Our guests this week got their start busking on the streets of Portland, Oregon, but it wasn’t long before their popularity pulled them onto the open road. Jay Cobb Anderson and Kellen Asebroek are pivotal and founding members of roots music band Fruition. They have toured with Greensky Bluegrass, the Infamous Stringdusters, Yonder Mountain String Band, and many others and have appeared at iconic festivals such as Telluride Bluegrass Festival, WinterWonderGrass, and the Northwest String Summit.
Fruition’s 2018 release, Watching It All Fall Apart, debuted at #3 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums Chart. Billboard said, “Fruition have matured into one of America’s most compelling roots acts” while Rolling Stone Country noted, “The trio’s harmonies are as tight as anything coming out of Nashville.” No Depression declared that they’re “a band whose chemistry feels lived-in and wholly authentic.”
I got a chance to catch up with them a while back to hear about their musical journey so far.
2025 has flown by and as we enter December we once again find ourselves preparing for the holiday season. We think it’s important to focus on slowing down, being together, and being more intentional in our gift-giving. Which is why we’re thrilled to bring you the second year of the BGS holiday gift guide.
This installment of our guide, featured below, is specifically tailored to the avid outdoor festival-goer. Maybe they’re already planning out their next festival season a year in advance. Or maybe they’re the type who always has a bag ready, so they can pack up and pitch a tent when the music calls. Whatever their style, these gift recommendations from our friends, partners, and staff will be well-loved by those who like to take their musical experiences outside.
BGS Bluegrass Metal and Banjo Beanies
Warm noggins are all the rage this winter, and you can keep yours cozy with our two new original beanie designs. Freshly added to the BGS Mercantile, choose between two styles that are both sure to turn heads and start great conversations wherever you wear them.
Festivals can be unpredictable. This is why we love them, of course, but it’s also why we always arrive prepared. Green Goo’s Ultimate First Aid Care Bundle is the perfect prep kit for festival season, with four handmade herbal salves meant to soothe bug bites, bruises, scrapes, sore muscles, dry skin, and much more. Best of all, BGS readers can get 25% off their order with code HOLIDAY25.
Guest Gifter: Chris Pandolfi (GRAMMY-Winning Musician with The Infamous Stringdusters & Avid Fly Fisherman)
“If you know someone who travels to fish, they need the Orvis Carry-It-All Bag! It’s ideal for carrying a bunch of gear without all the rod tubes/bulk and you can carry it on to any plane, so you’ll never be without your essentials. I used to make the rounds just stuffing everything into my suitcase, but this Orvis gear bag is a total game changer and I never leave home without it if I’m heading out to explore.
The Flylow Micah Fleece is a really quality, stylish midlayer from one of my favorite apparel brands out there, Flylow. They make gear that lasts but also looks great, from the mountain to the stream to the stage. You can never have too many midlayers!” – Chris Pandolfi
Chris Pandolfi is a founding member of The Infamous Stringdusters. He is also the host of the Inside the Musician’s Brain podcast and an avid fly fisherman and guide.
Eagle Nest Outfitters Lounger DL Chair
Please, for the love of god, replace your rickety old camping chair. At every festival campsite, the good chair is always obvious… and that one you “borrowed” from your parents’ garage ten years ago might just collapse at any moment. Upgrade your festival seating experience with Eagle Nest Outfitters’ Lounger DL Chair. This lightweight, portable hammock chair sets up quickly, is fully adjustable, and has a cushioned pillow and armrests — just trust us, it’s the good chair.
After a long day at an outdoor music festival, there’s nothing like getting cozy back at your campsite. Natural Life has you covered on cozy essentials, with warm socks, sherpa-lined slippers, the super soft (and versatile) boho bandeau, and your new favorite mug for hot toddy night caps or coffee on a chilly morning. And the best part about gifting these around the holidays? Break them out early and stay warm all winter long.
“I spend enough time at music festivals to know that these days a sturdy clear bag is an absolute essential. But finding something that is efficient and cute is easier said than done. That’s why the Away Stadium Bag is on my wish list this year. It’s a hard shell clear bag that’s big enough to hold your phone, keys, glasses, lip balm, Loop earplugs, etc., getting you through security without skipping a beat. Added bonus: you can even get it monogrammed!” – Amy Reitnouer Jacobs
Amy Reitnouer Jacobs is the co-founder of BGS and Good Country, as well as producer for concerts, stages, and experiential events throughout the country. She also collects and sells vintage homewares with her company Fernweh Flea.
WinterWonderGrass Tickets
One of the most unique and anticipated festivals of the year is always WinterWonderGrass. This year’s lineup is one of their most fun yet with The Infamous Stringdusters, Leftover Salmon, The Devil Makes Three, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, and so many other BGS faves jamming out over three days alongside the perfect powder of Steamboat Resort in Colorado. Tickets, packages, and more info here.
The right eyewear is essential for a good festival weekend, and from the desert landscapes of Stagecoach to the mountains of Telluride Bluegrass, Zeal Optics has your eyes covered. Their polarized Rangely sunglasses will keep you glare-free at Bourbon & Beyond, while their Meridian Goggles are perfect when you hit the slopes between sets at WinterWondergrass.
