Join Caroline Wright in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i and Mike Kear in Sydney, Australia as they count down the 20 hottest bluegrass songs on the charts according to BluegrassToday.com.As always, Mike and Caroline will count down the Bluegrass Today Weekly Top Twenty bluegrass hits, from #20 all the way to a brand new #1. They’ll spin FIVE debut songs today, including one from a fiddler who began touring the day after she graduated from high school, a spooky historical tune about a spirit that haunts a Union fort in Tennessee, ANOTHER historical tune by a Tim and a Thomm -- this one about a murderous Mississippi bootlegger -- anda pair of brand new songs from a powerhouse bluegrass couple, including our #1 tune entering the chart this week!By popular request, Mike and Caroline will also bring you a new installment of Freshly Made Jams. In this segment, they’ll go all around the globe to find you some really great recent bluegrass jams! You won’t even believe the splendid music that gets played in the hallways and suites and greenrooms and fields and backstages and nooks and crannies (and stairwells!) of bluegrass music. The jams are fresh and they are tasty!!! And Caroline will also bring you some of the week’s hottest news from the bluegrass community, and some sizzling music, too. Listen for brand new material by Shawn Lane and Richard Bennett, Nothin’ Fancy, and Pam Gadd, as well as Alison Brown and Steve Martin (with a lovely banjo instrumental they wrote together). Caroline will also share a tune from the band Fast Track, in honor of the late Ron Spears. Coming Sunday, March 26th, 2023, at podomatic.com/podcasts/mkear or on iHeart radio, Apple/iTunes, Amazon Music, Player FM, Audible, or wherever you catch your favorite podcasts! Download the Podomatic app on your phone or tablet, search for BTTop20, and follow us so you never miss an episode! And join the Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/bttop20 for advance notice of upcoming episodes, backstories and links for some of the show’s featured segments, and much more!

Join Caroline Wright in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i and Mike Kear in Sydney, Australia as they count down the 20 hottest bluegrass songs on the charts according to BluegrassToday.com.As always, they’ll count down the Bluegrass Today Weekly Top Twenty bluegrass hits, from #20 all the way to a brand new #1. They’ll spin FIVE debut songs today, including a song from an Infamous Stringduster, a tune by a Tim and a Thomm, a song about a Pirate Ship that isn’t a shanty, and a tune that will take us back to the future!Mike will be bringing us a brand-new installment of Rise And Shine, in which we spotlight up-and-coming bluegrass artists whose new music we want to share with you! Today Mike will have a visit with CASEY PENN, the terrific singer and bandleader from the great bluegrass state of Arkansas. Hers is the sweet Southern voice you hear every Sunday, announcing chart positions on our Countdown! Casey’s new album One Step Away was released on Mountain Home Records on February 10th. We’re going to hear a cut or two from that record, and a little more about Casey Penn’s life, times, and her bluegrass music, on Rise and Shine, coming up in just a bit on the Countdown!This week’s news is packed with the hottest stories in the bluegrass community, and some sizzling music, too. Listen for songs by Pam Gadd, Ireland’s Niall Toner, Mighty Poplar, and the Gentlemen of Bluegrass, in honor of the late Dr. Tom Langdon. Coming Sunday, March 19th, 2023, at podomatic.com/podcasts/mkear or on iHeart radio, Apple/iTunes, Amazon Music, Player FM, Audible, or wherever you catch your favorite podcasts! Download the Podomatic app on your phone or tablet, search for BTTop20, and follow us so you never miss an episode! And join the Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/bttop20 for advance notice of upcoming episodes, backstories and links for some of the show’s featured segments, and much more!

