Molly Tuttle has shared stages and recorded with Ringo Starr and Billy Strings, yet she still grapples with the unpredictable “ups and downs” of a musician’s schedule and the inherent instability of the road. We talk with the GRAMMY-winning artist – who was also the first woman to win IBMA Guitarist of the Year – about the “baggage” of turning a passion into a profession. We explore the necessity of trusting one’s gut over industry expectations, how she navigates the transition from bluegrass traditionalism to rock-leaning solo projects, and the quiet power of having a partner who understands the nuance of tour routing.
There are plenty of country subgenres out there, but quickly rising up-and-comer Meels has carved out a unique new niche. The California-born singer-songwriter calls her sound “critter country,” a fitting term for her playful but grounded brand of country-leaning roots music, which takes cues from folk of the ‘60s and ‘70s, traditional bluegrass, and classic country a la Loretta Lynn or Willie Nelson.
On her recently released new project, Across the Raccoon Strait, Meels takes listeners on a colorful, far-reaching tour of critter country and in the process announces herself as a fresh, genuinely exciting new voice in the broader roots music ecosystem.
Folks are taking notice – Meels is one of the first handful of artists signed to the newly rebirthed Lost Highway Records, with a legacy of artists like Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett, and Johnny Cash, as well as another left-of-center singer-songwriter, Kacey Musgraves, who was announced as the first official signee when the label relaunched last year. Meels has shared stages with artists like Molly Tuttle and Old Crow Medicine Show, and will appear with Margo Price, Carter Faith, and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band this spring.
Below, BGS catches up with Meels about songwriting, “critter country” and signing to Lost Highway.
In the lead-up to releasing Across the Raccoon Strait you shared that this batch of music feels truest, holistically, to who you are as an artist. Can you elaborate on that? What do you think enabled you to express yourself so fully?
Meels: As a writer and a producer and a songwriter and a singer, I really trust my gut and just follow the wave. With these songs, it was just me doing that. A few summers ago, before I made the project, I dove deep into the country classics – like Loretta Lynn and Marty Robbins and Dolly Parton. I got super inspired, the floodgates opened, and I just started writing like crazy. I grew up on a lot of ‘60s and ‘70s folk and my uncle is actually a bluegrass musician. He gigged around town where he lives in upstate New York. So I was already introduced to that world, but I took a deep dive and felt really inspired. The project just kind of poured out of me.
Would it be fair to say you found some unexpected connection points or overlap in those genres – the bluegrass and folk you grew up with, then the classic country you dove into?
Oh, totally. I also was trying out my own take on all of these genres and, again, trusting my gut with production and with the songwriting, to find a space within the genres that felt right for me as an artist.
You describe your music as “critter country,” which I just love. And that seems to encompass more than just your sound, as you’ve developed this really strong visual aesthetic in your videos and artwork, too. How did the concept “critter country” first come to you?
That came naturally, too. I grew up surrounded by a ton of critters in the woods in Northern California and found myself using animals as metaphors for my life. I went to NYU for music, and I took a branding class. I remember all of my peers were coming up with all these cool names for their genre. The teacher was like, “Oh, come up with a name specific to your genre and who you are as an artist.” I was still figuring out who I was as an artist in college and when I was looking through my lyrics and finding all of these “critter” similarities, I was like, “You know what? Critter country, that has such a nice ring to it.”
Take me back to the early days of making Across the Raccoon Strait. Was there a moment or idea that kicked off the creative process for you?
I think it was probably “Out West.” That track, in itself, encompasses the whole idea of the EP. I wrote it in New York when I was still living there and I’d just decided that I was moving back to California, back to my roots. I was just so excited about the idea of moving back out to the West Coast that the song came ripping out of me in my New York apartment. So that was a catalyst for me. I wrote most of these songs – that are about California and about home, actually – in New York when I was in a state of longing for home.
Did having that physical distance from your California home, and maybe the benefit of hindsight, help you write those songs?
I think so. My whole life, I have felt the most creative when I’m in California. New York is very overstimulating and there’s a lot going on all the time. I feel like, when I was living there, I was very much just absorbing everything that I could, but I wasn’t really writing so much until I was like, “Yeah, I’m gonna move back.” Then all of the sudden, I just started writing like crazy.
Something that stands out in your songwriting is how freely you use humor in your lyrics. You tackle some tough subjects, but never shy away from playfulness and to me it makes the stories feel more realistic, because in real life our experiences are often mixed bags. Are you consciously trying to inject some lightheartedness into your writing or does it just happen that way for you?
I don’t know. I do find myself making little jokes in my songs all the time. For example, in “The Wizard” I’m writing about a heavier topic: my struggles with OCD for my whole life. But I’m writing about it in a way that I’m not trying to hide anything. I’m just trying to put it in a way that’s maybe a little more digestible, and a little silly and a little funny, to help myself work through it a little more. And maybe to make it more digestible for my audience, too. Maybe I use humor as a way to cope.
“The Wizard” really does nail that balance of sharing something difficult and vulnerable while giving a little wink and nod to the listener.
I love a wink and a nod.
Speaking of that song, when you do get into vulnerable territory in your writing, do you ever feel fear or hesitation? And if you do, how do you engage with those voices?
To be honest, I feel like when I’m songwriting I’m at my most fearless. Since I was young, it’s been my way to put it all out on the table and not be afraid. I think me writing in these little critter metaphors, or using humor – maybe that’s my fear talking, I don’t know – but when I’m writing I just want to lay it all out on the table. It’s my one true release, so I try to do it without fear.
It sounds like you had a fantastic group of collaborators working with you in the studio. What was your time together like?
It was so wonderful. We recorded at a studio in Oakland called Tiny Telephone [owned by John Vanderslice]. They actually had old telephones that worked all over the studio. And they had everything you could want and more to play with and to get creative with. The space itself was incredible. We had an incredible engineer named Danielle, and she was also so important in the creative process, you know, running the vocal through this weird flanger and making moves that were so creative and so unique and so cool.
I also co-produced it with Peter [Groenwald] and Mark [Campbell], who made my first record with me, so that felt really comfortable and really safe. I knew nothing was off the table. I could bring up any idea, no matter how stupid I thought it was, and we would try it. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. But we had such a good, natural flow in the studio. I brought a lot of friends, too, to play in the band, which was just really great.
You can hear the looseness and camaraderie in the music, in a way that I’d assume can’t be replicated without having close relationships with the players.
I’d always wanted to track a whole record live to tape. And we did that with Across the Raccoon Strait. We didn’t use any click [tracks]. It was just like, “Let’s get this next one tight, guys, let’s go.” We were all having a lot of fun with it.
When I’m in the studio, making music is such a collaborative thing. Even if it’s my song, every musician that I bring in is going to bring something unique. I really love to let them loose and let them rip. We can pull back where we want, but everybody in there plays an instrumental – no pun intended – role in making the music great.
This is also the first project you’ve done as one of the initial signees to the newly relaunched Lost Highway Records. How did you get hooked up with them and what does it mean to you to work with such an historic and impactful label?
This record has opened a lot of doors for me. I made it a little over a year ago and I was like, “I’m gonna quit my day job.” I was living with my grandma in Pasadena. She’s 86 and she’s so cool. “Marsha June” was actually written about her. So, I was basically like, “I’m just gonna give this thing a go.”
I sent this record around to literally anybody that would listen to it. I would send it to venues, because I’d just moved to LA. I was like, “Hey, I haven’t played a lot of LA gigs. Here’s my new record. You want to book me?” I was just kind of fearless about that, too. Some artists are so precious with the new stuff and don’t want to send it around. But I was sending these songs around before they were even mastered.
Eventually, I started working with a manager, I started working with an agent, and then I got a lawyer and did the whole thing. I talked to a lot of great labels, but when I met with Lost Highway I knew that it was the right direction. I’m so, so happy that I’m working with them. It really does feel like a family. It’s such a close-knit team and everybody really cares. … So many of my favorite artists have put music out through Lost Highway. Its legacy just runs so deep. I’m the hugest Johnny Cash fan in the world – and a Willie Nelson fan, and Lucinda Williams. It’s kind of absurd to me that my name could be looped in with all of those other names.
Happy Friday! We have new music for you to enjoy and, as always, You Gotta Hear This.
To start us off, Chicago Farmer (singer-songwriter Cody Diekhoff), shares a nostalgic and stripped-down country song, “The Twenty Dollar Bill,” that pays tribute to his grandparents and the “family roots” that he takes with him wherever he goes. The track is from his brand new album, Homeaid, which is out today. Kentuckian country singer, songwriter, and artist Brit Taylor has a new album today as well, Land of the Forgotten. To celebrate, we’re sharing “Done Pretending,” a song from the project co-written by Taylor, Adam Wright, and Jon Decious that decries relationships that are all “take” and no “give.”
There’s plenty of excellent guitar picking included here, too. Bryan Sutton returns to the roundup, this time with blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa in tow. The pair duet on Bill Monroe’s “Blue Night,” acoustic and electric guitars in shred-tastic dialogue on the classic number. The track comes from Sutton’s upcoming duets album, From Roots to Branches. Then, bluegrass and Americana flatpicker Trey Hensley calls on his friend and fellow guitarist Molly Tuttle for his new single, “Going and Gone.” Hensley penned the song with Bobby Starnes and features the bluesy, breakneck picking for which he has become known.
To wrap up, we have a new music video featuring lush and groovin’ Americana from YARN, a genre blurring-and-blending outfit that has been performing and recording for more than 20 years. For a song considering existence, fate, and the rat race at large, “Might as Well Be King” has an exquisite, gritty vibe – an excellent harbinger for the group’s new album, Saturday Night Sermon, arriving in April.
Whether your tastes lean towards bluegrass, blues, country, or Americana – You Gotta Hear This!
