From the 1950 Lonesome Pine Fiddlers to a brand-new album from Claire Lynch, this episode features a great range of bluegrass. The Earls of Leicester, Audie Blaylock & Redline, Scott Vestal and JD Crowe get us underway, and that’s followed up by the Kody Norris Show. Then we’ve got the afore-mentioned LPF, we’ve got Tony Ellis playing a banjo tune, and of course, two songs from Claire’s new album. The Isaacs do a classic Stanley Brothers gospel tune, and some fancy picking from JD Crowe rounds out the show. Great bluegrass music!

This episode of Back Porch Bluegrass has a ‘country-ish’ feel to it, with several songs taken from the country music genre. But bluegrass has always borrowed songs from other genres, and it makes for interesting listening. Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, Special Consensus, Del McCoury and the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band all feature such songs. Of course, we have some bluegrass classics from Dudley Connell & Don Rigsby, the Stanley Brothers, and Blue Highway, and some old-timey fiddling from the Iron Leg Boys. An eclectic mix!

Music for show #700 has been taken from new CDs (2026) and my old LPs. Lots of variation of the genre here!

From Bill Monroe through to You Me Everybody, with tracks from Ricky Skaggs, Lindsay Butler, High Fidelity, Russell Moore, and the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band (presenting a bit of tomfoolery!), Tony Rice, Larry Sparks and Butch Robins, there’s something for all tastes.

Show originally aired on June 7, 2022.

I’ve found some 1950’s ‘classic’ bluegrass for you, as well as some great music from Sawmill Road, Nu-Blu, Tony Rice

and even NZ’s own Hamilton County Bluegrass Band. Flatt & Scruggs, the Kentucky Travellers, Bill Clifton, Allen Shelton all contributed greatly to the bluegrass genre, as do more current performers such as Jeanette Williams, Joe Walsh and Kenny & Amanda Smith. A very varied collection!

The ‘theme’ song of this show, aptly titled ‘Back Porch Bluegrass’, kicks off, and then we have some great music from the Kody Norris Show, the Lynn Morris Band, Kenny Baker playing a tune (about my latest project, boat building), the fine Canadian band Jerusalem Ridge, and the Lonesome River Band. There’s a couple of Stanley Brothers tunes from Seldom Scene and Doc Watson, and the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band features Colleen in the classic tune, ‘Ashokan Farewell’. Dolly Parton sings some bluegrass, and we round out the show with some great tunes from the bands listed above. Fine music.

We start the show with a very driving Dobro tune, then feature some fine performers, including David Grisman, the Gibson Brothers, banjo picker Jim Mills, and the Bluegrass Album Band. Claire Lynch sings a couple of lovely songs, and Little Roy Lewis picks some hard-driving banjo. The Hamilton County Bluegrass Band do a great version of a Dillards tune – really, the best of bluegrass.

I’m using three LPs on this episode of the Back Porch Bluegrass Show, meaning I’m digging deep into my archives. Country Gazette, the Johnson Mountain Boys, and John Hartford all feature from the vinyl collection. I’ve dug into my CDs, too – Dan Tyminski, Lee Ann Womack, Junior Sisk, Sierra Hull and High Fidelity all get to pick and sing, and banjo picking favourite Bill Emerson plays his version of a song from the 1850’s. I hope you enjoy them all.

We kick off with a banjo tune named after a being from Greek mythology (or a place in NZ), then feature some of my favourites – the Country Gentlemen, Sawmill Road, John Hickman, and the Osborne Brothers. Some Canadian artists in this episode, too – the Spinney Brothers from Nova Scotia, and John Reischman & the Jaybirds from British Columbia. Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice and Tim O’Brien all contribute, and NZ’s HCBB have some ‘Good Clean Fun’. Lots of fun, actually.

Some bluegrass, some old-timey, some Gospel. The Hamilton County Bluegrass Band kick off the show with a twin banjo duet, the we have Seldom Scene, the New Vintage Bluegrass Band, the Kentucky Colonels and the Travelling McCourys. The Bluegrass album Band, Tony Ellis and Aussie outfit Old South follow on, and Mike Seeger sings a couple of old-timey songs. Lots of fine picking and singing.

A broad range of the bluegrass genre in this episode of Back Porch Bluegrass, from the rather ‘rocky’ Dierks Bentley to the solo performance of some fine finger-style guitar from Doc Watson. In between we have Mike Compton playing a previously unrecorded Bill Monroe tune, A del McCoury classic, and some ballads from Iris DeMent. NZ’s own Hamilton County bluegrass Band play an Alan Rhodes tune, and Jimmy Martin sings of his home state, Tennessee. The Nashville Bluegrass Band, Here Today, and the Stanley Brothers round out the programme. So much to enjoy!