Roots Music Rambler

Folk rockers The Mallett Brothers are back with a new album on April 4 called “Higher up in the Hills.” Luke and Will Mallett joined us on Roots Music Rambler this week to talk about the album, the first couple of singles from it, 15-years of making it in independent music without leaving their home state of Maine and more. 

The brothers who front the band are actually from folk music royalty. Their father, David Mallett, is a well-known folk singer who wrote “The Garden Song” popluarized by Pete Seeger, John Denver and others. We talked about growing up around their famous dad, his impact on their music, and collaborations with him over the years.

The Mallett Brothers also share the story behind another fun collaboration – with legendary keyboardist Chuck Leavell on his PBS series “America’s Forests with Chuck Leavell.” 

Falls also kicks off the episode with perhaps the most impassioned rant he’s ever embarked upon, pleading with people to stop complaining about cross-genre artists and the hate toward specific sub-genres of music. It’s worth the listen.

Frank and Falls also share their normal pickin’ the grinnin’ picks for the week.

Download the episode and subscribe at rootsmusicrambler.com or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Also be sure to help spread the love of the show with Roots Music Rambler’s new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available. 

Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It’s a new episode of Roots Music Rambler.

Notes and links: 

Pickin’ the Grinnin’ Recommendations

Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts.

Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum; Audio production by Resonate Recordings. Copyright 2025 - Falls+Partners.

Find more at rootsmusicrambler.com and join our Backstage Pass Community on Patreon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There’s nothing we love more on Roots Music Rambler than digging into the stories behind songs, albums and artists, especially when geography and place have an impact there. That’s why this episode stands out as one of our favorites as Tyler Grant joined us to talk about his new album, his journey through bands and solo work and more.

No one digs into a story as well as Grant does and you’ll note that right away as we talked about his latest single and upcoming album, Flatpicker, which is due out in March. And the album title is certainly appropriate. Grant is a National Flatpicking Champion and internationally recognized guitar virtuoso. He was also the lead singer and songwriting engine behind the band Grant Farm.

It was such a pleasure to have him join us. He even became the first RMR guest to admit to committing a crime. (Ha! Listen to learn more.) We also learned more about his path through many musical genres to become a bluegrass and folk star.

Falls shares his birthday experience meeting and seeing Joy Oladokun (his favorite). Frank and Falls also share their normal pickin’ the grinnin’ picks for you to listen to, and talk about the advent of AI generated music? Yep. It’s out there.

Be sure to help spread the love of the show with Roots Music Rambler’s new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available. 

Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It’s a new episode of Roots Music Rambler.

Notes and links: 

Pickin’ the Grinnin’ Recommendations

And be sure to get your MuskOx premium flannel shirts just in time for fall. Use the code RAMBLER on checkout for a discount! - https://gomuskox.com/rambler

Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts.

Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum; Audio production by Resonate Recordings. Copyright 2025 - Falls+Partners.

Find more at rootsmusicrambler.com and join our Backstage Pass Community on Patreon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s no secret that the Roots Music Rambler team loves a good music festival. But as we’ve discussed before, there are perhaps too many of them and the costs continue to skyrocket for fans. It just so happens that there exists an entire podcast and YouTube show dedicated to music festivals and its host, Nate Riggs, is a friend of the program.

This week on Roots Music Rambler, Frank and Falls dig in with Riggs to talk about the state of music festivals across the U.S. The conversation includes everything from the costs to the lineups to the experiences and more. Falls also shares news that his children want him to take them to Bonnaroo and he and Frank talk about the under-the-radar festivals worth attending.

The hosts also talk about A Complete Unknown, the new Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet.

Be sure to help spread the love of the show with Roots Music Rambler’s new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available. 

Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It’s a new episode of Roots Music Rambler.

Notes and links: 

Pickin’ the Grinnin’ Recommendations

And be sure to get your MuskOx premium flannel shirts just in time for fall. Use the code RAMBLER on checkout for a discount! - https://gomuskox.com/rambler

Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts.

Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum; Audio production by Resonate Recordings. Copyright 2025 - Falls+Partners.

Find more at rootsmusicrambler.com and join our Backstage Pass Community on Patreon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There are few artists out there who fit the Americana music label by decidedly not fitting in any single box better than Jeff Shepherd. The northern Indiana native has been called rock, blues, outlaw country and punk. His music harkens back to 70s rock but has enough country influences to draw comparisons to southern rock and outlaw country artists, alike.

Shepherd, which he now goes by as a single-named moniker, joined us on Roots Music Rambler to talk about his new single, “Settle Down,” and his plans for more new music in 2025. We talked about his time working in the steel mills, the struggles of an independent musician and his newest venture into fatherhood. His son was born a little over a year ago and the lifestyle change has been interesting, he says.

Plus, Frank checks in on Falls who was weathering a snow storm during the recording and the duo talk about one getting to meet a couple of emerging artists at a recent show. And as always, they share their Pickin’ the Grinnin picks for new music for you to explore this week.

