Tag: Maddie Witler

Don’t Call Me Darlin’: Lost Girl

Posted on by Cindy Howes

As a full-time musician living in Los Angeles, Carolyn Kendrick has a complicated relationship with bluegrass music. Despite years of experience and a deep connection to friendships formed in the community, Carolyn often thinks of herself as an outsider in the broader, male-dominated, and generally conservative genre. As life becomes more and more digitally saturated, the nostalgia-rich trappings and communal values of the bluegrass community speak to Carolyn as she finds herself yearning for a more grounded, unplugged time. She loves the music but is confused by how it fits into her sense of self.

She suddenly discovers that this internal friction is more common than expected when co-creator Tristan Scroggins shows her a collection of rare, feminist newsletters circulated in the ’90s by women who played bluegrass. These bright blue, hand stapled, self published newsletters contain nearly a decade of interviews, correspondence, and fellowship between women as they attempt to navigate and influence the genre.

As Carolyn explores these stories, it becomes clear that not only have women faced similar challenges since the music’s beginnings, but that previously gendered opportunities have gotten noticeably better in recent history. So why do the names and stories seem so unfamiliar? These questions lead down a rabbit hole as Carolyn and Tristan get in the car and drive to Virginia to interview Murphy Hicks Henry, the creator of the newsletter. Along the way they visit with friends, go to museums and festivals, interview friends, and re-interview the women from the newsletter to see what they think about the progress that has been made. All while recording to make this podcast.

Despite being a show about a newsletter about bluegrass, the show itself isn’t “about” bluegrass. It’s about community and what it means to be an insider. It’s about how tradition can bring us together but what happens to who gets left out. It’s about what we can learn from our elders and why we shouldn’t wait to ask them. It’s about women and their lives and what we can learn from them.

In this episode, you heard the voices of legends of bluegrass in the following order: Kathy Kallick, Missy Raines, Laurie Lewis, Maddie Witler, Murphy Henry, Dede Wyland , Lucy Singleton, Rhonda Vincent, Lisa Kay Howard, Sierra Hull, Kristin Scott Benson, Joselyn Skye, and Alison Brown.

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Don’t Call Me Darlin’ is based on the Women in Bluegrass newsletter that was published quarterly from 1994–2003 by Murphy Hicks Henry. More information about Murphy, including how to purchase her book Pretty Good for a Girl: Women in Bluegrass, can be found here.

Sources and citations for today’s episode.
Read the Women in Bluegrass digital archive, created by Tristan Scroggins
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For more information on our hosts and their other ongoing projects, please visit:
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Photo Credit: Carolyn Kendrick

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

12 Mandolinists We Know You’ll Love

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

The mandolin’s role in music has changed a lot over time and with its steady pace of change comes a constant flow of new players. Nobody plays or interprets music in the same way as anyone else, bringing plenty of new ideas and explorations.

There have been many different eras of mandolin playing in bluegrass. Ranging from the classic Bill Monroe style to David Grisman to Chris Thile – and, lately, a more string band sound is being popularized by players like Andrew Marlin. And of course, there are countless other mandolin eras beyond and in between.

The mandolin has also been used in many other genres besides bluegrass; it lends itself to genres such as Choro, jazz, classical, and pop. The mandolin even fills major arenas. There have been a lot of folks making incredible music on the instrument and though this is just a starting point, here are 12 mandolinists who you might not be familiar with, but we know you’ll love!

Jean-Baptiste “JB” Cardineau

Franco-American mandolin virtuoso Jean-Baptiste “JB” Cardineau is currently Boston-based, having graduated from Berklee College of Music. JB’s mandolin playing delves into many genres such as bluegrass, classical, old-time, and some traditional French music, too. His style is quite adventurous; he dives deep into the old-school Monroe ways, looking towards Frank Wakefield for much inspiration. JB has spent a lot of time touring with different bands, such as the Ruta Beggars, as well as his own project, JB and Cardineau Sin. As well as being an incredible instrumentalist, JB is also a gifted songwriter. Above is one of JB’s original tunes, “Si Tu Vois Ma Mandoline.” This tune blends the more traditional French style with bluegrass influences.

