On this week’s show we tell the fascinating story of how bluegrass music – born in the hills and hollers of the North Georgia mountains and Tennessee, and in rural communities in South Carolina and West Virginia more than 200 years ago – has crossed the Pacific Ocean and been enthusiastically embraced by a large fan base in Japan. Our guest is Denis Gainty , an associate professor of history at Georgia State University. He’s now researching and writing a book about Japanese bluegrass.