Rosanne Cash says she’s a forward-looking artist and thinker, not prone to looking back. But when she regained control over the master recording of her 1993 album The Wheel, it prompted an idea. She’s launched the new label Rumble Strip Records with John Leventhal, the producer and guitarist she fell in love with while working on it with him. Cash, one of the most fascinating and sophisticated roots musicians and a founding figure of the Americana movement, calls The Wheel a “watershed” for her in many ways beyond her new life with Leventhal. She’d moved to New York where she’s lived ever since. And she branched away from the country mainstream. The re-issue of The Wheel, now out for the first time on vinyl, prompted a riveting conversation. Also in the hour, Colorado-reared newcomer Jobi Riccio.

From the golden era Grand Ole Opry to epic concerts of my Nashville years - Levon Helm’s Ramble and Down From The Mountain come to mind - the Ryman Auditorium is the place for multi-artist country music extravaganzas. We can add to those historic events Saturday night’s celebration of Earl Scruggs on the occasion of his 100th birthday. On the very stage where the banjo legend helped usher the bluegrass sound into existence, this three-hour tribute showcased foundational music played by many of the greatest living practitioners of the genre, including a whole bunch of banjo players.

Last fall’s Americana Honors & Awards at the Ryman Auditorium opened with Rounder Records artist Logan Ledger singing “Come Monday” in honor of Jimmy Buffett, who had died of cancer a few weeks before, on Sept. 1. A decade ago, I wonder if the Americana community would have embraced Buffett - he of the “Margaritaville” lifestyle and a reported billionaire - as one of its own. But the good-time, maritime songwriter/star started his career writing country songs in Music City and pursued many crossovers and associations in Nashville and roots music circles over his 50-year career.One such collaborator known fondly to our scene is Will Kimbrough, a long-time “honorary” member of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band and a co-writer on a raft of Buffett albums going back almost 20 years.

Amy Alvey and I were delighted to bring our listeners another year of The Old Fashioned in 2023, because bluegrass and old-time music need more platforms on radio and in the music business in general. And because it was such a brilliant and surprising year for traditional acoustic Americana. Here are ten albums, in no particular order, that we regarded as special, even indispensable, collections from some of our most interesting artists.

The late John Prine’s team at Oh Boy Records in Nashville put the little-known west coast songwriter Tré Burt on the national Americana/folk radar by signing him to a deal and re-releasing his debut album Caught It From The Rye in 2019. He grew up between the Bay Area and Sacramento, where, after being exposed to the guitar by an older brother, music became a focal point. He grew as a songwriter through the open mic scene and self-booked tours and some adventurous travel around the world. His spare acoustic folk style gives way to more rhythmic neo-soul textures on his exciting third LP Traffic Fiction, giving his personal lyrics new ways to shine.

Alas, I never saw the Allman Brothers, though their 1971 live recording At Fillmore East has given me a taste of their legendary ways when played at high volume. But Friday night offered a full slate of Allmans music at the Ryman Auditorium, led by guys with the ultimate pedigree, Devon Allman (Gregg Allman’s 51-year-old guitar playing son) and Duane Betts (45-year-old son of Dickey). This experiment began as a one-off show to commemorate what would have been Gregg’s 70th birthday in 2017 and expanded into seven years of touring as, eventually, the Allman Betts Family Revival.

At a time when artists are feeling under more pressure than ever to create "content" to feed the algorithmic beast, the art of music and the art form of the album endures. 2023's crop of recordings was the best in some time, according to our music writer Craig Havighurst. Here, in no particular order, are his picks for the year's "outstanding and essential" albums of the year.

When Ben Wright, then 28 years old, saw a banjo for sale in the window at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, he had no idea how far it would take him. Not just to gigs at the country’s best bluegrass festivals but to an improbable life of sharing American music with audiences young and old in more than 25 countries. Not only does Ben’s band, the Henhouse Prowlers, have a new record deal and a fine new album, the quartet has a track record of sharing bluegrass and good vibes with more non-Americans than probably any other band. And they’ve created a non-profit called Bluegrass Ambassadors to extend that mission into the future.

Rounder Records continues to be a force in American roots music more than 50 years after its founding by three folk music fans in Massachusetts. A new book by North Carolina’s David Menconi tells the full story of the label for the first time. Rounder today, owned by the privately held conglomerate Concord Music, has a relatively new president and WMOT spoke with him and the head of A&R to take the pulse of the label today. Plus Rounder’s original founders have a new label of their own. Craig reports on the past and future of an Americana institution.

Lindsay Lou grew up surrounded by community folk music in Michigan, and when she connected with a scene and a band in East Lansing where she completed college, she set her plans for a career in medicine aside to hit the road and connect with her original dreams. But it’s pretty clear from her ravishing voice that she was born to sing, and she made quite an impression, especially in western newgrass circles, as the leader and songwriter of Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys. Living in Nashville since 2015 though, change was inevitable, and she processes some big life shifts and stylistic evolution on her new album Queen of Time. It’s the most ambitious and enthralling release of her career, and there’s a lot to talk about.