Mountain and Bluegrass Music with Linchpins Larry and Cheryl Webster

Larry and Cheryl Webster may not be big recording artists or the kind of musicians that sell-out arenas around the world, but they are as important to the music industry and community as anyone that has ever come out of Eastern Kentucky. Their network of contacts and influence put them in the role of linchpin for many mountain and bluegrass musicians through the now six decades the couple has been playing, writing, performing and booking music. It just so happens they were the couple whose Friday night pickin’ and grinnin’ sessions gave one of our hosts, Jason Falls, his roots in loving roots music. So he ventured home to Pike County, Ky., and invited himself into their kitchen for a chat.  Larry and Cheryl headed up The Mule Band, a traditional folk, mountain and bluegrass group, for years. It has served as the house band, if you will, for Pikeville, Ky.’s annual spring festival called Hillbilly Days, on and off since the late 1970s. Larry would invite promising mountain and bluegrass artists to play the event which became quite an honor for musicians from the genres.  Larry is also a prolific folk and mountain music songwriter with credits on recordings by The Local Honeys, Guy Carawan and Nate Polly among others.  Cheryl is known for her ability to harmonize and comes from an extensive family of musical talent including her cousin Darrell Scott. She tells the story of how his song “You’ll never leave Harlan alive” is about their great grandparents. The song had new life injected into its popularity when original recording artist Patty Loveless along with Chris Stapleton performed it at the 2022 CMA Awards. The Websters are also the grandparents of promising fiddle player Ella Webster, the current touring player in Cole Chaney’s band.     In a bonus segment, Frank and Falls share a clip from an interview with author Amy Bizzarri, whose latest book The Best Hits on the Blues Highway: Nashville to New Orleans on Route 61 is fantastic.  Frank and Falls also talk about their daughter’s recent music activity including Lollapalooza 2024, and the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts. And shared new music for your listening pleasure in the Pickin’ the Grinnin’ segment after the interview. Don’t forget you can now show your support of the show with Roots Music Rambler’s new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available.  Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It’s a new episode of Roots Music Rambler. Notes and links: The Mule Band videos on I Dig Bluegrass The Mule Band article on UK Now Pikeville, Ky., Hillbilly Days Festival Amy Bizzarri on Instagram Bizzarri’s book on Amazon Darrell Scott online “You’ll never leave Harlan alive” - Patty Loveless and Chris Stapleton - 2022 CMA Awards Kentucky Slim online Ella Webster on Instagram Cole Chaney online Snake Chapman online The Roots Music Rambler Store Roots Music Rambler on Instagram Roots Music Rambler on TikTok  Roots Music Rambler on Facebook Jason Falls on Instagram Francesca Folinazzo on Instagram Pickin’ the Grinnin’ Recommendations Kasey Chambers on Spotify Stephen Wilson Jr. on Spotify And be sure to get your MuskOx premium flannel shirts just in time for fall. Use the code RAMBLER on checkout for a discount! - https://gomuskox.com/rambler Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts. Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices