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.
Golden Shoals and Old Time Snake Milkers - Tennessee Breakdown
Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland - Give It Away
Wyatt Ellis - Sandy Gap
Evie Ladin - Say Darling Say
Rebecca Frazier - Available
Jim Mills - He Came From Carolina (A Tribute To Earl)
Summer Wages - She's No Angel
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder - How Mountain Girls Can Love
Jim Mills - Guitar Rag
Rafe Stefanini - Back Step Cindy
Never Come Down - Rise Up And Sing
Bob Minner and John Cowan - Castles In The Air
Daniel Bachman - Lonesome Weary Blues
Chris Stafford - La Danse De Feufollet
Off The Rails - Coming Home To You
Rain City Ramblers - Hateful Ways
Corn Potato Stringband - That Hot Lick Fiddlin' Man
The Price Sisters - I Can Read Between The Lines In Your Letters