Chicago Farmer, “The Twenty Dollar Bill”
Artist:Chicago Farmer Hometown: Delavan, Illinois Song: “The Twenty Dollar Bill” Album:Homeaid Release Date: March 6, 2026 Label: LoHi Records
In Their Words: “When I was in high school my grandma started giving me a $5 bill to keep in my shoe for emergencies. When I told her I was going to be a musician she upped it to a $10. When I told her I was moving to Chicago she said, ‘You’re going to need a $20.’
“My grandfather lived pretty much his whole life in the same farmhouse that he grew up in. He was a storyteller from a small town and sharp as a tack. Grandma was a city girl, she grew in Peoria, Illinois. The home of Richard Pryor. She rode the city bus and had street smarts. Together, there wasn’t much they didn’t know or couldn’t fix or remedy. Grandpa passed away a few years ago just shy of 102. Grandma will be 98 this summer. They’re farmers, they’re veterans, and they’re my family roots that I take with me wherever I go. In song and in my heart. This song is for them.” – Cody Diekhoff, Chicago Farmer
Trey Hensley, “Going and Gone” Featuring Molly Tuttle
Artist:Trey Hensley Hometown: Jonesborough, Tennessee Song: “Going and Gone” featuring Molly Tuttle Album:Can’t Outrun The Blues Release Date: March 6, 2026 (album) Label: Pinecastle Records
In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Going and Gone’ with Bobby Starnes the same day that he and I wrote ‘Can’t Outrun the Blues.’ And I immediately loved both of those songs. It’s one of those story songs that just falls together and paints a picture without spelling out every detail. ‘Going and Gone’ was the first song we recorded for the project – and I was thrilled to get my friend and one of my favorite guitar players and singer-songwriters, Molly Tuttle, to join in on guitar and vocals. We had a blast getting to work together in the studio and I think that comes through in the final recording!” – Trey Hensley
Bryan Sutton, “Blue Night” with Joe Bonamassa
Artist:Bryan Sutton Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Blue Night” with Joe Bonamassa Album:From Roots to Branches Release Date: March 6, 2026 (single) Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to have Joe Bonamassa on this duets project. I’ve been a fan of his for a long time. I wasn’t sure what he would play when we cut this song, because all of this was acoustic. I love that he played electric guitar. I love the fact that it’s a different kind of song for this record and being able to interpret an old Bill Monroe song like this was just really, really fun.” – Bryan Sutton
Track Credits: Bryan Sutton – Acoustic guitar, vocal Joe Bonamassa – Electric guitar
Brit Taylor, “Done Pretending”
Artist:Brit Taylor Hometown: Hindman, Kentucky Song: “Done Pretending” Album:Land of the Forgotten Release Date: March 6, 2026 Label: RidgeTone Records, distributed by Thirty Tigers
In Their Words: “I wrote this tune with Adam Wright and Jon Decious – two of the most clever humans I know.
“I don’t know if other women have ever felt this way, but I have been in more than a few relationships that were a whole lot of take and basically no give. Then I realized that once you’ve given all you can give and done all you can do, you reach a point where there’s nothing left. No sadness, no anger, no regret – you are just done. That’s where the character is at in this song. She’s basically emotionless about it. She’s just done and she’s at peace with it.” – Brit Taylor
YARN, “Might As Well Be King”
Artist:YARN Hometown: New York City, New York Song: “Might As Well Be King” Album:Saturday Night Sermon Release Date: March 6, 2026 (single); April 24, 2026 (album) Label: 333 Entertainment
In Their Words: “Let the good times roll. We don’t know why we’re here or how any of this existence even works. Is it all fated? Is it all free will? So many folks in competition with each other fighting over some made up ‘green god,’ because they’re taught that is the way. But, it’s entirely up to us as individuals to define our own way. Nothing is law, there are no rules, this is whatever we make it. So the point of this song is nothing more than, don’t put too much stock in these ridiculous systems we’ve created. Have fun being human, embrace your human form and being able to do whatever you want with it; it doesn’t last long.” – Blake Christiana
Track Credits: Blake Christiana – Lead vocals, guitar Andy Thomas – Lead guitar, backing vocals Rick Bugel – Bass Robert Bonhomme – Drums Damian Calcagne – Hammond B3
Photo Credit: Brit Taylor by Sammy Hearn; Trey Hensley by Cora Wagoner.
In an all-star acoustic tribute, the timeless music of O Brother, Where Art Thou? rambled across the Grand Ole Opry airwaves for a 25th anniversary celebration on Saturday, February 28.
In some ways, this night in Nashville felt different from a typical Opry show – no drum kit, no square dancers, and not a lot of commercials. On the other hand, it would be hard to find a more suitable place to stage a salute to O Brother than on the world’s longest-running radio show.
The GRAMMY-winning, 8-times platinum soundtrack was performed in its entirety by Opry stars such Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Del McCoury, Old Crow Medicine Show, and the Whites, as well as guest performers like the Alaskan Sunnyside Sisters, the Fairfield Four, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, and Colin Linden alongside contemporary masters like Sarah Jarosz, Billy Strings, and Molly Tuttle. (To put the time frame in perspective, Jarosz was 9 years old when the soundtrack was released, Strings was 8, and Tuttle was 7.)
Old Crow Medicine Show perform during the Opry’s tribute to ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’
In addition, Chris Thomas King and Tim Blake Nelson also reprised their performances from the film, while the A-list house band was composed of Mike Compton on mandolin, Dennis Crouch on bass, Jerry Douglas on Dobro, Stuart Duncan on fiddle. And what O Brother tribute would be complete without Dan Tyminski delivering “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow”?
As a bonus selection not included on the landmark collection, Krauss and the Fairfield Four opened the special evening with a lively rendition of “Every Time I Feel the Spirit,” which immediately immersed the audience in that same spirit. After Krauss stepped away, the Fairfield Four performed the soundtrack’s original opener, “Po’ Lazarus,” accompanied only by hand claps. Old Crow Medicine Show roused the crowd with “Big Rock Candy Mountain,” an enthusiastic choice that fit their high-energy demeanor. Bandleader Ketch Secor also co-hosted the event alongside Opry announcers Bill Cody and Mike Terry.
Dan Tyminski sings “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” with the evening’s house band.
Backed by the house band, Jarosz engaged the audience to sing along with a perennial favorite, “You Are My Sunshine,” and the sold-out Opry House was happy to oblige. Krauss returned with the Fisk Jubilee Singers for a sterling performance of “Down in the River to Pray,” where the audience sat almost perfectly still in reverent silence. Following the song, Krauss was presented with a commemorative scarf designed by the famed clothier Manuel; all Opry members are receiving the scarf as part of the Opry 100 celebration. The house band then shared an instrumental version of “A Man of Constant Sorrow,” which was a nice touch referencing the handful of variations of the song on the soundtrack.
That soundtrack practically came to life with Colin Linden and Chris Thomas King’s “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues” and The Whites’ “Keep on the Sunny Side.” Jarosz on mandocello and Molly Tuttle on guitar teamed with the house band for a wonderful take on “I’ll Fly Away.” Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss then stood on either side of Tuttle for a trio rendering of “Nobody But the Baby.” (Gillian Welch, who sang with Harris and Krauss on the original album, was unable to participate in the show.)
Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss, both of whom appeared on the soundtrack, are joined by Molly Tuttle for an a capella rendition of “Nobody But the Baby.”
Folks, that’s only the first half!
After decades away from the spotlight, the Peasall Sisters returned to the stage to introduce “In the Highways,” the song they recorded as children; on this night, it was sung by an endearing kid quartet – and viral internet sensations – the Alaskan Sunnyside Sisters. Molly Tuttle returned for the emotional “I Am Weary (Let Me Rest),” which led into bluegrass phenomenon Billy Strings singing “Wild Bill Jones,” which appeared on the 2000 O Brother concert album, Down From the Mountain. Strings then welcomed Dan Tyminski for a duet of “O Death,” which was sung by the late Doctor Ralph Stanley on the soundtrack. (Incidentally, Stanley joined the Opry cast the same year the O Brother soundtrack was released on Lost Highway Records. The newly resurrected label co-presented the show with the album’s award-winning producer, T Bone Burnett.)
Billy Strings takes the stage to sing “Wild Bill Jones” with the house band.
The audience especially loved seeing and hearing one of the film’s stars, Tim Blake Nelson, revive “In the Jailhouse Now” on the Opry stage. Tyminski (who voiced George Clooney’s singing in the film) naturally brought the house down with “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow,” then Old Crow Medicine Show offered the vivacious “Indian War Whoop,” recorded by John Hartford for the original project. The Fairfield Four also returned to the stage to sing “Lonesome Valley” just ahead of Del McCoury Band’s performance of “Get Down on Your Knees and Pray.” (That one’s not in the film, but it was a terrific addition.)
The Del McCoury Band sing “Get Down on Your Knees and Pray” before leading a sing along with the entire cast of performers.
In his brief remarks, Burnett took a moment during a brief speech to acknowledge Denise Stiff, a visionary Nashville manager who recruited many of the musicians for the soundtrack back in the day. But of course, it wouldn’t be a tribute without everyone coming back on stage and singing at the end – in this case, “Angel Band” and a reprise of “I’ll Fly Away.”
Twenty-five years ago, the O Brother soundtrack brought old-time and bluegrass music into the national spotlight. This long-awaited encore underscored the staying power of this classic album.
Photo Credit: All photos by Chris Hollo for the Grand Ole Opry.
Lead Image: The entire cast of the Opry’s O Brother, Where Art Thou? tribute show take the stage to sing “Angel Band” and “I’ll Fly Away” to conclude the evening.
It’s noon in the Bay Area, and singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer Laurie Lewis is sitting in her backyard on what she describes as “a beautiful sunny day.” She spent her morning pulling up oxalis, and now she’s painting a railing she purchased at Urban Ore.
“It’s a good handrail for our front steps and along the walkway for my partner, Tom,” she says, “so I’ve been sanding it, wiping it down, and painting it.” Later during this interview, she’ll continue pulling up weeds, noting, “It’s very liberating for me, getting my hands in the dirt. It feels really good.”
