Published by Bluegrass stars
Bluegrass stars tell their stories. We get beyond just picks and strings, as they tell their stories with eloquence, candor and humor. Hosted by Chris Wuerth from GuitartownCT concerts in Hamden, CT.
Listen on Apple PodcastsSend us Fan Mail Mandolinist Jimmy Gaudreau tells wonderful stories of Charlie Waller, David Grisman, John Duffey, and has especially fond memories of Tony and Wyatt Rice, with whom he played for 10 years. That band had a rhythm section "Like a wall of sound." Lots of fun, nicknames, etc... Jimmy is retired, but has lots to say about bluegrass, playing mandolin, and the stars he has played with. He also has a wonderful new website, jimmygaudreau.com , worth checking out for all bluegrass fans!
Send us Fan Mail A wonderful conversation with this soulful and thoughtful singer, songwriter, and virtuoso on banjo and slide guitar. He won the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship in Winfield, Kansas in 1987 and 1991. He recorded 18 critically acclaimed albums, with master musicians like Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, Kelly Joe Phelps and Mike Marshall. He has toured with Gregg Allman, David Lindley, Derek Trucks, and Sonny Landreth. Tony, also a sculptor, is married, and lives in Portland, Oregon. A fascinating interview!
Send us Fan Mail Ron Reno retired in 2019, after 60 years in bluegrass and country music. He started at age 7, with his dad Don Reno, and Red Smiley. He recorded ten albums during his 9 years with Merle Haggard, and played five years with the Osborne Brothers. He played with everyone from the Louvin Brothers and Ray Price to the Stanley Brothers and Johnny Cash. A prolific songwriter, producer and TV host, there's not much in the country and bluegrass world he hasn't experienced!
Send us Fan Mail Every once in a while, I interview someone who is so natural and open that it feels like a chat with an old friend. That was the case with Heather Berry Mabe. In 2024, Heather won IBMA's Momentum Vocalist of the Year award. In 2025, her band, Red Camel Collective, won IBMA New Artist of the Year, and she was just chosen 2026 SPBGMA Female Vocalist of the Year. Her band, Red Camel Collective, with her husband Tony on banjo, was Junior Sisk's band for many years, but they are making huge waves in bluegrass on their own, since their 2025 debut album. She's a very spiritual person, with a golden voice and a personality to match. You will be hearing a lot from her!!
Send us Fan Mail Liam grew up just down the road from Doc Watson's home in Deep Gap, North Carolina. A child prodigy on several instruments, he surprised everyone by sweeping the 2022 RockyGrass instrumental contests in guitar, mandolin and banjo, the first person to ever do so. He attended Berklee College of Music, and leads the band Cane Mill Road, which won IBMA's Momentum Band of The Year award in 2019. Age 24, he is already an experienced bluegrass pro, thoughtful and insightful. He talked a lot about Billy Strings, Doc Watson, and the trials and pleasures of leading a bluegrass band!
Send us Fan Mail Blake Wiliams played banjo with Lester Flatt and Nashville Grass, before his ten year stint with Bill Monroe and his Bluegrasss Boys. He was the longest tenured banjo player ever with Monore, and has some amazing stories to prove it! During his career, Blake has toured 48 states and 7 countries, played Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Lincoln Center. He recorded 2 albums with Lester Flatt, and 6 albums with Bill Monroe, including the Grammy winning S outhern Flavor. You won't want to miss his wonderful memories, some never told before!
Send us Fan Mail Darren Nicholson has played mountain music since his youth in Western North Carolina. A great mandolinist with Alecia Nugent, and seventeen years with Balsam Range, he’s also an introspective songwriter, a harmony singer, lead vocalist, and guitarist. These days, he's a man on a mission, to bring North Carolina roots music back to the local community.
Send us Fan Mail Ettore Buzzini is an eighteen year old banjo prodigy from North Carolina. Winner of Fresh Grass 2025 Banjo Contest, he’s a strong songwriter, instrumentalist, and vocalist, whose dream is to "bring as much of the human experience to our music as possible.” His banjo work is very melodic and sounds like no one else in bluegrass. I think he's a force to be reckoned with. Check him out.
Send us Fan Mail Tim Stafford is a master songwriter, guitarist and teacher. From Alison Krauss & Union Station, to 30+ years with Blue Highway, he's had his finger on the pulse of bluegrass. A wide ranging intellect, with special love for Tony Rice, we could have easily talked for another hour!
Send us Fan Mail 4-time Grammy winner Andy Leftwich began playing fiddle at age 6, entered his first contest at 7, and won the National Championship for Beginners at 12. At age 19 he joined Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, where he played for 15 years. He's also one of Nashville’s most sought after studio musicians, for artists like Bruce Hornsby, Dailey & Vincent, Alan Jackson, Taylor Swift, Ronnie Millsap, Craig Morgan, and many more. His third album "Aced" comes out April 17. Andy is an amazing musician, and a man of strong faith, and we discussed music and faith at length in this fascinating conversation.
Send us Fan Mail David Benedict is Grammy-nominated mandolinist. After 3 years with Missy Raines, he joined Mile Twelve, who were 2017 IBMA Momentum Award winners. David was also 2018 IBMA Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year, and a 2019 Grammy nominee. He might be even more well known for his You Tube channel, featuring his weekly series Mandolin Mondays, as well as his in-depth mandolin lessons. He talked at length about his musical story, the mandolin with all its quirks, favorite artists, and lots of ideas about new acoustic music.
