Alison Brown - Celebrating 30 Years of Compass Records
My guest this week is Alison Brown.Alison was the first woman to win an IBMA award in an instrumental category, winning Banjo Player of the Year in 1991. She's also a sought after producer, with credits including Dale Ann Bradley, Peter Rowan, Missy Raines and Bobby Osborne and she spent three years as a member of Alison Krauss's band Union Station.She joins me to talk about another long standing project, Compass records, the label she co-founded in the '90s with her husband Garry West.We talk about Alison's background and how Compass grew from a sketch on the back of a napkin to being one of the most celebrated independent labels in roots music. We also discuss how the music industry has changed over the three decades Compass has been around and what that means, for the label and for artists.We also pick out a few of Alison's favourite releases (and mine!) and chat about what's next for her, including presenting the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards with Steve Martin, who she has a new record with, due out in October.Over the course of the episode there are excerpts from some of the albums we discuss. You'll hear (in order of appearance):- 'Paint it Shut' - Phillps, Grier and Flinner- 'Weetabix' - New Grange- 'Longhair Bluegrass' - Robbie Fulks- '5 Days Out 2 Days Back' - Alison Brown and Steve Martin, feat. Tim O'BrienFor more info and to buy Compass releases, visit the Compass Records websiteHere's the episode of the podcast celebrating Phillips, Grier & FlinnerHappy picking,Matt Support the show===Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins- Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts
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Ethan Setiawan's Encyclopedia Mandolinnica
My guest this week is Ethan Setiawan.Ethan's new album Enyclopedia Mandolinnica is a collection of duets and trios featuring some of Ethan's mandolin heroes and contemporaries, including Mike Marshall, Caternia Lichtenberg, Jacof Jolliff, Matt Flinner and more.Recorded over the space of a year, the album showcases a wide range of styles and dynamics and sits comfortably alongside classic duet records like Into the Cauldron, Diary of a Fiddler and Not Too Far From the Tree.We chat about how the project came about, what the recording process was like and how Ethan approaches the writing process. It's a fascinating record and we had an equally interesting conversation!For more info and to buy the record, visit Ethan's website and BandCamp pageHappy picking.Matt Support the show===Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins- Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts
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A quick update on the podcast
Hi everyone. This is a very short episode just to update you on a couple of bits and let you know about some changes coming to the Bluegrass Jam Along podcast over the coming weeks.There's some really exciting content coming your way but the format will be changing a little (I explain why in the episode).That's all, folks.Happy picking,Matt Support the show===Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins- Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts
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Bluegrass Briefing August 18th 2025
Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly series of episodes taking a look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass.Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode.News and announcements - church street news Fretboard SummitAlison Brown Banjo BasecampBela Fleck banjo raffleReleases (The Grass is New)Infamous Stringdusters websiteMichael Daves’ BandcampThe Grass is (mostly) New 2025 playlistScroll on BuddyDonate to the Mandolin CafeOther bitsSign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/The Grass is (mostly) New 2025 playlistFull list of interviewsCollings GuitarsHappy picking.Matt Support the show===Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins- Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts
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Bitesize - Gabe Witcher on first meeting Chris Thile and how Punch Brothers came together
My guest on this week's bitesize episode is Gabe Witcher. This extract comes from a longer conversation I had with Gabe in June 2023, directly after he'd played his final shows with Punch Brothers at Telluride.Gabe talks about first meeting Chris Thile at a festival when they were kids; playing football together before they even got round to jamming; how they found the rest of the band that became Punch Brothers; their first shows together in New York City and how the emotion of playing the tunes they worked on back then hit him in those final Telluride shows.Here's the full 2023 interview with Gabe if you want to hear the whole conversation.Happy picking.Matt Support the show===Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!) Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins- Sign up to get updates on new episodes - Free fiddle tune chord sheets- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates: Instagram Facebook - Review us on Apple Podcasts
The IBMA Award winning podcast for anyone and everyone who loves bluegrass. Free fiddle tune backing tracks and interviews with amazing people from the world of bluegrass. For every tune we give you four brand new tracks: - Backup 4 times through (you play the tune or improvise breaks)- Tune 4 times through (you play backup)- ‘Jam Along’ (4 complete run throughs, alternating backup and tune)- Full performanceFor more info and chord charts, visit https://bluegrassjamalong.com. Hope you find these tracks useful (and thanks for listening!) - Matt
UK