In February, Amy Alvey and I had the pleasure of introducing two of the greatest traditional fiddlers in America as they launched into performing duo style in the charming, resonating central hall of the Violin Shop on Eighth Ave. South in Nashville. That’s Darol Anger, the inventive jazz and bluegrass musician whose career really got going with the David Grisman Quintet in the late 1970s. And Bruce Molsky is among the honored elders of old time music, with a long track record of recordings and collaborations, and in recent years he’s taught the tradition at the Berklee College of Music. The two have worked together before, but now there’s the new duo recording Lockdown Breakdown to savor, and we’ve featured the tune “Ain’t That Trouble In Mind.” And that’s not the only old-time influence fiddle record of this week, as we debut The Snake from Brittany Haas and Lena Jonsson. On the guitar side of things, I was inspired and excited upon discovering the solo fingerstyle music of Kentucky’s Nathan Salsburg. I hope you are too.

In the fall of 2022, we were proud to have the duo of Mike Compton and Joe Newberry perform at the first Old Fashioned String Band Throwdown kicking off AmericanaFest, because they represent the heart of the acoustic roots tradition we seek to celebrate. Compton is an icon of Monroe-style mandolin and a true blues man from Mississippi who won awards with the Nashville Bluegrass Band. Newberry is a banjo player, guitarist and singer with an unerring feel for good time entertainment. They’ve been playing together for quite a few years with only one live album to their name. So we were thrilled to get word of a new album coming this fall, and the first single is here: “Cherry River Line.” We’ve also got new songs from Thomas Cassell and the Red Camel Collective. And Amy sent in an audio postcard and curated a set of music inspired by a festival she’s playing in Rotterdam.

We’ve been spinning singles in recent weeks from A.J. Lee & Blue Summit, the fast-rising Bay Area band fronted by the singer, songwriter and mandolin player who grew up as Molly Tuttle’s friend and bandmate. And this time, Molly joins her old amiga for a heart-stopping ballad called “I Can’t Find You At All.” It’s not that Lee and her band (which includes Molly’s brother Sullivan on impressive flatpick guitar) hasn’t released impressive albums before. But the upcoming City Of Glass, coming July 19, has the makings of a breakthrough. Also new this week is a lead-off single from powerhouse vocalist John Cowan. “Fiction” will be the title track of an album this Fall, which will pair with his new memoir about his life with New Grass Revival and other adventures. Del McCoury surprised us with the sprightly “She’s Heavenly,” again with Molly Tuttle lending support. Laurie Lewis leads an a cappella original. Nashville duo Paper Wings charms with the folk classic “Nine Hundred Miles.” And we call up the late and legendary James King showing how bluegrass is done.

We open this week with historic tape from the Telluride Bluegrass Festival featuring its “house band” – Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck, and Sam Bush – to note the imminent return of that peerless high-altitude festy this coming weekend. I realized the timing only after Amy and I inadvertently pulled four artists set to play this year, including Sierra Hull, Big Richard, Danny Paisley and the innovative duo of Larry & Joe. That’s banjo master Joe Troop of Che Appalache and Venezuelan harpist Larry Bellorín, who offer a preview of their upcoming album with the fiery “Runnin’ From The Weather.” Hope that’s not the case in Telluride! Also, new music from the Vestal Brothers, the Wood Box Heroes, and Stephen and Jana Mougin. Amy Alvey, still in Europe, pulled an epic new Twisted Pine track and built a set featuring all women string bands from across the decades.

January 6 was the 100th birthday of Earl Scruggs, an event marked with a superb multi-artist concert at the Ryman Auditorium. Others are taking the centenary a few steps farther onto records and stages, and no one can do that for Earl with more thought and authority than Tony Trischka. We’ve been previewing his album Earl Jam for weeks, but now it’s here, a 15-song set inspired by a collection of home recordings from picking sessions by Earl and John Hartford that Trischka got hold of. With many top tier musicians and guests, it’s an inspiring and affectionate tribute. Also this week, a surprising new single from eccentric country soul artist Swamp Dogg, a superb cover of “Sixteen Tons” by Clay Hess, a take on The Band’s “Stage Fright” by fellow Canadians the Lonesome Ace String Band, and a call-in from Amy Alvey about her time at the Fire on the Mountain Festival in Wales.

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.

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.

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.”

The recent passing of banjo legend Ben Eldridge and mandolinist Frank Wakefield were sad but not entirely unexpected given their ages. But prior to this show we got news that Jim Mills, one of the iconic banjo players of our time and one of the world’s foremost expert dealers of Gibson banjos had died of a heart attack at age 57. It is a deeply sad loss. I learned of Jim’s mastery like so many people during his years with Ricky Skaggs when he went all-in on bluegrass with his Kentucky Thunder band. Jim’s Scruggs-style playing was fierce and precise and inventive. And he’ll be missed. We hear him in this show from two of his solo albums, an early track from his career with the band Summer Wages, and a fiery Skaggs track. Also this week, a hot new single from fiddlers Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland, another new track from songwriter/guitarist Rebecca Frazier, and emerging Nashville band Off The Rails.

This week we say thanks and farewell to mandolinist Frank Wakefield, the eccentric and outrageous mandolinist who died in late April at age 89. The East Tennessee native played with Red Allen and Jimmy Martin. His other claim to fame was being the first influential teacher of David Grisman, who champions Wakefield’s music to this day. We’ve got a block dedicated to his inspiring performances, including his famous original song “New Camptown Races.” Also this hour, new songs from the peerless voices of Danny Paisley and Del McCoury, a raging instrumental between Chris Thile and Michael Daves, and a deep cut from the Nashville Bluegrass Band.