2025 has flown by and as we enter December we once again find ourselves preparing for the holiday season. We think it’s important to focus on slowing down, being together, and being more intentional in our gift giving. Which is why we’re thrilled to bring you the second year of the BGS holiday gift guide.
Below is the first of our guides – this one specifically geared towards avid musicians, be they recreational or professional players. Check out personal product selections from our friends, partners, and staff.
D’Addario Humidipak
Most beginner or hobby-level acoustic players don’t consider the proper storage environment for their instrument, but did you know that maintaining humidity and temperature can be just as important as buying a sturdy case? D’Addario’s Humidipak is a two-way humidification system automatically maintaining the ideal humidity level to preserve tone and protect damage. They even have three different variants to accommodate your specific humidification needs.
Guest Gifter: Hannah Connolly (Singer-Songwriter & BGS Social Media Director)
“Traveling as a guitarist you can never have too many capos. This Shubb C1 capo is my usual go-to, but I have friends who swear by the F1. It’s on my wishlist because although it’s a little more of an investment, it can be stored on the guitar itself (behind the nut of the headstock) when it’s not in use… making it nearly impossible to misplace on tour!” – Hannah Connolly
Hannah Connolly is a singer-songwriter based between Nashville and Los Angeles. Her latest release is Shadowboxing, and her third album is set for release in 2026. When she’s not writing or performing, Hannah also serves as the Social Media Director for BGS and Good Country.
nugs Annual Subscription
If you’re a regular reader of BGS, chances are you know that one person in your life who worships bootleg Grateful Dead recordings or would drive thirteen hours just to catch one more Billy Strings show. (If you don’t know that person, perhaps it’s you…?) Why not gift them All Access to a one-stop destination for concert livestreams, on-demand videos, and high-quality audio recordings with a nugs annual subscription? nugs partners with legendary artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Dead & Company, Pearl Jam, Goose, Greensky Bluegrass, Johnny Blue Skies – and of course Billy Strings – to ensure you always have a concert on the calendar.
For a limited time, BGS readers can get a nugs 1-year All Access subscription for 50% off the regular price using the link below. Offer valid through January 5, 2026.
At a studio deep in the heart of Oregon, Preston Thompson Guitars has long been making some of our favorite high-end custom instruments. Their new model, DMC, is a smaller, deep bodied guitar which is fashioned after Willie Nelson’s famous “Trigger,” a N-20 Hybrid Classical. Between now and January 31, you can get one of these Spruce-top beauties for 15% off. After all, we could all stand to be a little more like Willie.
Suffice to say, we really hate that streaming services are paying out less than ever to musicians and songwriters in royalties (and don’t get us started on the lack of regulation over AI-generated music). But with that said, it’s more important than ever to make purchasing decisions that actually make an impact and help support your favorite artists. Consider gifting a subscription to an alternative streaming service like Qobuz or TIDAL — both platforms pay some of the highest streaming royalties to artists, and streaming at a higher audio quality audio than their major competitors. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
And on a similar note, we all know a live music lover that has been shut out of a recent ticket on-sale that may be feeling frustrated about inflated prices on the secondary ticket market. A CashorTrade Gold Membership is a great way to support the face value ticketing movement. All transactions are insured so you can feel confident you’re not getting scammed.
Guest Gifter: Sierra Hull (GRAMMY-Winning Musician)
“I’ve had my eye on getting one of these Crossrock double mandolin cases so I can more easily bring along both of my new signature model Gibson mandolins (both the master model and the F5G) on tour! The last few months I’ve been carrying around three different mandolin cases, so I think it would be awesome to consolidate a couple of them into a single case. I currently have one of the smaller fitted Crossrock cases and they are really solid [and] such affordable little cases!” – Sierra Hull
Sierra Hull’s latest record, A Tip Toe High Wire, recently garnered four GRAMMY nominations. Discover more and find out how to catch her on tour with the Milk Carton Kids in 2026 at SierraHull.com.
Yamaha Acoustic Guitars – FG/FS9 Series
For over fifty years, Yamaha has been handcrafting their acoustic artistry, incorporating traditional Japanese woodworking with innovative Japanese technology. Their flagship model, the FG/FS9 steel-string acoustic guitar, is ideal for singer-songwriters.
Check out bluegrass guitarist Jake Eddy playing his FG9 RX below.
The members of Big Richard – Joy Adams (vocals, cello, banjo, octave mandolin), Eve Panning (vocals, fiddle), Hazel Royer (vocals, bass, guitar), and Bonnie Sims (vocals, mandolin, guitar) – were seasoned studio and gigging musicians when they met for their first rehearsal. Familiar with one another from Colorado’s thriving music scene, their initial gathering was the result of an offer to assemble a band and perform at McAwesome Festival 2021 in Castle Rock.
Musical and personal chemistry, apparent during practice, was also a given onstage, solidly reinforced by an outpouring of support from fans. There was also a flip side – backlash to the band’s suggestive name and often-bawdy stage banter. This, it turns out, created even more incentive to continue. Big Richard was officially a band.