The reason for today’s call is Lewis’s new album, O California! Like its predecessors, it’s an emotional palette of songs – five originals, five traditionals, and a cover of close friend Alice Gerrard’s “Sweet South Anna River” – that blend the many genres influencing her work, from bluegrass to country, jazz, and even a hint of rock. O California! features the stellar musicianship and vocals that define Laurie Lewis and her band, The Right Hands: Brandon Godman (fiddle), Hasee Ciaccio (bass), and George Guthrie (banjo, guitar).
A two-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year and a two-time GRAMMY nominee, Lewis is no stranger to BGS readers, as she’s been featured many times. Dedicated fans are also deeply familiar with her longtime partner, mandolinist Tom Rozum, and his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis. “He’s doing pretty well,” Lewis says. “He had spine surgery in November and he’s recovering very well from that. He had been living with intense sciatica pain for a year and a half, and the pain is gone, so that’s great.”
What would you like readers to know about O California!?
Laurie Lewis: Let’s see… all kinds of things. I wrote five of the songs on the album and they’re all over the map, so they’ll say, “She’s got a lot of different musical influences.” We’ve also drawn from the folk tradition and some great traditional songs and thrown that in the mix. It’s all done with the same four people and same four voices on beautiful acoustic instruments. Sonically, it’s really nice. You really hear the personalities of these particular four people working together. It’s what made me want to make the album.
This is album number 25 in your catalog. Artists often speak of albums as chapters in their lives. Which chapter is O California!?
This chapter is this band at this moment in time, these particular four people. I wanted to celebrate our working relationships together. It’s something that wouldn’t have happened at another time in my career, because I wasn’t working with these particular people for as long as I have been on this album. They are all on the previous album, but that was me calling all the shots. This is me settling in, listening to everybody, and trying to make a whole out of the four parts.
How did this approach make the creative process different?
Usually I come into a recording situation with more of an idea of what I want a song to sound like. This one, I came in with snippets and vague ideas for [the band] to have their way with it. We collaborated on arrangements and we listened to every idea. It’s not that I don’t listen to other people’s ideas at other times, but generally there might be more input than just three other people if I’m doing that.
I’m a collaborative artist. One of the reasons I play music is because it’s my best way of communicating in the world. And that is, for me, to an audience. But it’s also true for me to my bandmates and other musicians. It was fun to say, “We’re making a band album. This is what it’s going to be. We’re going to let people toss out songs.” “How does this sound?” “Oh yeah, great. Let’s do that.” It was, “How shall we do it?” “I’ve got an idea.” “How about if we do this?” It’s a very free and open feeling.
[The band are] all very open-eared and open-minded about the music. It doesn’t have to be the way Earl Scruggs did it, or the way Bill Monroe did it, or anything. It doesn’t have to fit into a neat bluegrass category. I’ve played with musicians in the past who have been more or less open, and all it takes is one more closed-off person to direct the band in a particular direction.
You’ve stated in the past, paraphrasing here, that writing is sometimes specific and sometimes spontaneous, sometimes it’s almost random, sometimes it’s unfinished. What was it this time, or was it some of each?
I’d say it was some of each. With the song “O California,” I was writing lyrics in the studio. I did a scratch vocal and changed the lyrics three times before I came home and overdubbed an actual vocal. That’s unusual for me, that it was in such an unformed state when I got into the studio, but it’s when we had the time and I knew the bones of it were good. Some vocal lines, some lyrics, just were not right yet, but I knew what it was about.
When did the songs start coming together as an obvious collection? Was there an intention in mind, a theme, when you all got together?
We started this project in a different way than I have other projects. We had little tours booked, so we would get together a day early before every tour, because we all live in different parts of the country. They would fly out here, we’d rehearse a song, get what we wanted down, figure it out, and then go on our tour and play it every night. We’d have a studio day booked on the day we got back from the tour, so we’d go in and record whatever we had worked out the week before and played on the tour. It was a fun way to approach a project and it spaced it out over a long period of time. It took close to a year.
When it’s spaced apart that way, how do you make it feel like a collection, rather than recording individual pieces of music?
Because it’s all us. It’s like an old friend – you can pick up the conversation right where it was. You haven’t changed your tone or your relationship with each other so drastically that it doesn’t fit together. It would be different if I were doing something like that over a year and just getting together with whoever I thought was the right person to play on a particular song. Then, the only thing that would hold it together would be my production values.
Do you still write ideas on notes, or have you tech-ed your way up to phone apps?
Oh, no. I write. I like to write with a good pen or a pencil on a piece of paper. I will make notes sometimes on voice memos, but mostly that’s it. I’m old-fashioned. I feel like there’s something that happens, the tactile feel of a writing utensil on the paper, that is easier for me to get a thought out than to sit at a keyboard. I’ve been known to still write letters, in fact.
We live in a world of texts, emojis, phone scrolling, and what’s being called “an epidemic of isolation.” Bluegrass is associated with festivals, musicians getting together and jamming, and community. Is this still true?
Oh, definitely. In fact, here in the Bay Area it’s having a real resurgence of community jamming culture. That’s always been at the basis of bluegrass. It’s what everybody wants to do – get together and let their instruments do the talking, let the songs do the talking. It’s a wonderful thing. I love it so much.
You mentor and teach at workshops and music camps, where you connect with younger and up-and-coming musicians. What do they want to know? What do they need to know?
One of the things that I try and impart to people is the importance of finding your own voice, because many young musicians have heroes they want to emulate. That’s how you learn, but at some point you have to find what you want to say with your voice and your instrument. That’s one of the things I try to emphasize and help people feel confident that they have something to say and their own way of saying it.
There is intergenerational connection at these camps and workshops, contrary to the ageism on both sides, that society seems to push: “What do those kids know?” or “What do those old people know?” What is your perspective?
There’s still a lot of that, but luckily there are enough people, young and old, paying attention and willing to listen to each other. It’s especially helpful when there are youth music camps and stuff like that, because then the kids have each other, but they also have their mentors there. They’re there because they want to learn, and it’s usually the older people who are teaching them, but then they get to be with their cohorts, their age group, and that helps a lot.
I certainly learned a lot from teaching at kids’ camps. When I first was asked to teach at a youth-oriented fiddle camp, I thought, “I can’t do that. I don’t know how to talk to kids. I don’t know anything about that stuff.” I said yes because I tend to say yes to things, and I found it to be so enlightening and so important in my life. It’s very enriching.
On a 2021 FolkWorks podcast, you talked about The Good Ol’ Persons playing a trade show luncheon years ago in front of a room full of drunk men. You described it as being “thrown to the wolves.” Many years later, how are we doing?
In terms of women musicians out in the world, there are so many more, and it is so great to see. And the technical abilities – you can’t fault it. You can put Molly Tuttle up against any guy. It’s been some huge steps forward in the time I have been in the music business, but it’s still very male-dominated from the top. It takes generations to change things like this, these ways of thinking, and now there’s a real cultural backlash happening and I don’t know how that’s going to play out. Women have made huge strides and maybe that’s just going to be taken away. Every generation has to fight the same fights, apparently.
Overall, how is bluegrass doing, to your eyes and ears?
That’s a really hard question for me to answer. Honestly, there’s a part of it that has gotten very entrenched in staying within a particular genre. I hear a lot of songs by people singing in a bluegrass style about bluegrass music, or their cabin home and I think it’s in danger of becoming a trope instead of a living, breathing art form.
Luckily, there are enough people out there creating in the art form and doing great stuff. There’s so much of everything happening all the time now that it’s going in all different directions at once. There’s good stuff and bad stuff, and it all depends on your point of view.
Who is making an important contribution, in your opinion?
I hear a few things now and again that I respond to and like a lot. I’m not very impressed with a lot of technical brilliance. I want to be made to laugh and cry, and if it doesn’t do one or the other or both, I’m not all that interested in it.
In terms of bands, Mighty Poplar can do it, and the duo Paper Wings, two young women, Emily Mann and Wila Frank, who I actually met at a fiddle camp when they were teenagers. They’re pretty wonderful. And I always like hearing what my old friends are coming up with in terms of songs and writing. I love hearing whatever 92-year-old Alice Gerrard is coming up with. She has a way of putting her finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the world and is pretty great.
In 1998, you recorded a song called “The Refugee.” Twenty-eight years later, here we are …
Oh, I know. I find it unfortunate that [that] song is still so incredibly relevant – or more relevant. I find it very unfortunate that song has not outlived its message. It’s terrible. I wrote it when Guatemala was in such bad shape, people were fleeing, and there was all this backlash. It’s an empathetic song. These days, empathy – there’s a whole movement, “empathy’s a bad thing.” It’s so crazy.
In a 2020 interview with BGS you said, “Music has a real way of being able to soothe and heal grief.” Could you talk about that healing power, not only as a songwriter, but also as a lover of music, a listener?
Oh, yeah, it’s true. I stand by that. There’s nothing like it. It’s such a direct conduit to the heart. A song can sneak in and express something for you that you had no words for. It can help you, as a songwriter, to figure out a way to express what you might be going through in a way that makes it universal. You put it out there in the world, everybody can feel it and relate to it, and it makes you feel a part of something greater than just your little dark cell that you might be stuck in, or your own personal grief.
It has helped me deal with things, with grief in my life, to be able to learn a song that makes me cry. Every time I hear it, I learn it, and it becomes part of me. It becomes part of my way of being able to express myself, or to write a song that every time I start trying to sing it, I’m in tears or something. You learn to work through your grief by embracing it musically. It’s an incremental way of dealing with things, and it’s really healing.
It’s a sense of support through the company of songs that speak to us.
Yeah. You are not alone. Especially with all the internet stuff, people spend a lot more time not with actual other humans, having conversations or whatever. To hear something, to listen and understand that other people are going through the same alienation or grief or loss, or whatever it is that you are experiencing, makes it easier to bear.
