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.

Asheville, NC is one of the most important hubs for bluegrass and mountain music in the country, and Songs From The Road Band are among the favorite bands hailing from the area. Seems like only yesterday they were fiddling with early lineups and a bold new sound. But now they’ve released eight albums! Where did the time go? The lifers in the band include mandolinist Mark Schimick and bass player Charles Humprhries III, who is a two-time IBMA songwriter of the year nominee. They released the album Pay Your Dues earlier this year, but we’ve got their new single “Where Lonely Lives.” Also new this week, Carly Arrowood’s lovely “Moondancer,” and a cool one from Wilson Banjo Co. called “Nightbird.” Our throwback tracks include music from Bill Harrell and the Virginians, plus a stone classic by Norman Blake and Tony Rice.

The Pacific Northwest has a vibrant traditional music scene, but the artists and bands out there don’t cut through as easily to us in the southeast, if only because it’s super expensive to tour to all the places they deserve to be heard. Our newest discovery in this vein is Kristen Grainger and True North, a bluegrass and acoustic Americana band from Oregon led by Grainger and her husband Dan Wetzel. Grainger has earned media buzz from the likes of the Bluegrass Situation, and done well in songwriting contests across the country. But it’s time to put this band front and center now that their album Fear of Falling Stars comes out Nov. 10. We offer the single “Across The Mountains.” We also have new stuff from a renewed Seldom Scene and key veteran folk singer Alice Gerrard. A block with Cristina Vane, Brenna Mc Millan, Willi Carlisle and Hillary Klug touches on some younger artists who’ve become super skilled at reaching folks on social media. Historic tracks from Don Reno and the Johnson Mountain Boys.

Bronwyn Keith-Hynes has emerged as one of the top all-around creators of her generation in bluegrass music. Raised in Charlottesville, VA, she studied in the American Roots program at Berklee College of Music and then stayed on in Boston where she became part of the dynamic band Mile Twelve. She released a solo debut album in 2020 and broke through as the top IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year for 2021 and 22. And During those years she launched her run with Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway, where she blazes as a soloist. So we’re thrilled to play her new single “Can’t Live Without Love.” Also this hour, the innovative southwestern string band Lone Pinion, a new one from the Blue Ridge Girls with Martha Spencer, and a ballad I love from the Wood Box Heroes. Among much more.

Chris Jones is one of modern bluegrass music’s multi-position MVPs. He’s a singer, songwriter, guitarist and longtime leader of his band the Night Drivers. He’s also an award winning broadcaster with a long running show on Sirius XM’s Bluegrass Junction and this September he was named Writer of the Year for his humor column at Bluegrass Today. Writing is the theme of the title track of his new EP Pages In Your Hand, which made its first appearance on our show this week. We start with a different kind of sound, the throwback string jazz of the Forty Drop Few, and we segue into new songs by Rusell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out, Jaelee Roberts, and the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys with Jim Lauderdale. I also want to draw your attention to the gorgeous ballad by dulcimer player and song interpreter Sarah Kate Morgan, one of my favorite recent discoveries.

Amy’s in the driver’s seat this week post IBMA with some really interesting choices that taught me a thing or two. The Fretliners, with Tom Knowlton on guitar, Taylor Shuck on upright bass, Dan Andree on fiddle, and Sam Parks on mandolin, have had a crazy year, winning the band contests at Rockygrass and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. They’re from Colorado, so maybe they’re in tune with those festies’ judges. Anyway, congratulations. Amy spins “Where The Green Grass Grows” from their new self-titled album. Also in the hour, old-time from the Downhill Strugglers and new singles from the Tennessee Bluegrass Band and the Price Sisters. A double shot of the Poplin Family from the 1960s takes you to the break.

We told you in these pages about the many repeat winners at the IBMA Awards in Raleigh at the end of September, but always of note are the Momentum Awards, given to emerging talent at a special lunch the day before the big show. This week we feature several winners, including the band category winners the Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band. Based in Northern California, the quartet features brothers Miles and Teo Quale, plus bassist Andrew Osborn and 2023 National Flat Pick Guitar Champion Ian Ly. We hear their take on the classic “Been All Around This World.” Also winning a Big Mo prize in the vocalist category is Carley Arrowood with the song “Chasin’ Indigo.” The show, hosted by yours truly, also includes a new single from Missy Raines and Allegheny, and a double shot of the SteelDrivers, because they lost their founder, mandolinist and core songwriter Mike Henderson, and we wanted to pay tribute through their new gospel album.

It was not unexpected but it was exciting to hear that Jim Lauderdale and the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys had teamed up to make an album. They’ve collaborated at events around the country, including our own Old Fashioned Throwdown 2022. And they just get each other’s vibe and humor. We start this week with the title track of The Long And Lonesome Letting Go, which arrived 9/15. We’ve got a couple of bluegrass blocks, featuring in the first case nominees for this year’s IBMA Awards, including winners Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings, as well as a duet by two giants of the mandolin being ushered into the hall of fame – Sam Bush and David Dawg Grisman. I sought out a bunch of banjo instrumentals for the second half of the program. Amy’s cool artist discoveries include Holler Choir and Happy Trails Prospector.

We’ve been obsessed with the SteelDrivers since they exploded onto the Americana scene in 2007 and 2008 as a vehicle for the rustic and bluesy songs of Mike Henderson and Chris Stapleton. With the banjo of Richard Bailey and fiddling from Tammy Rogers, the band was bluegrass but something more. And they’d go one to be global touring artists and Grammy Award winners. I admit I was taken a bit by surprise by their latest release, a pure gospel-grass album called Tougher Than Nails. We lead off with the opening song, “Somewhere Down The Road.” We also had AmericanaFest 2023 on our minds as we pulled music for Show #76, drawing from artists set to play our Old Fashioned party at the outset of the event: Missy Raines and Allegheny, Cristina Vane, Robbie Fulks and the Lonesome Ace Stringband. Now that’s Americana.