Ian Coury

Raised in Brazil’s capital, Brasília, Ian Coury is a masterful, well-respected 10-string mandolinist currently based in Boston. Growing up playing Choro, Ian pushes the boundaries of the genre, writing original music that has won him “Best Instrumentalist” awards from the National FM Radio Festival (2020) and second place in Brazil’s eFestival (2021). He has shared the stage with renowned musicians such as Hamilton de Holanda and Armandinho. In 2019, Coury enrolled at Berklee College of Music and later earned his master’s degree from the program. Here is Ian playing an original composition entitled “Solando no Limbo” for Mandolin Mondays.

Maddie Witler

Originally from and based in California, Maddie Witler is a phenomenal musician. Primarily known for her mandolin playing, Maddie is also an incredible guitarist and banjoist. Having also attended Berklee College of Music, Maddie was a founding member of the Boston-based bluegrass group the Lonely Heartstring Band. Maddie also used to tour with powerhouse GRAMMY-nominated band Della Mae. In 2022, Maddie released her debut solo album, Astronaut, a truly incredible compilation of all original songs and tunes from Maddie. In this video, Maddie is joined by Jacob Jolliff at Mandolin Camp North shredding on a classic bluegrass tune by Frank Wakefield, “New Camptown Races.”

Jesse Appelman

Jesse Appelman is both a gifted mandolinist and tune writer. Based in California, Jesse frequently tours with the Sam Grisman Project, as well as his own group, Jesse Appelman’s West Coast Stringband Project. His debut album, Where We Go, which was released in February, is a collection of original tunes and select cover songs and was produced by John Mailander. His tunes are mellow yet groovy, capturing anyone listening. This clip is Jesse’s rendition of “The Hills of Isle Au Haut” joined by Eli West and Patrick M’Gonigle.

Ethan Setiawan

An Indiana native who now makes his home in Maine, Ethan Setiawan is an incredible mandolinist and tunesmith. Ethan was the 2014 National Mandolin Champion, and in 2017 was the first place winner of the Rockygrass mandolin contest. He is also a graduate from Berklee College of Music, and has also done some teaching there, too. Ethan has toured with bands like the Acoustic Nomads, Corner House, and currently tours with both his duo Hildaland and his own group, Ethan Setiawan and Fine Ground. He has released a few albums of his instrumental music, Flux (2018), Gambit (2023), and Encyclopedia Mandolinnica (2025). Bringing in elements of bluegrass, classical, jazz, and Scottish music, Ethan makes his own sound and brings his listeners along for the story. Enjoy a recording of Ethan playing his original tune, “Uncrossed.”

Korey Brodsky

Originally from Connecticut and now based in Asheville, North Carolina, Korey Brodsky is both a talented mandolinist and guitarist. Yet another of our mandolinist picks who studied at Berklee College of Music, Korey has toured all over. In 2021, he joined Boston bluegrass band Mile 12 and he’s traveled and recorded with artists such as Jody Stecher, the Tray Wellington Band, Nefesh Mountain, the April Verch Band, and more. Above, Korey plays a beautiful take of a Karl Suessdorf and John Blackburn tune, “Moonlight in Vermont.”

Megan Cody

Originally from Colorado and now living in New York City, Megan Cody is a killer mandolinist as well as an incredible guitarist and singer. Fronting the band the Cody Sisters alongside her younger sister Maddie, Megan’s mandolin approach is playful and thoughtful. Megan tours year round with the Cody Sisters and frequently plays all over New York City. Here is a recording of the Cody Sisters playing a medley of a few songs and tunes.