The French author Jean Giono, who wrote The Man Who Planted Trees – I wish I could find this quote – said in an essay that an artist’s duty is to express yourself for all the people who don’t have the words or the art to express themselves. It’s your duty in society, your job, to put it out there for everybody who can’t.
During the Infamous Stringdusters’ recent holiday gig at The Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina, the storied venue was packed out with jamgrass freaks, the performance itself a kickoff of sorts for the band’s 20th anniversary in 2026. I found myself standing sidestage when show opener Bronwyn Keith-Hynes came up next to me. A smile emerged on her face taking in the band and the audience.
“The Stringdusters made me want to start a band,” the GRAMMY-winning fiddler said, turning to me. “The Fork In The Road album was the most influential modern bluegrass album for me when I was at Berklee.”
Keith Hynes’ sentiment conjured numerous memories and moments I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of when it comes to the ‘Dusters. The first time I ever laid eyes and ears on them, it was the 2008 Targhee Bluegrass Festival in Alta, Wyoming. I was 23 years old and a rookie reporter for the Teton Valley News, based just down the mountain in Driggs, Idaho. By that point in my life, both personally and professionally, I was diving deep into the jamgrass world – the intersection of ancient tones, psychedelia, improvisation, and a collective love of the Grateful Dead.
The initial spark of the modern jamgrass movement was lit by Yonder Mountain String Band, Leftover Salmon, and the String Cheese Incident, all three acts coming into the national spotlight by the end of the 1990s. A musical template had been formed, and the ‘Dusters would emerge in the early 2000s to throw gasoline onto that melodic fire, ultimately becoming a missing link (alongside Greensky Bluegrass) between jamgrass originators, those ‘90s propagators, and folks currently carrying the torch into new, exciting realms: Billy Strings, Sierra Ferrell, Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, and more.
“That’s what’s so beautiful about bluegrass music, in particular,” Stringdusters fiddler Jeremy Garrett told me recently. “You pass it on to the next generation and they take it and they do their thing with it. Luckily for us, we were around at a time that [that] was very important, and a transitional time in the industry.”
In 2010, a couple of years after my introduction to the band at Targhee, when I returned to my native North Country of Upstate New York, I found myself covering a show at the intimate Showcase Lounge at Higher Ground in Burlington, Vermont. I was there to see the ‘Dusters once again. Their sound and energy immediately transported me back to the Rocky Mountains that I missed dearly. (Sharing the bill was another rising jamgrass act, Trampled by Turtles.)
I remember walking away from that gig feeling in awe and refreshed with a genuine feeling that something was happening. Something was on the horizon when it came to bluegrass and string band music. This wasn’t a traditional bluegrass band in matching suits, standing like statues. It was a rock show with acoustic instruments. Baseball caps and long hair, grins ear-to-ear. More provocative than standstill, more vibrant than just going through the motions of what past generations were instructed to do.
“Being able to showcase our own songs, in our own way, [our] writing skills, and making the decisions on what was chosen to play and how to play it [were] foremost for most of us at the beginning,” Garrett says. “Over time, we realized that we were actually growing a community. And after all these years, that honestly has become the most important part, the most important thing that we could possibly do.”
What I witnessed in Wyoming and Vermont years ago is what I’ve continued to experience with the Infamous Stringdusters, in person and in method, from Florida to Colorado and beyond. They set the pace then for where we stand with jamgrass right now, built on a full-throttle approach, one which remains sonically elusive as well as paying homage to the architects of bluegrass and those who broke from the pack and made something all their own.
Aside from the talents of the Stringdusters, either as individuals or the sum of their parts, you also have a unique setup. Alongside founding members, banjoist Chris Pandolfi and Dobroist Andy Hall, who emerged from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, you have the tradgrass pedigree of Garrett, who was born and raised in a traveling family bluegrass band hailing from Idaho. This fusing of road-tested grit and grace with conservatory-style techniques is at the heart of what this group does best: jam.
All of which circles back to the Asheville Orange Peel performance in late 2025. There were tightly knit melodies and freewheelin’ improvisational explorations. They broke down the invisible walls between themselves and the audience, maintaining a two-way street of momentum, energy, and inspiration from both sides of the microphone – a vortex of sound and scope, all revolving around a deep sense of community.
“The band is stronger than ever and making some of the best music we’ve ever made,” Garrett says. “But, the thing I see that is the most important being carried on is that community factor. We certainly didn’t invent that, but we took note and applied the philosophy to our scene, and hopefully the next generation realizes how important that piece is.”
Ultimately, this 20th anniversary celebration for the Infamous Stringdusters is a culmination of a tried-and-true effort to bring this hallowed music into the unknown and unfolding musical landscape of the 21st century. With their upcoming album, 20/20 (out February 13 via Ameriana Vibes) they continue their efforts to break new ground and forge ahead, together, whatever the next 20 years hold for jamgrass and the ‘Dusters.
The Infamous Stringdusters are our Artist of the Month. Below, enjoy our Essential Infamous Stringdusters playlist and stay tuned as we share brand new and archive content on the ‘Dusters throughout the month of February here on BGS – and across our social media channels. Like our exploration of their 20-year discography or our oral history of the band featuring all five members in conversation.
The 2026 GRAMMY Awards were handed out on February 1, 2026, by the Recording Academy at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Broadcast live on CBS, the primetime awards show is now viewable on demand on Paramount+. Earlier in the afternoon, the GRAMMY Premiere Ceremony, which was streamed via the GRAMMYs website and on YouTube, was held at the Peacock Theater, handing out dozens and dozens of additional awards across fields and categories.
Best Bluegrass Album was announced during the Premiere Ceremony. This year, nominees included Michael Cleveland & Jason Carter (Carter & Cleveland), Sierra Hull (A Tip Toe High Wire), Alison Krauss & Union Station (Arcadia), the SteelDrivers (Outrun), and Billy Strings (Highway Prayers). Strings took home the award, racking up his third gramophone in the category. While Hull, who was nominated in four categories, including Best Bluegrass Album, did not take home any GRAMMY Awards yesterday, she was featured during the Premiere Ceremony as a presenter and she made an appearance on the red carpet for the primetime awards show. Roots/bluegrass/folk supergroup I’m With Her – featuring Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, and Sara Watkins – were nominated and won twice, taking home the Best Folk Album trophy for Wild and Clear and Blue and the award for Best American Roots Song for “Ancient Light.”
Tyler Childers, who was nominated in four categories this year, received his first-ever GRAMMY Award for Best Country Song for “Bitin’ List,” a viral sensation from his critically acclaimed 2025 album, Snipe Hunter. The LP had been nominated for Best Contemporary Country Album – in one of the much buzzed-about split categories of Best Contemporary Country Album and Best Traditional Country Album – but the trophy went to Jelly Roll’s Beautifully Broken instead. In the other split category, upstart fan favorite Zach Top took home the Traditional Country honor for his sophomore release, Ain’t In It For My Health. It marks Top’s first GRAMMY Award.
Of course, beyond the Country & American Roots Music field, folk and roots music were represented in peak form across the many genres and categories of the 68th Annual GRAMMY Awards. Album of the Year was awarded to Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, one of the best roots projects of last year as selected by the BGS Class of 2025. From the Premiere Ceremony and Best Bluegrass Album to the primetime broadcast and Album of the Year, roots music is and always has been a keystone of the biggest night in music.
Below, find the complete list of winners (in bold) from the Country & American Roots Music field, plus select categories featuring roots musicians, artists, and projects from across the various other GRAMMY fields and categories.
Country & American Roots Music
Best Country Solo Performance
“Nose On The Grindstone” – Tyler Childers “Good News” – Shaboozey “Bad As I Used To Be” – Chris Stapleton “I Never Lie” – Zach Top “Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
“A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton “Trailblazer” – Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson “Love Me Like You Used To Do” – Margo Price, Tyler Childers “Amen” – Shaboozey, Jelly Roll “Honky Tonk Hall Of Fame” – George Strait, Chris Stapleton
Best Country Song
“Bitin’ List” – Tyler Childers, songwriter. (Tyler Childers) “Good News” – Michael Ross Pollack, Sam Elliot Roman, Jacob Torrey, songwriters. (Shaboozey) “I Never Lie” – Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols, Zach Top, songwriters. (Zach Top) “Somewhere Over Laredo” – Andy Albert, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Lainey Wilson, songwriters. (Lainey Wilson) “A Song To Sing” – Jenee Fleenor, Jesse Frasure, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, songwriters. (Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton)
Best Traditional Country Album
Dollar A Day – Charley Crockett American Romance – Lukas Nelson Oh What A Beautiful World – Willie Nelson Hard Headed Woman – Margo Price Ain’t In It For My Health – Zach Top
Zach Top accepts the Best Traditional Country Album award for ‘Ain’t In It For My Health’ during the 68th GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy.)
Best Contemporary Country Album
Patterns – Kelsea Ballerini Snipe Hunter – Tyler Childers Evangeline Vs. The Machine – Eric Church Beautifully Broken – Jelly Roll Postcards From Texas – Miranda Lambert
Best American Roots Performance
“LONELY AVENUE” – Jon Batiste, Featuring Randy Newman “Ancient Light” – I’m With Her “Crimson And Clay” – Jason Isbell “Richmond On The James” – Alison Krauss & Union Station “Beautiful Strangers” – Mavis Staples
Best Americana Performance
“Boom” – Sierra Hull “Poison In My Well” – Maggie Rose, Grace Potter “Godspeed” – Mavis Staples “That’s Gonna Leave A Mark” – Molly Tuttle “Horses” – Jesse Welles
Best American Roots Song
“Ancient Light” – Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, Sara Watkins, songwriters. (I’m With Her) “BIG MONEY” – Jon Batiste, Mike Elizondo, Steve McEwan, songwriters. (Jon Batiste) “Foxes In The Snow” – Jason Isbell, songwriter. (Jason Isbell) “Middle” – Jesse Welles, songwriter. (Jesse Welles) “Spitfire” – Sierra Hull, songwriter. (Sierra Hull)
Best Americana Album
BIG MONEY – Jon Batiste Bloom – Larkin Poe Last Leaf On The Tree – Willie Nelson So Long Little Miss Sunshine – Molly Tuttle Middle – Jesse Welles
Best Bluegrass Album
Carter & Cleveland – Michael Cleveland & Jason Carter A Tip Toe High Wire – Sierra Hull Arcadia – Alison Krauss & Union Station Outrun – The SteelDrivers Highway Prayers – Billy Strings
(L-R) Brandy Clark, Reba McEntire, and Lukas Nelson perform onstage during the 68th GRAMMY Awards. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy.)