Be sure to help spread the love of the show with Roots Music Rambler’s new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available. 

Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It’s a new episode of Roots Music Rambler.

Notes and links: 

Pickin’ the Grinnin’ Recommendations

Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts.

Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum; Audio production by Resonate Recordings. Copyright 2025 - Falls+Partners.

Find more at rootsmusicrambler.com and join our Backstage Pass Community on Patreon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Well, 2024 is in the books and what a year we saw in Americana and Roots Music. From Sierra Ferrell’s explosion to Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter and crazy collaborations to new music from artists like Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, The Secret Sisters, Marcus King and Dwight Yoakam, the year was one for the books.

Since this was the first full calendar year Roots Music Rambler existed (we debuted in September of 2023), we thought we would start an annual tradition of recapping the year with our top songs, albums and artists, plus do a little where-are-they-now rundown of previous show guests to keep everyone thinking about and talking about the music we all love.

In this episode Frank and Falls run down their top 10 songs and albums of 2024, proclaim their top artist, group and newcomer of the year, and call out a couple of artists worthy of praise for innovating in the genre in 2024.

But, to be clear, our philosophy on Roots Music Rambler is tied to a belief that music is not a competition. Rankings and bests are simply fodder for conversation and discovery. These lists are just our individual opinions. We want to hear yours as well. So comment on our social media posts about the rankings and share your favorites for 2024 or what you’re excited about for 2025. 

Be sure to help spread the love of the show with Roots Music Rambler’s new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available. 

Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It’s a new episode of Roots Music Rambler.

Notes and links: (Songs played are representative of our lists, but not necessarily our top songs!)

And be sure to get your MuskOx premium flannel shirts just in time for fall. Use the code RAMBLER on checkout for a discount! - https://gomuskox.com/rambler

Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts.

Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum; Audio production by Resonate Recordings. Copyright 2025 - Falls+Partners.

Find more at rootsmusicrambler.com and join our Backstage Pass Community on Patreon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s not often Rolling Stone compares a singer-songwriter to John Prine. But they did just that when they heard “Steelhead Trout” by Margo Cilker. The Oregon-based artist’s first two albums have turned her into an emerging star in the Americana music scene. 

Pohorylle, her debut, was so good, the UK Americana Music Association nominated it for Album of the Year alongside Brandi Carlile, Robert Plant & Allison Kraus and Charley Crockett. She went on tour with Drive-By Truckers and Hayes Carll.

Her sophomore album, Valley of Heart’s Delight, is better. Not just by our estimation, but every music publication that’s reviewed it says so. The songs are deeper, more introspective, and perhaps more universal. 

Cilker joined us for a chat from her Snake River Valley ranch recently to talk about songwriting, her success, and what the future holds for her music. She and Francesca connected at a performance over the summer and had a conversation about the song and fish that brought about the Prine comparisons. Needless to say, we had a fun conversation.

Falls also talks about his new favorite TikTok account (@rockabuyrecords) and its protagonist (Dean) who is Falls’s new hero. Falls also shares his first take on Dwight Yoakam’s new album Brighter Days.

Be sure to help spread the love of the show with Roots Music Rambler’s new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available. 

Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It’s a new episode of Roots Music Rambler.

Notes and links:

Pickin’ the Grinnin’ Recommendations

And be sure to get your MuskOx premium flannel shirts just in time for fall. Use the code RAMBLER on checkout for a discount! - https://gomuskox.com/rambler

Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts.

Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum

Find more at rootsmusicrambler.com and join our Backstage Pass Community on Patreon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Few musicians today stay as busy as Aaron Bibelhauser. Not only is he a prolific songwriter and one half of the twin brother-led bluegrass band called The Bibelhauser Brothers, but he hosts a notable bluegrass music radio show, collaborates with several other artists on albums and singles and leads a community jam session periodically in his home city of Louisville. The only mystery about Aaron is when does he sleep?

Aaron and his twin Adam, who splits vocals with his brother, plays bass, contributes to the writing and production of songs, and naturally offers beautiful blood harmony to the group, joined Roots Music Rambler this week to talk about the group’s new singles, a potential new album, collaborations and more. We discussed their journey to be musicians, and their history with a previous band called Relic as well.

While Adam has a day job and is a full-time dad, Aaron is busy writing, performing and producing. He’s penned songs for Del McCoury, Michael Cleveland, and the Louisville Shakespeare Festival, and produced a tribute album for Mickey Clark. He’s also the host of Bluegrass Evolution, a Sunday night bluegrass radio program on WFPK (91.9 FM) in Louisville. 

Also on the show, Frank and Falls discuss Grammy snubs and take a listen to Stephen Wilson Jr.’s astonishing new cover of Ben E. King’s standard “Stand By Me,” which lit up the Live at the Print Shop video concert series recently. 

Don’t forget you can now show your support of the show with Roots Music Rambler’s new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available. 

Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It’s a new episode of Roots Music Rambler.

