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 sparked 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 Tennessee-born, Kentucky-based 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 years to come.
Hay Blackbird - Sandy Boys
Alice Gerrard - How Now Brown Cow
Dan Tyminiski - Hey Brother
Sami Braman - Train in the Wilderness
Rob and Trey - Working On A Building
Mighty Poplar - Blackjack Davy
Robbie Fulks - Lonely Ain't Hardly Alive
Darrell Scott - This Weary Way
Molly Tuttle - Down Home Dispensary
Forty Drop Few - Petite Jean Gallop
Tim O'Brien - Let The Horses Run
Sarah Kate Morgan - Maysville
Lonesome Ace Stringband - Midnight Band
Viv and Riley - The Blackest Crow
Kristen Grainger - Go Nowhere Town
East Nash Grass - How Could I Love Her So Much
