Labor Day weekend brought the first-ever Earl Scruggs Music Festival at a big horse park in rural Polk County, NC. I attended and wrote about it at our news page. But before I left, I put together this episode inspired by the lineup that played there. To make its first impression, Scruggs Fest booked the top tiers of modern bluegrass, including the Nashville musketeers Bela Fleck, Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas. Plus a lot of North Carolina talent, including Balsam Range, Town Mountain, Darin & Brooke Aldridge and Acoustic Syndicate. I’ve grown especially fond of the Piedmont married duo the Chatham Rabbits and it was exciting to hear they’ve released a superb new album, If You See Me Riding By. I led this week’s music with my favorite song from that project, a swift grassy song about horseback librarians back during the Great Depression. Also here, a couple of historic Earl Scruggs tracks, because he's the GOAT.
Pretty Little Goat - Fisher's Hornpipe -
Chatham Rabbits - Abigail
Balsam Range - Until I See You Again
Earl Scruggs w Bill Monroe - Heavy Traffic Ahead
Town Mountain - Wildbird -
The Barefoot Movement - Early In The Morning
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band w/ Earl Scruggs - I Saw The Light
Bela Fleck - This Old Road
Acoustic Syndicate - Bertha
Sam Bush - Bowling Green
Darin & Brooke Aldridge - Drifting Too Far From The Shore
Chatham County Line - Wildwood
Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley - Both Ends of my Rainbow
Dom Flemons - My Money Never Runs Out
Squirrel Butter - Pond Creek
Old Hat String Band - Let's Get Out
Noam Pikelny - Road To Columbus
