville, TN and was produced by Andrija Tokic.” – Mac Cornish

Track Credits:
Mac Cornish – Vocals, acoustic guitar
Charlie Fuerstch – Electric guitar
Jeff Taylor – Piano
Cooper Dickerson – Pedal steel
Jack Lawrence – Bass
Dave Racine – Drums

Jesse Smathers, “Take A Drink On Me”

Artist: Jesse Smathers
Hometown: Floyd, Virginia
Song: “Take A Drink On Me”
Release Date: February 27, 2026
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “Though my familial roots are deeply planted in Western North Carolina, I was raised in Eden, NC – the home of Charlie Poole. I spent my youth picking and competing at the Charlie Poole Festival there. The festival was held at Morehead Park, on the same grounds where the cotton mill Poole used to work at once stood. I heard the music of Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers ringing throughout my childhood. He, along with his bandmates, were some of the most prominent precursors to bluegrass stylings that came nearly 20 years later. Tales of Poole, Posey Rorer, and Norman Woodlief are still being told today, as you would expect, with larger-than-life personalities and musicians.

“I often imagine this scene: walking down Morgan Road in Spray (one of three small communities that made up Eden) in 1926 as a bystander and hearing the centric bounce of Piedmont Mill music in the distance. As I approach, I witness the North Carolina Ramblers sitting on a stoop sharing tunes and a jug of the best white liquor that the area along the NC/VA line is so notorious for. That sight is exactly what came to mind when recording this tune and what comes to mind when I hear it back. This tune is a prime example of early popular dance music. Hunter Berry on fiddle masterfully captured the necessary musical essences all while integrating his own spontaneous and playful liveliness. The same can be said of Corbin Hayslett who mixed in popping Charlie Poole banjo techniques. Whether it’s a Coke, glass of tea, a beer, or a jar of Shooting Creek’s finest, all you rounders get ready to party and ‘Take A Drink On Me’!” – Jesse Smathers

Track Credits:
Jesse Smathers – Guitar, lead vocal
Hunter Berry – Fiddle
Corbin Hayslett – Banjo
Nick Goad – Mandolin, harmony vocal
Joe Hannabach – Upright bass
Patrick Robertson – Harmony vocal

Tenille Townes, “The Acrobat” featuring Lori McKenna

Artist: Tenille Townes
Hometown: Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
Song: “The Acrobat” featuring Lori McKenna
Album: The Acrobat
Release Date: February 27, 2026 (single); April 10, 2026 (album)

In Their Words: “There’s an underlying whisper in this song saying you don’t have to make yourself smaller anymore, and it is my greatest hope that someone hearing this could believe it’s true. I have been navigating a return to self season in my life and reclaiming the belief that I don’t have to contort myself to fit what anyone else needs. After losing my way for a while, this song felt like such an important anchor for this album. Writing this song through the lens of a character helped me to hold enough distance from myself to be able to write the truth, and name the quiet damage that comes from performing, instead of just being.

“Lori McKenna has been a compass influence for me and it’s an honor to have her singing on this song we wrote together. I love how she enters the recording on the line about the fortune teller with all her knowledge, because Lori has been that voice of wisdom for me for years through her songs. The honesty in her lyrics and the way her voice holds emotional tension has given me permission to explore that kind of vulnerability in my own writing. I’m grateful for our friendship, and for the opportunity to share a love for the craft of a song with someone I am still so inspired by.” – Tenille Townes

Photo Credit: Tenille Townes by Madison Rensing; Mac Cornish by Mandi Fountain.

The Glittering Golden Grass of The Brothers Comatose

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Bay Area five-piece The Brothers Comatose were actually founded by the brothers Morrison: that would be Ben on guitar and lead vocals and his brother Alex on banjo. The Morrisons came from a musical family and were influenced as much by classic rock as they were by country and bluegrass – their first album, Songs from the Stoop (2010), even contains a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers.” Initially, the band’s lineup included bassist Steve Height, fiddler Phil Brezina, and mandolin player Greg Fleischut.

In the 15 years since, they have stayed busy both in the studio and on the road. As anyone who has seen the band’s concerts can attest, The Brothers Comatose are anything but… comatose. Their live performances are known to be high energy and often include audience participation. They have supported everyone from Gillian Welch & David Rawlings to Yonder Mountain String Band to Trampled By Turtles. In addition, the group has played festivals like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and Outside Lands.

