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San Francisco-based Miko Marks hit brick walls when she made her first run at country music in the mid 2000s, when the industry was systemically impenetrable to independent artists and even more so to artists of color. After taking more than a decade away from her passion, Marks was inspired to reconnect with her band and producers, and this time, she found a lane, made possible by excellent music. She's released three recordings in two years, each more interesting than the last, culminating in the country soul album Feel Like Going Home of late 2022. She's now been on the Grand Ole Opry and is touring the nation. Also in the hour, an archived moment with Shemekia Copeland, an artist working a similar fusion of southern roots and contemporary message.

Featuring Lauren Morrow, Jake Ybarra & Eddie 9V

This week’s opening number takes us way back with one of the more innovative bands in bluegrass, because the Infamous Stringdusters have released the classic “Down The Road” from their upcoming album-length tribute to Flatt & Scruggs. Due April 21, the album follows up on the band’s Grammy-nominated tribute to Bill Monroe. Also new in Episode 53 is a hard rolling take on Uncle Dave Macon’s “Railroadin’ and Gamblin’” from their sophomore album expected this summer and a new track from alt-country hero Robbie Fulks who has announced a full bluegrass album on Compass Records on April 7. What a year for new releases! We’re super fond of The Fly Birds cover of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe” and we’ve got a block of train songs inspired by Thomm Jutz and Tim Stafford.

New singles are budding out like spring flowers, including the first traditional music since 2001 from Chicago’s bluegrass ambassadors the Henhouse Prowlers. And it’s called “My Little Flower,” so take a sweet whiff and enjoy it as a kickoff to another eclectic hour. We were excited to get a new album from Nicole Christianson, wife of fiddler Brian, and we had a hard time picking among the tasty originals and covers on this self-titled, self-released debut. She won the old-time vocal category at the 2022 Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention, so expect to hear more from her. Also new and exciting is Fireside Collective’s take on Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” I was unsure how this would work, but the NC gang nails it. Looking back, you’ll hear Don Reno and the Osborne Brothers with Mac Wiseman on a Bill Monroe song.

Featuring Jarrod Dickenson, Benjamin Dakota Rogers & Colleen Orender

There’s widespread agreement that Special Consensus is a fine and venerable bluegrass band. See what I did there? The Chicago-based outfit, led for fifty incredible years by banjo player Greg Cahill, has rotated dozens of members in and out over the years like a finishing school for future leaders such as Chris Jones and Robbie Fulks. And they’re here in set four with their latest single, a joyous, ear-grabbing singalong on Gordon Lightfoot’s “Alberta Bound.” Also new this week, a cool track from the now out-there album by supergroup Mighty Poplar, one of the folkier tracks from Dom Flemons’s new eclectic album Traveling Wildfire, and an acoustic version with Mile Twelve of “Bad Debt,” which you can soon find in a more modern context on the new album from fiddler/songwriter Rachel Baiman.

Featuring The Woods, John David Kent & Chole Kimes

Featuring Season Ammons, Edan Archer & Casey Frazier

William Prince grew up on country and gospel music in rural Manitoba on the Peguis First Nation reserve, getting a grounding from his minister/musician father. Now Prince is a musical minister of sorts, making a strong mark on north American folk music with his sincerity, gravitas and beautiful baritone voice. His formal debut won Canada's JUNO Award for best contemporary folk album, and his twin releases in 2020 were well attuned to the spiritual yearning of the pandemic lockdown. Now Stand In The Joy, produced by Dave Cobb, is a rich portrait of contentment and gratitude.

Alison Brown found her life's work early when she started playing banjo as a pre-teen growing up in southern California. But it took some time and real life experience - a Harvard degree, an MBA and a couple of years in banking - before she finally gave herself permission to chase a music career. She toured with Alison Krauss in her early days and then formed her own bands, earning her rep as an innovative, jazz-oriented virtuoso player. She's released about a dozen albums of her own composing, including the latest On Banjo, featuring guests Stuart Duncan, Steve Martin and Anat Cohen. We sat down in the studio of Compass Records, which she co-founded with her husband more than 25 years ago, for a wide-ranging talk about her instrument, her destiny, and her latest music.