Best Traditional Blues Album
Ain’t Done With The Blues – Buddy Guy Room On The Porch – Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ One Hour Mama: The Blues Of Victoria Spivey – Maria Muldaur Look Out Highway – Charlie Musselwhite Young Fashioned Ways – Kenny Wayne Shepherd & Bobby Rush
Best Contemporary Blues Album
Breakthrough – Joe Bonamassa Paper Doll – Samantha Fish A Tribute To LJK – Eric Gales Preacher Kids – Robert Randolph Family – Southern Avenue
Best Folk Album
What Did The Blackbird Say To The Crow – Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson Crown Of Roses – Patty Griffin Wild And Clear And Blue – I’m With Her Foxes In The Snow – Jason Isbell Under The Powerlines (April 24 – September 24) – Jesse Welles
Best Regional Roots Music Album
Live At Vaughan’s – Corey Henry & The Treme Funktet For Fat Man – Preservation Brass & Preservation Hall Jazz Band Church Of New Orleans – Kyle Roussel Second Line Sunday – Trombone Shorty And New Breed Brass Band A Tribute To The King Of Zydeco – Various Artists
Molly Tuttle walks the red carpet at the 68th GRAMMY Awards. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy.)
General Field
Producer of the Year (Non-Classical)
Dan Auerbach Cirkut Dijon Blake Mills Sounwave
Jazz, Traditional Pop, Contemporary Instrumental & Musical Theater
Best Jazz Performance
“Noble Rise” – Lakecia Benjamin, Featuring Immanuel Wilkins & Mark Whitfield “Windows – Live” – Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade “Peace Of Mind / Dreams Come True” – Samara Joy “Four” – Michael Mayo “All Stars Lead To You – Live” – Nicole Zuraitis, Dan Pugach, Tom Scott, Idan Morim, Keyon Harrold & Rachel Eckroth
Best Jazz Instrumental Album
Trilogy 3 (Live) – Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade Southern Nights – Sullivan Fortner, Featuring Peter Washington & Marcus Gilmore Belonging – Branford Marsalis Quartet Spirit Fall – John Patitucci, Featuring Chris Potter & Brian Blade Fasten Up – Yellowjackets
Best Alternative Jazz Album
honey from a winter stone – Ambrose Akinmusire Keys To The CityVolume One – Robert Glasper Ride into the Sun – Brad Mehldau LIVE-ACTION – Nate Smith Blues Blood – Immanuel Wilkins
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Wintersongs – Laila Biali The Gift Of Love – Jennifer Hudson Who Believes In Angels? – Elton John & Brandi Carlile Harlequin – Lady Gaga A Matter Of Time – Laufey The Secret Of Life: Partners, Volume 2 – Barbra Streisand
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
Brightside – ARKAI Ones & Twos – Gerald Clayton BEATrio – Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda, Antonio Sánchez Just Us – Bob James & Dave Koz Shayan – Charu Suri
Sierra Hull speaks on stage during the 68th GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy.)
Gospel & Contemporary Christian Music
Best Roots Gospel Album
I Will Not Be Moved (Live) – The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir Then Came The Morning – Gaither Vocal Band Praise & Worship: More Than A Hollow Hallelujah – The Isaacs Good Answers – Karen Peck & New River Back To My Roots – Candi Staton
Latin, Global, Reggae & New Age, Ambient, or Chant
Best Música Mexicana Album (Including Tejano)
MALA MÍA – Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera Y Lo Que Viene – Grupo Frontera Sin Rodeos – Paola Jara Palabra De To’s (Seca) – Carín León Bobby Pulido & Friends Una Tuya Y Una Mía – Por La Puerta Grande(En Vivo) – Bobby Pulido
Best Global Music Performance
“EoO” – Bad Bunny “Cantando en el Camino” – Ciro Hurtado “JERUSALEMA” – Angélique Kidjo “Inmigrante Y Que?” – Yeisy Rojas “Shrini’s Dream (Live)” – Shakti “Daybreak” – Anoushka Shankar, Featuring Alam Khan, Sarathy Korwar
Children’s, Comedy, Audio Books, Visual Media & Music Video/Film
Best Song Written For Visual Media
“As Alive As You Need Me To Be” [From TRON: Ares] – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, songwriters. (Nine Inch Nails) “Golden” [From KPop Demon Hunters] – EJAE & Mark Sonnenblick, songwriters. (HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI) “I Lied to You” [From Sinners] – Ludwig Göransson & Raphael Saadiq, songwriters. (Miles Caton) “Never Too Late” [From Elton John: Never Too Late] – Brandi Carlile, Elton John, Bernie Taupin & Andrew Watt, songwriters. (Elton John, Brandi Carlile) “Pale, Pale Moon” [From Sinners] – Ludwig Göransson & Brittany Howard, songwriters. (Jayme Lawson) “Sinners” [From Sinners] – Leonard Denisenko, Rodarius Green, Travis Harrington, Tarkan Kozluklu, Kyris Mingo & Darius Povilinus, songwriters. (Rod Wave)
“First Snow” – Remy Le Boeuf, composer. (Nordkraft Big Band, Remy Le Boeuf & Danielle Wertz) “Live Life This Day: Movement I” – Miho Hazama, composer. (Miho Hazama, Danish Radio Big Band & Danish National Symphony Orchestra) “Lord, That’s A Long Way” – Sierra Hull, composer. (Sierra Hull) “Opening” – Zain Effendi, composer. (Zain Effendi) “Train To Emerald City” – John Powell & Stephen Schwartz, composers (John Powell & Stephen Schwartz) “Why You Here / Before The Sun Went Down” – Ludwig Göransson, composer. (Ludwig Göransson, Featuring Miles Caton)
Photo Credit: All photos by Getty Images for the Recording Academy, courtesy of the Recording Academy. Photographer credits as marked.
Lead and Alternate Images: I’m With Her, (L to R) Sara Watkins, Aoife O’Donovan, and Sarah Jarosz, accept the GRAMMY for Best Folk Album. Shot by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for the Recording Academy.
Molly Tuttle kicked off the new year in style, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on January 5 to perform a GRAMMY-nominated song from her GRAMMY-nominated album. “That’s Gonna Leave a Mark” was released on So Long Little Miss Sunshine in August of 2025. The track was nominated for Best Americana Performance while the LP gained a nomination for Best Americana Album. Featuring her signature clawhammer guitar picking style and impassioned, heart-wrenching vocals, “That’s Gonna Leave a Mark” is a standout track from So Long Little Miss Sunshine, having held the No. 1 slot on the Americana radio charts for four weeks and having climbed to #13 on the AAA charts, as well.
On the Kimmel stage, Tuttle and her band – Ellen Angelico (guitar), Megan Jane (drums), Vanessa McGowan (bass), Mary Meyer (keys) – demonstrate the genre-blending style that’s also a hallmark of her most recent album. Clawhammer guitar builds a rich foundation for pop-steeped Americana, polish and grit combining in intricate and intriguing ways. Tuttle’s percussive right hand reminds of piano key strikes in similar singer-songwriter (but keys-centered), pop and adult contemporary styles. It may be surprising that old-timey and bluegrass textures could fit so well in this musical context, but this is an intersection of styles Tuttle has long been comfortable with.
Molly Tuttle will vie for the Best Americana Performance and Best Americana Album GRAMMYs on February 1, when the awards will be handed out in Los Angeles, before going on tour with Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives for Molly x Marty: Guitars on Fire — The Cosmic Twang Tour in the South and Northeast in February.
Photo Credit: Lead image courtesy of ABC/Jimmy Kimmel Live!; alternate image courtesy of ABC, shot by Randy Holmes.
Roots music was everywhere this year. It’s time we decide once and for all: Is roots music enjoying a “moment”? Or are these genres and sonic stylings alwaysthis foundational to popular and mainstream music?
Maybe roots is just at the center of everything we do here at BGS, but we’re inclined to the latter option. Roots music, folk music, whatever you want to call it, these styles are at the root – pun intended – of everything we love, not just in our scenes and spaces, but what we love about pop music, radio hits, and the musical mainstream, too. It’s no wonder, then, that roots shows up in albums and offerings by Bad Bunny and Sabrina Carpenter. That roots music finds its way across the globe in the fight for justice. That banjos and fiddles and the blues and bluegrass can be seeds by which entire resplendent artistic universes can be birthed, whether festivals or films or documentaries or albums or songs.
For our final year-end retrospective list of 2025, we asked our BGS contributors to reflect on the roots music and moments that stuck with them over the course of this year. Instead of setting strict criteria for what qualified as “roots music,” we did just the opposite, leaving our year-end “best” prompt as loose, open, and broad as possible. The results reaffirm our central belief that roots music isn’t a niche, it’s everything. There’s no limit to what it can touch on, impact, and transform.
We look forward to continuing to celebrate all things roots music and roots culture with you in 2026. In the meantime, enjoy our BGS Class of 2025. Roots music below, bluegrass here, and Good Country here.
