Welcome to the Bluegrass Briefing for July 2026, your monthly look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass and beyond. Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode. News and Announcements (Church Street News) McCoury & Douglas Family Pickin PartyBéla Fleck's My Bluegrass Heart tour Releases (The Grass is New) Natalie & Brittany Haas - North NodeNoaBass - Late BloomerVoices: A Folk Opera Scroll on Buddy Punch Brothers - Found in a Frozen Fog Other bits Full list ...

This week's Bitesize episode comes from a fascinating conversation I had with Tristan Scroggins in 2021. In this section Tristan reflects on what it means to come to bluegrass as an 'outsider' and how culture and connection aren't just about geographical borders. Growing up in New Mexico, despite learning traditional bluegrass from his father, Tristan felt a disconnect from the roots of the music. Later, when he moved to Nashville, he found himself wondering exactly why he loves bluegrass so ...

My guest this week is Missy Raines and we're talking about one of her all time favourite records - The Seldom Scene's Act Two We talk about how Missy grew up listening to The Country Gentlemen and The Seldom Scene, thanks to her parents' love of bluegrass, and how the band played a formative role in her early musical life, in particular how Tom Gray influenced her to become a bass player. We also discuss the shift that was happening in bluegrass and string band music in the early '70s and wha...

Welcome to the June 2026 Bluegrass Briefing, a monthly 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) Craft Recordings Boone Creek reissue (preorder)CDLPDownloadGabe Witcher's Gig Ledger Pro app51st Annual Father's Day Bluegrass FestivalMarcel Ardans' Winfield DocumentaryFly in FestivalOften Herd tour datesScroll on Buddy Punch Brothers play Star WarsOther bits Fu...

My guests on the podcast this week have an astonishing 24 Grammy awards between them and they represent two musical world I love - the first is bluegrass and string band music and the second is opera. Renée Fleming and Béla Fleck join me to chat about their wonderful new collaboration The Fiddle and the Drum, a project which explores Renée's long-held love of American folk and Appalachian music. The album includes guest appearances from several musicians from in and around the string band wor...

My guest this week is Tim O'Brien and he joins me to chat about 'The Tim O'Brien Songbook', a handpicked selection of 40 of his songs, complete with notation, chords, Nashville number charts and thoughts from Tim on singing and songwriting. We talk about Tim's journey from being an instrumentalist, to a singer, then a songwriter, and some of the key points along the way, as well as how he set about choosing the songs for the book. He shares his thoughts on co-writing and why songs don't alway...

My guest this week is Sierra Hull and we're chatting about her instrumental project The Movements. We talk about how the piece came about, as the result of a FreshGrass Concerto commission, how she approached writing the piece, with and for her current band (Avery Merritt, Erik Coveney, Mark Raudabaugh, and Shaun Richardson), and the challenges presented by releasing a project like this. We also discuss how the piece has developed since it was first written and how she and the band inco...

My guest this week is John Reischman and we're talking about his fantastic record The Salish Sea, recorded with his band The Jaybirds. We chat about the band's long history together and the journey behind this record, including the Freshgrass Concerto Commission that led to the title track. John also shares his memories of first meeting Tony Rice and how he came to play with The Tony Rice Unit in the 1980s, including recording the albums Still Inside and Backwaters. You can fi...

My guest on the podcast this week is fiddle player Andy Leftwich and we're chatting about his new album Aced. Andy talks about his love for instrumental music, including how hearing Mark O'Connor's The New Nashville Cats as a child inspired him. He also talks about contest fiddling and his 15 year stint with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, alongside Cody Kilby, who features on Aced as well as its predecessor The American Fiddler. After a decade and a half with Ricky, Andy ch...

Welcome to this month’s Bluegrass Briefing, a monthly 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. Podcast news Recent interview episodesAppleSpotifyNews and Announcements (Church Street News) Todd Phillips fundraiserNorth Carolina Guitar CelebrationCraft Recordings Tony Rice reissueReleases (The Grass is New) Punch Brothers - New Bike videoJarrod Walker - NighthawkI'm With Her - Sing Me Alive Scroll o...