The Brothers Comatose returned at the end of July with their fifth studio outing, Golden Grass. The title track, which also opens the album, came from an unlikely source. “A fan started calling our sound ‘golden grass,’” explains Ben Morrison. “And the phrase just felt right.”

Golden Grass arrives three years after the band’s prior album and continues their mix of traditional bluegrass and rock. But behind the scenes, there have been some changes. The Brothers recorded Golden Grass in two separate installments with two different producers, Greg Holden and Tim Bluhm. While they were making the disc, mandolin player Greg Fleischut decided to leave the group. His replacement, Addie Levy, is the first woman in the band and, at just 23, significantly younger than her fellow members. “We always thought it would be cool to have a female voice to hit those high harmonies,” says Morrison. “Addie’s such an incredible mandolin and fiddle player, but she’s also a great singer and songwriter in her own right.”

Golden Grass is probably a bit more diverse than the band’s previous albums. Beyond being their first release to include a woman singer and mandolin player, it’s more collaborative in general. Ben wrote several songs, of course, but other tracks were penned by Levy, Brezina, and Alex Morrison. Still, Golden Grass maintains a pretty consistent sound over its 10 songs. The title track sounds like a lost Allman Brothers tune from back in the day and other highlights include lovely ballads like “Home Again” (featuring Lindsay Lou on guest vocals) and “My Friend” as well as the funny, rollicking “The IPA Song.”

I recently had the pleasure of catching up with Ben Morrison and Addie Levy for BGS.

To start with, tell me a little about the making of Golden Grass. I understand there were some changes between your last album and this one. Addie obviously is the new addition. And I guess Greg was the guy who left?

Ben Morrison: Yeah, Greg was in the band before. He left like halfway through the album. We recorded it in chunks. So we recorded half the album, we were working through the rest of the songs, and in that process, he left the band. Addie joined and recorded the second half of the album with us. But it’s funny. There are four mandolin players on [Golden Grass]. We had a couple of guest mandolin players on the album before Addie joined. Ronnie McCoury’s on there. It’s a good variety, I guess. [Laughs]

Tell me about the title track, which is also the first song on the album.

BM: That’s a good question. It started out with us trying to identify ourselves – that age-old question when you ask a musician what kind of music they play. “Well, it’s kind of hard to define. We’re jazz and pop and metal and boy band!” [Laughs] You know, it’s definitely pulling a lot from the bluegrass world. But also from a bunch of other influences.

We kept posting these things on Facebook and there’s this guy, Cyrus Clark, I believe his name is. He kept commenting about a lot of music coming from California – string band music specifically – going back to Old & In the Way. He kept saying, “Golden Grass! Brothers Comatose, Molly Tuttle, and AJ Lee.” We thought that was really cool.

I think I had just written it down in a notebook one day. And we did a cowrite – myself, our fiddle player Phil, and the guy that produced the second half of the record, Tim Bluhm. I was like, “What if we called it Golden Grass?” We started name-dropping different bands in the lyrics and kind of giving them a little shout out. We had fun with that and went with it.

“Home Again” – reading the press release, I know what inspired it. But just listening to the lyrics, I [probably] would have known anyway. For those of us on the East Coast, tell me a bit more about what [the wildfires] were like and how it affected the song.

BM: That wasn’t a personal story; it was about good friends of ours who lost their house in the Santa Cruz Mountains fires a few years back. For those of you not in California, there’s a fire season [here] where fires can just rip through and destroy communities. It’s pretty messed up and now it’s literally close to home. Some good friends of ours – all their property and their house got destroyed. I think it was during the pandemic and it hit me pretty hard. I was just really feeling for them and that song kinda came pretty quickly.

We had the song and thought about getting somebody to help sing it with us. Lindsay Lou’s been a friend for a long, long time and she’s such a great singer. We sent it to her and she was on it. It’s about a couple losing their house and building back together. So it made more sense to me as a duet.

I like the ballads on the album. Addie, I think you were the one who wrote “Blue Mountain?”

Addie Levy: I am.

Tell me a bit about the inspiration for that song.

AL: I’m from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I grew up in Appalachia my whole life. [The mountains] have always been a very big inspiration for my writing and who I am as a person.

