Back Porch Bluegrass

Pat Enright, the guitarist and lead singer (along with Alan O’Bryant) of the Nashville Bluegrass Band passed away last week. In this show, I play some of the tracks featuring his great vocals. I’ve also included some fine music from High Fidelity, Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, Vassar Clements, Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen, the Thomas Porter band, the Petersens, and even an old-time banjo/dulcimer tune. Lots to enjoy in this episode.

This week I’ve included several artists who do not regularly appear on the show, but are definitely worth hearing: Dr Peter Wernick and his band, Starlett & Big John, Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys, Unspoken Tradition, as well as some who might appear more often – the Earls of Leicester, Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie, Lester Flatt & Mac Wiseman, Dudley Connell together with Don Rigsby, NZ’s Pipi Pickers, and an introductory tune from myself with Jean-Luc Leroux. Join with me and enjoy the music.

Back in the Studio, with songs from 1936 through to 2026 – 90 years of bluegrass! The Monroe Brothers, Terry Baucom, Red Wilson, Dale Ann Bradley and NZ’s own you Me Everybody get the show started, then we follow up with the Cattlestops, Seth Mulder & Midnight Run, the 1970’s Country Gentlemen and the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band. Red Wilson plays a fiddle tune and the Stanley Gospel Tradition bring us a fine gospel song. There’s lots to like.

In this replay of the show from 01 August 2023, there's a variety of bluegrass styles, including music from Blue Highway, Claire Lynch, Monroe Crossing, the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, and Sawmill Road. There’s some fine picking from Norman Blake, some classic bluegrass from Marvin Howell and the Franklin County Boys, the Lonesome River Band, and a great starting tune from yours truly, recorded back in 1976.

This show features some more treasures from the LP’s my friend Barry has given me, with the bands Spectrum and Shenandoah Cut-ups being featured. We’ve also got music from Del McCoury, the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Bobby Hicks and Cliff Waldron. The Allen Brothers do some nice harmony for us, and Craig Smith picks some fine banjo. The Hamilton County Bluegrass Band dust off an old crowd favourite, and Allen Shelton takes us out with a traditional banjo tune. It’s real bluegrass, folks.

On a trip to Wellington in 2023, I went shopping for (and purchased) some second-hand CD’s – but NEW to me. I thought I’d share them with you all. Music from Jim Lauderdale, Chris Jones, Alison Krauss, the original Jimmie Rodgers, Ricky Skaggs and Roy Acuff. There’s some songs from Dierks Bentley, and Delia Bell and Bill Grant, as well as a tune from the HCBB featuring mandolinist Graham Lovejoy.

I was doing a recording session on banjo for music producer Dan Cosgrove, and thought he’d be a great guest on Back Porch Bluegrass. I was right! I ask Dan about his recording work, the ins and outs of being an engineer/producer/musician, and how he goes about it. I also play him some bluegrass music that I know he’ll be interested in, for the variety of techniques used in production. The CD’s I used on this show feature Dan Tyminski, Claire Lynch, the Bluegrass Album Band, Flatt & Scruggs live, Seldom Scene, Earl Taylor, and Dan Crary.

I’ve just been given a box of LP’s from my guitar-playing friend Barry Paterson, and there’s some real treasures in that box. This episode of BPBG features three of those LP’s – the Bluegrass Cardinals, Country Gazette, and Frank Necessary & Al Jones. I’ve also included tracks from the Stanley Brothers, the Foggy Hogtown Boys, James Monroe, Herb Petersen, and the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band. Irene Kelley plays a lovely gospel song, and Kenny Baker takes us out with a classic fiddle tune. A brand new album from the Kody Norris Show rounds out an action-packed programme.

From the 1950 Lonesome Pine Fiddlers to a brand-new album from Claire Lynch, this episode features a great range of bluegrass. The Earls of Leicester, Audie Blaylock & Redline, Scott Vestal and JD Crowe get us underway, and that’s followed up by the Kody Norris Show. Then we’ve got the afore-mentioned LPF, we’ve got Tony Ellis playing a banjo tune, and of course, two songs from Claire’s new album. The Isaacs do a classic Stanley Brothers gospel tune, and some fancy picking from JD Crowe rounds out the show. Great bluegrass music!

This episode of Back Porch Bluegrass has a ‘country-ish’ feel to it, with several songs taken from the country music genre. But bluegrass has always borrowed songs from other genres, and it makes for interesting listening. Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, Special Consensus, Del McCoury and the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band all feature such songs. Of course, we have some bluegrass classics from Dudley Connell & Don Rigsby, the Stanley Brothers, and Blue Highway, and some old-timey fiddling from the Iron Leg Boys. An eclectic mix!