Casey Campbell

A rare Nashville native, Casey Campbell is a fourth-generation bluegrass musician. An extraordinary mandolinist, Casey has performed with musicians like Bryan Sutton, Chris Stapleton, Vickie Vaughn, Becky Buller – and the list goes on! Casey was the 2017 winner of the IBMA’s Momentum Award for Instrumentalist of the Year. He has a duo mandolin album that was released back in 2017, Mandolin Duets: Volume One, which features Casey playing with various masters of the mandolin. In the video above, Casey is joined by Sam Bush as the two play a Jethro Burns tune in honor of Sam called “Sam’s Bush.”

Michael Prewitt

Originally from Kentucky, Michael Prewitt spent many years touring with the iconic bluegrass band Special Consensus. In 2024, he released his debut album, The Peerless Mountain Sessions, and then followed that up later that year with an incredible album of all original music, Something He Can Handle. Michael currently tours around the country with his own band, Michael Prewitt & CrunchGrass Supreme. The video above features one of Michael’s original songs, “Winnipeg” played by Prewitt with CrunchGrass Supreme.

Thomas Cassell

From Southwest Virginia, Thomas Cassell now resides in Nashville. A a founding member of the band Circus No. 9, he currently tours with the Wood Box Heroes and performs as a sideman with many other groups. Thomas has won many awards – he was the 2021 National Mandolin Champion and in 2020 he won the IBMA’s Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year Award. Thomas fronts his own band as well and has a few of his own albums out, Voyager (2018), What You Need to Prove (2022), The Never-Ending Years (2024), and he has a forthcoming album soon to be released! The video above is of Thomas’ new single, “Ramblin’ Heart,” featuring Tim Stafford. This is the first single off his upcoming album, so stay tuned.

Lauren Price Napier

Based out of Owensboro, Kentucky, Lauren Price Napier is a talented mandolinist and singer who digs deep into Monroe-style mandolin playing. Fronting the traditional bluegrass band the Price Sisters with her twin sister Leanna, Lauren has been nominated for multiple awards from the IBMA, such as Momentum Vocalist and Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Lauren brings her own spin to playing traditional Monroe-style mandolin while also sticking to the roots of the genre. Above is a video of Lauren playing one of her original tunes entitled, “Tuel’s Landing.”

Tristan Scroggins

Tristan Scroggins is a GRAMMY-nominated mandolinist who also won the IBMA’s Momentum Instrumentalist Award in 2017. He spent years touring with his dad’s band, Jeff Scroggins and Colorado, but he also has a duo with violinist Alisa Rose called Scroggins & Rose and recently toured full time with Missy Raines & Allegheny. In 2019, he released an all-instrumental EP featuring his style of mandolin crosspicking called Fancy Boy. Tristan also has an ongoing, multi-volume project with fiddler George Jackson recording 100 of the most popular old-time tunes called Old Time 100. Tristan currently tours with Bronwyn Keith-Hynes. Here, Tristan is joined by fiddler Ellie Hakanson playing a bluegrass tune, “Ashland Breakdown.”

Photo Credit: Lead image (L to R), Jesse Appelman by Giant Eye Photography; Lauren Napier Price by Jay Strausser; Thomas Cassell by Scott Simontacchi.

Brat Summer Hits Bluegrass – Everything You Need To Know

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Brat summer has come to bluegrass music – like seemingly every other corner of our culture. This viral social media sensation continues to mystify internet scrollers, news anchors, journalists, and analysts of certain generations, but the trend – based on the wildly popular hyperpop/dance album, brat, released by DJ and pop star Charli XCX in June – has found a sure footing in one perhaps unlikely corner of the music industry: bluegrass.

This fact was no more evident to the editorial staff at BGS than at our A Bluegrass Situation after show at Newport Folk Festival  last month, where recent BGS Artist of the Month and banjo magnate Tony Trischka posed an earth-shattering question to the cavalcade of bluegrass and roots music stars waiting backstage: “Who here is brat?”

Reactions were mixed. Trischka and his cohort attempted to explain “brat” to the gathered artists and comedians; those with knowledge of the conversation hesitated to identify who among the star-studded lineup identified as “brat” to Trischka and who did not, out of respect for those present.

