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!

From its origins in 1970 to its current work with Sierra Ferrell, Sarah Jarosz and others, Rounder Records has been arguably the most important and influential roots music label in America. Throughout, Rounder has been in the vanguard of bluegrass music with a remarkable legacy of artists. My own bluegrass adventure began with a Rounder Bluegrass sampler album in 1987, and we dedicate this special episode to that collection. After only owning the collection on hand-dubbed cassette for decades, I found the CD of the album online and here I've remixed it with commentary by me and Amy, who was hearing most of this old bluegrass for the first time. You'll hear vintage David Grisman, Ricky Skaggs, Byron Berline, Hazel & Alice, and Del McCoury among others. We had a blast putting this together and hope you have a bluegrass epiphany like I did.

We’ve been playing singles in advance of the new album from Balsam Range, but it’s here now, out Dec. 1, and it’s called Kinetic Tone, a nice title for science nerds like me. The band is a staple in its home region of western NC, but of course the quintet has reached audiences far and wide, hence being named Entertainers of the Year by the IBMA in 2018. We open this week with a cool album cut, a cinematic California gold rush song written by Milan Miller. Also this week, brand new music from Alice Gerrard, killing it with her new album Sun to Sun at age 89. And it’s veterans’ day apparently with new singles from Larry Stephenson, Jeff Parker and David Parmley. Historic cuts come from the Johnson Mountain Boys and the Bluegrass Cardinals.

That album we’ve been talking about and puzzling over – Cambium from Full Cord – finally arrived from Dark Shadow Recording, and they offer our leadoff track this week. The Grand Haven, MI band won the Telluride band contest in 2022 and the IBMA Momentum Band of the Year award this fall, so they’re off and running. They draw their band name and album title from the world of wood and timber and trees, and there’s woody tones to spare, along with some fine singing and original songwriting. Also this hour, German-born mandolinist Mark Stoffel (of Chris Jones and the Night Drivers) brings a hot and funky instrumental, while North Carolina’s Resonant Rogues, a great discovery by Amy, deliver a mournful and blue song from their new self-titled album. Historic tracks come from Rickey Wasson, Gillian Welch and the sometime duo of Dudley Connell and Don Rigsby.

Willie Nelson had 73 albums to his credit, but none of them had ever claimed to be bluegrass. At least none as boldly as his 74th, titled Bluegrass! The icon tracked a dozen of his own standards with a hot string band that includes Rob Ickes on dobro, Ron Block on banjo, Aubrey Haynie on fiddle and Barry Bales on bass. Buddy Cannon produced. And while the cover art doesn’t do the project any favors, it sounds great and Willie earned a Best Bluegrass Album nomination in the recent Grammy Award announcement. We get started this week with Woody Platt’s first single as a solo artist in his post Steep Canyon Rangers life, and he brings along Del McCoury. Also a newly released rarity – “Panama Red” from a 1973 concert from Sonoma State by Old and In The Way, just out on David Grisman’s Acoustic Disc label. Plus a double shot of Bruce Molsky.

A package arrived in my mailbox from a small re-issue label I’d never heard of called Liberation Hall in Massachusetts, and what a welcome surprise it was. They’ve released Clarence White: The Lost Masters (1963-1973) on CD, featuring what its well-done liner notes by John Delgatto call a “brief overview of Clarence’s acoustic and electric guitar playing.” There are tracks with Eric Weissberg and members of the Byrds and even The Everly Brothers on the 14-song collection. We’ve gone with “Alabama Jubilee” backed by Herb Peterson (bass), Alan Munde (banjo) and Byron Berline (fiddle) from 1973 to show what a master of flatpicking White was just before his tragic and untimely death. Also in the show, another reissue as Americana Vibes has released a 20th anniversary edition of Cabin In The Hills, the lone album from Broke Mountain Bluegrass Band, a collection of monster Colorado pickers who weren’t as famous then as they are now – Travis Book, Anders Beck, Andy Thorn and Jon Stickley. New singles come from Nefesh Mountain and Amanda Cook.