Music for show #700 has been taken from new CDs (2026) and my old LPs. Lots of variation of the genre here! From Bill Monroe through to You Me Everybody, with tracks from Ricky Skaggs, Lindsay Butler, High Fidelity, Russell Moore, and the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band (presenting a bit of tomfoolery!), Tony Rice, Larry Sparks and Butch Robins, there’s something for all tastes.

Show originally aired on June 7, 2022. I’ve found some 1950’s ‘classic’ bluegrass for you, as well as some great music from Sawmill Road, Nu-Blu, Tony Rice and even NZ’s own Hamilton County Bluegrass Band. Flatt & Scruggs, the Kentucky Travellers, Bill Clifton, Allen Shelton all contributed greatly to the bluegrass genre, as do more current performers such as Jeanette Williams, Joe Walsh and Kenny & Amanda Smith. A very varied collection!

The ‘theme’ song of this show, aptly titled ‘Back Porch Bluegrass’, kicks off, and then we have some great music from the Kody Norris Show, the Lynn Morris Band, Kenny Baker playing a tune (about my latest project, boat building), the fine Canadian band Jerusalem Ridge, and the Lonesome River Band. There’s a couple of Stanley Brothers tunes from Seldom Scene and Doc Watson, and the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band features Colleen in the classic tune, ‘Ashokan Farewell’. Dolly Parton sings some bluegrass, and we round out the show with some great tunes from the bands listed above. Fine music.

We start the show with a very driving Dobro tune, then feature some fine performers, including David Grisman, the Gibson Brothers, banjo picker Jim Mills, and the Bluegrass Album Band. Claire Lynch sings a couple of lovely songs, and Little Roy Lewis picks some hard-driving banjo. The Hamilton County Bluegrass Band do a great version of a Dillards tune – really, the best of bluegrass.

I’m using three LPs on this episode of the Back Porch Bluegrass Show, meaning I’m digging deep into my archives. Country Gazette, the Johnson Mountain Boys, and John Hartford all feature from the vinyl collection. I’ve dug into my CDs, too – Dan Tyminski, Lee Ann Womack, Junior Sisk, Sierra Hull and High Fidelity all get to pick and sing, and banjo picking favourite Bill Emerson plays his version of a song from the 1850’s. I hope you enjoy them all.

We kick off with a banjo tune named after a being from Greek mythology (or a place in NZ), then feature some of my favourites – the Country Gentlemen, Sawmill Road, John Hickman, and the Osborne Brothers. Some Canadian artists in this episode, too – the Spinney Brothers from Nova Scotia, and John Reischman & the Jaybirds from British Columbia. Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice and Tim O’Brien all contribute, and NZ’s HCBB have some ‘Good Clean Fun’. Lots of fun, actually.

Some bluegrass, some old-timey, some Gospel. The Hamilton County Bluegrass Band kick off the show with a twin banjo duet, the we have Seldom Scene, the New Vintage Bluegrass Band, the Kentucky Colonels and the Travelling McCourys. The Bluegrass album Band, Tony Ellis and Aussie outfit Old South follow on, and Mike Seeger sings a couple of old-timey songs. Lots of fine picking and singing.

A broad range of the bluegrass genre in this episode of Back Porch Bluegrass, from the rather ‘rocky’ Dierks Bentley to the solo performance of some fine finger-style guitar from Doc Watson. In between we have Mike Compton playing a previously unrecorded Bill Monroe tune, A del McCoury classic, and some ballads from Iris DeMent. NZ’s own Hamilton County bluegrass Band play an Alan Rhodes tune, and Jimmy Martin sings of his home state, Tennessee. The Nashville Bluegrass Band, Here Today, and the Stanley Brothers round out the programme. So much to enjoy!

We’ve just had Easter Weekend, and this show includes some great gospel songs with an Easter inclination, then we have recordings from the NZ National Banjo Pickers Conventions in the late 1960’s, which were always held on Easter Weekend. Cliff Waldron, Dale Ann Bradley, Doyle Lawson contribute some nice songs, Fiddling Billy Hurt does some fiddling, as does Chubby wise with Bill Monroe, and NZ performers get to perform as at the NBPC.

It’s almost Easter Weekend, so I’ve included some gospel songs in this show, including the Stanley Brothers’ classic ‘Cry From The Cross’. We’ve also got songs from Flatt & Scruggs, Kathy Kallick & Laurie Lewis, Nothing Fancy and some fine picking from Mike Scott & Co, and Scott Vestal & Co. Merle Haggard sings a Jimmie Rodgers song; there’s all sorts of goodies in the Back Porch Bluegrass basket. Enjoy!