Bad Bunny, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
Last year, the most mainstream and far-reaching roots album was most certainly Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. The project has amassed billions of streams and listens, millions of sales, and has been certified Platinum by RIAA. This year, the most prominent roots album has received little to none of the controversial discourse of “belonging” and genre and roots-adjacency that Cowboy Carter attracted. Bad Bunny’s 2025 masterpiece, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, is perhaps a bit sneakier in its rootsiness – or, being that it was made by a Puertorriqueño and is delivered entirely in Spanish, perhaps the same sorts of racism that put Beyoncé under the crosshairs may have relieved Bad Bunny of such targeting.
DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS is jaw-dropping in its artistic and sonic accomplishments. Reggaeton and pop, hip-hop and house are grounded and contextualized by roots music, which does incredible heavy artistic lifting across the album. Interludes and intros reference many of the Latin and Caribbean folk styles that would birth the genres Bad Bunny currently inhabits. Calls of endemic frogs are mentioned alongside varied sounds of the diaspora, gentrification decried while advocating for self-determination. The album successfully does the work of so many solely folk and/or roots projects, but given its mainstream appeal and A-lister creator, that fact seems to have been lost in the glitz, glamour, and Super Bowl Halftime Show of it all. Make no mistake, though, for all the things that it is, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS is obviously roots music. – Justin Hiltner
Carsie Blanton
Singer-songwriter Carsie Blanton gave the most fun performances I saw on folk stages this year. Whether solo in the round or with frequent collaborators Sean Trischka, Joe Plowman, and Isa Burke, a Carsie show feels like a block party. People pack in corners to see what she will cook up next: a saucy tale, a power pop-influenced anthem of revolution, a quiet moment that demands reverent attention. Blanton has a gift for translating history into sing-alongs without softening any of her political edges. It takes an expert vocalist and arranger to sing “I guess America’s coming untied/ Half of my neighbors are living outside” without the audience feeling gloomy or preached at.
It helps that Blanton embodies the kind of working-class swagger that only a bad bitch from New Jersey can pull off. An outspoken feminist and member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, this past October she brought the revolutionary hope of her songs to Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza, where she risked her life as a member of the humanitarian coalition. Blanton, along with many of her comrades, was detained when the Israeli military intercepted their boats. Her bandmates were waiting at the airport when she got home. – Lizzie No
Brooklyn Folk Festival
Celebrating its 17th year, the Brooklyn Folk Festival is the best of the independent roots music community incarnate. Each November, the festival brings together members of the New York folk music community with musicians from across the country (and sometimes the world) for one weekend of homegrown joy, hosted in the Saint Ann and the Holy Trinity Episcopal church in Brooklyn. Musicians swap instruments and stories and audiences pack church pews and sit cross-legged on the floor to listen, intently.
The festival fosters space both for old-timers and young musicians; each year students from the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music, which hosts the event, perform. This year, the mainstage audience waited patiently, giving grace to 91-year-old folk legend Alice Gerrard (of Hazel & Alice) as she remembered the lyrics to one of her songs. Friends, lovers, and children waltzed together to Black string band New Dangerfield. And when musician Nick Shoulders invoked folk music’s long history of protest and compared old-time music to public lands – dubbing both worthy and precious resources, which should be protected and preserved as free for all – the entire room cheered. Community uplift at its purist and sweetest. – Meredith Lawrence
Sabrina Carpenter’s Sneaky Roots
They say the Germans have a word for everything. Do you think there’s one for how good it feels when roots music sneaks into the pop mainstream? Maybe… Beyoncénfreude? There should be some term for it, because it’s a special kind of satisfaction, and this year the good vibes continued with Ms. Short n’ Sweet herself, Sabrina Carpenter.
The superstar had already shown a genuine appreciation for country when she teamed up with Dolly Parton on “Please, Please, Please” (even changing explicit lyrics to better suit the mild-mannered icon) and with the dreamy country-folk of “Slim Pickins.” But in 2025 two important things happened. 1) She made her Grand Ole Opry debut in October, beaming with pride and lavishing the institution with praise. “Please, Please, Please” and “Slim Pickins” were both part of her set. And, 2) “Man Child.” Beneath the disco pulse ran an undercurrent of country twang, with a rhinestoned electric guitar hook dripping in her signature campiness.
This alone would be a prime case of Beyoncénfreude, but the best part was how Carpenter felt no need to call attention to the matter. It wasn’t a play or statement. She just wanted some country in there and knew her fans would accept it. What that says about roots music and the mainstream is definitely a 2025 highlight. – Chris Parton
Neko Case, “Winchester Mansion of Sound”
The late great Flat Duo Jets guitarist Dexter Romweber, who died at a too-young 57 last year, was an inspirational figure to generations of artists, Neko Case among them. The Americana siren repaid that debt with a cameo on Dex Romweber Duo’s 2009 LP Ruins of Berlin, and goes one better with this eulogy from her latest album, Neon Grey Midnight Green. Over spectral tack piano plinking away, Case paints a picture of kindred spirits bound together by music:
I still think of you And your wild, recurve guitar Only you can play so far out of tune And still kick me in the heart.
By the end, shortly before the full band kicks in for the outro, Case concludes, “Only music is forever.” Perfect.
This has been just one of 2025’s Romweber afterlife artifacts, including posthumous induction into the North Carolina Music Hall of fame and depiction in the teen drama TV series, The Runarounds. But this one is the best of all. – David Menconi
Chatham Rabbits, Be Real With Me
Despite its general lamenting about growing older – something I can relate to all too well – I can’t get enough of husband-wife duo Chatham Rabbits on Be Real With Me. But instead of focusing on the aches, pains, and other changes that come with the passing of time, Sarah and Austin McCombie also reflect on the wisdom that accompanies it as well.
This manifests itself in missives like “Matador,” where Sarah sings about trusting people too fast and ignoring red flags along the way, and “Gas Money,” which touches on overcommitting to relationships with others before first looking after yourself. The duo also navigate everything from falling out with longtime companions (“Childhood Friends”) to wanting freedom while also having desires to build and nurture a family (“Collateral Damage”), painting an understandably complex web of stories in the process.
The result is a very millennial-leaning record that puts a positive spin on aging as a young adult and will leave any 20-something listening ready to do what Austin describes on the album’s lead track, “Facing 29” – “Grabbing 30 by the strap of its boots.” – Matt Wickstrom
Michael Daves, Early Morning Sun
2025 has been a bang-up year for new releases and one at the top of my list is Michael Daves’ five song EP, Early Morning Sun. Daves’ music is always inspiring, but this EP differs from his past releases. Unlike Orchids and Violence, which was a two-part album with one side being bluegrass covers and the other being electric covers of those same bluegrass songs, Early Morning Sun is just Daves and his guitar.
All recorded on a low-tuned Kay guitar in an old church in Brooklyn, the EP has a rough, thrashy bluegrass and somewhat country feel. It’s an album of covers that, if you live in Brooklyn, you’ve probably heard Michael play around town, especially at the Jalopy Theatre or in the old days at Rockwood Music Hall. What’s special about this EP is that you can really feel the energy of how it was recorded. The slight echo of the church compliments the songs in a unique way, bringing a lot of oomph to the songs both in his vocals and his guitar playing. – Emma Turoff
Flock of Dimes, The Life You Save
Feeling weighed down by life? Tired of propping up others who can’t (or won’t) get their act together? Friend, have I got a record for you.
Jenn Wasner has been telling survivors’ stories through exquisite, deeply textured music for two decades. Her third Flock of Dimes LP, The Life You Save, leans into the atmosphere of Wasner’s voice over instrumental theatrics. Its songs find her in the deeply wearying role of reluctant savior, trying her best to heal her little corner of the world – or at least herself. The album’s money shot is “Long After Midnight,” which sounds like it could be about anything – from trying to save a friend from a drug problem or a parent sliding into dementia. The video shows Wasner sitting on the floor singing as every piece of furniture behind her is removed, finally directing attention to herself near the end:
I live my life among the lucky ones When things are bad I never let them know When you come from where I come from There’s only so far you can go…
But if you try some time, you just might find, you get what you need. – David Menconi
Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson, What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow
Rhiannon Giddens reunites with former Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Justin Robinson for what is essentially a crash course in the music of North Carolina. What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow contains 18 songs – a healthy mix of instrumentals and tracks with lyrics. The music comes alive in the pair’s very capable hands and invites the listener to take a 44-minute stroll through Appalachia and North Carolina’s Piedmont. Their late mentor, Piedmont musician Joe Thompson, taught them all he knew, which is quite evident on selections such as “Hook and Line,” “Little Brown Jug,” and “Old Molly Hare.” Together, it’s like no time has passed between Giddens and Robinson, and they reach new heights in their work with some of the most propulsive and emotive string work of the year.
What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow demonstrates that learning and growing never end. String work is best served when untethered to strict structures, but rather fluid and gently gliding, they evoke both a sense of whimsy and raw emotion. – Bee Delores
The History of Sound
I was in a cab going up the mountain to see Bugonia, and I was talking to another queer friend about The History of Sound. Specifically, about Josh O’Connor and Paul Mescal singing “Pretty Saro” and “Silver Dagger” to each other as a method of seduction. We talked about other versions of both songs – especially “Silver Dagger” – about how tender the song is in general, how O’Connor makes it softer, and about how his halting, half-good singing was effective in ways that, for example, Joan Baez wasn’t.
I thought a lot about the “Silver Dagger” scene, with a heat and a hunger, more than anything else in that film; a song which was too formalist to fully represent the erotic lives of the main characters. The movie made me sad and aroused, and what else can you ask for from a film? But it also made me worry about what songs we absorb from which traditions, and that the trading of these two famous songs as signifiers of a kind of melancholic, cock-blocked Appalachia only considers one kind of desire, one kind of hunger, and one kind of aesthetic. One marked by loss, and one which never completes except in death.
