In this week’s show, I pay tribute to Joy Kirkpatrick OAM, premier lady of Australian country music, and a huge influence on my life, by featuring a track from Slim Dusty’s ‘Live At Tamworth’ album that she wrote. There’s also music from my LP collection – tracks from the Country Gentlemen, Here Today, Charlie Monroe, the Johnson Mountain Boys and the Marshall Family. I’ve also included a few more recent favourites, such as Corrina Rose Logston, Barry & Holly Tashian, and Bill Evans. Enjoy ..read more

This week I’ve selected some favourites from my shelves, but there’s also some artists you may not have heard before, all playing some great music. The Bluegrass Album Band, Dan Tyminski, the New Coon Creek Girls, the Lilly Brothers, Fiddlin’ Billy Hurt, Mitch Harrell, Tony Ellis. Enjoy ..read more

May is New Zealand Music Month, so in this show I’m featuring NZ artists including, The Remarkables, Mark Mazengarb, the Pipi Pickers, Rhode Works, Pam Findlay, the Bluegrass Expedition, and of course the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band and its derivatives ..read more

May is New Zealand Music Month, so in this show I’m featuring NZ artists including Wires & Wood, and Hot Diggity, plus some early HCBB. And, I’m talking, in the studio, to Keith MacMillan, Hamilton musician and luthier, about his work in the repair and maintenance of musical instruments. We also pick a couple of tunes in the studio ..read more

May is New Zealand Music Month, so in this show I’m featuring NZ artists, including the Pipi Pickers; You, Me, Everybody; Bryan Christianson; Pete & the Skiffy Rivets; the Antipodean Serenaders; and our celebrated banjo virtuoso Catherine Bowness with her band Mile Twelve. Of course, the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band gets to play a few tunes, too, having been part of the NZ music scene for seven decades ..read more

Anzac Day is observed in both New Zealand and Australia on 25 April. This date marks the first major military action fought by the Australian and New Zealand forces (the ANZACs) during World War 1, at Gallipoli. We remember and honour not only those who died at Gallipoli, but all who have served their country in times of war. Accordingly, I have selected a few songs with an appropriate theme for this show ..read more

I’ve dug into the bottom shelf of my old LP’s to come up with some tracks that haven’t been played on this show previously – Delia Bell & Bill Grant, Jim & Jesse, John Hartford, Buck White & the Down Home Folks, Eric Weissberg & Marshall Brickman. I’ll also be playing some lesser-known Flatt & Scruggs, Raymond McLain, the Gibson Brothers, and newer friends like Balsam Range, Starlett & Big John Talley, and even some HCBB ..read more

Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie, Ricky Skaggs, Larry Sparks, Sister Sadie, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, and Walt Crider singing some Mac Wiseman songs. Lots of bluegrass, from classic to contemporary, with some Australian and NZ songs included. Enjoy ..read more

I give my old Gibson RB100 banjo a bit of an airing at the start of the show, and later on feature a very young Ray Goins playing a similar banjo with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers. There’s some tracks from Seldom Scene, the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Australia’s Karen Lynn & Marty Louis, the Dry Branch Fire Squad, and a short tribute to Carl Pagter of the California Bluegrass Association. The HCBB get a song in too, as do John Reischman & the Jaybirds. Lots to listen to ..read more