Their wealth of experience across musical genres – bluegrass, country, jazz, classical, rock, and beyond – opened the door for writing, recording, and performing music that pushes beyond parameters while remaining firmly planted in tradition. It shows on their new album, Girl Dinner (released January 24), produced by the band and recorded with Colorado musician and friend Eric Wiggs at his Vermillion Road Studio.
Technically their second release, following 2022’s Live from Telluride, Girl Dinner represents several firsts for the band: their first studio release, first recording of all-original material, and first with Royer, who joined the ensemble a year ago. According to the musicians, Girl Dinner demonstrates the many sides of Big Richard, everything from stripped-down, quiet instrumentation and harmonies to the blazing solos that define their performances.
When was it obvious that Big Richard would be more than a one-festival project?
Joy Adams: It wasn’t really in the first rehearsal. It was in the reception to the show that we played. Obviously, bluegrass is a jam-based genre; it’s common to sit down with your friends and play tunes. But we felt a crazy chemistry in the way we sang and played together that was apparent from the very first song we played at Bonnie’s house. When we played McAwesome Fest, for starters, our set got rained out, so we didn’t get to play the whole set. We were upset about that. We were looking for another gig just so we could get to the other songs. And we also had a bad reaction to us, too. There were people who were very upset about our name and how crass we were onstage and we got some initial hate mail after that first show. That was the moment – in my head, anyway – where we were like, “Oh, we have something here. If we can ruffle some feathers with this band, we’ve got to do this. This is an important thing.”
When and how did you build the band?
Bonnie Sims: We played that first gig in May 2021, our second gig in September 2021, and we hit the ground running in the beginning of 2022. We booked [Colorado festivals] RockyGrass and WinterWonderGrass right out of the gate, and that gave us a lot of fuel in our tank to want to invest in the creative side, start writing together, start rehearsing more, and really invest in the music, because we had these exciting opportunities to be a part of. Not long after we booked those things ourselves, we signed with Crossover Touring. Our buddy Chandler Holt has been our booking agent from the beginning and has been a huge part of helping us get to lots of festivals and play fun rooms.
Eve Panning: That first year or so was an unexpected influx of gigs. We did a ton of touring and I feel like we were kind of playing catch-up. It’s been really fun in this last year. We’ve all settled into the band a little bit more, and it’s been fun to hear the songs that everybody’s bringing and spend a lot of time working on those. You can hear that in the new album. Live From Telluride had some originals, but we were doing a lot of covers because we were so new as a band. This new album is all originals, and it’s been fun to explore that side of things as well.
How have the sound and dynamic changed since Hazel joined you?
JA: The band has changed so much. Hazel is wonderful. Her attitude is fantastic. She’s an incredible musician who has brought the level of the band up a lot. The arrangements have gotten better, the groove is tighter, and the overall balance of band vibes is wonderful. It’s everything all of us could ever have dreamed of, and I blame Hazel for that entirely. She’s such a lovely person to be around, she writes incredible songs that are deep and moving and exciting, and we’re so lucky to have her in the band. She really saved us.
BS: I agree. Hazel brings such a strong singing voice. It’s really fun to lean into the power she brings vocally, intertwine with that power, and lose ourselves in it. And her original songs are incredible. It’s a natural elevation of maturing as a group and playing together. This is year three going on to year four for the band. It’s a lot different. The pace has been incredible as far as how much time we’re spending making music together. It’s very much like a pressure cooker. It has an effect on the music itself, so the sound has evolved immensely and continues to evolve in an exciting way.
Hazel Royer: Thank you, everybody. That’s so nice. When I joined the band, everyone was, “We want to work. We want to try new things and learn new songs.” We spent two months rehearsing before we played our first gig with me on bass. We looked at the music and we became a band before playing the shows. There was an emphasis on learning new material, and there was a really good excuse to do that because there was a new member and no gigs for a couple months, so we had the space to learn new things. I’m really grateful that I got to be a part of that.
EP: When you only have four people onstage and it’s all acoustic instruments, when 25 percent of the band changes, that’s really significant. That means the sound is definitely going to change. But, like everyone said, Hazel has such a powerful voice, she’s such an accomplished musician, so it’s felt great. It’s felt like a wonderful step up.
HR: I was super-lucky because everyone in this band wanted me to exist as myself. That was the primary thing: “We want you to sing. We want you to write your own songs and bring them to the band.” That’s rare for a new person – joining a band and being like, “We want what you do as embedded immediately.” Additionally, we have a lot of crossover, musically, that we all can draw from. I grew up playing bluegrass and old-time music, and these guys are steeped in that. I also like pop music, and everybody likes that, and I had classical studies, and there’s two people who are very accomplished classical musicians, so there was a lot of crossover that made the integration of myself into the band easier than it could have been.
Let’s talk about the album – the songwriting process, song selection, your goals going into the studio.
BS: Our goal was to present something different than what we presented on our live album, which, like Eve said, was mostly covers. We recorded Live From Telluride after being a band for right at the one-year mark. It was very much the first generation of material. This is our debut studio album, but it’s our sophomore offering as far as the material, in my opinion, because it’s the second stage of the band’s development as far as it’s all original. There’s introspective and thoughtful moments within the songwriting. We have those at shows, but they’re always intermixed with high-energy, raging things where you can hop around and have a really intense, energetic experience. The album, I feel, offers up the soft side of Big Richard, in a way. We have this saying, “Big Richard, big feelings,” and the album is representative of that side of the band, which is, again, usually balanced with this different vibe live. So we took that out and just are doing the original stuff on the record, which is exciting.
