Craig Havighurst

I had the privilege of writing the official bio for JP Harris’s new album Shaving A Dead Man, his second release of old-time Appalachian songs and banjo picking with his old friend Chance McCoy on fiddle. “Old-time music has been a baseline for me,” Harris says in that document. “And I think in getting a little older, a little more comfortable with myself and trusting my intuitions a little more, I've realized that one thing that's never changed in the tumult of launching and trying to build and maintain a music career all these years, the one consistent love and lover that I've had has been the old-time community.” The modern-day bard, train-hopper, and musical outlaw comes by this honestly. He knows his repertoire, but as we feature his new record on release week, we chose the one Harris original, “Sweet Talk.” Also this week, a couple of interesting ‘grassified takes on famous pop songs, a lonesome single by NC’s Louisa Branscomb, and a gorgeous ballad written and sung by Justin Hiltner and Sarah Siskind (with Jon Weisberger).

Charles Wesley Godwin was rolling along as one of the hottest new voices and touring artists on the blurry edge of country and Americana music when a family tragedy sent him spiraling. The Morgantown, WV native and lifer rekindled the faith he was raised on and sought songwriting collaborations for the first time. The result is Christian Name, a portrait of a man leaning on God and old fashioned values to find a way forward.

Grasstime has been part of the Nashville area scene for as long as I can remember, and over the past decade or so, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Robbie Morris has emerged as its leader. He’s a native of southwest Virginia who grew up around the bluegrass sound and who’s played on and off during his 30 years in Nashville while maintaining a career in corporate software security. They got on the public map at the area’s famous Full Moon Pickin’ Parties and have held down a residency for a decade at a middle Tennessee winery. We close this episode out with their new single “Coal,” a song by Gary Boevers and Mike Richards that they describe as “a journey into the dark, blood-stained history of the Appalachian mine wars.” Also this week, an anticipated single by guitar/mando duo Oh Me Oh My, a new one by Seth Mulder & Midnight Run and a cool show debut by the old-fangled music of Arizona’s Maybels Fables.

The harp, a truly ancient invention, had been a bit player in popular music, but here and there, artists bring the oft-typecast instrument into the Americana space. When Mikaela Davis released her new album Graceland Way last spring, it got Craig Havighurst wondering about the challenges and rewards of the instrument - one he grew up around. So he sought out Davis for a talk, and in this episode he pairs that conversation with power folk artist Lizzie No, whose most recent studio album Halfsies has been a critical favorite. It’s the most highly strung String maybe ever.

Over more than 20 years Pieta Brown has quietly built one of the most esteemed careers in the singer-songwriter space. She’s quiet in conversation as well, but there’s no mistaking her depth. As she reflects on her luminous new album Dreamin’ Of, Brown speaks about the indirect influence of her famous dad Greg Brown, about her relationship with roots rocker Bo Ramsey, and about how her Iowa home in the midwest has led to some of her richest collaborations.

Arena-packing star Billy Strings was named IBMA Entertainer Of The Year for the fifth time at the 37th annual IBMA Awards in Chattanooga on Thursday. More surprising was the ascent of East Nash Grass with two major trophies in Album and Instrumental Group of the Year. Other winners included singer Jaelee Roberts, fiddler Andy Leftwich, Vocal Group Authentic Unlimited, and bass veteran Mike Bub.

The name taken in 1984 by the Nashville Bluegrass Band was obvious, even audacious. But the quintet more than lived up to it, helping to define the sound of their namesake genre like few other bands of the 80s and 90s, propelled by the compelling lead vocal pair of Alan O’Bryant and Pat Enright. This week in Chattanooga, the NBB will be formally inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, but Enright won’t be there, as he passed away in August. Craig offers an appreciation of the singer and the band.

What’s a 45-year-old band and album doing in our spotlight this week? Well, sometimes the classics get a refresh, and such is the case with the new vinyl remastered edition of The Bluegrass Album from Craft Recordings. For collectors or newcomers, this is a must-have 1981 masterpiece featuring what was supposed to be a one-off supergroup of Tony Rice on guitar, J.D. Crowe on banjo, Doyle Lawson on mandolin, Bobby Hicks on fiddle, and Todd Phillips on bass. When the Rounder Records release blew up and became an instant classic, the band (lacking a name) carried on as The Bluegrass Album Band and went on to make five more discs. We’ve dipped into this body of work regularly as historical tracks on the show, but I’ve been flipping out over this new vinyl release and wanted to share a bit of that experience with you, via the great song “Toy Heart.” Also this week, a show debut for Nashville’s Lacy Green, plus a bunch of new singles from Sister Sadie, The David Mayfield Parade, Alex Leach, Chris Jones, and Murphy Campbell.

The Deslondes, named for the street in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans where they lived back in the day, has been one of Americana’s most impressive and creative bands for more than a decade. While fully committed to that ongoing project, their gravel-voiced baritone singer and writer Riley Downing has taken his most impressive step yet as a solo artist with Landfill Poetry on Oh Boy Records. He speaks with The String about his late break into folk music, record collecting, and yes, that job he had on a garbage truck.

I first became aware of Forrest O’Connor’s prowess on several instruments from seeing his family band, and since that included his dad, galactic-level fiddle master Mark O’Connor, it came as no surprise that Forrest had the goods. Forrest struck up a tuneful relationship with Oregon singer-songwriter Meredith Lane, and in the past year or two, they’ve become a married couple and a duo called Rosine The Band. Rosine, KY is the birthplace of Bill Monroe, and while the new outfit is open-minded in its folky repertoire, their debut single “It Never Ends” really does stake out a nice patch of progressive bluegrass. Forrest plays a ripping guitar solo, while Mark is here too with incendiary fiddle. Also this week, we launch with the formal release of the big Delmore Brothers multi-artist tribute album we’ve been waiting for, featuring in this case Junior Sisk and Don Rigsby. High Fidelity is back with a single. And Amy introduces us to another wonderful married duo called Admiral Radio.