This week’s podcast interview features Washington, DC area bluegrass legend Cliff Waldron. Cliff was recently honored with the IBMA’s distinguished achievement award. We talk with Cliff about the award, his early days in bluegrass, his years playing with Bill Emerson, his work with Cliff Waldron and the New Shades of Grass and much more.
This week’s podcast features five-time banjo player of the year, and a long-time member of the Grascals, Kristin Scott Benson. We will talk about her family’s long history in music, her career in bluegrass, her online banjo lessons, the Grascals newest CD, a new project she has been working on with her husband Wayne Benson, and her new book project with Bill Evans.
This week we feature bluegrass legend Ronnie Reno and talk with him about his life in bluegrass music with his father Don Reno, the Osborne Brothers, Merle Haggard and more. We will also discuss his exciting new online project bluegrass music TV.
This week’s podcast features two-time IBMA “Mandolin Player of the Year” winner Alan Bibey. Today we talk to Alan about his long and distinguished carrier in bluegrass music, his band’s newest record Hitchhiking to California, his annual music camp, and how he approaches teaching students how to play the mandolin.
This week’s podcast features Tristan Scroggins. We talk with Tristan about his IBMA award nominations, his ten years performing with his father’s band, Jeff Scroggins and Colorado, his work cataloging John Hartford’s enormous 3X5 card collection and his online mandolin lessons.
This week’s podcast features Akira Otsuka, the mandolin player for the Japanese bluegrass band Bluegrass 45. Last week we completed a sixteen article website series about Bluegrass 45’s 1971 tour of the United States. Today we talk to Akira briefly about that tour, but then go on to discuss what he and the other band members have been doing since that historic tour fifty years ago.
This week we feature Marty Lanham of the Nashville Guitar Company. Since Wilma Lee Cooper is featured in our September 2021 print issue, we first talk with Marty about his days playing music with bluegrass legends Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper and then we discuss acoustic instrument maintenance, restoration, repair, and building.
This week we feature Ken Hooper of Hooper Guitars. Our September 2021 issue features an article about Zack Arnold, Rhonda Vincent’s new guitar player, and Zack is just one of the guitar players in bluegrass who plays a Hooper guitar. You will hear Ken talk about all aspects of his guitar building process as well as the models and custom features that he offers.
This week we feature Mark Freeman of Rebel Records. Mark talks about Rebel’s long history in bluegrass music starting with his father Dave’s involvement with County Records and County Sales dating back to the mid-1960s. We also talk about some of the new artists Rebel is working with today. Plus, you will get to hear several cuts from some of Rebels new releases.
This week our podcast features Jon Weisberger. Jon has not only had a long career as a bass player in bluegrass music, but he has also been a journalist, writer of liner notes, writer of songs, radio personality, record producer, and also currently works in artist development and repertoire for Organic Records and Mountain Home Music.
This week’s podcast features Missy Raines the nine-time IBMA “Bass Player of the Year.” We talk with Missy about her background in bluegrass music, her recording, songwriting, producing, and her role as a band leader. We will also talk about her new band Missy Raines and Allegheny and you will hear a couple of cuts off of her Grammy-nominated CD Royal Traveller.
This week’s podcast features Bill Nowlin. Bill is one of the three founders of Rounder Records and has recently released a new book titled Vinyl Ventures: My Fifty Years at Rounder Records. We will talk with Bill about this book, about other books that he has published over the years, and about his five decades working at Rounder.
