Got 'Grass?

Send us Fan Mail

Guitarist Jake Workman exploded onto the bluegrass scene in 2015, when he joined Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. He not only filled the huge shoes of Cody Kilby and Bryan Sutton, but created his own take on bluegrass guitar, with great rhythm playing, and some lightning fast solos that still amaze today!

We talked about his nine years in the Skaggs band, his approach to guitar and mandolin playing, his family life in Utah with his talented musical wife, Rebekah and their four young kids, his recent jam with jazz guitarist Julian Lage, his passion for teaching, and his plans for the future, post Skaggs. Thrilled to finally get Jake on the podcast!

Send us Fan Mail

Trish Imbrogno, who plays uder the name Trish Plays Bass, is a double bassist and singer based in Pittsburgh. Classically trained, after nearly 25 years of orchestral playing she hung up her concert clothes, pulled on a pair of cowboy boots, and hasn’t looked back.

Her training in Bach, Beethoven and Mozart laid the perfect foundation to tackle the intricate counterpoint of bluegrass music. She performs with many bands, leads jams, and is also an alumna of IBMA's Leadership Bluegrass Class of 2018. Her brand new album "Bluegrass Love Songs Volume 1", features some of the top players in bluegrass.

Send us Fan Mail

Mandolinist Jesse Cobb was a founding member of The Infamous Stringdusters in 2006, spending 5 years with the genre-bending ‘grassers before leaving in 2011. He also played with Ronnie Bowman, and the "supergroup" with Bryan Sutton, Luke Bulla, Noam Pikelny and Barry Bales. His brother Shad Cobb is one of the most sought after fiddle players in Nashville. 

Jesse has lived a lot, spent time logging timber, running sled dogs, and working on the railroad. Now married and living on Vancouver Island, BC, he plays with The Unfaithful Servants. 

This was a very open and honest conversation about his life, both in and out of music. He's done a lot, moved around a lot, and sacrificed a lot for his family, and still managed to be one of the top mandolinists in bluegrass.  One of my favorite interviews.

Send us Fan Mail

Connnecticut's Austin Scelzo is a fiddle player, teacher, singer, songwriter, band member, jam leader, Pete Wernick Jam Camp insructor, and an all-around positive force in bluegrass. 

If you're interested in learning bluegrass fiddle, harmony singing, or just about anything bluegrass, check out Austin Scelzo's YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcTt1g2xiUfLsBysFWj6f-g

He left a secure job as a school music teacher a few years ago, to pursue his bluegrass dreams, and hasn't looked back. A fiddle playing member of bands On The Trail and Rock Hearts, he is familiar to New England audiences, and has made his mark in Nashville. 

A thoughful and insightful teacher, Austin has helped thousands of students navigate the path to playing and singing bluegrass with confidence and authority. A charming and knowledgeable young guy with a lot to say!

Send us Fan Mail

Larry Cordle is one of the legendary songwriters and singers in bluegrass and country music. He's best known for writing #1 hits "Highway 40 Blues" for Ricky Skaggs, "Murder on Music Row" for George Strait, and "Against the Grain" for Garth Brooks. He has multiple Grammy and IBMA awards, and has written top hits for Dolly Parton, Reba McIntire, Alan Jackson, Alison Krauss, Trisha Yearwood, etc. 

Larry talks about the inner workings of "Music Row", his long friendships with Bill Monroe and Garth Brooks, the demise of "real" country music, and the hard work, frustrations and rewards of being a professional songwriter. A real down-to-earth music man!

Send us Fan Mail

Ben Garnett, guitarist, composer and teacher, is having a big impact on acoustic music. His new album, Kite’s Keep, features Darol Anger, Brittany Haas, Ethan Jodziewicz, Paul Kowert , and Chris Eldridge. His music ranges widely from bluegrass to pop, jazz to avant garde, folk to classical, and back. 

Ben is best known in the bluegras world as the guitarist for Missy Raines, with whose band he has appeared at GuitartownCT several times. His current tour brings him to Hamden, CT on October 14. 

Here we talked at length about improvising, jazz, his guitar heroes, practicing, soloing, and some of his musical friends. Thoughtful and fascinating.

Send us Fan Mail

Fiddler, composer, producer and educator, Darol Anger is at home in many musical genres, some of which he helped to invent. He drove the evolution of the contemporary string band through The David Grisman Quintet, The Republic Of Strings, the Turtle Island String Quartet, Mr. Sun, etc. etc. etc.

Delightful and spontaneous, he has fond memories of how The David Grisman Quintet started, the excitement when Tony Rice joined, feeling a bit awed by Richard Greene, thoughts about fiddle backup and duo playing, and the challenges of his fiddle, which he then took down and played live!  A wonderful podcast guest!

Send us Fan Mail

Wyatt Ellis is quickly emerging as a bluegrass star. At sixteen, he's a talented mandolinist, singer and songwriter. Winner of IBMA's 2024 Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year, he's two time IBMA nominee for New Artist of the Year. He's worked with Peter Rowan, Sierra Hull, Justin Moses, Marty Stuart, Dailey and Vincent and his bluegrass hero Bobby Osborne.

He's really into songwriting, and was returning from a Nashville songwriting session when we spoke. They had to pull off the interstate because of traffic noise! A poised and focused young man, really into classic bluegrass, with lots of wisdom for his age, and a bright future! 

Send us Fan Mail

Becky Buller is one of bluegrass' leading fiddle players, singers and songwriters. She has won 10 IBMA awards, including 2016 Fiddle Player and Female Bluegrass Singer of the Year, the first person ever to win both awards!

She has written many well known songs, including songs on 3 recent Grammmy winning albums, by The Infamous Stringdusters, The Travelin' McCourys, and Molly Tuttle. 

Becky has been upfront about her own anxiety and depression, especially during Covid. She talked in depth about her bluegrass career, the leading role of women in bluegrass today, her songwriting style, playing fiddle, and how she has managed to deal with mental health issues. She is an important figure in contemporary bluegrass, and this is a lovely and honest conversation.

Send us Fan Mail

Shawn Camp is one of America's leading songwriters, and for the last 12 years has been playing the role of Lester Flatt, as the guitarist and lead singer for The Earls of Leicester. His new album, songs that he and Guy Clark wrote, "The Ghost of Sis' Draper", gets released Sept. 12.

Shawn wrote "Magnolia Wind", "Two Pina Coladas", and "I'm Dying for Someone to Live For". He's written hits for Garth Brooks, Gibson Brothers, Loretta Lynn, Brooks and Dunn, Josh Turner, Willie Nelson, Blake Shelton, George Strait, and many more. Camp won a Grammy Award in 2024 for his production of Guy Clark's album, "My favorite Picture of You."

Willie Nelson's "A Beautiful Time" won a Grammy in 2023. The title cut, along with  "We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy", were both written by Camp.

He's one of Nashville's greatest singers, a great musician, and this conversation went deeply into the magic of songwriting, and Shawn's musical compadres.