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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.

To say that a lot has happened since Molly Tuttle last appeared on The String in 2019 would be an understatement. She’s won two Grammy Awards and been nominated for two more. She won her first IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year Award, to go along with her two groundbreaking Guitar Player trophies. But most important, she’s been through two entire stylistic swings in her musical vision and recording career. And she got engaged to Ketch Secor. So we cover a lot of ground in our latest conversation.

We hope you're rested and joyful for the start of the new year. WMOT and 3rd & Lindsley are bringing you tunes to help you get back in your normal weekly grind. This week, we'll feature Lilly Hiatt, Tristen, and Sherry Cothran.

Sometimes you hear final recordings from late great singers and think, “That’s nice. Glad they got one more lick in, even though their voice sounds tired.” And sometimes, you get the immortal voice of Bobby Osborne in your headphones, sounding like one of the greatest bluegrass singers who ever lived, penetrating your heart with a call from beyond the grave. The new album Keep On Keepin’ On by the mandolin-playing Osborne Brother and record producer C.J. Lewandowski is one such. I’ll be posting a feature story about this collaboration soon, but this week we launched our show with two songs from this important and impressive album. I hosted this hour solo with song contributions from Amy at a distance. She shared new music from The Onlies and an old one from Anna and Elizabeth. I found new singles by members of bigger bands - NC’s Aaron Burdett who’s in the Steep Canyon Rangers and Infamous Stringduster Jeremy Garrett.

YouTube is a wonder, but when it comes to music, I find it serves me stuff I already know. Discovery is not its strong suit. Murphy Campbell marks an exception. She popped up performing old Appalachian ballads on solo banjo out in the woods. She’s very sincere and very good for a young artist, so I kept searching. I found her making music with the important North Carolina musicians Riley Baugus (her teacher it turned out) and songwriter Laurelyn Dossett, so that was a good reference. I called Laurelyn who told me that Murphy is 19, devoted to the traditional repertoire, and “a history geek.” We rarely play field recordings here at the Old Fashioned, but fortunately Campbell has made a four-song EP, and the song “Twin Sisters” really stood out. We’ll be listening for more with an encouraging wave. Also this week, a Cajun/zydeco set inspired by Amy’s history at Blackpot in Louisiana, plus new music from the Songs From The Road Band, Russ Carson, and the slightly crazy in a good way band Damn Tall Buildings.

One of the best things about bluegrass is the way its musicians mix and match, forming special projects or supergroups that may last briefly or persist through time. Back in 2016, one such outfit formed, a special collection of pickers – many then just making a name for themselves – to record an album of instrumentals. Section House, as they called themselves, was Aaron Ramsey (mandolin), Cory Walker (banjo), Bryan McDowell (fiddle), Jake Stargell (guitar), and Jeff Partin (bass). Well, they’re back, with Gavin Largent added on reso-guitar. And this show we feature their rad version of the classic fiddle and banjo tune “Pike County Breakdown.” Rad because they’ve taken a 4/4 song and cast it in 3/4 time, for a wobbly, ear-grabbing quality that’s hard to resist (and a little hard to count). Also this week, a new single from the Steep Canyon Rangers, a moment from Joseph Decosimo’s new Fiery Gizzard album, a re-issue of Wynn Osborne’s banjo prowess, and a revisit of Phoebe Hunt’s incredible solo fiddle/vocal album.

I figured that Nashville artist Rachel Baiman and the wonderful duo of Viv (Leva) and Riley (Calcagno) were friends, but I never stopped to think about the magic potential of having their voices and talents joined together. But here they come with a side project called Kissing Other PPL (so as not to be confused with the title song of their new album), and it’s just gorgeous and flowing with the love they all share for a common body of work and a certain acoustic esthetic. The title track is by Canadian songwriter and Nashville (TV show) album Lennon Stella, and the collection of covers includes songs by Wilco, Joan Armatrading, and Dr. Dog. It’s indie-folk but it’s acoustic heart and these artists’ track record made it perfect for a spin this week. Also in the hour, we touch the new roots-folk album from The Brothers Comatose (now with Nashville mandolin player/singer Addie Levy), a new one from Bryan McDowell, and a fresh single from West coast roots master Tony Furtado.

The easy thing to do would have been to launch a typical “bluegrass” show on WMOT, like so many blocks of acoustic music on public radio stations around the country. In the winter of 2022, I wanted to do something more unique, and I’d recently met old-time fiddler and singer Amy Alvey. We talked about a show that took advantage of her history with old-time music and mine with bluegrass, and the idea was we’d teach and learn from each other, sometimes right there on the air. This special episode celebrates that ethos as we head toward our fourth anniversary in March of next year. You’ll hear songs and artists she’s discovered during our time together – folks like banjo player Jim Mills, and Hall of Fame band the Country Gentlemen. And you’ll hear old-time artists I’ve fallen for, such as Pharis and Jason Romero and NC picker and singer Daniel Ullom. I hope you’re discovering new traditional Americana along with us. And may our mutual appreciation society endure for many more years.

Banjo player Gena Britt grew up in North Carolina and found her way into the bluegrass business with a run of cool bands: Petticoat Junction, New Vintage, Lou Reid & Carolina and Alan Bibey & Grasstowne, plus a spell leading her own Gena Britt Band. Now she’s one of the two founding members of all-woman supergroup Sister Sadie, but she keeps up with her own music too. And that led, on Nov. 7, to the release of Streets, Rivers, Dreams & Heartaches, her second album as a leader. In support are: John Meador on guitar, Alan Bartram on bass, Jonathan Dillon on mandolin, Jason Carter on fiddle, and Jeff Partin on reso-guitar. We noticed that she’s not the only Sadie Sister releasing new music, so we have a block including the band’s founding fiddler Deanie Richardson wailing away with Kimber Ludiker, 2024 IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year Jaelee Roberts, and band alum Dale Ann Bradley. Also this hour, new gospel from Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers, progressive fiddling from Darol Anger with Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, and a new album from multi-instrumentalist trad man Clinton Davis.

Last year, The String got a new opening theme tune. “Vera” comes from New York based mandolin virtuoso, composer and band leader Jacob Jolliff. The Oregon native came East when he got a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music. He’s worked for some big-league bands including Joy Kills Sorrow and Yonder Mountain String Band, but in this decade he’s found an audience for his own four-piece Jacob Jolliff Band. We talk about building the audience for instrumental, improvisational acoustic music and about select pieces from Jake’s fascinating discography.