Tony Rice kicks off the show, followed by Billy Strings & his Dad, the Dillards with some fine banjo picking, and Nu-Blu with a song from the writing of Nanci Griffith. Curly Seckler, Chris Jones, Jim Lauderdale with Ralph Stanley, follow on, and we’ve another couple of great tracks from Aussie songstress Anne Kirkpatrick (with me playing banjo!). Mike Auldrige closes the show with some great Dobro playing. What more could you want from a bluegrass show?

I’ve just returned from visiting old friends in Australia, and some of the music in this show includes recordings we made together back in the 1970’s, with Anne Kirkpatrick, and Country Sound. There’s also some ‘Irish’ items included, being as it’s St Patrick’s Day, including Hot Rize, Marian Burns, and Dublin band Whistle. And playing some classic bluegrass, the Earls Of Leicester, Larry Sparks, and the Trenwiths. A rather eclectic mix!

This show previously aired 8-03-2022 Emerson & Waldron – great band from the 1970’s - kick off proceedings, with a real mixture of bluegrass styles from diverse bands to follow, including Kenny Baker, the Foggy Hogtown Boys, Stuie & Camille, Larry Sparks and NZ’s own Pipi Pickers.

Classic bluegrass from the Bluegrass album Band, some ‘older’ recordings from johnny Whisnant, the Lilly Brothers and the New lost City Ramblers, and some contemporary bluegrass/country from Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road. The Kody Norris Show do a couple of songs, and Patty loveless sings some great bluegrass stylings. The Trenwiths sing about ‘Banjoing along’ and You, Me, Everybody get some ‘Misdirection’. A real sampler.

A broad range of bluegrass offerings in this episode, from Bill Monroe singing gospel, to the fiddle & banjo tunes of Byron Berline & John Hickman. In between, we’ve got the Chapmans, Sideline, the Price Sisters, Doyle Lawson and the NZ band You Me Everybody. The Hamilton County Bluegrass Band get some humour into their live performance from 1970, and Ickes & Hensley do a fine version of a bluegrass classic.

A very diverse collection of bluegrass in this episode, from the 80+ year-old Stoneman Sisters, to the stalwarts of classic bluegrass, the Bluegrass Album Band. Dan Tyminski, Barry & Holly Tashian, Emerson & Waldron, the Osborne Brothers get us started, then the Country Gentlemen and Northern Lights take us out. In between we have the Stoneman Sisters, Lorraine Jordan playing some country music -bluegrass style, and it all sounds great, believe me.

If you’re in the South Island, NZ, then ‘Kindred Spirit’ will be playing near you this week or next (when they’re not fishing!). And if you’re in the North Island, NZ, then get your tickets for ‘You, Me, Everybody’ as they play a number of concerts to promote their new album in March. This week’s show features the above bands, as well as Russell Moore & Third Tyme Out, David Grisman, Dr Peter Wernick, and Northern Lights. We’ve also got the Rice Brothers (all four of them), and some ‘live’ Vern & Ray from the 1968 San Francisco Folk Festival. Scott Vestal & friends do some fancy picking to close the show. Great bluegrass!

I’m delighted to be advertising TWO imminent bluegrass tour in NZ, one with NZ band ‘You, Me, Everybody’ to promote their new album, and one with the North Carolina-based duo ‘Kindred Spirit’. I’ve featured tracks from both groups in this show. We’ve also got tracks from JD Crowe & the New South, the Gibson Brothers, the Steeldrivers, and Blue Highway. High Fidelity play a fiddle tune, as does Glen Duncan, and we’ve a song from Pam Findlay with the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band.

An eclectic collection of bluegrass styles in this episode, from Bill Monroe to the Lost Pines. American Drive play some hard-driving bluegrass, the Waller Brothers have a couple of duets, the Stanley gospel Tradition do a great SB song in their inimitable style. Alison Brown picks banjo like no-one else, and Rhonda Vincent sings her own brand of bluegrass. We’ve got an old-timey tune from Phil Rosenthal & Family, and the Trenwiths feature on a tune we usually use to start our live shows. Lots to like.

Bluegrass music continues to provide us with a wide variety of musical influences and styles, from slow country ballads, story songs, bouncy instrumentals to hard-driving pieces about a wide variety of topics. This week, we have offerings from Wildfire, Seth Mulder & Midnight Run, Danny Paisley, Walden Dahl and the Osborne Brothers. There’s some instrumentals from Bill Monroe, Red Wilson and even the Trenwiths, and some Aussie bluegrass from Acoustic Shock. Doc Watson demonstrates his fine picking and singing and there’s some very country-ish bluegrass from the Can’t Hardly Play Boys.