Join Caroline Wright in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i and Mike Kear in Sydney, Australia as they count down the 20 hottest bluegrass songs on the charts according to BluegrassToday.com.As always, they’ll count down the Bluegrass Today Weekly Top Twenty bluegrass hits, from #20 all the way to #1. Today they have three debut tunes -- from Milan Miller, Carl Bentley, and Starlett and Big John. They’ll also have two songs tied at #17, and a brand new #1.This week, Mike and Caroline will introduce a new segment called FANTASY FESTIVAL. If you’ve ever played Fantasy Football or Basketball or Baseball, you’ll have some idea of the concept. For each installment, a special guest or two will be invited to “book” the bluegrass lineup for an imaginary bluegrass festival. The best part: They can select ANY bluegrass act from ANY era!Guest booking agents for the Countdown’s first Fantasy Festival are Katy Daley and Tom Mindte. Katy was a radio broadcaster in the Washington, D.C. area for 40+ years before her retirement, and now does a terrific podcast called Bluegrass Stories with Howard Parker. She’s a recipient of IBMA’s Distinguished Achievement Award, and she and her husband Bill established the Katy Daley Broadcast Media/Sound Engineering Scholarship in 2022. Tom is a fantastic musician and master of several genres including bluegrass; a highly respected music historian; and he launched Patuxent Music in 1990, a great label for blues, bluegrass and old-time music. He’s just finished writing a book about the great Buzz Busby! Katy and Tom have put together a spectacular lineup for their Fantasy Festival… Wait till you hear it! Coming Sunday, March 5th, 2023, at podomatic.com/podcasts/mkear or on iHeart radio, Apple/iTunes, Amazon Music, Player FM, Audible, or wherever you catch your favorite podcasts! Download the Podomatic app on your phone or tablet, search for BTTop20, and follow us so you never miss an episode! And join the Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/bttop20 for advance notice of upcoming episodes, backstories and links for some of the show’s featured segments, and much more!

Join Caroline Wright in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i and Mike Kear in Sydney, Australia as they count down the 20 hottest bluegrass songs on the charts according to BluegrassToday.com.As always, Mike and Caroline will share some of this week's freshest, ripest bluegrass music. They’ll introduce five debut tunes (from Irene Kelley, Marija Droze, Jason Barie, Lonesome River Band, and Gary Nichols) and count down to a new #1! Our latest episode includes a brand new installment of Bizarregrass, in which Mike and Caroline explore the unlikely intersection of bluegrass and surf music! Listen for gnarly clips of classic surf tunes from some of your favorite artists, like Jim & Jesse, Mike Auldridge with Doyle Lawson, The Tuttles with A.J. Lee, Travers Chandler and Avery County, and more. Don’t miss SURFGRASS, coming this week! This episode also includes a new Tiny Bluegrass History Lesson. This week, we’ll talk with MURPHY HENRY about some of the extraordinary women who have made great bluegrass music through the years. Murphy was publisher of the late, great Women In Bluegrass newsletter. She’s creator of the Murphy Method, which has taught so many people how to play bluegrass music. Ten years ago, her important book Pretty Good For A Girl was published by University of Illinois Press. She’s the mother of Christopher and Casey Henry, the wife of Red Henry, and one of the smartest, fiercest, most fantastic women who ever picked a five-string banjo.  Coming Sunday, February 26th, 2023, at podomatic.com/podcasts/mkear or on iHeart radio, Apple/iTunes, Amazon Music, Player FM, Audible, or wherever you catch your favorite podcasts! Download the Podomatic app on your phone or tablet, search for BTTop20, and follow us so you never miss an episode! And join our Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/bttop20 for advance notice of upcoming episodes, backstories and links for some of the show’s featured segments, and much more!

Join Caroline Wright in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i and Mike Kear in Sydney, Australia as they count down the 20 hottest bluegrass songs on the charts according to BluegrassToday.com.As always, Mike and Caroline will share some of this week's freshest, ripest bluegrass music. They’ll introduce three debut tunes (from Joe Mullins and his Radio Ramblers, Volume Five, and Darren Nicholson), reveal a pair of tunes tied this week at #6, and count down to a new #1! The latest episode includes an installment of PICKIN’ ON THE PLANET, in which we check in on the bluegrass music community in Barcelona, Spain! We sat down with Lluís Gómez and Joan Manel Hernàndez and learned all about AL RAS, Barcelona’s bluegrass association! There’s a vibrant, active bluegrass scene there, with jams, workshops and camps, and a big festival every fall.This episode also includes a wacky new installment of Mike & Caroline’s BIG BLUEGRASS TIME MACHINE! The Time Machine has been in the shop for a while – Harold’s Super Service comes highly recommended, and its temporal specialists have been working hard to tweak the Flux capacitor! The machine is finally ready to take Mike and Caroline all over the bluegrass timeline, from the birth of bluegrass and BEYOND! It’s a high lonesome melodrama you will not soon forget.  Coming Sunday, February 19th, 2023, at podomatic.com/podcasts/mkear or on iHeart radio, Apple/iTunes, Amazon Music, Player FM, Audible, or wherever you catch your favorite podcasts! Download the Podomatic app on your phone or tablet, search for BTTop20, and follow us so you never miss an episode! And join our Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/bttop20 for advance notice of upcoming episodes, backstories and links for some of the show’s featured segments, and much more!