I was driving to work one day and was listening to the Infamous Stringdusters’ [version of the Cure’s] “Just Like Heaven” and got really inspired by having a keen lick throughout the whole song. I was like, “I need to write a song like that.” It all came to me within the drive to work. I showed it to my mom when I got home and she kind of looked at me with concern. She was like “Are you and your boyfriend okay?” I was like, “What does that have to do with the song I just played you?” I accidentally wrote the entire thing about him – which is bad ‘cause he cheats on me in the song! But he doesn’t in real life! [Laughs]

There were all these little pieces. Like, I pass his exit to work every day. He knows my Starbucks order. I painted the walls blue in his bedroom in one of our first months of dating. I pulled all these little things I didn’t mean to. Then I had to show it to him. I was like, “I am so sorry I wrote this song about you!” But when you’re in a nice, healthy relationship – I don’t have that much stuff to complain about so I can’t really write about it!

“The IPA Song” is a fun track. Anything either of you want to share with me about that?

BM: When we play shows, we like to get people onstage to help us out – you know, for sing-alongs or whatever it might be. I think we’ve had more children onstage for “The IPA Song” than any other song, which is ridiculous. But they make signs and stuff – like the IPA circled with a line through it. We had a 15-year-old last night playing mandolin with us for that song! I mean, the lyrics are goofy, but I guess it’s a catchy one. It’s been a fun song to play live.

Going back to the Bay Area music scene. In the late ‘60s, it was known for bands like The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and the whole psychedelic thing. And in the late ‘70s, there was something of a punk scene. Even in the ‘90s, there were bands like Counting Crows that recorded in San Francisco.

What is the scene like now? And with all these different musical sounds that have come from the city, how did you settle on more of an Americana/bluegrass sound?

BM: The band got its start in 2008 in San Francisco. My brother and I were living in a house on Haight Street – right in the thick of it. Phil lived a few blocks down, so he would come over. We continued to live in the city for a long time and there was a bustling scene. With bluegrass too – like this [past] weekend was the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. I kind of credit that festival with my direct interest with this kind of music. It’s massive, three-quarters of a million people throughout the weekend. It’s all free. Huge headliners. It’s not all bluegrass but it definitely leans in that direction.

It was so cool being exposed to different kinds of music that I hadn’t really listened to before. What was also cool was watching artists play – Del McCoury, John Prine, Emmylou Harris – all these players that were older. It seemed like the older you get, the more respect you get in this world. [That] was interesting, because I felt like in the rock world there was sort of a shelf life. Like “Oh, you’re in your late 20s in a rock band? Give it up, kid.” That kind of thing. But in this world, when you’re 70, you’re doing it! That was always so cool to me.

So San Francisco does have a pretty cool scene. Probably 10 years ago, a lot of people started moving out because tech started moving in [and it became] more expensive. But I’ve heard that it’s getting cool again. I don’t hang out there as much anymore ‘cause we’re on the road a lot and I’ve got two kids. I mean, Addie probably hangs out there more than I do.

AL: Anytime I’m in town, I try to find a bluegrass gang. There’s a couple of bars [where] I’ve made some good friends. Sometimes there are jams, sometimes they’re just drinking. But there are some really cool musicians in town.

Ben, I know your brother is also in the band. Tell me what Alex brings to The Brothers Comatose that is unique.

BM: Alex has swagger beyond belief. [Laughs] Is that what you would call it?

AL: Yeah. [He’s] the most photogenic, most in the vibe of every situation.

BM: And the way he plays, too. To me, he plays banjo like Keith Richards plays guitar. You know, he’s not trying to be the Yngwie Malmsteen of the banjo or anything. He’s just trying to make it groovy, stanky, in the pocket. It’s just got such good feel to it. And also, he’s a great songwriter and singer. But a lot of his influences come from [bands like] The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin. We used to listen to a lot of classic rock when we were kids.

Addie, I guess I wanted to ask you what it’s like so far as the new member of the band and also the first woman. Crashing the boys’ club, as it were.

AL: My very first show with them was in Idaho. I had never met any of them, I had one phone call with them and I had never been west of Nashville! You know, I grew up traveling up and down the East Coast and never really left. I remember touching down in Sun Valley and the realization hit that I knew two people there and they were leaving the next day. And I was like, “I’m gonna get murdered. I am gonna die out here!” [Laughs] I never heard of the festival, it was in the mountains somewhere… I was like, “This is the end.”

[I was] super anxious to start. I mean, our first show was a headlining slot that Sunday. That was terrifying. But [the Brothers Comatose are] just the greatest people. They’re so welcoming. And I’m an only child. So they’re really the siblings [I never had]… They’re the best.

Photo Credits: Lead image courtesy of Burning House Management. Alternate image by Jessie McCall.