I’ve got music from three of my favourite LP’s on this show – the Johnson Mountain Boys, John Hartford, and Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver – all top music. There’s some fine picking from John Hickman, Richie Simpkins, and some songs from NZ tourists – Sassafras. Michelle Nixon and Drive, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers get some songs into the programme, and there’s some early bluegrass from the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, pioneers of this genre. What a collection!

Being as this is the first show for 2026, I’ve started with a delightful song about the ‘First Day of the Year‘ from Joe Newberry, after some rather contemporary picking from 1972 from the HCBB. That’s followed by some of the earliest bluegrass from Flatt & Scruggs, a great song from Kathy Barwick & Mary Gibbons, and music from the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys and Rhonda Vincent. JD Crowe and the Kentucky Mountain Boys play a couple of tunes, and Laurie Lewis gives us a rather different version of the race between Molly & Tenbrooks. The Hamilton County Bluegrass Band take us ‘Down To The Hall On Saturday Night’, and John Reischman rounds out the show with an original song and an original instrumental. Bluegrass at its most diverse.

This week’s show has a rather diverse collection of early ‘classic’ bluegrass, jazzy numbers, Christmas carols, brand new NZ bluegrass, archival NZ bluegrass and stories about NZ baches. Always something to like. You can listen to Claire Lynch, Jerry Douglas, Larry Sparks, Tony Trischka, Jimmy Martin, the Petersens, Ricky Skaggs and NZ’s ‘You, Me, Everybody’ and the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas packed with classic Bluegrass - enjoy this festive repeat episode from 24-12-2019.

Many of the selections in this show come from ‘compilation’ albums, featuring tracks from performers that I don’t have in my general collection. As always, there’s some great picking and singing, from the likes of Ricky Skaggs, reno & Smiley, Arthur Smith, the Witcher Brothers, Hot Rize, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, and Charlie Sizemore. The Trenwiths get a song into the mix, as do old favourites the Seldom Scene, and I feature two tracks off an LP I just found in a local OpShop, from Joe Stuart – one of Bill Monroe’s most reliable Blue Grass Boys.

Quite a few of the selections on this show have an ‘old-timey’ feel to them, making it all sound very relaxed. Mark Johnson & Emory Lester get us started after a burst of ‘Sunburst’, then Nothing Fancy, Chad Manning, Dix Bruce and Jim Nunally and Raymond McLain all contribute. The Johnson Boys do a brief ‘set’, Bob Baker sings a song his Mum taught him, and the Barefoot Nellies play a tune in the Amnesia pub in San Francisco. Merle Haggard sings a Jimmie Rodgers favourite, Bill Emerson picks a foxy tune, and Caroline Jones and the Trenwiths do a very bluegrassy version of a Christmas song. We’re definitely into December!

Selections from banjo man Butch Robins, the Bluegrass Album Band, Bobby Hicks, and the Foggy Hogtown Boys. Bill Monroe, Doc Watson feature with ‘live’ recordings, and Caroline Jones does a Christmas song with the Trenwiths. A song from ‘Oh Brother’, and one from the Petersens. Lots to like.

A rather ‘odd’ mix of early bluegrass, old country songs, Western Swing and dynamic fiddle tunes. It must be bluegrass!

Lots of ‘classic’ bluegrass, from the likes of Red Allen & Frank Wakefield, the Johnson Mountain Boys, and the Friendly City Playboys. The Dillards play a couple of tunes, as do Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers, and we’ve a couple of songs from Beth Stevens & Edge. Pam Findlay (with the HCBB) sings a beautiful song, and Third Tyme Out round out the show. Not to be missed!

We’ve got a disparate selection of songs from the very broad ‘bluegrass’ genre; with some classic bluegrass, some songs from Arizona, songs about home towns, great instrumentals, and sad love songs. Bluegrass Album Band, Peter McLaughlin, Iris DeMent, the Kathy Kallick Band, the ‘classic’ Country Gentlemen, NZ’s own Hamilton County Bluegrass Band and Patty Loveless.

While on my weekend away in Wellington for the Wellington Folk Festival 60th Anniversary, I visited Slow Boat Records in Cuba St, and found some bluegrass CDs there that I considered necessary to add to my collection. Consequently, I’ve featured some music ‘new’ to Back Porch Bluegrass, as well as a few more familiar performers.

Another deep dig into my shelves, and I’ve found some lesser-known bluegrass artists for your enjoyment. I’ve also featured a brand-new album from the master, Larry Sparks. The Osborne Brothers, Louie Setzer, Leon Morris all feature, as does Dailey & Vincent, Laurie Lewis & Friends, and NZ’s own Hamilton County Bluegrass Band.