I wondered what it would mean, instead of “don’t sing love songs,” to sing every possible love song for every possible kind of love. In that too-short scene in the tent, Mescal and O’Connor sing to each other as a mode of seduction, but we get an incomplete song and an incomplete seduction. If we are listening to folk songs for their ardor, then the tradition must allow for all kinds of ardor – all kinds of desire. Sure, we have their version of “Pretty Saro” (the movie convinced me that nothing would be sexier than hearing that song post-coitally), but what about everything from “The Money Comes Rolling In” to “The Wanton Seed” to “The Two Magicians”? – Steacy Easton
I’m With Her, Wild and Clear and Blue
Right from the get-go, 2025 was a hard year. The Los Angeles wildfires ripped through homes and communities in January, displacing thousands of people, including many of my friends and music industry peers. Even for those of us whose homes were unscathed, everything suddenly felt untethered and dangerous, like it could disappear at any second.
For me, nothing captured that unnatural feeling quite like I’m With Her’s “Standing on the Fault Line.” “Is it when the reservoir runs out/ And the birds stop flying south/ Are we gonna know it’s time to flee?,” questions Sara Watkins. Many of us did have to flee, loading our cars with whatever we could grab; evacuating to anywhere that seemed remotely safer. But as climate change and economic and political upheaval continuously flip our world upside down, is anywhere really safe?
The rest of I’m With Her’s beautiful album, Wild and Clear and Blue, has been a soothing balm amidst these strange times. Each song captures a different aspect of womanhood, family, home, and the slipping of time – a testament to the shared songwriting duties of Aoife O’Donovan, Sara Watkins, and Sarah Jarosz. Their harmonies ring out like an old friend offering words of comfort on the other end of the line. – Amy Reitnouer Jacobs
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery
One of the highlights of the late 1990s was Lilith Fair, a popular music festival co-founded by Sarah McLachlan and featuring the talent of such acts as Fiona Apple, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, and The Chicks over three years (1997-99). Director Ally Pankiw, known for I Used to Be Funny and two episodes of Black Mirror, pulls from a remarkable 600 hours of never-before-seen footage that cuts to the core of what Lilith Fair meant – and continues to mean – for women and female-identifying people. Interviews with Emmylou Harris, Brandi Carlile, and Jewel, among others, give new insight into the landmark festival and the tough-as-nails artists who stormed its stages.
Pankiw pulls back the curtain and offers the audience a peek into the blood, sweat, and tears that festival planners and the talent endured for the sake of the art and proving to the world that women artists were far more valuable than as tokens in a sea of men. Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery is raw, honest, and probing. For any casual music fan, it’s a must-watch of the year. – Bee Delores
Jess Sah Bi, Jesus-Christ Ne Deçoit Pas
Seven years ago, I worked on the reissue of Our Garden Needs Its Flowers (1985) by the West African country, folk, and afro-pop duo Jess Sah Bi & Peter One. Back in the 1980s, they were one of the most popular musical acts in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), entertaining stadium-sized audiences at home, and later on, throughout Benin, Burkina Faso, and Togo.
When I first heard it, Jess Sah Bi & Peter One’s music was a revelation. In a sense, it offered a whole new lens through which to view country and folk music, while unlocking an entirely different set of African musical histories to learn from. Afterwards, Peter One scored a deal with Verve Records, culminating in his celebrated comeback album, Come Back to Me (2023).
Earlier this year, Awesome Tapes From Africa, the label that gave Our Garden Needs Its Flowers a second wind, reissued Jess Sah Bi’s rare early-1990s gospel, folk, and country solo album, Jesus-Christ Ne Deçoit Pas (Jesus Christ Does Not Disappoint). Written and recorded after recovering from a mystery illness and relocating from Côte d’Ivoire to the United States, the album’s seven songs, sung in French and Gouro, are soaring, transcendent, and undeniable. – Martyn Pepperell
Caroline Spence, Heart Go Wild
For me, 2025 has been typified by abject, all-encompassing grief. Singer-songwriter Caroline Spence’s past albums are certainly also heartfelt and lean towards tear-jerking and raw emotion-inhabiting, but Heart Go Wild feels particularly primed for a good, cathartic, therapeutic cry. Spence processes quite a few life and career changes within these songs, but the specificity by which these tracks and lyrics were born don’t hem them in or limit their relatability. On the contrary, by Spence opening up her own particular introspections to all of us, yet again, she enables each of her listeners to find our own healing, growth, and redemption in the same way she has. Through song.
Tracks like “Fun at Parties,” “Confront It,” “Why the Tree Loves the Ax,” and “Where the Time Goes” – really, the entire collection – have been remedies I didn’t know I would need so deeply when the album was first announced. Spence never needs to rely on tropes or platitudes to handle these sorts of topics. She rises above gratuitousness or melodrama, even while she acknowledges the sorts of grief, pain, and change she’s reckoning with aren’t aberrations from the human experience, they are the human experience. She’s reminding herself as much as each of us, and I suppose that’s where the magic of her particular skillset truly lies. – Justin Hiltner
Billy Strings at IBMA World of Bluegrass
When it comes to the International Bluegrass Music Association, two big things happened in 2025: the annual conference, festival, and awards show found new digs in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Billy Strings finally returned to where it all began for the star. Taking home his fourth Entertainer of the Year award this year, Strings made a genuine, heartfelt effort to appear at the IBMA events. Not only to accept his recognition, but also to hang around the festivities all week.
Strings kicked off the conference with a stunning keynote address, only to then perform two shows in Chattanooga (one with his full band, one with guitar wizard and mentor Bryan Sutton). Throughout the week, Strings casually popped up all over the city, either jumping in on jam circles or merely stopping to chat with fans and fellow musicians alike, including a memorable jam with 90-year-old bluegrass icon Paul Williams. Strings’ presence was a well-received thing for a bluegrass community not only indebted to the six-string ace for what he’s brought to the scene, but also to remind everyone he hasn’t abandoned bluegrass — it’ll always be the essence of his melodic core. – Garret K. Woodward
Molly Tuttle, So Long Little Miss Sunshine
Molly Tuttle’s So Long Little Miss Sunshine actually comes loaded with sunshine and it’s evident from all angles. The empowered and fearless lyrics start on the first track, “Everything Burns,” and continue through “No Regrets” and “Story of My So-Called Life,” showing Tuttle standing proudly in feelings, intentions, and reflections that are true to this chapter in her life.
Whether she’s basking in a seemingly perfect headspace (“There’s no valley I can’t cross, or mountain I can’t climb/ I’m in a golden state of mind”) or making a messy choice and owning it without self-abasement (“Don’t try to fix it when you break my heart/ Knew when you hit me with your poison dart”), every moment is deliberate and delivered with confidence. That includes the sonic side of things, too – despite judgmental heat coming from folks who think Tuttle is trading in pickin’ parties for pop(ularity).
First: There’s plenty of Tuttle’s prodigious musicianship shining on this record. Second: take a cue from Tuttle herself and embrace what’s new as we go into the new year! Because for Tuttle, not all the personality on this album is new. It’s just new to us because she’s finally letting it out and letting it breathe. – Kira Grunenberg
Cristina Vane, Hear My Call
The Italian-born, Nashville-based singer and multi-instrumentalist Cristina Vane has long been at home playing bluegrass, country, blues and everything in between, but on Hear My Call she’s finally at home with the most important thing of all — herself.
Across the album’s 13 tracks Vane embraces the cultures and sounds that have shaped her, from finding joy in everywhere she’s been on the rock anthem, “Little Girl From Nowhere,” to relating to the stories of someone born an ocean away on the banjo ballad, “My Mountain.” While many songs on the record lean heavy into introspection and the strength that comes from it, others find power in everything from fun and sensual moments (“Shake It Babe”) to moving on from people who don’t value your presence and time (“You Ain’t Special”).
On top of Vane’s clever songwriting, I also can’t get enough of her playing on this album. Throughout, she moves effortlessly from banjo to slide guitar without skipping a beat, further reinforcing her staying power. This is someone to watch from 2026 onward. – Matt Wickstrom
Lead Image: Justin Robinson & Rhiannon Giddens by Karen Cox; I’m With Her by Alysse Gafkjen; Carsie Blanton by Bobby Bonsey.
Danny Paisley is a quintessential bluegrass tradesman. He began playing music around the age of 10 and soon after was sneaking into bars and clubs with his dad Bob Paisley, Ted Lundy, and their band, the Southern Grass. Danny was already gigging and touring at the age of 13, and now, five decades later, he’s enjoyed 21 years at the helm of the Southern Grass – with the next generation of Lundys, T.J. and Bobby, and the next generation of Paisleys, his son Ryan, in tow.
Danny learned the bluegrass ropes from his father, crafting and carrying on a traditional sound that draws directly from Bob’s musical foundation but also sounds distinct and personal. When Bob passed away in 2004, Danny had already taken over some of the leadership roles in the band while the elder Paisley had been battling cancer. Danny was determined to continue the group’s legacy, and over the last two decades he’s honored that legacy while consciously expanding it. Along the way, he’s earned four IBMA Awards for Male Vocalist of the Year, while he and the Southern Grass were awarded Song of the Year in 2009 for “Don’t Throw Mama’s Flowers Away.”
His 2025 album, released in May on Pinecastle Records, finds Paisley continuing that expansion, looking for new challenges and focusing in on a fresh sonic sparkle. Bluegrass State of Mind would sound like a straight-ahead traditional bluegrass album to a layperson, but to devoted fans of the Southern Grass, it’s a much more Americana-steeped and forward-looking endeavor. The usual five-piece lineup is augmented by Dobro, snare drum (gasp!), and a healthy dose of “what if we tried… this?” all across the project.
The result is charming, engaging, and downright excellent – it’s one of the finest bluegrass albums of the year, to be sure – showcasing how Paisley’s longevity is built upon a keystone of innovation and looking to the future, rather than being entrenched in the past. For someone who sounds entirely dyed in the wool and is held up by chair-snapping traditionalists as well as jamgrassy rebels, any level of “coloring outside the lines” of the genre would be remarkable. But Paisley isn’t stopping at new challenges and fresh sparkles; he wants to take his Bluegrass State of Mind to as many brand new audiences as he can find.
