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In an episode that revisits the netherworld between Americana and jazz, I speak with two extraordinary female drummer/composers who are at the peak of their creative powers. My featured guest is Allison Miller, a renowned New York artist who's led her own band Boom Tic Boom and joined in with the supergroup Artemis. For her newest album Rivers In Our Veins, she studied rivers and their ecosystems to inspire a 12-song cycle for jazz ensemble and tap dancers. It's utterly original and enthralling. Also with water on her mind is Sofia Goodman, a Nashville-based jazz leader whose growing by leaps and bounds as she explores contemporary sounds without limits. Secrets of the Shore uses aquatic sounds as a starting point, but it's the serene and complex harmonies she writes for her brass and wind instruments that really makes this collection sparkle.

Featuring EmiSunshine, Sarah & Shannon and Thunder And Rain.

When bluegrass icon Doyle Lawson retired from the road at the end of 2021, his band Quicksilver regrouped as Authentic Unlimited. So when the band won New Artist of the Year at the 2023 IBMA Awards, it was a little bit ironic because these fellows are well known and appreciated on the scene. Other honors followed though, including an AU debut on the Grand Ole Opry and some very recent SPBGMA Awards for Gospel Group and Vocal Group Of The Year. This week, I spun their new fast-rolling single Big Wheels, a tale of a fellow trying to outrun his heartbreak by hitching a ride on an 18-wheeler, written by bass player Jerry Cole. Their album So Much For Forever is set for release on March 29. Also new, the swift and fluid “Will You Ever Be Mine” by Bronwyn Keith-Hynes and “Weary Town” from NC’s Unspoken Tradition. Inspired by recently writing a feature about Jerry Garcia for Bluegrass Unlimited, which comes out in advance of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame’s special exhibit, I have a block of Jerry-grass, including Old And In The Way and classics from his collaborations with David Grisman.

It’s a week of album premieres, one long awaited and one kind of a surprise. The latter comes from Brit Taylor, the wonderful and versatile singer from Kentucky who reminds us of a modern day Patty Loveless. She’s so versatile that she took her Kentucky Blue album of 2023 and rearranged some of its songs – and added some new ones – to give us Kentucky Bluegrassed, a magical acoustic collection, and we’ve got the title track. But I buried the lead. Ten-time IBMA Bass Player of the Year and beloved industry veteran Missy Raines has released Highlander, her first traditional, banjo-driven album as a band leader. Her band Allegheny, which has been touring since last year, includes Ben Garnett on guitar, Eli Gilbert on banjo, Ellie Hakanson on fiddle, and Tristan Scroggins on mandolin. It’s a treat to play the opening cut “Listen To The Lonesome Wind.” Also this week, new stuff from Larry Stephenson and the Skaggs and Rice kind of duo Shawn Lane and Richard Bennett. Historic tracks come from Peter Rowan and Red Smiley.

The bluegrass community does a great job encouraging youngsters to take up instruments and elevating those who show talent, but it’s been a while since a virtuoso stirred people up quite like Wyatt Ellis. He grew up in East Tennessee and latched on to mandolin inspired by Bobby Osborne playing “Rocky Top.” He hit the woodshed hard during the pandemic and took on a Tennessee Folklife Apprenticeship with Sierra Hull. Now he’s playing with his heroes and releasing his first album. We celebrate that with the title cut “Happy Valley.” Also this week, new tunes from Liam Purcell, Willi Carlisle, and another prodigy, 17-year-old Muiranne Bradley, a fingerstyle guitarist from Ireland.

I’m not about to start a “song of the week” designation for this show, but if I did, hypothetically, just this once, I’d give the blue ribbon to the new single “What’ll I Do With The Baby-O,” a traditional tune associated with Jean Ritchie and often considered a children’s song. Well the artist here, Jesse Smathers of Floyd, VA, doesn’t kid around in this fiery, ferocious bluegrass version. We hear Hunter Berry on fiddle and Corbin Hayslett on banjo absolutely burning. Jesse comes from an old musical family from North Carolina and has worked with James King and, since 2015, the Lonesome River Band. But his solo work can be found on his solo, self-titled debut album, made in the year following the pandemic. We’ll keep our ears on this IBMA Momentum Award winner. Also this week, a block devoted to Black History Month with Rhiannon Giddens and other former Carolina Chocolate Drops. Becky Buller and her label Dark Shadow let us premiere her new single "Jubilee" featuring Aoife O'Donovan. Darin and Brooke Aldridge offer a killer new version of “The Price I Pay,” while the Price Sisters mark their new release Between The Lines.

Few pickers have toured harder or traveled farther than jamgrass veteran Vince Herman, who co-founded the iconic Leftover Salmon 34 years ago in Colorado. Yet there are always new things to try, so he’s added the band The High Hawks to his list of collaborations. Our sit-down visit was sparked by that band’s album Mother Nature’s Show doing so well on the Americana chart and by his own recent move from Colorado to Nashville, where he’s become a hub of the picking scene and an avid co-writer. We cover a lot of ground from his origins in Pittsburgh and West Virginia to the everlasting desire to play the next show. Also in the hour, progressive banjo player Kyle Tuttle calls in from a fishing trip to talk about his years with Molly Tuttle and his new solo album Labor Of Lust.

Featuring Goldpine, Rachel Sage & Zach Russell.

John Leventhal is one of the quiet achievers of American roots music going back more than 30 years. Early on as a guitar player in his native New York City, he connected with Jim Lauderdale and Shawn Colvin, co-writing and producing their debut albums. He met his wife Rosanne Cash as they worked on the pivotal album The Wheel. He’s produced some epic albums since then for William Bell, Sarah Jarosz, and others, winning numerous Grammy and Americana awards in the process. At last, he lent his guitar and studio skills to making the solo debut album Rumble Strip. Rosanne is there for some duo vocals, but otherwise it’s warm and tuneful instrumentals that foreground some of the lovely textures and grooves that have been behind so many albums we’ve loved.

Featuring Coyote Motel, The Montvales & Stephanie Chapman.