Did you write deliberately to explore that softer side, or did the direction become obvious as you were writing?
JA: We didn’t intentionally write a soft album, and I hesitate to call it a soft album, because there are some burning fiddle tunes that Eve wrote and there’s a couple of aggressive songs, mostly coming out of Bonnie’s pen. The album is all over the map. The more lyrical songs were collected over the course of a year playing together. We love these songs so much and they got such a good reception at all of our shows. We did play them out pretty thoroughly before we recorded them, so it was a matter of collecting our favorite songs that we felt hit the emotional depths of “Big Richard, big feelings.” We were really proud of these songs.
HR: To go off of what Joy said, they’re our favorites. We picked them because we all were very passionate and love those songs. There are some soft songs on the album, but there’s a wide variety of things going on there. It is different than our live show by a significant margin. The album, in my view, is a piece of something that’s made out of love. We love this music and we created these arrangements together.
Once the songs were selected, what was the sequencing process?
EP: We had an initial sequence, and then we were limited by how many songs we could put on each side of the vinyl, so we had to take our original idea and rework it. The album starts and ends with songs about saying goodbye, and that hits; that feels like a powerful moment.
HR: We looked at this group of songs as a set list. We wanted to create a listening experience similar to something we would provide at a show, like, how do these songs flow into each other? Are there seamless transitions that we’re able to utilize? That’s how we looked at sequencing the album. And also separating saying goodbye a million times. At the top and the end of the album was important.
BS: Vinyl presents an opportunity for sequencing to have more of a presence again. With digital consumption, people just click what they want and add it to their own playlist. No shade; do your thing with your playlist, but with vinyl you’re going to probably sit and listen to it in the order that we put it in, because that’s the style of listening for a record. So it’s nice to have that opportunity with vinyl.
Tell us about the recording process.
JA: We recorded this album in May 2024, and we had the last master submitted in September or October. Vinyl production takes a little while, so we got the vinyl back in December, which was really exciting. Mixing and mastering is a crazy process that takes so long. That’s the part I’m very obsessed with. I was, unfortunately, the squeaky wheel the whole time, being like, “The bass needs to be half a dB [decibel] higher in this song, in this one section, but not all the other sections.” That was all me. I love the process of recording. We’re not a band that plays a song a hundred times – thank heavens for that. We tend to get things within five takes. Some solos got replayed or re-recorded, little things that got added, studio magic. I’m very proud that this album required basically no tuning and really simple edits.
EP: We also did a lot of tracks without a click. We didn’t go into the studio with a plan as far as which ones we were going to record to a click and which ones we were going to just play. But I think it keeps a lot of life in those songs as well, playing them like we do with a little bit of breadth to them.
HR: This might go without saying, but we tracked the whole thing together. We made basic tracks and there was some soloing, editing, but that was it. Just iso booths, but all four of us live.
The album was self-produced. What does the word “producer” mean to you? Did you experiment much or make changes to the songs while recording them?
JA: Production for this kind of band, to me, means deciding how we were going to record it, which is a very big discussion: are you all in the same room together, are you recording separate, are you recording to a click track, etc. And then, of course, trying to democratically decide what take has the most musical power, because you’re going to sacrifice a little perfection somewhere for the sake of something that’s riveting. That’s always the case. And then making decisions about mixing and mastering. In some ways it would have been nice to have had an external source of nature in the room, like another producer to help us make those decisions, but it was incredibly empowering to make them ourselves, because we have dragged these songs through both the mud and the sky on the touring road.
We had really figured out and dialed in the arrangements in front of thousands of people. We knew exactly what we wanted out of these songs, and so it was liberating to be able to put those down in our way and not have to fight a producer on some decisions. As far as things changing in the studio, not a whole lot changed. We were all playing the instruments that we do. Sometimes Hazel plays guitar or bass, and so we had the ability to have both bass and guitar on some of her tunes, which was really effective. That was one thing that was different than how we usually do it live.
HR: To go off what Joy said, I think the production, as far as the musical side of things goes, really did happen on the road and in rehearsals. We came into the studio knowing our songs, exactly how they go, what we want where, and what we’ve tried and tested a billion times, instead of coming up with arrangements in a studio environment.
The Colorado music scene has been very supportive. How great a part have those audiences played in taking the band to the next level?
BS: The audience has been instrumental in every step and every piece of our success. They are the success, because if they weren’t there, buying tickets and wanting to be at shows, we wouldn’t have a reason to be out touring. We’re grateful to everybody who comes to shows. When we come back to our Colorado hometown vibe, it really keeps us going. It keeps the light on for us, because those are the crowds that lift us up energetically and have been there from day one. Coming back to those audiences fills our tank in a real way.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! As we count down the days to holiday and family gatherings, our to-do lists stack up, getting longer and longer.
Not sure what to get the musicians, roots artists, and music lovers in your life this year? Never fear! Together with our BGS team, our partners, and our friends and neighbors, we’ve compiled a holiday gift guide that will hopefully put a sizable dent in your shopping list.