 

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While our Newport Folk Festival lineup may have been an organic blend of brat and non-brat, elsewhere in the roots scene critically-acclaimed and award winning artists, pickers, and bands have gleefully brought brat to the forefront of a busy bluegrass festival and music camp season with many videos and posts celebrating brat summer. Impeccable instrumentalists, GRAMMY and IBMA Award nominees and winners, and industry leaders have all been seen making posts, referencing brat, and doing viral accompanying dance moves for XCX’s “Apple.” Meanwhile, new acoustic string band supergroup Hawktail have declared it’s a “Britt summer,” instead, celebrating their bandmate, fiddler Brittany Haas.

Do you or someone you know identify as brat? Are you, too, enjoying a bratgrass summer? You aren’t alone. These bluegrass artists and bands are certainly brat. And, with a few more weeks left before we usher in fall, there’s still plenty of time for bratgrass to continue to entrance and enlighten the bluegrass community.

Sister Sadie

@sistersadiemusic We’re practicing up on our dance moves for our set here at Rocky Grass 🏔️✨ we can’t wait to see y’all out there 💓🍏 #rockygrass #charlixcx #apple #sistersadie #ootd @jaelee @maddie 🫧🫶 @Gena Britt @Dani Flowers @Deanie Richardson ♬ Apple – Charli xcx

Look, we already knew Sister Sadie are brat, because No Fear = brat. The transitive property applies. Brat brat brat. Whatever this legendary lineup tackles, from exciting covers to TikTok dance trends, we’re here for it. Bratgrass epitomized. No notes, very demure. Very cutesy.

Maddie Witler

@maddiewitler 🍏 🍏 so fun my first ever tiktok dance video and a reason to wear this dress that I always chicken out on @Charli XCX dance by @Kelley Heyer #charlixcx #apple #theapple #brat #pop #fyp #trend #dance #pride #cat ♬ Apple – Charli xcx

Mandolinist, instructor, multi-instrumentalist, and coffee expert Maddie Witler was one of the very first bluegrass adopters of brat – some would argue, even well before the eponymous album. Witler has toured and performed with so many of bluegrass’s greats from all across the genre map, and now has crafted a vibrant online presence and business through TikTok, Patreon, and, of course, bringing the “Apple” dance and brat chartreuse to bluegrass.

Missy Raines & Allegheny, The Onlies, and More

@snooplemcdoople Old time brat summer #bratsummer #oldtime #missyraines @Tristan Scroggins @viv.and.riley @TheOnlies ♬ Apple – Charli xcx

Missy Raines is one of the winningest musicians in the history of the IBMA. Clearly, Raines is also brat. Here, she and members of her band, Allegheny (Ellie Hakanson and Tristan Scroggins), are joined by the Onlies (Sami Braman, Vivian Leva, Riley Calcagno, Leo Shannon) as well as several other instructors and musicians at Targhee Music Camp in Alta, Wyoming in the Grand Tetons. Sounds plenty brat to us!

Seth Taylor

 

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In-demand guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Seth Taylor currently tours with Sarah Jarosz, bringing brat with them everywhere they go. Or, should we say, “brat paisley summer.” Which, naturally, we’ve gone ahead and agreed is 100% a thing. Taylor is a bluegrass shredder who’s performed and recorded with countless artists and bands in country, Americana, folk, and beyond. Plus, his tasty acoustic guitar cover of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” feels pretty brat to us, too.

While we wish we could report a Pickin’ on Brat album is currently in the works or that Charli XCX will launch surprise bluegrass remixes with a Sierra Ferrell feature verse coming soon, rest assured the BGS team will continue to monitor, address, and report on the very important issue of bratgrass to our audience and readers – brat or not.

As more and more TikTok trends and hits from the current pop and Top 40 charts filter into string band music – like Taylor Ashton or Sister Sadie covering Chappell Roan, Seth Taylor’s “Please Please Please” rendition, Molly Tuttle singing Beyoncé, and many more examples crossing our feeds daily – it’s clear this bratgrass summer is first and foremost for the demure and mindful rootsy girls, gays, theys, and every brat in between.