Special Consensus are first up (after the opening track by Colleen Trenwith & myself), followed by the Bluegrass Album Band, the Kruger Brothers and the Brombies. We’ve also got the Price Sisters, Earl Taylor and the Stoney Mountain Boys from the 1960’s, and Roy Acuff playing some fine ‘pre-bluegrass’. Old South Bluegrass Band from Adelaide play a tune, and Missy Werner sings for us. The Trenwiths take us out with some driving contemporary bluegrass. Lots to like here.

Some familiar artists this week, with maybe a few you’ve missed. Longview play some driving bluegrass to get us started, then it’s the Skaggs & Rice duet, fiddling Kenny Baker, old-timer Clyde Moody, and Cliff Waldron. The Country Gentlemen get a couple of tunes, the Kruger Brothers play a classic, and Aussie Kay Armstrong sings a song she wrote. The HCBB and Scott Vestal & Friends round out the programme.

It doesn’t get more bluegrassy than Ricky Skaggs singing ‘Little Maggie’, but then we have the Gibson Brothers, Bill Evans and Bill Monroe in a couple of ‘live’ performances. The Cox Family sing one of their best-known songs, David Grisman (together with the Nashville Bluegrass Band ) do a classic song, and the Lonesome River Band feature with two in a row. Dale Ann Bradley and Corrina Rose Logston round off a very broad bluegrass programme. Lots to love.

We kick-off with some ‘Bluegrass Picking’, then go straight into some classic Flatt & Scruggs style bluegrass from the Earls of Leicester. You’ll hear from the Petersens, Cumberland Gap Connection, Joe Mullins (with Del McCoury helping out) and the Get Down Boys. Karen Lynn & Martin Louis from Australia sing a couple of songs for us, as does Chris Jones & the Night Drivers (great name for a bluegrass band) . And we’ve got a great rendition of a gospel classic from Seldom Scene.

‘Sounds Like Bluegrass to Me’ – Tony Ellis plays bluegrass with some long-time friends; Kathy Barwick plays several instruments, and Jeanette Williams sings some songs for us. The Stanley Brothers early recordings (now classic bluegrass) are featured, with some offerings from Doyle Lawson, the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band, and Ricky Skaggs.

There’s so many tracks of great songs and tunes that often remain ‘hidden’ on lesser-played albums. I like to dig them out, and I think I’ve got some beauties here. Bluegrassers like Sawmill Road, Lou Reid, the Bluegrass Album Band, Monroe Crossing and Mike Compton come up with some real gems, and I’ve included a couple of tracks from a ‘live show’ from Slim Dusty and the HCBB. The Soggy Bottom Boys feature, as do Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss from ‘O, Brother’, and David Parmley gets to sing a song too. Lots to like. Album / Source Artist Track Title Date 1 Bluegrass Picking Paul Trenwith /Colleen Trenwith Dobro On The Loose 1976 2 Fire In The Kettle Sawmill Road Rose Of Donally’s Hollow 2009 3 Carolina, I’m Coming Home Lou Reid & Carolina Carolina, I’m Coming Home 2003 4 Across The Blue Mountains Monroe Crossing Nail That Catfish To A Tree 2001 5 Bluegrass Album Volume 2 Bluegrass Album Band Your Love Is Like A Flower 1982 6 3 Silver Dollars David Parmley & Continental Divide She’s Lying In The Cold, Cold Ground 2008 7 Rare & Fine Mike Compton California Forest Fire 2022 8 Live At Tamworth Slim Dusty & HCBB Cunnamulla Feller 1973 9 Live At Tamworth Slim Dusty & HCBB feat, Joy McKean My Clinch Mountain Home 1973 10 Oh Brother Where Art Thou Soggy Bottom Boys In The Jailhouse Now 2000 11 Across The Blue Mountains Monroe Crossing Letter From My Darlin’ 2001 12 O Brother Where Art Thou Alison Krasuss & Gillian Welch I’ll Fly Away 2000 13 Lady’s Fancy Dan Crary Pretty Little Indian 1977

Created by Free FM, Hamilton, New Zealand

I enjoy finding albums from those bands that have not been featured often on Back Porch Bluegrass, and today I have included some music that will likely be new to you, as well as some that may be familiar. Listen up for music from the Davidson Brothers from Australia, Ramona Church, Andy Owen, Danny Paisley, and the Bluegrass Experience. Of course, a few favourites like the Bluegrass Album Band get aired, as does Larry Sparks, and we have another Aussie band, Bluestone Junction. Lots to listen to.