Send us Fan Mail Fiddler Brittany Haas is "a musical force of nature" says Chris Eldridge. From The Republic of Strings at age 13, through Crooked Still, The Dave Rawlings Machine, Hawktail, and now The Punch Brothers, she is a huge talent, that covers many genres, with brilliance and boundless happy energy. She discusses her classical upbringing, her mentors Darol Anger and Bruce Molsky, her attachment to her 5-string fiddle that is shedding its varnish, the challenges of learning the Punch Brothers' repertoire for their big 2026 tour, and even her least favorite key to play in! (C#major). A gem of a person and interview!
Send us Fan Mail This is a fascinating look into the realities of travelling and performing with Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys, back in the mid-60's. Gene Lowinger, who played fiddle with Monroe, is well known for his exciting live performances of Monroe's classic "Uncle Pen". He was on the bus with Monroe and Peter Rowan when they wrote "Walls of Time", and then fought over whose song it was! Gene has unique stories of Monroe, who respected his fiddle playing and stood up for him as he faced anti-Jewish prejudice from some "good ol' boys". Bill demanded a lot, and loved to challenge his band by changing song keys, and calling out tunes that they had never played before! Great stuff here!!
Send us Fan Mail Josh Williams is one of the premier bluegrass musicians of our time. 3-time IBMA Guitar Player of the Year, a virtuoso on banjo, fiddle and mandolin, he also has one of the best voices in bluegrass/country music. This conversation was heartfelt and emotional at times. It started with Josh talking about his family, and missing his dad Tony. Then it naturally turned to the other Tony in his life, the legendary Tony Rice, with whom Josh played for 5 years, and shared a friendship for twenty. Josh is eloquent and thoughtful. He shared lots of Tony Rice stories and fond memories, some funny, some painful. Josh remained in awe of Tony until the end, and you can feel the love and sadness in this conversation. He still misses him. As we all do.
Send us Fan Mail David Peterson is called the caretaker of traditionl buegrass and country music for a reason. He's an independent recording artist who cherishes the early music traditions. His powerful voice has a mountain quality, that is full of Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin and Hank Williams' blues. He needs no microphone. A Boston native, he moved to Nashville 30 years ago, and has become an iconic and well loved performer, both solo and with his band 1946. Dave always marched to his own drum. His more famous peers, like Stuart Duncan, Vince Gill, David Grisman and Sam Bush, love to record live with him, gathered around a single mic. His albums are joyful and powerful and full of gospel. He's a unique voice in this fast-paced music world.
Send us Fan Mail Russell Moore, 6-time IBMA Bluegrass Singer of the Year, is now the guitarist and singer with Alison Krauss and Union Station, featuring Jerry Douglas. He's has an expressive, emotional and eloquent take on the music we love, bluegrass. From 1986-1991 Russell was lead singer for Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. He left to form IIIrd Tyme Out, the band he has now led for 34 years. In late 2024 he became a member of AKUS, taking over Dan Tyminski's spot as singer/guitarist. This spring, Russell and the band embark on a huge six month tour of the U.S. In this this fascinating conversation, Russell talks about his bluegrass roots, how he got invited into AKUS, how he had to change his singing style to blend with Alison's, and the thrills and challenges of rehearsing, touring and performing in huge arenas with one of America's most famous bands.
Send us Fan Mail When Kristin joined The Grascals in 2008, she was the first woman to hold the banjo spot in a number one, festival headlining, male bluegrass band. She has since won IBMA Banjo Player of the Year seven times, and was awarded the Steve Martin Banjo Prize in 2018. Married to mandolinist Wayne Benson, she continues, through her teaching, performing, recording, and advocacy, to be an eloquent and positive voice for bluegrass, and especially women in bluegrass. I loved talking with Kristin!! Sorry, for some reason the last 2 minutes of the interview weren't recorded...
Send us Fan Mail Mark Hembree played bass for Bill Monroe, from 1979-1984. Mark joined the band as a long-haired 22 year old, and got a haircut very quickly! His recent book, "On The Bus with Bill Monroe" is a fascinating description of life as a Bluegrass Boy. Kenny Baker, Burch Robbins, Wayne Lewis and Blake Williams were bandmates during those years. His stories of Bill and Charlie Monroe, Kenny Baker, Peter Rowan, the infamous bus "Bluegrass Breakdown," learning to play with Bill's rhythm, and just getting used to the long drives and meager pay at the time, are priceless. You'll love this conversation, he's funny, fascinating and knows things that no one else remembers!
Send us Fan Mail Jake Eddy, at age 26, is among a new generation of bluegrass musicians who are making a name for themselves on social media. His videos on Instagram and other platforms garner thousands of views, thanks to his technical skill, wit, and charisma. His bluegrass roots run deep through his family in Parkersburg, West Virginia. He toured for two years as a teenager with Melvin Goins, and went on to play with the Becky Buller Band, mandolin legend Andy Statman, and banjo great Noam Pikelny. He's a guitar lover through and through, as you will hear. Fascinating and funny guy!
Send us Fan Mail Talk about a singer's singer! Greg Blake is a bluegrass singer that prepares and performs with his heart in every line of a song. In this interview, he expresses his strong opinions about singing, country music, and the traditions of bluegrass, as well as his appreciation for Billy Strings. Greg was IBMA's Bluegrass Singer of the Year in 2023 and 2025. He's also a five-time winner of the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) Guitarist of the Year Award. He's lead singer for Special Consensus, now celebrating their 50th year in bluegrass!