Join Caroline Wright in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i and Mike Kear in Sydney, Australia as they count down the 20 hottest bluegrass songs on the charts according to BluegrassToday.com.As always, Mike and Caroline will share some of this week's freshest, ripest bluegrass news. They’ll introduce seven debut tunes, reveal a pair of tunes tied this week at #17, and count down to a new #1 single! This week’s episode includes a Big Bluegrass Birthday Celebration in which we’ll talk about the life and music of RED ALLEN, one of the best bluegrass tenors to ever sing a note. His son, singer/songwriter/banjo picker Greg Allen, will join us for this incredible segment, packed with memories and music! If you’ve not been introduced to Red’s music before, you’re in for a treat. Born February 12, 1930 in Pigeon Roost, Kentucky, he had a spectacularly powerful and emotive tenor voice that he put to work with the Osborne Brothers, with J.D. Crowe, with his own band The Kentuckians, with Frank Wakefield and Red Spurlock as The Red Heads, and with the Allen Brothers, which consisted of his talented sons -- Greg, Neal, Ronnie, and Harley Allen. A very young David Grisman worked for Red and said it was like getting a college education in bluegrass music! This episode also includes an interview with singer/songwriter KRISTY COX, the award-winning "Australian Queen of Bluegrass"! Kristy is the six-time winner of Australia’s Golden Guitar award for Bluegrass Recording of the Year. She’s signed to Billy Blue Records and has released seven splendid albums, all produced by Jerry Salley. This past month, Kristy picked up her sixth Golden Guitar award from the Country Music Association of Australia in Tamworth, NSW. She’ll tell us about her influences, her songs, and her life in the U.S. making bluegrass music! Coming Sunday, February 12th, 2023, at podomatic.com/podcasts/mkear or on iHeart radio, Apple/iTunes, Amazon Music, Player FM, Audible, or wherever you catch your favorite podcasts! And join our Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/bttop20 for advance notice of upcoming episodes, backstories and links for some of the show’s featured segments, and much more!

Coming in tomorrow's new episode of the Bluegrass Today Weekly Top 20 Countdown: BIZARREGRASS!Join Caroline Wright in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i and Mike Kear in Sydney, Australia as they count down the 20 hottest bluegrass songs on the charts according to BluegrassToday.com.As always, Mike and Caroline will share some of this week's freshest, ripest bluegrass news. They’ll introduce SIX debut tunes and count down to a brand new #1 single! And this episode brings a new installment of Bizarregrass! Mike and Caroline are paying homage to the legendary singer/songwriter David Crosby, whose music with The Byrds, and with Crosby Stills Nash and Young, has been turned into some truly stunning bluegrass covers by some of our favorite artists. That’s right: this week’s installment of Bizarregrass is dedicated to Crozgrass, and it’s going to include bluegrass covers of tunes like “Old Man,” “Ohio,” “Helplessly Hoping,” “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” and more! This week, you can also listen for a new segment called Freshly Made Jams. One of the very BEST things about bluegrass music is jamming! Bluegrass jamming presents a common language for people who might otherwise have nothing to talk about. Learn just a few chords or a few licks, and you can join the conversation and play along! In this brand new segment, we’re going to drop in on some recent bluegrass jam sessions so we can have a listen to what folks are playing out there in the field.Check it out on Sunday, February 5th, 2023, at https://podomatic.com/podcasts/mkear or on iHeart radio, Apple/iTunes, Amazon Music, Player FM, Audible, or wherever you catch your favorite podcasts! And join our Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/bttop20 for advance notice of upcoming episodes, backstories and links for some of the show’s featured segments, and much more!

