Craig Havighurst

One of the best things about bluegrass is the way its musicians mix and match, forming special projects or supergroups that may last briefly or persist through time. Back in 2016, one such outfit formed, a special collection of pickers – many then just making a name for themselves – to record an album of instrumentals. Section House, as they called themselves, was Aaron Ramsey (mandolin), Cory Walker (banjo), Bryan McDowell (fiddle), Jake Stargell (guitar), and Jeff Partin (bass). Well, they’re back, with Gavin Largent added on reso-guitar. And this show we feature their rad version of the classic fiddle and banjo tune “Pike County Breakdown.” Rad because they’ve taken a 4/4 song and cast it in 3/4 time, for a wobbly, ear-grabbing quality that’s hard to resist (and a little hard to count). Also this week, a new single from the Steep Canyon Rangers, a moment from Joseph Decosimo’s new Fiery Gizzard album, a re-issue of Wynn Osborne’s banjo prowess, and a revisit of Phoebe Hunt’s incredible solo fiddle/vocal album.

South Carolina guitar wizard and powerhouse singer Marcus King has come through the valley of shadows, breaking self-destructive habits and arriving at a place of contentment and love on his latest album Darling Blue. In a career-spanning conversation, King talks about his unique path to finding his voice on the guitar, his collaborations with a series of very different world-class producers, and his place in the shifting ecosystems of jam band and Americana music.

Sometimes you hear final recordings from late great singers and think, “That’s nice. Glad they got one more lick in, even though their voice sounds tired.” And sometimes, you get the immortal voice of Bobby Osborne in your headphones, sounding like one of the greatest bluegrass singers who ever lived, penetrating your heart with a call from beyond the grave. The new album Keep On Keepin’ On by the mandolin-playing Osborne Brother and record producer C.J. Lewandowski is one such. I’ll be posting a feature story about this collaboration soon, but this week we launched our show with two songs from this important and impressive album. I hosted this hour solo with song contributions from Amy at a distance. She shared new music from The Onlies and an old one from Anna and Elizabeth. I found new singles by members of bigger bands - NC’s Aaron Burdett who’s in the Steep Canyon Rangers and Infamous Stringduster Jeremy Garrett.

Mike Compton is a favorite of any fan of classic bluegrass and bluesy mandolin. His years with the Nashville Bluegrass Band are just one of his many claims to fame. He also has a way with duos, including projects with Norman Blake and banjo man Joe Newberry. Mike’s newest collaborator is North Carolina’s wonderful Laura Boosinger, a revered picker, singer, and educator whom I love catching up with at Earl Scruggs Fest every Labor Day. Not content with just pairing their names, they went for it and call themselves the Knackered Ramblers, and we launch this week’s show with an LB original about the NC floods from their debut album We B Ramblin’. This comes as a nice surprise. Also this week, the married team that is Benson takes on the good old “Bully Of The Town,” while Bryan McDowell shows off his bluegrass side with the iconic “Toy Heart.” And we give a belated spin to the title cut from Graham Sharp’s solo album How Did We Do It.

North Carolina songwriter Tift Merritt became an instant star of Americana music when she emerged in the early 2000s with Bramble Rose (2002) and Tambourine (2004), but only with time have we learned that her relationship with her prestige record label - Lost Highway Records - was tumultuous and dispiriting. After a period of relative quiet on the music front, she’s re-issued Tambourine on vinyl for the first time and put out a collection of demo/kitchen tapes that contextualize that classic. From her home in Raleigh, Tift catches us up on her diversified creative life.

We’ll never get bored of revisiting September’s Americanafest Day Stage for 2025, whether via the complete livestream archive or through John Partipilo’s magnificent photos. This was our first year in Riverside Revival, and John, one of Nashville’s greatest-ever documentary photographers, captured the beauty of the space, the focus of the artists, and the joy among our wonderful crowd.

For years, various musicians and instigators have dreamed of a festival to showcase Nashville’s hometown jazz talent, and it’s finally coming to pass this weekend at 3rd & Lindsley with a distinguished and varied lineup. Both days of The Inaugural Nashville Jazz Festival are technically sold out, but if you can’t finagle a ticket, both days will be streamed on a donate-what-you-can basis. Either way, it’ll be high energy and historic.

Ken Pomeroy, who turned 23 days after this interview, is a fresh voice not just from the Oklahoma lineage of great roots songwriting and musicianship, but also from a new generation of Native American voices in popular music. She talks about her Cherokee heritage and the stewardship that comes with it, plus her emotional bond to music in this introspective hour. You’ll also hear incisive and often sad songs from her acclaimed national debut Cruel Joke, out this spring on Rounder Records.

I was browsing around the World of Bluegrass exhibit hall in Chattanooga in September and who should I see but Jesse Cobb, master mandolin player. I’d made friends with him way back when I was chasing the then-new Infamous Stringdusters around with a video camera. Then he moved on a couple years later to raise a family in Vancouver, so he wasn’t circulating as much. But he was at World of Bluegrass to showcase his band The Unfaithful Servants, who are looking to make a national splash with their new album Fallen Angel, which officially dropped Oct. 17. Besides Jesse, the band includes singer-songwriter Dylan Stone, fiddler Quin Etheridge-Pedden, and bassist Mark Johnson. We spin their title cut at the end of block two. Also this week, a new single from the Asheville Mountain Boys marking the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene with a song about an even older flood in Appalachia. Plus Larry Sparks, Meredith Moon, and an introduction to East Tennessee songwriter Beth Snapp.

In a time when bluegrass is surging with young talent and mainstream dreams, Danny Burns and Shelby Means offer two profiles in making the string band business work in 2025. Burns is an Irish immigrant who brought his trad training and hearty work ethic from his native County Donegal. Even before releasing North Country in 2018, he’d made a name and reputation among roots music elites, and he shows his flair for cover songs on the new Southern Sky. Shelby Means played bass for Della Mae during their breakout years and became stylishly famous working with Molly Tuttle’s Golden Highway Band. When that came to an end this year, she had her debut solo album ready to go.