Welcome to the very first Bluegrass Briefing, a brand new weekly series of episodes taking a look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass.

This week we’ve got plenty of Doc Watson related content in the run up to his 100th birthday on March 3rd. I’ll be releasing two extra special episodes of the podcast on Doc’s birthday, featuring 4 hours of brand new interviews with people who knew, worked with, admire and have been influenced by Doc. Guests include T. Michael Coleman, Jack Lawrence, Bryan Sutton, Tim O’Brien, John McEuen and lots more.

Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode.

• Doc
  • Doc at 100 shows
  • MerleFest update
  • 2nd annual North Carolina Guitar Celebration - tickets on sale March 1st
  • I Am A Pilgrim: Doc Watson at 100 Tribute record
  • Bluegrass Jam Along Jack Hinshelwood interview
• Michael Daves
  • Info on Michael Daves Zoom courses
• Releases
  • Tim Stafford and Thomm Jutz’s ‘Lost Voices’
  • Bluegrass Jam Along interview with Tim Stafford
  • Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley’s ‘Living in a Song’
  • Bluegrass Jam Along interview with Rob & Trey
  • Max Allard’s ‘March Maxness’
  • Michael Cleveland’s ‘Loving of the Game’
  • Mile Twelve ‘ Close Enough to Hear’
  • The Infamous Stringdusters’ Flatt and Scruggs tribute
  • Nickel Creek Holding ‘Pattern

Other bits

• Wyatt Ellis on Instagram
• Mighty Poplar

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

This week we're playing another tune back to back at two different speeds  - once at 75 bpm then again at 85. We're doing Salt Creek and we're in the key of A.

We're using the jam along format - that means I'm kicking off playing backup and you're on the tune, then we swap and go round 4 times. Then, after a quick pause, we do the whole thing again at 85 bpm.

Don't forget to grab a chord sheet if you need one from bluegrassjamalong.com

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

My guests on the podcsat this week are Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley.

Rob and Trey have a fantastic new record out called 'Living in a Song' and they joined me to chat about the inspiration behind the songs, the recording process and much more.

Trey has been on the podcast before, but this was my first time chatting to Rob, so that was a real treat. They're great to chat to and I love the new record.

You'll find all the info you need on Rob & Trey's website.

You can also follow them on Instagram and Facebook for updates and news.

Rob and Trey’s lessons are on the Big Music Tent website

If you missed my original interview with Trey you can check it out here.

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

This  week we're jamming along to the classic tune Far From Home. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing.

Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and jam along!

If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch),  head to bluegrassjamalong.com

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

This week we're jamming along to Far From Home and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping.  It's four times through in the key of G at 75 bpm.

• backing track starts at 00:47

Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done.

If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch),  just head to bluegrassjamalong.com

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

This week we're jamming along to Far From Home and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of G at 75 bpm.

• backing track starts at 00:59

Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done.

If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch),  just head to bluegrassjamalong.com

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

This week we're jamming along to Far From Home and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of G at 75 bpm.

• backing track starts at 00:42

Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done.

If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch),  just head to bluegrassjamalong.com

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

This is a really quick bonus episode I wanted to share with you all. 

I'm putting together a Doc Watson 100th birthday episode, which is due out in March. I've interviewed lots of amazing guests for that and one of them was the wonderful Tony Trischka. At the end of our chat Tony told me a story about meeting Bill Monroe - it doesn't fit in the Doc episode but it's really cool and I wanted to share it. So here it is!

That's it,  just a quick anecdote to listen to in a quiet five minutes!

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

My guest this week is Sierra Hull.

I caught up with Sierra before the London show on her UK tour with Justin Moses. 

We chatted about how spending so much time at home over the course of the pandemic changed her outlook on things and about some of the collaborations she's been part of over the past year, including touring with Cory Wong and her involvement in Bela Fleck's 'My Bluegrass Heart' record and tour.

We also talk about the new record Sierra's currently in the process of making, her ArtistWorks course and much more.

It was a treat to record and a great way to celebrate Bluegrass Jam Along's 250th episode!

Thanks to Maria Ivey and Kerry Fee for their help in making this happen.

Make sure you check out Sierra's website for  tour dates, info and news.

You can also keep in touch via Sierra's Instagram and Facebook

If you want mandolin lessons from Sierra, check out her ArtistWorks course.

Check out the Justin Moses interview I did too if you missed it first time round!

Thanks everyone and 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

This week we're playing another tune back to back at two different speeds  - once at 75 bpm then again at 85. We're doing Cherokee Shuffle and we're in the key of A.

We're using the jam along format - that means I'm kicking off playing backup and you're on the tune, then we swap and go round 4 times. Then, after a quick pause, we do the whole thing again at 85 bpm.

Don't forget to grab a chord sheet if you need one from bluegrassjamalong.com

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