Below, check out essential festivals, tried-and-tested gear, superlative instruments, exciting and engaging books and albums, and perfectly on-theme trinkets for all the music obsessed giftees in your life! Maybe your loved one needs a music museum membership? Or perhaps they’re starting up a brand new musical hobby. Know someone who can’t get enough of music and the outdoors? We’ve got ideas for them, too.
The holiday season is the perfect time of year for the love and joy of roots music and we hope, with our 2024 Holiday Guide, you’ll be able to have a cheerful and dreamy December and a delightful new year – with a bumpin’ bluegrass, country, and Americana soundtrack.
For Getting Into the Holiday Spirit
Dust the Halls: An Acoustic Christmas Holiday (Signed, only 25 available) – $35.99
The Infamous Stringdusters have announced a new color variant for Dust the Halls: An Acoustic Christmas Holiday, releasing on vinyl via Americana Vibes. This is the eighth studio album from the GRAMMY-winning band, who put their signature acoustic bluegrass twist on timeless holiday classics. Recorded remotely during the 2020 pandemic, the record showcases the Stringdusters’ unmatched ability to collaborate from afar, weaving together intricate arrangements and harmonies that make each track sparkle with warmth and cheer.
Musical Instrument Museum Holiday Ornaments – $12 & up
Our friends at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, have the most adorable and festive collection of instrument and music-themed holiday ornaments available at their museum gift shop and online. Choose from treble clefs, banjos, violins, bongos, bagpipes, acoustic guitars – with and without cutaways! – and so much more. Maybe throw in a MIM membership as well, to receive 20% off most purchases. Anddd because this is a museum with a mission worth supporting, as they highlight all musical genres and traditions, from classical to bluegrass, folk, Americana, and beyond.
Unwrap the gift of music this holiday season: Save 10% on Deering Goodtime Deco Banjos! Looking for the perfect present for the aspiring musician on your list? Look no further than Deering Goodtime Deco Banjos. Our Goodtime banjos are the #1 choice of banjo teachers for beginners! Use this special BGS discount code below to save 10%.
More than just a beginner’s instrument, the Goodtime banjo is crafted with high-quality materials and American-made construction, ensuring it will last for years to come. Plus, its light weight makes it ideal for travel, jam sessions, and impromptu gatherings – perfect for creating lasting musical memories together.
Use code BGS24HOLIDAYBANJO10 to save 10% on Goodtime Deco banjos! (Offer valid 11/29/24 to 12/31/24)
Peghead Nation is celebrating its 10th Anniversary of teaching the world to play bluegrass, old-time, swing, Irish music, and other roots music styles – and we’re just getting started! With 75 streaming video courses and live workshops taught by the best instructors and players in the acoustic music community, you can learn guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, Dobro, ukulele, bass, and voice, no matter where you are in your musical journey.
Join us in any course now and get your first month free with the promo code BGS10. Or, save on gift subscriptions for your musical friends and family members. We can’t wait to hear the music you’ll make!
On Banjo: Recollections, Licks, and Solos by Ben Eldridge with Randy Barrett – $39.95
Just getting started on banjo? You picked the correct new hobby. Now you can select the perfect instruction book to get you up to speed. The late Ben Eldridge, a legendary five-string banjo innovator, combines memoir, instruction, tablature, and more in his excellent book, On Banjo – written with Randy Barnett and featuring a forward by Béla Fleck. It’s a perfect compendium for beginners and veterans alike, filled with stories, memories, and plenty of Eldridge’s idiosyncratic and mind-bending licks and solos. Build your banjo picking on a solid foundation with this book!
With its stainless steel, self-centering design, D’Addario’s Cradle Capo ensures even tension across the fretboard. Its adjustable micrometer lets you dial in the perfect pressure, while allowing the freedom for quick transitions and the ability to stay on the guitar, even when not in use.
Order one for yourself or surprise a friend this holiday season with the perfect gift for every bluegrass guitarist!
Noted for their power and immediate, responsive voice, Preston Thompson Guitars pay tribute to the best American-made instruments from the 1930s. Master guitar luthier Preston Thompson started with a small team of highly skilled craftsman to produce custom acoustic guitars that have the look, playing feel, and above all, the sound of the best instruments from that original golden era of guitar making.
Thompson Guitars are built strong and light with time-tested designs and construction methods, providing a lifetime of enjoyment. Our instruments are handmade every step of the way, from the finest woods available.
Check on their website for possible ready to ship models available – a rarity for this custom shop! BGS readers can receive an exclusive 10% discount on all custom orders placed before January 31, 2025 using the code THOMPSON10.
Audigo’s wireless, social media- and content capture-ready mics are seemingly everywhere these days. And for good reason! With their easy-to-use app, you can record multi-track audio and video at the highest qualities, recording from multiple Audigo mics simultaneously to one iPhone.
Audigo makes the kind of rapid content creation necessary for all levels of artists and bands at this point in time infinitely easier and strikingly seamless. Ready to make the plunge into vertical video content? Ready to shoot your own music videos? With Audigo, you can. And you won’t have to sacrifice quality.
