Bluegrass legend, and one of my heroes, banjo player Ben Eldridge died very recently. On this show I feature just some of Ben’s magical banjo work with Seldom Scene and his prior work with Cliff Waldron & the New Shades of Grass. We’ve also got some music from Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum, the All-Girl Boys, Bryan Christianson, and the Pleasant Valley Boys ..read more

I’ve been digging deep into my shelves of CD’s, and I’ve come up some selections from familiar performers that I’ve not played on this show previously, as well as a few ‘favourites’ that leap out me saying ‘pick me, pick me’. Among the performers featured are the Osborne Brothers, Donna Ulisse, Special Consensus, Doyle Lawson, Longview, the Bluegrass Cut-Ups, and Seldom Scene ..read more

A new album from French bluegrass legend Jean-Luc Leroux, plus offerings from Travers Chandler, X-Train, the Price Sisters, and Dan Tyminski. We’ve got some old-timey banjo picking from David Holt, and a rare gospel song from the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band ..read more

Bluegrass from Wildfire, the Grascals, the Missy Werner Band, Lou Reid & Carolina, instrumentals from Seldom Scene, Sidesaddle and the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band, and gospel music from Rhonda Vincent as an Easter ‘special’. Lots to like in this episode ..read more

St Patrick’s Day has just been celebrated the world over. And there’s a lot of the Irish in bluegrass music. I searched my collection to come up with songs that give a nod to our Irish heritage, and have featured some songs and tunes in this episode. There’s also some ‘regular’ bluegrass too, of course, and you’ll hear from Dale Anne Bradley, Hot Rize, the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band, Bill Monroe, J D Crowe, Tony Ellis and others ..read more

We had a great concert in my backyard with George Jackson & Brad Kolodner, and I’m featuring their music on this show. I’ve also got some great tracks from the Travelling McCourys, Barry & Holly Tashian, the Stanley Brothers, and Junior Sisk. High Fidelity get a look in, and there’s even an opening track from Australian great Slim Dusty and the Travelling Country Band ..read more

Still finding treasures in my deepest shelves of bluegrass LP’s. This week’s show has music from Billy Baker (fiddler), Mac Wiseman & the Osborne Brothers, and Merle Haggard singing a Jimmie Rodgers favourite. There’s a brand-new release from Missy Raines & Allegheny, and songs from Peter Rowan, the Bluegrass Album Band, the HCBB and others; and some fine resonator playing from Kathy Barwick ..read more

I’ve dug deep into my shelves of LPs, and hauled out a few favourites – the Blue Velvet Band, Seldom Scene, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, fiddler Glen Duncan, to find some tracks I’ve not played on the show previously. We’ve got a little more contemporary with the HCBB, George Jackson, the Kody Norris Show, and Balsam Range, and some classic bluegrass from Tony Ellis ..read more

Classic bluegrass from Jim and Jesse, some ‘hardcore’ from Chris Henry & the Hardcore Grass, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Ricky Skaggs , some contemporary songs from Irene Kelley, and some 1970’s Californian bluegrass from Country Gazette. Real variety in this week’s show ..read more

I had a weekend of live music – some of it is represented in the songs I’ve selected, and the usual eclectic selection of bluegrass from many sources makes up the programme. Claire Lynch, Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, Dark Hollow Bluegrass Band, Sassafras and the Grascals are just some of the bands featured ..read more