My guest this week is the brilliant Chris Eldridge. Chris is a member of my favourite band in the world, Punch Brothers, but he also records and tours with Julian Lage as a duet, as well as recording, writing and producing with a whole range of musicians, from Paul Simon to Renee Fleming and many points in between. We chat about Chris's online bluegrass guitar course at ArtistWorks, as well as Punch Brothers' upcoming record Hell on Church Street , a cover of the whole of Tony Rice's classic Chu...
Dec 09, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 140
My guest this week is the fabulous Charlotte Carrivick. Charlotte's one of my favourite guitarists and we've been chatting about getting this interview done since July, so I'm thrilled we finally managed to find a time to record it. It would be quicker to tell you which instruments Charlotte doesn't play than which she does, but she's probably best known for her guitar and mandolin playing, including her wonderful Flatpick of the Week series on Instagram and YouTube. We talk about the influence ...
Dec 01, 2021•42 min•Ep. 139
This week we're jamming along to the classic tune Red Wing. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and jam along! If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegra...
Nov 23, 2021•4 min•Ep. 138
This week we're jamming along to Red Wing and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping. It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:54 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Do...
Nov 23, 2021•8 min•Ep. 137
This week we're jamming along to Red Wing and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune. It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:26 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to ...
Nov 23, 2021•4 min•Ep. 136
This week we're jamming along to Red Wing and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup. It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:28 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget...
Nov 23, 2021•4 min•Ep. 135
I've got another great guest for you this week - multi-instrumentalist Justin Moses. Justin plays all the bluegrass instruments at an incredibly high level. He's played fiddle in Dan Tyminski's band, banjo with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder and guitar and mandolin with Sierra Hull (who he's also married to). That doesn't even cover the fact that he's been voted IBMA Resophonic Guitar Player of the Year three times! We chat about playing so many instruments and where the inspiration for some ...
Nov 10, 2021•59 min•Ep. 134
I've got another great interview for you this week, with mandolin virtuoso and all-round acoustic legend Mike Marshall. We talk about Mike's career, his teaching and his collaboration with Northfield mandolins, plus much (much) more! Enjoy and happy picking, Matt Links to stuff mentioned in the podcast Mike's Website Mandolin lessons with Mike at Artistworks Northfield Mandolins Mandolins and Beer Mike Marshall Interview Name taken Mike Marshall Interview Part 1 Part 2 Send a message to Bluegras...
Nov 04, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 133
Happy Friday. This week's Food For Thought is inspired by Dr. Josh Turknett's book on how to learn the banjo (it's great for any instrument - not just banjo). If you haven't read it I highly recommend it. To give you an idea of how good this book is, Bryan Sutton recommended it to all his students...and also bought a copy for Sierra Hull! Josh also offers a great free download and video that gives you 9 great ways to practice based on the principles in the book. It contains a visualisation techn...
Oct 29, 2021•4 min•Ep. 132
This week we're jamming along to the classic tune Daley's Reel. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and jam along! If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Blu...
Oct 26, 2021•4 min•Ep. 131
This week we're jamming along to Daley's Reel and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping. It's four times through in the key of Bb at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:36 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along...
Oct 26, 2021•8 min•Ep. 130
This week we're jamming along to Daley's Reel and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune. It's four times through in the key of Bb at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:28 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forge...
Oct 26, 2021•5 min•Ep. 129
This week we're jamming along to Daley's Reel and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup. It's four times through in the key of Bb at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:30 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't f...
Oct 26, 2021•5 min•Ep. 128
Hi everyone. It's Friday, which means another Food For Thought episode. This week I've been listening to the excellent The String podcast, in particular the recent episode with Bela Fleck talking about his new album My Bluegrass Heart. In it, host Craig Havighurst says: "I really hope folks will sit with the booklet so they'll be conscious of who's playing on each track. Because personnel is personality - it is the art." I found that fascinating and it got me thinking about what different people...
Oct 21, 2021•5 min•Ep. 127
This week we're jamming along to the classic tune Arkansas Traveler. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and jam along! If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message t...
Oct 19, 2021•4 min•Ep. 126
This week we're jamming along to Arkansas Traveler and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping. It's four times through in the key of D at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:49 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam A...
Oct 19, 2021•8 min•Ep. 125
This week we're jamming along to Arkansas Traveler and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune. It's four times through in the key of D at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:26 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't f...
Oct 19, 2021•4 min•Ep. 124
This week we're jamming along to Arkansas Traveller and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup. It's four times through in the key of D at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:29 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Do...
Oct 19, 2021•4 min•Ep. 123
Hi everyone. Very quick Food For Thought episode this week! I spoke to Tristan Scroggins earlier this week (see episode #121 to check out the great interview he gave). He told me his dad used to practice banjo along to Tony Rice's Manzanita album because there was no banjo on it. I also read something from the wonderful Julian Lage on why playing along with recordings is so important. It got me to thinking about how other people find recordings to play along with, that either do or don't already...
Oct 15, 2021•5 min•Ep. 122
It's interview time on the podcast again and I've got a great conversation with Tristan Scroggins for you. This one was such a joy to record. We chat about Tristan's recent IBMA Writer of the Year Award as well as his research into the background of fiddle tunes and what makes something 'authentic.' For more on Tristan's music and writing, check out - www.tristanscroggins.com To hear more on Tristan's route into bluegrass and his journey so far check out the great interviews he gave to the Blueg...
Oct 13, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 121
This week we're jamming along to the classic tune Turkey in the Straw. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and jam along! If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message...
Oct 12, 2021•4 min•Ep. 120
This week we're jamming along to Turkey in the Straw and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping. It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:50 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam...
Oct 12, 2021•8 min•Ep. 119
This week we're jamming along to Turkey in the Straw and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune. It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:24 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't...
Oct 12, 2021•4 min•Ep. 118
This week we're jamming along to Turkey in the Straw and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup. It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:28 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (D...
Oct 12, 2021•4 min•Ep. 117
This week's Food For Thought episode was inspired by Punch Brothers' new cover of Tony Rice's 'Church St Blues' (well, their cover of Tony's cover of Norman Blake's original!) As always with Punch Brothers and Chris Thile, opinions have been divided. Some people really take offence at a song they love being covered in a way they don't like. So I started thinking about covers in general and, in particular, the idea of whether it's actually possible to ruin a song. Have a listen and see what my ta...
Oct 07, 2021•9 min•Ep. 116
This week's food for thought centres around the question 'should we stop calling people 'gifted'?' I've been thinking a lot (and talking to other people) about the notion of 'gifted' vs 'hard working' and wanted to share some thoughts on it with you. In the episode I mention a great documentary called ' Flamekeeper - The Michael Cleveland Story '. I highly recommend it. If you're interested you can buy or rent it via Amazon . I'd love to know what you think about this topic. Have a listen, then ...
Oct 01, 2021•5 min•Ep. 115
This week we're jamming along to the classic tune Angeline the Baker. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and jam along! If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message ...
Sep 28, 2021•3 min•Ep. 114
This week we're jamming along to Angeline the Baker and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping. It's four times through in the key of D at 95 bpm. backing track starts at 00:43 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam ...
Sep 28, 2021•7 min•Ep. 113
This week we're jamming along to Angeline the Baker and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune. It's four times through in the key of D at 95 bpm. backing track starts at 00:29 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't ...
Sep 28, 2021•4 min•Ep. 112
This week we're jamming along to Angeline the Baker and I've got three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup. It's four times through in the key of D at 95 bpm. backing track starts at 00:27 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want to find out more or get in touch), just head to bluegrassjamalong.com Send a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Do...
Sep 28, 2021•4 min•Ep. 111