 

LISTEN: John Showman & Chris Coole, “Long Hot Summer Days”

Posted on by Editor

Artists: John Showman and Chris Coole
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Song: “Long Hot Summer Days”
Album: Much Further Out Than Inevitable – A Fiddle and Banjo Tribute to Some Music of John Hartford
Release Date: December 2, 2022

In Their Words: “This is one of 14 tracks from our new John Hartford tribute album. I’d always loved Hartford’s original version of this song, but a few years back, I heard my friend Maddie Witler play this song while we were on tour in Germany. I was taken by how she’d interpreted the melody and made it a bit more bluesy (at least in my memory). I tried to bring some of that into my cover of ‘Long Hot Summer Days.’ It’s played on a gourd banjo, which definitely helps bring the ‘skank’ a little. This is just one more example of Hartford’s masterful ability to use word imagery to turn a song into something more like a movie.” — Chris Coole

Photo credit. Jen Squires

Lonely Heartstring Band See Light and Darkness in ‘Smoke & Ashes’

Posted on by Editor

The Lonely Heartstring Band curiously placed “The Way It All Began” in the middle of their new album, Smoke & Ashes, yet it serves as a cornerstone of the project. Somewhere between sweet romance and saying goodbye, the song conveys a contrast of emotions that are woven throughout the album. They recorded the album with Lake Street Dive’s Bridget Kearney as producer; together they ventured beyond bluegrass boundaries while retaining the acoustic approach that led to an IBMA Momentum Award in 2015, as well as a deal with Rounder Records.

The band is composed of twins Charles Clements (bass) and George Clements (guitar), Gabe Hirshfeld (banjo), Patrick M’Gonigle (fiddle), and Maddie Witler (mandolin). Starting a winter morning in Boston with mugs of hot tea, the Clements brothers fielded a phone call with the Bluegrass Situation.

BGS: Let’s start with “The Way It All Began,” which has a wistful and sweet quality. What were you hoping to evoke in that song?

George: Patrick brought that song to the band, and he told me it was his idea about how a relationship starts. It’s two people who are young and traveling together, trying to capture that reflective, looking-back element.

Charles: I’m pretty sure it’s based on a true story from his life and I think it’s actually bittersweet. It’s a moment that comes together in a relationship, for a summer, then by the end, there’s distance. It’s the way it all began, but the way it ended too.

George: We had a lot of fun arranging that song, coming up with different ideas, like little modulations in the middle with the fiddle.

Did you have a certain sound in mind when you went into these sessions?

George: Yeah, I think we wanted to capture the natural sounds of the instruments as best we could. We recorded this record at Guilford Sound in Vermont and that studio has a really cool, natural reverb chamber, so we were able to capture some spaciousness in that.

Charles: For that song, a high priority was to make sure it had that laid-back, California, spacious, unhurried feeling. We went back and forth on tempos quite a bit actually – that’s too slow, that’s too fast. It’s a delicate thing because you want things to groove and move forward, but you don’t want to lose the character of the song just because you want more energy. A great example of that is Neil Young. He’d do these slow grooves that still keep you rolling forward, but they’re not fast songs.

The song “Smoke & Ashes” has some interesting imagery in there. Several times, you are singing “Come back…” Who are you saying that to?

George: When Patrick and I were coming up to the lyrics to that, it was like a post-apocalyptic song in the sense that we’re losing a lot of things that we love in life. They’re slipping away, like maybe nature is becoming threatened by mankind. I think the “come back” is like, let’s return to the things that matter most. Come back to your senses, come back to reality. Come back to the moon, the sun, the things that are universal.

Why did that song make sense as the title track?

