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Guitarist, singer and songwriter Eli West works with a quiet designer's mind in the Pacific northwest, and everything we hear from him has a rare depth and gravity. He's an avid collaborator who attracts greatness, having worked with Bill Frisell, John Reischman, Dori Freeman and others. I was taken with his album Tapered Point Of Stone in 2021, where West's musicianship blended organically with great east coast musicians Christian Sedelmyer (fiddle) and Andrew Marlin (mandolin). So it was exciting to see West release his new Shape Of A Sway album arrive in July. We've selected the gracefully swinging "Ever Lovin' Need To Know" for this week's roundup of new music. But we open by celebrating the first single in ages from our beloved old-time quartet The Onlies, followed by a sentimental new song from Hall of Famer Larry Sparks. The novelties continue with Kentucky's Carla Gover, fiddle wizard Darol Anger, and trad torchbearer Junior Sisk.

Amy Alvey is a fiddle instigator. She tours and performs of course, but she also teaches in person and on-line, and she organizes old-time jams, including our annual Old Fashioned String Band Throwdown pre-party, pictured here. (We'll be back at Dee's by the way on Tues., Sept. 9 by the way so make plans to join us from 4:30 on.) Anyway, Amy extends her mission to share American fiddling with the people this week in a special episode. She made a list of the tunes that she teaches as core old-time repertoire and then found great examples of those tunes spanning present day recordings and old archival tracks. From "Fire On The Mountain" to "Lonesome Road Blues" to "Reuben's Train," this show will build your own experience with this great body of work, as well as the many regional and individual fiddle styles there are out there.

Vickie Vaughn keeps stepping up her game across the board. She’s been a charming and sincere member of the Nashville bluegrass community for years, lending her bass playing and harmony vocals to a range of artists as a side player and some premium bands as well, including High Fidelity and Della Mae. In 2023, she was named IBMA Bass Player of the Year and then she repeated a year later. This year she’s been rolling out new music as a featured artist, on her way to releasing an album on Mountain Home Music this November. We’ve spun her twist on Bruce Robison’s “Leavin’” and now she shines on the emotional ballad “Mama Took Her Ring Off Yesterday.” We knew she could really sing; now we really get to hear it. Also this week, a square dance number from Lonesome River Band, a new one from Jaelee Roberts, and a swinging instrumental from Andy Leftwich.

Leslie Jordan, the Nolensville, TN-based songwriter not the late comic actor and singer, makes a major statement in her pivot from a robust career in Christian folk/pop to storytelling Americana with The Agonist. It’s a song cycle that fleshes out the story of her late grandfather, a conflicted and complex man who left his family in Indiana when Leslie’s mother was four years old. Through a unique collaboration with a collection of his posthumous journals and writings, she builds a world and a character, holding him accountable while investing his story with dignity. It’s beautifully produced with Kenneth Pattengale and is one of the most impressive albums of 2025.

Adam Esrick), hot Telecaster country picker Tyler-James Kelly, and veteran country rocker Sonia Leigh.

Kristina Train is a singer and songwriter who should be on more people’s radar. Her remarkable resume was built in the jazz world (Blue Note Records and touring with Herbie Hancock), but the Savannah, GA native has always shown a seductive strain of country soul. That goes explicit on the powerful yet subtle 2025 album County Line. Craig speaks with Train about her critically acclaimed albums of the 2010s and her decade or so as a Nashvillian.

This week, Finally Friday will feature Tennessee Twister, the multi-instrumental duo of Linda McRae and Amelia White, world class bluegrass artist Becky Buller, and multi-faceted rocker Griffin Winton.

Rachael Price became an American fixture as the dynamic and flawless lead singer of roots/pop phenomenon Lake Street Dive. Long before she and the Dive were headlining Madison Square Garden, she was a Hendersonville, TN native pursuing a career in classic jazz, after her girlhood idol Ella Fitzgerald. This is the story of how a music school friend - guitarist, singer, and songwriter Vilray - helped her build a parallel life pursuing her first musical love. They have incredible chemistry on and off stage, as you’ll hear in this fascinating interview.

Featuring Garrett Boys, Garrett Hendricks & Lauren Lucas.

For its 38th annual conference, Folk Alliance International returned to New Orleans, home of their largest-ever event (2020’s draw of 3,600 people) and the epicenter of one of the nation’s great regional roots music legacies. Besides a slate of Louisiana talent in blues, Cajun and zydeco, FAI was once again distinguished by diversity of style, genre, and nationality. Craig captured conversations with showcasing artists Joy Clark, Tyler Ramsey & Carl Broemel, Sparrow Smith, Maisy Owen, and Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light.