Got 'grass?

Got 'grass? Got 'grass? is a bluegrass podcast, where I interview the leaders and legends of bluegrass music.

Ronnie Reno, 60 year veteran of Reno & Smiley, Osborne Brothers, Merle Haggard, Louvin Brothers, Ray Price, you name it....
06/05/2026

Ronnie Reno, 60 year veteran of Reno & Smiley, Osborne Brothers, Merle Haggard, Louvin Brothers, Ray Price, you name it....
A wonderful, eloquent guy who's seen it all and has some great stories of Don Reno, Merle Haggard, Red Smiley and many others.

Listen here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2305129/episodes/19289381

I loved talking with Heather Berry Mabe. She's the wonderful singer, songwriter and guitarist with Red Camel Collective,...
05/14/2026

I loved talking with Heather Berry Mabe. She's the wonderful singer, songwriter and guitarist with Red Camel Collective, the fast rising, multi IBMA award-winning bluegrass band.

Heather is a free spirit, an angel with a golden voice. Our conversation was wide ranging and open: Eloping at age 18, her brilliant colorful tattoos, Tim O'Brien, her guitar playing, dealing with her husband Tony's loss of sight, her faith, cats, and much more. She tells it like it is.

You can listen here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2305129/episodes/19127711

My latest interview is with banjo player Blake Williams. Blake played with Lester Flatt and Nashville Grass, before a te...
04/24/2026

My latest interview is with banjo player Blake Williams. Blake played with Lester Flatt and Nashville Grass, before a ten year stint with Bill Monroe. He has so many fascinating and personal stories of those two legends, as well as his own life in bluegrass. A fabulous conversation, eloquent, funny and full of amazing stories.

Enjoy his conversations here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2305129/episodes/19041937

My latest interview is with Darren Nicholson. Darren has played mountain music since his youth in western North Carolina...
04/20/2026

My latest interview is with Darren Nicholson. Darren has played mountain music since his youth in western North Carolina. A great mandolinist with Alecia Nugent, and for 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.

You can listen here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2305129/episodes/19014901

My latest interview with 18 year old banjo star Ettore Buzzini. He's from North Carolina, and has an original, melodic s...
04/07/2026

My latest interview with 18 year old banjo star Ettore Buzzini. He's from North Carolina, and has an original, melodic style that combines the drive of Earl Scruggs with melodic and emotional motifs of romantic composers like Franz Lizst. He's been opening for the Travelin' McCourys. After high school graduation, he has ambitious plans for tours and 3 albums. A rising star.

Listen here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2305129/episodes/18969421

A lovely conversation with Tim Stafford. He played 2 years with Alison Krauss in the early 90's, and went on to form Blu...
04/01/2026

A lovely conversation with Tim Stafford. He played 2 years with Alison Krauss in the early 90's, and went on to form Blue Highway, still active 32 years later! He's one of the best songwriters and guitar players in bluegrass, as well as an esteemed teacher.
Listen: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2305129/episodes/18940311

A chat with fiddle player/mandolinist Andy Leftwich, who spent 15 years with Ricky Skaggs. Andy is a man of strong relig...
04/01/2026

A chat with fiddle player/mandolinist Andy Leftwich, who spent 15 years with Ricky Skaggs. Andy is a man of strong religious belief, and our conversation went from fiddles to faith and back, with some fasinating twists and turns. Listen: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2305129/episodes/18881261

Great chat with mandolinist David Benedict. Formerly with Missy Raines and Mile Twelve, he plays with his wife Tabitha i...
04/01/2026

Great chat with mandolinist David Benedict. Formerly with Missy Raines and Mile Twelve, he plays with his wife Tabitha in The Foreign Landers. He has a big presence on You Tube with instructional videos, and is a deligtful connisseur of all things mandolin. Listen: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2305129/episodes/18830306

My latest interview with fiddler Brittany Haas: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2305129/episodes/18788548Fiddler Brittany Haa...
03/13/2026

My latest interview with fiddler Brittany Haas: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2305129/episodes/18788548

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 ). A gem of a person and interview!

"On the Road with Bill Monroe"Gene Lowinger, who played fiddle with Monroe in 1964-5, has some rare and fascinating memo...
03/05/2026

"On the Road with Bill Monroe"

Gene Lowinger, who played fiddle with Monroe in 1964-5, has some rare and fascinating memories to share. He was sitting between Peter Rowan and Bill Monroe as they wrote "Walls of Time". Unbeknownst to Gene, the fiddle on which he was performing "Uncle Pen" at every show was the actual fiddle owned by Bill's Uncle Pen!

Many more great stories in this interview. His memory is crystal clear and he's a very funny and insightful guy. Anyone interested in the history of bluegrass wil love this episode. You can listen here:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2305129/episodes/18777901

Left to right below ca. 1965:
Gene Lowinger, Bill Monroe, Lamar Grier, Peter Rowan, James Monroe

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