Acoustic and roots musicians know that your hearing is worth protecting! Keep your own ears – or those of your professional touring loved one – cared for over the long haul with a pair of Loop Earplugs. Stylish and functional with a futuristic look, Loop Earplugs have received glowing reviews from consumer outlets like NYT‘s Wirecutter and offer a range of options, features, and styles. Whether you’re a casual concert goer or you spend each night on stage camped out in front of a drum kit, Loop has earplugs for you.
Take care of your ears now, so you never miss a single pluck or twang of your jam sessions down the line.
Handcrafted in Japan, the FS9 M concert-style acoustic guitar offers extraordinary projection and produces an open, clean sound with mid-focused warm tones at any volume — ideal for singer-songwriters who play subtle arpeggios or fingerstyle.
The FS9 M features an Adirondack spruce top, “modified V” bolt-on neck, scalloped Adirondack X bracing pattern, 25-inch scale, African mahogany back/sides, and a beautiful, gloss nitrocellulose finish. Traditional Japanese details include a washi paper label, rope purfling and inlay on the rosette, and Kumiki woodworking-inspired fret markers.
Calton Cases set the standard for professional, flight-ready, peace-of-mind instrument cases – for all kinds of players, genres, and styles. We love the wide range of colors – especially the glitter options! – and options, and that you can secure your precious axes no matter what you play or travel with. From gear and electric guitars to mandocellos and bouzoukis, professional touring musicians can rest easy whether there’s space in the overhead bins or not.
If you have a professional touring musician in your life, ease their travel anxiety this holiday season with a superlative Calton Case.
Officially licensed handmade flags by Oxford Pennant in Buffalo, New York! John Prine, Willie Nelson, Jason Isbell, Turnpike Troubadours and many more artist collaborations available here.
We’ve loved every time we’ve gotten to collaboratewith Oxford Pennant over the years and we can’t recommend their fine work highly enough. From the stages of Newport Folk Festival to our own closets, mantelpieces, and walls, Oxford Pennant fits just about everywhere – especially wrapped up with ribbons and bows for the music lover in your life who already has everything!
We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: No one is producing bluegrass festivals like the Earl Scruggs Music Festival in Mill Spring, North Carolina. We’ve partnered with the event each year since its debut in 2022 and they continue to raise the bar for roots music festivals year over year. Held at the luxurious grounds of the Tryon International Equestrian Center in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, ESMF is just minutes away from where Scruggs himself grew up and established his unique playing style. Scruggs’ surviving family members play a big role in the festival, too, which is a partnership between the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby, NC, the Equestrian Center, and WNCW.
We can’t wait to return to ESMF in 2025 for another weekend of bluegrass, country, Americana, and more – with amazing food, beautiful views, and gorgeous, well-maintained grounds. From tent camping to tiny-cabin glamping, from food truck barbeque to gourmet, wood-fired Italian food, from Twisted Pine to Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Earl Scruggs Music Festival has something for everyone.
Taylor Rushing x BGS Mercantile Graphic Tee Collab – $32
We are so excited to launch a brand new merch collab on the BGS Mercantile featuring art and design by the one and only Taylor Rushing of NOT BAD Illustration. We’ve gotta say, these designs are not bad!
Our two brand new, exclusive additions to the BGS Mercantile feature bespoke designs by Rushing that celebrate the launch of our new vertical and email newsletter, Good Country. Wear your love for good country music of all varieties on your sleeve– er, or on your chest. We love these timeless, simple illustrations printed on cozy, comfortable tees. Pre-order now for holiday delivery and be one of the very first BGS fans to own the new, limited edition designs. All while testifying your commitment to Good Country and NOT BAD country.
Okay, so you have a music lover in your life that already has everything? Why not gift them a membership to two first-class music museums in Nashville, Tennessee? The next time they visit Music City, they’ll have the inside access of a true local.
We can’t recommend the National Museum of African American Music ($60 for an annual individual membership) and the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum ($65 for an annual individual membership) highly enough! These two incredible institutions – who often collaborate and co-produce programming and events – tell detailed, thoughtful, and nuanced stories central to Nashville, and to country, pop, and African American musics. Between the two, you can gain an incredibly holistic viewpoint of American popular music and the many threads woven throughout its traditions.
With a gift of a museum membership, you’re giving something that will keep on giving. Knowledge, expertise, insight, culture, community, and so much more come hand-in-hand with a membership to each of these fine institutions.
Plus, the Country Music Hall of Fame is currently running a special membership discount! Between November 4 and January 2, the museum is offering new members will get $5 off Troubadour Individual and individual-level memberships and $10 off Troubadour Dual and family-level memberships! Now’s your chance to save a bit of money and support the museum’s mission, too.
New this year from BGS contributor, freelance writer, and author Steacy Easton, White Limozeen is part of the essential and exhaustive 33 1/3 series from Bloomsbury. Easton is the perfect thinker to take on Dolly Parton’s White Limozeen, an album that joined her catalog at a critical juncture in her career. The book is certainly well-timed, releasing at a time when Parton’s current career continues to raise the ceiling time and time again for her own success, while reaching points of ubiquity and mainstream recognition she may have never considered possible – certainly not at the time of White Limozeen‘s making.
