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The Old Fashioned
Saturday at 9 a.m. and Tuesday at 8 p.m.

The Old Fashioned is a weekly bluegrass and old-time program, hosted by Craig Havighurst and Amy Alvey. As they say on the air, The Old Fashioned (yes, named for the world-famous cocktail) stirs up strong spirits with a bit of sugar, a dash of bitters and a twist of zest, telling the ongoing story of traditional music in Americana. With commentary and context to bring their listeners along for the journey, Craig and Amy spin old-time bands, traditional bluegrass, regional folk styles, acoustic blues, and gospel. Audio for each episode stays up for two weeks, but you can search our catalog for past playlists any time.

Latest Episodes
  • Banjo player Terry Baucomb was everywhere that mattered in bluegrass in the late 20th century. In the 1970s, the North Carolina native co-founded Boone Creek with Ricky Skaggs and Jerry Douglas, a band whose impact on the music was bigger than its two albums would suggest. In the 80s, the so-called “Duke of Drive” was an original and longstanding member of Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. Then in the 1990s, he co-founded IIIrd Tyme Out with Russell Moore. That’s an astonishing track record. He passed away last December and when mandolinist Ashby Frank issued the single “Knee Deep In Bluegrass,” a Baucomb tune as a tribute, we made a block around it with some key Terry Baucomb performances. He will be missed. Also this week, a new Donna Ulisse album, an understated David Grier instrumental, and the great Black fiddler Earl White.
  • A few years ago I was talking to banjo player Kyle Tuttle at IBMA World of Bluegrass in Raleigh and he was telling me about his vision for what I recall as some kind of world/rock/bluegrass fusion and I suggested calling it the “Monroehavishnu Orchestra” and that made him laugh. His new solo album Labor of Lust isn’t exactly John McLaughlin’s Inner Mounting Flame, but it’s an adventuresome bluegrass album spiked with enlightening ingredients and masterful picking. Kyle had a tremendous 2023 touring with Molly Tuttle’s Golden Highway (and landing another bluegrass album Grammy Award). He starts 2024 with his own statement, and we’re here for it. Also this week, new songs from Tray Wellington, Darren Nicholson and Daniel Ullom and a show debut from Chattanooga’s Randy Steele. Archival tape rolls with Lynn Morris, the Mississippi Sheiks, and the iconic Old and In The Way.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 been a long wait since the award-winning band Sister Sadie negotiated big lineup changes and worked up their newest album No Fear. But never fear. It’s here, as of January 26, and we jumped on it by opening TOF #92 with the single “Cannonball,” a song that its lead vocalist and cowriter Dani Flowers says is about “falling in love and being hopeful that person you’re falling for will be careful with your heart.” Dani and bass player Maddie Dalton are newest to the project. Jaelee Roberts who we’ve played here a lot thanks to her fine solo album, has been on board for some time. Fiddler Deanie Richardson and banjo player Gina Britt are co-founders. We won’t be surprised if this new quintet wins more IBMA prizes. Otherwise, we’ve got new music from Armchair Boogie, The Price Sisters, Thomas Cassell, and Missy Raines. The Lilly Brothers and Flatt & Scruggs bring the vintage wine.
  • For our first show of 2024, we look back and spin our favorite bluegrass and old time albums of 2023. Personally, I feel like East Nash Grass had the release of the year with Last Chance To Win, their second album and the one that coincided with their breakout as a national touring act. They got on the Grand Ole Opry for the first time and took their place in history alongside the Nashville Bluegrass Band and the Steeldrivers as city-born exemplars of the high lonesome arts. Of course Molly Tuttle’s sophomore album City of Gold was a big moment for Americana generally, as a bluegrass artist with mainstream appeal. Also in the hour, Alice Gerrard with a powerfully political album at age 89, Sami Braman with a fiercely original instrumental fiddle album, and my personal discovery of the year – thanks to Amy Alvey – of West Virginia dulcimer player and singer Sarah Kate Morgan. Her voice and her touch on her instrument are both exceptional, and I can’t wait to see what she offers in the year(s) to come.
  • When it came time to curate our second annual bluegrass Christmas special, it was tempting to just play all of last year’s songs again because we were so happy with the collection! And indeed we did leave a few of what have become perennial favorites – the Cox Family’s “Go Tell It On The Mountain,” for example. And the gorgeous “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem” by Chosen Road. But we found some fine new music as well, including new singles from the Kody Norris Show, Darin and Brooke Aldridge (they have a new holiday album), and Joe Mullins. New vintage music comes from Laurie Lewis, John Hartford and Newgrange. So let the mandolins ring and the high tenors sing. Amy Alvey and I wish you a very happy holiday season.
  • In show #88 I shared my remix of the 1986 Rounder Bluegrass compilation that turned me into a lifelong fan. This week, we hear some of Amy Alvey’s core influences, starting with the ephiphany she had when she heard Bill Monroe’s “Uncle Pen” while a fiddle student at Berklee College of Music. Her sets also include Bruce Molsky, Crooked Still, and Nashville’s own Brittany Haas. But that’s all in the second half of the show. Up front, new singles from Blue Highway, Billy Droze, the Kathy Kallick Band and banjo player Daniel Grindstaff. Maybe this compilation will change your life!