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Laurie Lewis is an icon of bluegrass, especially the scene on the West coast where she’s made her base since launching her career in the 1970s as co-founder of the Good Ol’ Persons with Kathy Kallick. As singer, songwriter, fiddler and bandleader, she’s been a beacon of integrity and forward progress, winning two IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards and numerous others for a variety of collaborations. Artists like Molly Tuttle and AJ Lee have held her up as a mentor. So it’s awesome to feature music from her newest album Trees, made with Patrick Sauber on banjo, Brandon Godman on fiddle, Andrew Marlin on mandolin and Hasee Ciaccio on bass. New singles arrive this week from Andy Leftwich, the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys and the Lonesome River Band. And Amy Alvey phones in on the eve of her launch for a European tour.

A talent booker and bluegrass/country guru friend of mine in North Carolina told me four or five years ago that I ought to keep my eyes and ears on a precocious teenager from his state named Mason Via. I love his last name, which means ‘by way of’ and he’s certainly made his way since the buzz began growing about him. He just wrapped about three years of touring with Old Crow Medicine Show. He’s been a successful songwriter, co-writing “Down Home Dispensary” with Molly Tuttle and “Brown Paper Bag” for Del McCoury. Now he’s really making himself known as a solo artist, and we’ve an acoustic version of “Hey Don’t Go,” which he’s released in twangy band form, now played often on WMOT. It feels good to offer this folky edition with Oliver Craven on fiddle. Also this week, Tim O’Brien is the latest to tease the upcoming Tom Paxton bluegrass tribute album. We have singles from emerging bluegrass talents Shannon Slaughter and Andrew Crawford. And Dallas/Ft. Worth band Hillbilly Fever impressed us with a swinging “Make Me A Pallet.”

We’re heading into the home stretch of our cicada invasion here in middle Tennessee, and it’s been…okay. The bugs are big and slow and stupid, and they don’t bite. I feel for the yard workers though who get attacked by swarms of horny cicadas when they spin up their week whackers. Anyway, since Amy Alvey is on tour and not able to talk sense into me, I came up with a cicada inspired set this week, starting with a 1950s track from DC bluegrass legend Buzz Buzzby. Get it? The old-time tune “Katydid” and Bryan Sutton’s guitar version of “Cricket On The Hearth” came to mind. But my special discovery was Arkansas artist McKain Lakey and her seductive and summery “Cicadas In The Trees.” So glad to premiere her on TOF and we’ll be listening in for more. Also this week, a couple of Bob Dylan bluegrass tracks for his birthday, and we celebrate the release of albums by fiddler (and now singer) Bronwyn Keith-Hynes and banjo player Daniel Grindstaff.

I first heard Chris Smither as a fingerstyle guitar master who wrote good songs. With time I realized he’s a great songwriter who happens to be a standout guitarist. While never a household name, this 60-year veteran has long been a cherished icon of American folk and roots. His peers celebrated him in 2014 with the release of Link of Chain: A Songwriters’ Tribute to Chris Smither, featuring interpretations of his work by Dave Alvin, Peter Case, Patty Larkin, Mary Gauthier, Jorma Kaukonen, and Tim O'Brien. Now on the eve of his 80th birthday, Smither came by the studio to talk about his origins in New Orleans, his friendship with Bonnie Raitt, his boom times in the 1990s, and his newest album All About The Bones.

In a bit more than a decade in Nashville, Kyshona has become a figure respected for her wisdom and valued as a songwriter/artist. Her 2020 album Listen, released just before the Covid shutdown, captured the zeitgeist of that troubled and strangely inspiring year, in part because a key part of the artist’s background and calling is music therapy. Her ethos of continuity and community continues on the magnificent album Legacy, where her research into her family history blossoms into songs that draw from soul, folk and gospel. This is a wide ranging talk with a woman who approaches all that she does with a desire and a plan to leave the world a bit wiser and kinder than she found it.

Featuring Danielia Cotton, Sam Morrow & Stephie James

Cris Jacobs has been tagged the “King of Baltimore rock and roll” by a leading local publication, but a quick look at his catalog and certainly his newest album suggests there's more. He made his name as a guitarist, songwriter and singer with The Bridge, a soulful jam band that toured the nation and overseas between 2000 and 2010. His solo projects have been well regarded, but he’s not been a force in Americana until recently. After a bit of a mid-life crisis, he turned to his first love - bluegrass - and pulled together a wonderful album called One Of These Days, with the Infamous Stringdusters as his band and Jerry Douglas as his producer. It landed Cris a debut on the Grand Ole Opry. How did he get here? We find out. Also in the hour, some of my recent catch-up with roots power couple Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams.

Featuring Heather Little, Lance Roark & Stephanie Sammons.

Featuring The Volcano Brothers, Crystal Rose & Alice Wallace.

Featuring Maya De Vitry, Muriel Anderson & Helena Hallberg.