The book is an easy (while dense and informed) read that examines canon, mythos, the construction of image and self, and so much more. Pick it up now for a perfect holiday gift for the Parton acolyte or new initiate on your list.
Keep your eye out for our full 2024 music books guide coming to BGS soon, too!
For the Outdoor Festival Enthusiast
WinterWonderGrass – $249 & up
WinterWonderGrass enters its 12th year in Colorado, remaining true to the deep community it has built while celebrating the music and connections that bring us all together. In a world where many small, independent festivals have disappeared, this festival is committed to honoring bluegrass legends while embracing fresh new talent and filling their community’s cup.
WinterWonderGrass is part music festival, part beer festival, and part family reunion. The event boasts four stages, three of which are under huge heated tents, a robust kid’s zone, local food trucks, a VIP area, and a coffee bar. Plus, two hours of free beer, wine, spirits, and non-alcoholic tastings from 2:00 – 4:00 pm daily.
Join the festival in Steamboat Springs from February 28 to March 2, 2025! This year’s lineup features an incredible array of artists, including Trampled by Turtles, The California Honeydrops, Kitchen Dwellers, Leftover Salmon, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, Sam Bush Band, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Brothers Comatose, Lindsay Lou, Mountain Grass Unit, and more
Enter the WinterWonderGrass holiday giveaway for a chance to win WWG VIP tickets, ski passes, Mountain Top Dinner passes, tickets to all late nights, and more! Enter to win here.
Camp Snap Screen-Free Digital Camera – $59.99 & up
An essential accessory we bring along to nearly every music festival, conference, and event we attend, Camp Snap’s screen-free film-style digital cameras bring back joy and mystique to point-and-shooting. Don’t take our word for it, either, you can check out our Camp Snap shots from our cruise with Cayamo earlier this year.
If you’re stumped brainstorming gift ideas for the music lover who already has each and every thing you can imagine, why not get them a Camp Snap? The photos are charming, high quality, with plenty of personality. And they bring back some intention and deliberation to the usual social media grind. It’s like a disposable camera, but not! Like shooting Polaroids, but with an exciting period of suspense and anticipation. With sync capabilities via USB-C or SD card, it’s a breeze to use. Bring Camp Snap to your next festival or show!
When you go to as many festivals, concerts, and music events as we do – or as the average outdoor festival enthusiast – you daydream a lot about the perfect pack. We happen to love Kelty, and their fabulous array of fanny packs, belt bags, backpacks, and beyond. From arduous and involved backpacking trips to quick jaunts to the farmers’ market, Kelty has something for every application.
We know our Kelty Packs would be right at home at WinterWonderGrass or Earl Scruggs Music Festival, both. They’re perfect for a carry-on bag, too! Plus, don’t miss their selection of tents, sleeping bags, camp chairs, and more to finish outfitting your festival campsite.
This content brought to you in partnership with BGS sponsors Americana Vibes, Yamaha Guitars, Deering Banjos, Thompson Guitars, D’Addario, WinterWonderGrass, Earl Scruggs Music Festival, Peghead Nation, and Oxford Pennant.
In the past, we’ve been pretty much adamant in our command to GET. OFF. YOUR. ASS. Supporting musicians, writers, and creators means going out to shows, buying drinks at venues, volunteering at festivals, and so much more — except… not right now.
So here’s what you can do to help the music business — and all of your favorite hard-working, paycheck-to-paycheck artists. Just stay on your ass! Each week, we’ll round up a few of our favorite events, livestreams, and COVID-19 coping resources that we’ve scrolled by on our feeds or found in our inboxes.
What music are you spending your time with, now that you’re staying on your ass, too? Let us know in the comments.
Margo Price Plays a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
Thirteen days into self-quarantining with their two children, dog, and cat, husband and wife Margo Price and Jeremy Ivey play three songs — including an unreleased original, “Someone Else’s Problem” — for a recently retooled version of the ever-popular (and BGS favorite) Tiny Desk Concert series.
Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn’s Banjo House Lockdown Livestream Series
Everyone’s favorite banjo power couple has been making the most of their isolation time, broadcasting on Facebook Live on Friday nights at 7:00 pm EDT (upcoming shows on March 27, April 3, and April 10). Whether you’re a banjo nerd or not, Fleck and Washburn are delightful entertainers, with innovative double banjo arrangements, traditional step dance, and the most adorable cameos made by their two cherubic children. It’s worth a tune-in.
Fleck’s expanded boxed set, Throw Down Your Heart – The Complete Africa Sessions, releases on March 27 and Washburn’s duo album with guzheng virtuoso Wu Fei drops April 3.
The International Bluegrass Music Association is curating a resources page specifically geared toward the bluegrass community and its working professionals, who, due to the grassroots, DIY nature of the genre, are set to be disproportionately impacted by this crisis. While IBMA is careful to point out this is not a complete list, it’s an excellent starting point for any performer who may feel like the proverbial “rug” has just been pulled out from underneath their feet.
A philanthropic arm of the Recording Academy / GRAMMY Awards, MusiCares has been supporting professionals in music industries with financial support for decades, providing a safety net of critical assistance in times of need. Artists and industry professionals can apply for assistance, but those who are able can donate as well — a rare opportunity for direct action! Find more information here, and apply for assistance here.