Charles: That’s a good question. We went back and forth on album titles. We settled on it because we think it has good imagery and openness to it. Smoke and ashes can be a pessimistic thing, like things have burned down, but it’s also kind of optimistic. It has a sense of rebirth to it. There’s a sense of ending and starting.

George: We thought it had enough space for the listener to put their own interpretation to it. And I think that “Smoke & Ashes” is a pretty unique track on the album because it’s real slow and spacy, with lots of interesting chord changes. I think we all liked the way that track turned out.

“Just a Dream” has a cinematic, sweeping quality to it. Are you all inspired by movies or film scores when you write music?

Charles: Yeah, when I wrote that song, I think I was letting my imagination run free and create these kind of dreamlike images. … You know, an album is like the inverse of a movie score. The listener obviously has to bring their own imagination. [An album] requires a lot more of an audience than a movie does. Movies sometimes are just gonna give, give, give. With a song you have to bring a little more attention to your own life, your own imagination, and fill it in more with questions about, “What are they trying to say?” I think about that a lot. With songs, you have to supply your own movie a little bit.

Do you all collect vinyl?

George: Charles is a big collector. Patrick has a lot. I don’t have a vinyl collection at the moment because I don’t have a record player. [Laughs] I’ve been moving around so much that I just don’t want to lug all of that around – but someday I’d like to have a collection.

Charles: Maddie, our mandolin player, has probably the largest collection in the band.

Do you turn each other onto music that you discover on your own?

George: Oh yeah. We spend so much time in the van. That’s all we do in the van, either listen to audiobooks and podcasts, or just show each other new music. We’ve got a big text thread going where things will get sent out sometimes.

Charles: Yeah, the Lonely Heartstring Band text thread goes back about five or six years now. It’s full of stuff! (laughs)

George: Somebody should transcribe that. It would be a great, hilarious coffee table book.

I like to hear you all sing together on “Only Fallen Down.” So I wanted to ask, who are some of the vocal groups that you really enjoy?

George: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young comes to mind. We also really like The Wailin’ Jennys. Charles and I grew up with a lot of Everly Brothers and Simon & Garfunkel, though that’s more two-part harmony.

Charles: The Trio album – Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt. That’s powerful three-part harmony there. And obviously the Bluegrass Album Band, as a model of how to do tight, three-part, bluegrass harmony.

That song seems to be about a temporary setback, but with a sense of determination to go on. Do you see some parallels in your own life? That decision to forge ahead through the challenges?

George: Yeah, like every day. [Laughs] Being in a band is not easy. There are always challenges in relationships. So I think the lyrics reflect an intimate relationship between two people but it can have a universal appeal. Any time you have a challenge or you feel like you’re ready to give up, you can always change your attitude and say, “Well, yeah, this is a setback. I can pull myself up by my bootstraps and keep on going.”

In that song, there’s a line that says something like “Reach out for a hand to pull me through.” That’s a line that we came up after the song was written. That line replaced another one lyric. I really like that line because I think the hardest thing to do when you’re down is to ask for help. Sometimes we wallow in our own misery, and I think what you have to do is ask for help. You don’t have to do it on your own, basically. If you’re having a tough time in life, there are always people who want to help. That’s the amazing thing about the human spirit. We are here to help each other.

Charles: “Only Fallen Down” is a simple song when you think about it. It has a clear, straightforward message. I think that song stands out on the album because it is like a Beatles-esque sweet song. It’s very direct, not trying to be obtuse or metaphoric. I think we were ready for something like that, where you can feel good, like a simple soul song where we’re not trying to say anything other than that simple idea.

Do you think your audience will hear a departure from your prior album when they hear this one?

George: Yeah, I think they will. When I listen to our first record, it’s a little more traditional style – although not super traditional. We still had our own take on things. But this record doesn’t have any covers. It’s all our own original music. I think it reflects more of our unique musical sensibilities without trying to be anything other than what we are. We’re not using electric instruments, we’re not using drums. We still have that Lonely Heartstring Band sound.

Photo credit (on location): Louise Bichan
Photo credit (studio): Mike Spencer