Notes and links:

Pickin’ the Grinnin’ Recommendations

And be sure to get your MuskOx premium flannel shirts just in time for fall. Use the code RAMBLER on checkout for a discount! - https://gomuskox.com/rambler

Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts.

Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum

Find more at rootsmusicrambler.com and join our Backstage Pass Community on Patreon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When Blake Lacy, Noah Freeman and Brett McCoy met and discovered each other’s musical tastes, they did what college students do: They started a band. A few iterations of an expanded friend circles later and the trio evolved to a six-person offering called Kindred Valley. 

The band came on the Roots Music Rambler radar opening for Brit Taylor (Episode 16) at The Burl in Lexington, Ky., in February of 2024. A few months later, they were headlining shows at The Burl and dotted music venues up and down the mid-atlantic and midwest. 

Blake Lacy (songwriting, vocals) and Noah Freeman (songwriting, vocals, multiple instruments) sat in with Falls recently to talk about the band’s roots, how they came together, the explosive growth of the group’s success in 2024 and a lot more. The band even survived the attrition of one member who decided life on the road wasn’t in the cards.

Kindred Valley’s music is often categorized as folk rock. We’ve likened them to a folksier version of Fleetwood Mac, largely because of the diverse roster of musical talent throughout the group and the harmonies and sometimes lead vocals of Rachael Hayes, the lone female member of the band. 

The group has a new EP out called What Was Left to go along with their self-titled debut album released last year. 

Frank and Falls also rank the top live performances they’ve seen in 2024 and issue a call to action for you to contribute your favorite performances, albums and songs for the year as we wind down toward the end of the year. And, as usual, they share their Pickin’ the Grinnin’ picks of the week.

Don’t forget you can now show your support of the show with Roots Music Rambler’s new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available. 

Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It’s a new episode of Roots Music Rambler.

Notes and links:

Pickin’ the Grinnin’ Recommendations

And be sure to get your MuskOx premium flannel shirts just in time for fall. Use the code RAMBLER on checkout for a discount! - https://gomuskox.com/rambler

Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts.

Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum

Find more at rootsmusicrambler.com and join our Backstage Pass Community on Patreon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dave Adkins has already had a fantastic career as a bluegrass artist. He was nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America in 2022, which was the second time he earned that nod. He’s also been nominated for awards like the International Bluegrass Association Emerging Artist of the Year and Inspirational Bluegrass Artist of the Year. 

In 2020, Adkins contributed lead vocals to two tracks on a Grammy Nominated Best Roots Gospel Album in 2020. His catalog of songs written and performed have earned countless No. 1 and top 10 hits on various charts. 

And he’s still at it. 

Adkins joined Roots Music Rambler to talk about his latest album What I’m For, his days as a band geek growing up in Eastern Kentucky, and his time as a radio disc jockey, coincidentally at the same radio station co-host Jason Falls started his broadcasting career with. 

Frank and Falls also talk about Falls’s recent experience seeing Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp, and Frank’s encounter with Adeem the Artist and others at the Evanston Folk Festival. And, as usual, they share their Pickin’ the Grinnin’ picks of the week.

Don’t forget you can now show your support of the show with Roots Music Rambler’s new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available. 

Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It’s a new episode of Roots Music Rambler.

Notes and links:

Pickin’ the Grinnin’ Recommendations

And be sure to get your MuskOx premium flannel shirts just in time for fall. Use the code RAMBLER on checkout for a discount! - https://gomuskox.com/rambler

Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts.

Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum

Find more at rootsmusicrambler.com and join our Backstage Pass Community on Patreon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

George Ducas is back with a new album, but a decidedly elevated sound thanks to him luring legendary Bakersfield sound producer Pete Anderson back to the country studio. He sat in with Roots Music Rambler this week to talk to Frank and Falls about the new album, the day-to-day of being a Nashville songwriter and a lot more.

Ducas even made a public promise to try and get Anderson to come on the show! (We’re giddy over this!)

As if that weren’t enough, Ducas also played the first song he ever wrote (at age 11) during the recording, which was more than a treat, and just the second “live” performance during a recording of Roots Music Rambler. 

Ducas’s new album is called Long Way From Home and Anderson, long-time producer and guitarist for Dwight Yoakam, is very high on the album and his return to producing in the country genre. 

This was one of our most fun conversations. Ducas really is a great guy and brilliant songwriter. You’re going to enjoy this episode.

The hosts also offer up their picks for new music for you to discover this week in the Pickin’ the Grinnin’ segment of the show.

Don’t forget you can now show your support of the show with Roots Music Rambler’s new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available. 

Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It’s a new episode of Roots Music Rambler.

Notes and links:

Pickin’ the Grinnin’ Recommendations

And be sure to get your MuskOx premium flannel shirts just in time for fall. Use the code RAMBLER on checkout for a discount! - https://gomuskox.com/rambler

Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts.

Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum

Find more at rootsmusicrambler.com and join our Backstage Pass Community on Patreon.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.