Jerry Douglas Performs LIVE to Raise Money for MusiCares
Speaking of MusiCares, the king of the resonator guitar himself, Jerry Douglas, will be going live on his Facebook page tomorrow, March 27, at 2:oopm CDT. So, if you’d like your donation with a side of the tastiest Dobro in the land, here’s your best bet!
WinterWonderGrass TV
Our friends at WinterWonderGrass, who’ve unfortunately had to postpone both remaining WWG events in 2020, remain undaunted! Starting tomorrow, March 27, at 8:00 pm EDT, they’ll release a series of hour-long livestream “episodes” featuring music and performances from artists on WWG’s cream-of-the-crop lineups and sneak peeks at events and highlights of the wintry, ski-centered festivals that make them so special. You can tune in on Facebook, either on WWG’s page, or with your old pals, BGS, too. Two more episodes will follow, on April 3 and 10.
Banjoist, ethnomusicologist, and artist Jake Blount was interviewed by TIME regarding the financial repercussions of so many canceled events and shows so quickly. The report details how Blount was on his way to the airport to fly to Norway for a festival when he got word it was canceled. Blount’s upcoming album, Spider Tales, is set for release May 29.
This is real, folks. Voting is the best way to ensure that this pandemic and its effects — economic, social, mental, spiritual, and so on — are actually addressed in a way that centers workers and those most at risk, including freelance and gig economy workers who make all of our jobs, our music, and our art possible. You can register to vote or volunteer here, and get more info on voter registration here.
WinterWonderGrass 2020 is mere weeks away (Steamboat Springs fast approaches!) and BGS is excited to announce the schedule for WWG’s Vermont edition, the final iteration of the event in 2020, taking place April 10 & 11 at Stratton Resort in Manchester, VT. The placement of this year’s festival coincides with the end of the ski and snowboard season at the resort, and WWG plans to bring one heck of party to the mountain’s base to close out the year. Psychedelic folk-grass band Cabinet is also set to make their first post-hiatus performance over the weekend.
Additionally, starting on Tuesday, February 11th, WWG plans to release a limited quantity of single-day tickets and weekend general admission passes will move to tier 2 pricing the same day. Tickets and more info available here.
“WinterWonderGrass continues to honor the pillars of bluegrass while creating space for the evolution of the genre to flourish. I feel this lineup speaks to that ethos,” remarks festival founder, Scotty Stoughton, via press release. “I’m super excited to see first-time bands like Twisted Pine take our stage and welcome back local favorites, Saints & Liars. I’m humbled Cabinet is coming out of hiatus to perform at WinterWonderGrass and it’s always a pleasure to watch The Infamous Stringdusters and Della Mae take the stage.”
Gates open at 1:45 PM each day during the two-day music festival, with music beginning at 2:00 PM. Pickin’ Perch and the Main Stage will see alternating sets for two days of nonstop music.
Tickets for California and Vermont are on sale now, but moving fast! Very limited single-day tickets remain for Friday and Sunday at the Colorado stop, which is otherwise completely sold out. VIP tickets to the California are also sold out, but fans are encouraged to check out the official fan-to-fan ticketing exchange powered by Lyte if they’re in search of tickets as more of the dates and tiers sell out.
See the daily schedules below:
Photo of Jon Stickley Trio ski in/ski out show, WWG Tahoe 2017: Tobin Voggesser
WinterWonderGrass 2020 is on the horizon and BGS is excited to share the official daily schedule for their California edition, taking place March 27-29th in Squaw Valley, California.
WinterWonderGrass California is excited to present not one, but two headlining sets from rising star Billy Strings, who was named International Bluegrass Music Association’s Guitar Player of the Year in 2019.
In conjunction with the daily schedule announcement, WWG plans to release a limited quantity of single-day tickets starting Thursday, January 23, and weekend General Admissin passes will move to tier 2 pricing the same day. Tickets and more info available here.
“WinterWonderGrass continues to honor the pillars of bluegrass while creating space for the evolution of the genre to flourish. I feel this lineup speaks to that ethos,” festival founder Scotty Stoughton remarks in a press release. “I’m super excited to see first time bands like The War and Treaty, Cris Jacobs Band and Twisted Pine as their jaws drop from the stunning Squaw Valley views surrounding their stage. It’s also an honor to watch Billy Strings continue to grow, and welcome back legends like Peter Rowan.”
Sentimentally, Peter Rowan himself adds, “When the music hits the crystal air at WinterWonderGrass and echoes off the mountains, we are home.”
Gates open at 1:45 PM each day during the 3-day music festival with Friday and Saturday nights’ programming will last until 10:00 PM, and Sunday ends slightly earlier around 9:30 PM. Performances across the Soapbox, Pickin’ Perch and Jamboree stages will see many artists perform two consecutive sets, and each night, performances on the Close Pick stage will close the festival.
VIP tickets to Steamboat’s stop are already sold out, but fans are encouraged to check out the official fan-to-fan ticketing exchange powered by Lyte if they’re in search of tickets as more of the dates and tiers sell out.
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