Celebrating 50 years of the David Grisman Quintet - part 1 Darol Anger & Mike Marshall
2025 marks 50 years since The David Grisman Quintet first got together, an event that changed string band music forever. The DGQ played a huge part in the careers of some incredible musicians, including Tony Rice, Mike Marshall, Darol Anger and Todd Phillips, as well as including collaborations with Stéphane Grappelli. Their first record, The David Grisman Quintet, remains one of the most important records in string band history.To celebrate the early years of the quintet, and the amazing music they created, I’ve been speaking to some of the people who were right at the heart of it.First up is a wonderful conversation I had with Mike Marshall and Darol Anger. We talk about how they both came to be in that band, how the sound developed, what working with David taught them and what Tony Rice brought to the group.Next week I'll be sharing an interview with Todd Phillips, followed by an interview with the man himself, David Grisman.For more on David, and to buy copies of his music (including the wonderful David Grisman Quintet - First Recordings Live in Dawg’s Living Room) visit acousticdisc.comHappy picking!MattSend a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!) Support the show===Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins- Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts
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1:18:23
Bluegrass Briefing June 2nd 2025
Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly series of episodes taking a look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass.Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode.News and Announcements (Church Street News)IBMA Bluegrass Live - lineup and ticketsReleases (The Grass is New)Acoustic Disc Frank Wakefield album The Grass is (mostly) New 2025 playlistOther bitsSign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/The Grass is (mostly) New 2025 playlistFull list of interviewsCollings GuitarsHappy picking.MattSend a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!) Support the show===Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins- Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts
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10:28
Celebrating Norman Blake's 'Whiskey Before Breakfast' with Bob Minner
My guest this week is Bob Minner and we're celebrating one of the most iconic flatpicking records of all time - Norman Blake's 'Whiskey Before Breakfast'.We chat about Bob first hearing this record and why he loves it so much; its place in the flatpicking repertoire; the gear Norman used (including guitars, picks and even string gauges!) and we go through the record track by track.Not only that, Bob phoned Norman before we did the interview specifically to ask him about the songs and tunes he picked for the record and where he first heard them.Whether you're new to this record or you know it inside out, I hope you'll learn something from our conversation. I certainly did!Bob mentions a video he made with Bryan Sutton, Chris Eldridge and Kenny Smith, about the D18 that appears on the album cover - you'll find it on the Fretboard Journal's YouTube channelAlso, check out Bob's wonderful tribute album to Norman, 'From Sulphur Springs to Rising Fawn'.It's always a joy chatting to Bob. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.MattSend a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!) Support the show===Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins- Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts
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1:22:12
Bluegrass Briefing May 26th 2025
Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly series of episodes taking a look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass.Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode.News and Announcements (Church Street News)Romp Festival lineup and ticketsBluegrass Hall of Fame gigsGreen Mountain LineupHardly Strictly BluegrassCarolina Chocolate Drops documentaryReleases (The Grass is New)George Jackson PatreonTristan Scroggins PatreonCaterina Lichtenberg Mike Marshall & Friends - Bandcamp The Grass is (mostly) New 2025 playlistOther bitsSign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/The Grass is (mostly) New 2025 playlistFull list of interviewsCollings GuitarsHappy picking.MattSend a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!) Support the show===Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins- Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts
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12:42
Wayne Erbsen on 50 Years of Writing About Southern Mountain Music
My guest this week is Wayne Erbsen, professor of old-time and bluegrass music at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.Wayne joins me to talk about half a century of writing about old-time and bluegrass music, including his latest book Southern Mountain Music: The Collected Writings of Wayne Erbsen.Over the past 50 years Wayne has interviewed many legendary figures in Appalachian music, as well as many lesser known names (including the guitarist who acted as AP Carter's 'human tape recorder'), often being the first and only person to collect their stories. These articles come together to create a fascinating history of bluegrass and old-time music in Appalachia.The book profiles many pioneers of old-time and bluegrass music, alongside chapters on brother duets from the 1930s, legendary banjo pickers and fiddle players and tales of 19th-century songwriters whose songs still populate bluegrass music. Wayne also shares some great stories, including the time Charlie Cline's powerful snoring led to the Bluegrass Boys spending a night out in the cold and the gig where Clarence White borrowed his guitar.You can buy Wayne's book at the MacFarland Books website. Check out Wayne's YouTube channel tooHappy picking!MattSend a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!) Support the show===Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins- Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts
The IBMA Award winning podcast for anyone and everyone who loves bluegrass. Free fiddle tune backing tracks and interviews with amazing people from the world of bluegrass. For every tune we give you four brand new tracks: - Backup 4 times through (you play the tune or improvise breaks)- Tune 4 times through (you play backup)- ‘Jam Along’ (4 complete run throughs, alternating backup and tune)- Full performanceFor more info and chord charts, visit https://bluegrassjamalong.com. Hope you find these tracks useful (and thanks for listening!) - Matt
France