Join Caroline Wright in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i and Mike Kear in Sydney, Australia as they count down the 20 hottest bluegrass songs on the charts according to BluegrassToday.com.As always, Mike and Caroline will share some of this week's freshest, ripest bluegrass news. They’ll introduce four debut tunes and count down to a brand new #1 single. And in a new installment of PICKIN’ ON THE PLANET, they’re gonna go all the way to the lovely Southeast Asian country of Thailand. That’s where they’ll visit banjo picker and bluegrass instigator Sunny Sachdev. Thailand has a surprisingly rich and active country music scene, which has UNsurprisingly spawned an enthusiastic and growing bluegrass community. In this segment, check out some of the country and yodeling stars who inspired today’s bluegrass musicians in Thailand, and hear some fine pickin’ from Sunny and his friends from Bluegrass Underground Bangkok!This week also brings a new installment of WHO DID IT BEST, in which Mike and Caroline will play some old and new cover versions of a single classic bluegrass tune! Listen for renditions by (among others) the Stanley Brothers, Ralph II, Big Timber Bluegrass, Dale Ann Bradley & Vince Gill, and the Bluestack Mountain Boys from Dublin, Ireland! Who did it best? You decide! Check it out on Sunday, January 29th, 2023, at podomatic.com/podcasts/mkear or on iHeart radio, Apple/iTunes, Amazon Music, Player FM, Audible, or wherever you catch your favorite podcasts! You can also download the Podomatic app to your phone or tablet, follow our pod, and never miss an episode! And join our Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/bttop20 for advance notice of upcoming episodes, backstories and links for some of the show’s featured segments, and much more!

Join Caroline Wright in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i and Mike Kear in Sydney, Australia as they count down the 20 hottest bluegrass songs on the charts according to BluegrassToday.com.As always, Mike and Caroline will share some of this week's freshest, ripest bluegrass news. And this week brings a new installment of FIELD PICKIN’, and a visit with a guy who practically grew up on a bus -- specifically, the Bluegrass Bus Museum! He’s worked for the International Bluegrass Music Museum, the John Hartford Memorial Festival, Music City Roots, the Country Music Hall of Fame, Bluegrass Underground, Hatch Show Prints. He’s winner of a CBA Volunteer of the Year Award, and a Momentum Award from IBMA for Industry Involvement. He’s also the founder of a hotel jamming festival, South State 48, in Carlsbad, California. He’s creative, innovative, and enthusiastic, and he’s out there in the field, instigating the bluegrass for all of us to enjoy! Join us for Field Pickin’ with Danny “Hootenanny” Clark!In a new segment called RISE AND SHINE, we’ll meet a spectacularly talented young couple from Mike’s neck of the woods. Fiddler Michael Cleveland first told us about the duo Montgomery Church. And in our first installment of Rise and Shine, singer/songwriter/musicians Cielle Montgomery and James Church will sit down with us to talk about their influences, their writing, their recordings, and their music they make together in the beautiful Snowy Mountains south of Sydney, Australia! Check it out starting Sunday, January 22nd, 2023, at podomatic.com/podcasts/mkear or on iHeart radio, Apple/iTunes, Amazon Music, Player FM, Audible, or wherever you catch your favorite podcasts! And join our Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/bttop20 for advance notice of upcoming episodes, backstories and links for some of the show’s featured segments, and much more!

Join Caroline Wright in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i and Mike Kear in Sydney, Australia as we count down the 20 hottest bluegrass songs on the charts according to BluegrassToday.com.As always, we'll take a look at Bluegrass Today’s Grassicana and Gospel charts. We'll share some of this week's freshest, ripest bluegrass news. And this week brings a very special installment of one of our favorite segments. We'll celebrate the birthday of the father of the bluegrass banjo, EARL SCRUGGS, born January 6th, 1924, with our very special guest, banjo master TONY TRISCHKA, whose birthday is January 16th! Tony will tell us how Earl’s style, which is as thoughtful and nuanced as it is driving and electrifying, has influenced his own music. And as we sample clips from BOTH artists from Tony's handpicked selection of tunes, we’ll talk about Earl’s legacy, and how Tony carries it forward today!And you’re invited to come along on a little trip in Mike & Caroline's BIG BLUEGRASS TIME MACHINE! This week we’ll take a little tour of some bluegrass milestones that have happened over the years in the month of January. We'll travel all the way from 1886 to one particular late night just this past week in January 2023, and we'll hear some truly fantastic bluegrass music along the way! Step aboard, find your seat and buckle in; there's plenty of room! You won't even BELIEVE how much fun we're gonna have as we travel through time, listening tothe bluegrass grow!Check it out this Sunday, January 15th, 2023, at podomatic.com/podcasts/mkear or on iHeart radio, Apple/iTunes, Amazon Music, Player FM, Audible, or wherever you catch your favorite podcasts!And join our Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/bttop20 for advance notice of upcoming episodes, backstories and links for some of the show’s featured segments, and much more!