To celebrate Punch Brothers' new record, The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers, I'm reposting a fascinating conversation I had with Brittany Haas after she joined the band.

This is the first Punch album with Brittany in the line-up so I thought it would be fun to listen back and hear how she joined the band and what her first shows were like.

I'd interviewed Gabe Witcher a few days after he played his final shows with Punch Brothers at Telluride and, almost exactly a year later to the day, I spoke with Brittany to chat about joining the band as his replacement. Brittany had just played with Punch Brothers at Telluride, so there was a lovely symmetry to it.

At the start I mention the episode I recorded with Brittany and her sister Natalie when they released their duo record Haas.

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is Jerry Douglas and we're celebrating the reissue of Boone Creek's first album.

Boone Creek has a fascinating story behind it, which we covered in last week's interview with Scott Billington, who put together the reissue for Craft Recordings.

In this episode I chat with Jerry about the place Boone Creek had in his career, his memories of the original sessions and what the band were trying to achieve, what it was like to hear the lost tracks for the first time in 50 years and how playing in Boone Creek helped shape the musician he is today.

As always, Jerry was warm, funny, generous and full of fascinating insights. It's always a treat when I get to chat with him.

You can buy Boone Creek from Craft Recordings on vinyl, CD or digital download

Follow Craft on Instagram or Facebook to keep up to date with new reissues of classic roots music.

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is Scott Billington.

Scott is a Grammy winning record producer, an author, a record company exec and a musician. But what we're chatting about in this episode is a fascinating story about a pivotal string band album and it's journey to being reissued with extra tracks that went missing for decades.

The record in question is Boone Creek's debut album Boone Creek, from the band Jerry Douglas and Ricky Skaggs formed after they left J.D. Crowe and the New South.

Scott talks about how the album was recorded and how, at the time, Rounder felt it was too progressive, and asked the band to go back into the studio and record some additional tracks. After the album was released, the original tapes went missing and Rounder were keen not to reissue it on CD or streaming services until they'd been found. As a result, the record disappeared from circulation for years.

We talk about how the tapes were finally unearthed, what state they were in, the process used to retrieve what was on them and how Boone Creek was finally reissued by Craft Recordings.

We also chat about Scott's long career with Rounder Records and his current role with Craft Recordings, working on several key projects, including the Doc Watson A Life's Work box set.

This was a fascinating conversation about a fascinating project, as well as Scott's long association with outstanding American roots music.

Next week's episode will feature an interview with Jerry Douglas about Boone Creek, his memories of that band and what it was like hearing the reissued tracks everyone thought had been lost for good.

You can buy Boone Creek from Craft Recordings on vinyl, CD or digital download

Follow Craft on Instagram or Facebook to keep up to date with new reissues of classic roots music.

For more info on Scott, including links to buy his book Making Tracks: A Record Producer’s Southern Roots Music Journey, check out www.scottbillington.com

Matt

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

Welcome to the Bluegrass Briefing for July 2026, your monthly look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass and beyond.

Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode.


News and Announcements (Church Street News)

• McCoury & Douglas Family Pickin Party
• Béla Fleck's My Bluegrass Heart tour

Releases (The Grass is New)

• Natalie & Brittany Haas - North Node
• NoaBass - Late Bloomer
• Voices: A Folk Opera

Scroll on Buddy

• Punch Brothers - Found in a Frozen Fog

Other bits

• Full list of interviews
• Collings Guitars

Happy picking.
Matt

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

This week's Bitesize episode comes from a fascinating conversation I had with Tristan Scroggins in 2021.

In this section Tristan reflects on what it means to come to bluegrass as an 'outsider' and how culture and connection aren't just about geographical borders.

Growing up in New Mexico, despite learning traditional bluegrass from his father, Tristan felt a disconnect from the roots of the music. Later, when he moved to Nashville, he found himself wondering exactly why he loves bluegrass so much.

Whether we're taking about European festival fans reacting to bluegrass (and the culture they perceive accompanies it), or the generation of northern and western musicians who came to bluegrass in the 1960s and 70s as a result of the folk revival, there's a common thread of music transcending boundaries.

As a Brit coming to this music from outside both the region and the culture, yet feeling like I somehow belong, I find these conversations fascinating.

You can hear my full interview with Tristan on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

For more on Tristan, head to tristanscroggins.com or follow Tristan on Instagram

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is Missy Raines and we're talking about one of her all time favourite records - The Seldom Scene's Act Two

We talk about how Missy grew up listening to The Country Gentlemen and The Seldom Scene, thanks to her parents' love of bluegrass, and how the band played a formative role in her early musical life, in particular how Tom Gray influenced her to become a bass player.

We also discuss the shift that was happening in bluegrass and string band music in the early '70s and what made The Seldom Scene different, as well as the role the Washington DC area played in bluegrass becoming urban music, not just a rural tradition.

Missy also shares her experience of getting to sit in with the band and what made their live shows so special.

This was a fantastic conversation to get to be a part of.

You can hear my previous interview with Missy (Missy Raines - Standing Gently on the Shoulders of Tradition) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

For more info on Missy, check out www.missyraines.com

You'll find info on The Seldom Scene at www.seldomscene.com

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

Welcome to the June 2026 Bluegrass Briefing, a monthly series of episodes taking a look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass.

Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode.

News and announcements (Church Street News)

• Craft Recordings Boone Creek reissue (preorder)
  • CD
  • LP
  • Download
• Gabe Witcher's Gig Ledger Pro app
• 51st Annual Father's Day Bluegrass Festival
• Marcel Ardans' Winfield Documentary
• Fly in Festival
• Often Herd tour dates

Scroll on Buddy

• Punch Brothers play Star Wars

Other bits

• Full list of interviews
• Collings Guitars

Happy picking.

Matt

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guests on the podcast this week have an astonishing 24 Grammy awards between them and they represent two musical world I love - the first is bluegrass and string band music and the second is opera.

Renée Fleming and Béla Fleck join me to chat about their wonderful new collaboration The Fiddle and the Drum, a project which explores Renée's long-held love of American folk and Appalachian music. The album includes guest appearances from several musicians from in and around the string band world, including Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Jerry Douglas, Aoife O'Donovan, Sierra Hull and Sarah Jarosz.

We chat about the role folk music played in Renée's upbringing, the similarities and differences between roots music and the classical world, how the record came together, why folk songs are so powerful and what it means to be an eclectic artist over the course of a long career (plus much more).

This was a wonderful conversation to get to be part of. Thanks to Renée and Béla for taking the time to chat and particular thanks to Collin Citron for helping make this happen.

You can find out more about the project and order copies of the record at reneefleming.com, along with info on live dates for The Fiddle and the Drum and the project Renée mentions, Music and the Mind

You'll find info on Béla at www.belafleck.com, including BEATrio and the collaborations with Toumani Diabaté, Zakir Hussain and Chick Corea mentioned in the episode.

Support the show

===

Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)

Bluegrass Jam Along is proud to be sponsored by Collings Guitars and Mandolins and Token premium guitar picks

- Sign up to get updates on new episodes

- Free fiddle tune chord sheets

- Here's a list of all the Bluegrass Jam Along interviews

- Follow Bluegrass Jam Along for regular updates:

• Instagram
• Facebook

- Review us on Apple Podcasts