Fifty years into his career, Paisley is not resting on the assumption that he can keep performing and plying his trade by doing the same ol’ same ol’. No, Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass are still committed to bringing the bluegrass they love and hold dear to anyone and everyone who may enjoy it, by showing folks this kind of music can be for everyone. All the while, he’ll be turning over plenty of new leaves and passing along the family business in real time, too.
We caught up with Paisley at the Industrial Strength Bluegrass Festival in Wilmington, Ohio, between sets, when he and his son Ryan sat down with BGS to chat about his most recent album, what he wants to accomplish next, and the absolute unforgivable sacrilege of including drums on Bluegrass State of Mind.
Right on the album cover for your latest project it says, “Celebrating 50 years of bluegrass music.” To me, you’re a bluegrass tradesman. It’s very clearly your trade, it’s what you’ve done your whole life, and it runs in the family. It began with your father, Bob, and is continuing in the next generation with your son, Ryan. Can you talk a little bit about the meaning that you’re holding right now at 50 years, as you put together this record and were thinking about that anniversary, and that longevity?
Danny Paisley: I didn’t want to do a record rehashing old favorites. I kept hearing different songs and I kept saying, “I want to try this,” just for me to try this new approach. A “new challenge.” We recorded it and some of ’em were not standard Danny Paisley-type songs, but I felt they were awful good songs and I wanted to try it.
So Ryan and I worked it out, and he come up with a different approach for some of the tenor lines I would’ve sang previously. Now Ryan is singing them, so that added a different flavor. We just tried to sparkle the music, just to tweak it.
We added a Dobro for the first time, only ’cause I kept hearing it through so many of the songs. I’m more of a fan of the newer approach to Dobro than the older school. Mike Auldridge was the one that turned me [onto it], the way he was getting tones out of a Dobro.
You’re 50 years into doing this and have such an established sound as your own frontman, your own bandleader. People see you as so solidly traditional, but for you, five decades in, it’s clearly still important for you to turn over new leaves, to find that sparkle you’re describing.
Because I was feeling… maybe I was [feeling] stale, and after my health issues, I felt I really need to do this – for maybe a couple years, now. I regret that I didn’t try it [sooner]. So I tried it and I loved it. Had a great time, had a great producer [Greg Cole] and great help with Ryan and his influence and I think it’s a great CD. Different approach.
You’re still looking for new challenges and you’re looking forward. Obviously, with this record, with the way that you operate as a musician and a creative, you aren’t just somebody that’s like a lot of bluegrass people, with one foot in the past, one foot in the future.
Right.
Looking ahead – ’cause it seems like you’re looking ahead right now – what are the goals you haven’t done yet? Or the bucket list items you haven’t checked off yet?
I want to take our band – and this is a real goal – to reach other audiences. I think there’s a real audience and a real needing, almost, at some of the more jammy festivals. And we’ve done ’em and I’ve realized it really works well, presenting a straight-out, hardcore bluegrass band. We pick out songs that sort of go to that crowd, but we just play ’em in our style and we try to keep it upbeat, just to draw people in for a new audience.
I know the music has gotta move on. I’m a firm believer of it. We revere the past, but we look to the future – and I’m in that category. I look to the future, but I love the past. I don’t want to dishonor it, ’cause it’s the music I love and feel. It’s what’s inside of me. That’s the music I love.
So that’s my goal. I want to bring it out [to new audiences], and I really feel in today’s world, you’ll have to adapt things, but I really wanna make it traditional bluegrass. There’s a real audience for sincere, true bluegrass.
It makes me think of how we have Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, and Sierra Ferrell–
Exactly.
All who are, at their core, traditionalists. So they’re shining a light on the folks who sound like you. I definitely think there’s space for a band like you in that constellation.
And Billy loves hardcore bluegrass! But he made it an event. People will pay money for an event. He puts it right down in their faces with some straight-out bluegrass, and it’s great.
Our mutual friend Jon Weisberger always talks about how one of the most valuable things you can do as a bluegrass band is to be the most traditional bluegrass band in a non-traditional space. The music can stand out for what it really is and doesn’t fade into the grayness of it all being the same.
There’s so many traditionalists who don’t want any variation, which I respect. We all do. I wanna revere that. But we also gotta realize these people, young folks today, are not coming into the music. With all the outside influences and modern day [stuff], Facebook and all the different Instagrams. [Laughs] They’re not coming into the music the same way. We need to respect that and bring it to them and bring them in.
We can’t expect some young person that’s just getting into music, that’s 18 or 19, to be really drawn in by singing another cabin song. We sing cabin songs, but we can’t [only do that]. And we’ve all had heartbroke and there’s a world of songs about heartbroke. Your lover has passed or left you, boohoo! We have to present it in a fresh way. And meet people where they’re at, for sure. That’s the best line, that’s truly it. And I’m a firm believer in that.
I fully believe in the intrinsic charm of bluegrass. I think everybody’s a fan, they just don’t know it yet. So if you can reach them with music that doesn’t show them or tell them that they’re not allowed to like bluegrass, it happens. Bluegrass can feel exclusive. Or it can feel like, “Oh, that’s music for other people, not for me.”
“Not me,” yeah! Or, “I’m afraid.” “I’m not sure that’s good enough, or that I would be accepted.” Or, “I hear it, but I don’t really want people to know I like it.” Because that stereotype has to go! It has to move on. It’s music for everyone. I don’t care what kind of music you’re in, music is for everyone. And you have to accept that or live in your little corner of the world and think everybody else is wrong.
I’ll probably get in trouble for that. [Laughs]
No, no! But speaking of traditionalism and traditionalists… so, bluegrass drums, huh? [Laughs]
Uh huh! [Laughs]
You’ve got bluegrass drums on the album. And what a lot of people don’t know – maybe our audience on BGS will know – but a lot of people don’t know that bluegrass drums are a traditional bluegrass instrument. I hear the “sparkle” and the difference in these songs, but I also still hear you. It sounds like your personality.
What my approach and my thought is, is I want it to still be me. I’ve had some people criticize it and say they didn’t appreciate that drum. Why? ‘Cause it was listed? [Laughs] It’s there to add some rhythm. And it was only there for a little sparkle, a little snap. And a little rhythm. If you didn’t really know it was there and we didn’t tell you, you probably wouldn’t know it. There’s nothing wrong with that, no. Drums are in a lot of bluegrass.
Exactly. We could list the folks who’ve had drums: Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, the Osborne Brothers, J.D. Crowe – the list goes on and on and on.
For you, as a traditionalist, straight-down-the-middle bluegrasser, this album is a few clicks towards Americana. But if you played this album for an Americana audience, it would just sound like traditional bluegrass.
It would be traditional bluegrass, yeah. I’m gonna draw those people in. That’s my goal.
The album sounds so warm and live. You know how bluegrass records nowadays, especially the ones made especially for satellite radio, all sound really compressed. They sound canned and sometimes stale. This album feels really warm and live and fresh.
I think ’cause they all want radio airplay. They have a certain– I don’t know the technical way [to describe it], but sometimes you start compressing the music too tightly. You miss guys like Jimmy Martin who threw his voice real up there and really stood out on a certain line. He popped –I call it popping – he’d pop his voice and stuff. It might have been there, but then they compress it with the recording or the engineering. I try to not let that get too overtaken in the music, even in straight bluegrass, ’cause that adds energy and life.
I do wanna talk about some of the songs on the album. I love these three in the middle: “Diagnosis Broken Heart,” “Two Old Church Pews,” and “Cream in My Coffee.” Let’s start with “Diagnosis Broken Heart,” ’cause that one, I think the sparkle and the challenge you’ve been talking about is there.
We had it recorded and I didn’t really like it. I felt it didn’t really work. So we redid it after we had it all done and mastered, we redid it. That’s a different approach for me. I said, “Let that sink in.” And after it sunk into me, I go, “No, I don’t wanna do it that way. I’m gonna go back and just sing it my way.” And that’s what I did. Then that one, we added the snare. I wanted a little pop – and the groove on that one is great. We brought the tempo up and that one worked.
The most challenging song was “Cream in My Coffee.” David Stewart wrote it along with some other gentlemen and David kept saying, “I want you to do this. I hear this.” And I kept saying, “I do too, but I don’t know if I can.” And so there’s your challenge!
So I did it and it wasn’t right. We’re in the studio and David Stewart’s there and he’s telling me how to do it and I’m not doing it the way I hear it. I’m listening to the way he’s singing it and I go, “I can’t really do it that way.” I’m listening back and forth. Finally, David comes in the studio and he says, “Think of a marching band.” We did a take and next thing I know he’s standing in the [control] room while I’m doing the vocal and he’s in there marching. [Laughs]
More people come and say, “I never thought you would record the song like that,” but I love it. I said that was a challenge, but it was a good challenge.
I also wanted to talk about “Two Old Church Pews.” Can you tell me about where that song came from? That line about how a church is wherever you are, that really resonated.
That was the major part of that song that grabbed me! That song was pitched to me by Brink Brinkman and Daryl Mosley. They sent it and I immediately said, “This is beautiful.” I said, “This wraps up basically how I feel.” You can talk to your deity wherever you are. Some people need to go to church. Some people just go out, have a quiet moment, and sit in the yard or a quiet spot in the house. That’s how I believe. And the two old church pews were [the singer’s] church. He took ’em home and he sat there and he would talk to the Lord in that way.
That’s how I feel and it’s a beautiful song. It rings thanks to Ryan and Greg. It come out excellent. And that’s probably the most traditional feeling, one of the new songs on that CD.
I love the text painting of it. It really feels like you’re seeing the imagery.
That’s what I tried with my singing. Tried to present that way. And the wording of it was excellent. That’s a once in a lifetime song.
Photo Credit: Shot by Rob Wasilewski, courtesy of the artist.
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