Joe K Walsh - Less is More, Conversation and Space in Music
My guest this week is Joe K Walsh.Joe plays mandolin with several projects, including Mr Sun (featuring Darol Anger, Grant Gordy and Aidan O’Donnell); the Mike Block Trio; a duo with Matt Flinner and a trio with Ella Jordan and Jed Wilson. He joins me this week to chat about his most recent solo record “Trust and Love” and also his previous record ”If Not Now, Who?”Both records have a quiet, conversational feel and feature some wonderful musicians. Joe describes his approach to "Trust and Love":"It's a collection of instrumental love songs of a sort, an understated record for an over-stimulating time. I think of it as gently making the case for a "less is more" approach to the string band sound."We chat about that philosophy; why the record started with the people, rather than the songs; how Joe's quietest record to date ended up with drums on it and what conversation means in music.It was a fascinating conversation about what it means to make music and be true to yourself as a musician. I hope you enjoy it.For more info on Joe visit https://joekwalsh.comYou can buy "Trust and Love" at Joe's Bandcamp pageAlso check out Joe's Peghead Nation courseHappy picking!MattSend a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!) 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- 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
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Bluegrass Briefing June 30th 2025
Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly 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)IBMA Picking For the PrizeNoam Pikelny tour datesJake Workman safariNed Luberecki safariReleases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New 2025 playlistIn My EarsI’m With Her - Ancient Light live at Sunset SoundOther bitsSign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/The Grass is (mostly) New 2025 playlistFull list of interviewsCollings GuitarsHappy picking.MattSend a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!) 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- 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
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12:08
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Celebrating IBMA World of Bluegrass as it Prepares to Move to Chattanooga in 2025
This week we're celebrating IBMA World of Bluegrass as it prepares to make the move to Chattanooga after a successful decade in Raleigh.First I'll be talking to former IBMA Executive Director, and current board member, Paul Schiminger about the history of World of Bluegrass, how it started, the various cities it's been hosted in over the years and why it's moving this year.After that I chat to Jill Snider, former Convention Services / Member Services Director at IBMA who's been very involved with every step of the process of moving the event to Chattanooga this year. We talk about the work it takes to put on an event of this size and scope, what's needed from a partner city and what people can expect from this year's event, as there will be a few changes. World of Bluegrass is an amazing event - in reality it's really several events in one - so it was fascinating to get to get a behind the scenes insight into what goes into putting it on. It was also fun to get to celebrate what has become a real highlight of the bluegrass year and the role it's played in so many bluegrass stories over the past four decades.To find out more about World of Bluegrass, and to get tickets fort this year's event, visit - https://worldofbluegrass.orgFor more info on IBMA go to - https://ibma.orgHappy picking!MattSend a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!) 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- 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
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1:03:31
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1:03:31
Celebrating 50 years of the David Grisman Quintet - part 3 David Grisman
We're celebrating 50 years of the David Grisman Quintet with a special set of 3 episodes. This week is part 3, featuring the man himself, David Grisman.I chat to David about how the Quintet came together and developed over those early years, how it built on the work he'd already done with The Great American Music Band, how Tony Rice joined the band and what he brought and how, through continuous rehearsal, the Quintet learned to craft and build the arrangements that are such a key part of their sound.This was a fascinating conversation with one of the true legends of modern string band music.For more on David Grisman, and to buy copies of the Quintet's music (including the wonderful David Grisman Quintet - First Recordings Live in Dawg’s Living Room) visit acousticdisc.comDon't forget to check out parts 1 and 2 of the series too, featuring Darol Anger, Mike Marshall and Todd Phillips.Happy picking,MattSend a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!) 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- 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
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1:23:41
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1:23:41
Bluegrass Briefing June 16th 2025
Welcome to this week’s Bluegrass Briefing, a weekly 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)Tony Rice Backwaters re-releaseDel McCoury Pickin’ PartyBluegrass at the RymanReleases (The Grass is New) The Grass is (mostly) New 2025 playlistScroll on BuddyGabe Witcher InterviewAppleSpotifyYouTubeIn My EarsBill C Malone BookTed Olson interviewAppleSpotifyYouTubeOther bitsSign up for emails https://bluegrassjamalong.com/contact/The Grass is (mostly) New 2025 playlistFull list of interviewsCollings GuitarsHappy picking.MattSend a message to Bluegrass Jam Along! (Don't forget to include your name so I know who you are!) 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- 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
The IBMA Award winning podcast for anyone and everyone who loves bluegrass. Free fiddle tune backing tracks and interviews with amazing people from the world of bluegrass. For every tune we give you four brand new tracks: - Backup 4 times through (you play the tune or improvise breaks)- Tune 4 times through (you play backup)- ‘Jam Along’ (4 complete run throughs, alternating backup and tune)- Full performanceFor more info and chord charts, visit https://bluegrassjamalong.com. Hope you find these tracks useful (and thanks for listening!) - Matt
Ireland