Rosanne Cash says she’s a forward-looking artist and thinker, not prone to looking back. But when she regained control over the master recording of her 1993 album The Wheel, it prompted an idea. She’s launched the new label Rumble Strip Records with John Leventhal, the producer and guitarist she fell in love with while working on it with him. Cash, one of the most fascinating and sophisticated roots musicians and a founding figure of the Americana movement, calls The Wheel a “watershed” for her in many ways beyond her new life with Leventhal. She’d moved to New York where she’s lived ever since. And she branched away from the country mainstream. The re-issue of The Wheel, now out for the first time on vinyl, prompted a riveting conversation. Also in the hour, Colorado-reared newcomer Jobi Riccio.

The late John Prine’s team at Oh Boy Records in Nashville put the little-known west coast songwriter Tré Burt on the national Americana/folk radar by signing him to a deal and re-releasing his debut album Caught It From The Rye in 2019. He grew up between the Bay Area and Sacramento, where, after being exposed to the guitar by an older brother, music became a focal point. He grew as a songwriter through the open mic scene and self-booked tours and some adventurous travel around the world. His spare acoustic folk style gives way to more rhythmic neo-soul textures on his exciting third LP Traffic Fiction, giving his personal lyrics new ways to shine.

When Ben Wright, then 28 years old, saw a banjo for sale in the window at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, he had no idea how far it would take him. Not just to gigs at the country’s best bluegrass festivals but to an improbable life of sharing American music with audiences young and old in more than 25 countries. Not only does Ben’s band, the Henhouse Prowlers, have a new record deal and a fine new album, the quartet has a track record of sharing bluegrass and good vibes with more non-Americans than probably any other band. And they’ve created a non-profit called Bluegrass Ambassadors to extend that mission into the future.

Lindsay Lou grew up surrounded by community folk music in Michigan, and when she connected with a scene and a band in East Lansing where she completed college, she set her plans for a career in medicine aside to hit the road and connect with her original dreams. But it’s pretty clear from her ravishing voice that she was born to sing, and she made quite an impression, especially in western newgrass circles, as the leader and songwriter of Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys. Living in Nashville since 2015 though, change was inevitable, and she processes some big life shifts and stylistic evolution on her new album Queen of Time. It’s the most ambitious and enthralling release of her career, and there’s a lot to talk about.

Cruz Contreras has been a key player in the East Tennessee music scene for twenty years, steering accomplished roots projects Robinella and the CCstringband and the Black Lillies. In 2019 he wrote and recorded his first solo album only to see the pandemic upend his plans for its big rollout. He made good use of the lost years, getting married, having a son and moving to a new place. But at last he thought it was time to release Cosmico, a sweeping, ambient country rock project that highlights his rich voice. Cruz and Craig spoke during AmericanaFest 2023.

One might imagine that after 17 years singing country music and releasing ten albums, an artist would have shared all of her secrets with her audience, but Eilen Jewell says only in the aftermath of 2020 and a bunch of disruptive change and loss well beyond the reach of the pandemic, that she was ready to get real in ways she never had before. "It's the most personal album I've ever made,” she says in Episode 284 of The String about her album Get Behind The Wheel.

There’s a lot of man between Robert Finley’s cowboy boots and the crown of his signature black cowboy hat almost seven feet above. When he gets in full swing on stage, his long legs and arms are in constant motion, gyrating amid a parade of greasy funk beats. He’s an absolutely magnetic figure, with a toothy smile and bright eyes despite the glaucoma blindness that ended one chapter of his life but in a way opened up a new one. He’s that rare delight - a great American roots musician - and a person living with a disability - who grabbed the world’s attention in his 60s.

Episode 262 of The String is Craig's annual survey of emerging talent showcasing at AmericanaFest 2023, which took place between Sept. 19-23. They’re (mostly) working out of markets other than Nashville. They span honky tonk to exotic southern pop to innovative old-time music. And while no three-artist sampler can truly convey the range of creativity in American roots music, these artists ought to make you feel good about Americana’s future.

She’s the hit Nashville songwriter who never moved to Nashville, staying instead in her hometown near Boston. She’s the power mom who wrote timeless country award winners like “Girl Crush” and “Humble and Kind” while raising five kids. Now she reflects on her own story more than ever before on her new album 1988. It’s the fourth in a row she’s made with producer Dave Cobb and a testament to the fact that while McKenna’s won three Grammy Awards, she’s the same humble and kind woman who got dragged to her first open mic back in the early 1990s.

Darrell Scott emerged in the late 1990s as one of Nashville’s most complete folk/roots artists. He had the butter of James Taylor and the grease of Lowell George in his voice. He could pick numerous instruments like a practiced master. And his songs were stunning from the get go, including his widely-recorded “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” and his crowd favorite “Great Day To Be Alive” on his debut project. Now, Scott lives mostly on a farm two hours from Nashville tending the land and playing 60-80 dates a year. Recently he issued Old Cane Back Rocker, his first studio album since 2016 and his most bluegrass leaning project ever. I road tripped to Darrell’s farm to record this week’s atmospheric conversation.