Back Porch Bluegrass

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.

We have a couple of songs from early Blue Grass Boy – Clyde Moody – who went on to become a popular and accomplished country singer. From ETSU we have David Grindstaff, we have Wildfire, Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands, Wayne Taylor, and a fiddle tune from Red Wilson. And from the fiddle of Colleen Trenwith, a sentimental-sounding version of a Jimmie Rodgers song. Lots to listen to and enjoy in this episode of Back Porch Bluegrass.

Back to bluegrass! Sometimes I miss hard-driving, 3-chord bluegrass, as I feature lots of variants on BPBG. So this week, I’ve made sure there’s an abundance of fast banjo picking, great singing and dextrous instrumental work. This comes from the likes of David Grisman, the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Seth Mulder & Midnight Run, high fidelity, and Thomas porter. Dolly Parton, with her fine bunch of bluegrass pickers gets to sing a couple of classics, Hot Rize do a great gospel song, and Tony Ellis picks some fine banjo. Real bluegrass here.

The Petersens, who visited NZ early this year, are featured, as are Adam Steffey, Alison Krauss and the Cox Family, Hot Rize and Seldom Scene. I also play a track from Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie that I couldn’t fit in last week. Jean-Luc Leroux plays a track, as does the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band. I also feature IIIrd Tyme Out ‘in concert’ with a couple of fine tracks. Lots to enjoy this week!

We’ve just had Billy Strings in NZ, I went to his show, and feature a couple of tracks from his album ‘Me and Dad’. We’ve also got music from Dale Ann Bradley, Kenny Baker, Kenny & Amanda Smith, and Bill Emerson. Chris Henry plays a couple of tracks, Johnnie Whisnant plays a banjo tune, and the HCBB play a ‘live’ version of a Beatles tune. Very diverse bluegrass in this episode.

Bill Clifton, the Gibson Brothers, the Sonoran Dogs, the Dillards – some top-notch bluegrass here, with a lot of songs that are comparatively unknown – check them out. Bill Emerson, Nu-Blu, Australia’s Old South Bluegrass Band, Joe Mullins, and Curtis Burch make it an action-packed programme. Our studio at FreeFM is being remodelled, so I’m replaying some shows that you might have missed.

Time for some hard-driving bluegrass, with maybe a couple of ‘softies’ thrown in. Tracks from the Bluegrass Album Band, American Drive, the David Grier Band, High Fidelity, the Kody Norris Show, Balsam Range and others – some top picking and singing here.

The Free FM studios are being renovated, so I’ve chosen this show from five years ago to be played in lieu of recording a ‘new’ show in a building site! I have my good friend, band-mate and luthier Keith MacMillan in the studio with me. We talk about how to set up your guitar or mandolin to get the best from it, and we get to pick a couple of tunes as well. Also featured in the show is some fine picking and singing from Joe Mullins, Curly Seckler, Sawmill Road, Alison Krauss, JD Crowe, and the Dreadful Snakes, and there’s some recorded music from the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band featuring both Keith and me.

This week, I have re-visited some of my first influences for banjo playing, from Earl Scruggs, Bill Keith, Don Parmley, Doug Dillard, Mike Seeger, Walt Hensley, and Ralph Stanley, and of course the music that the bands they were part of were playing. I’ve also featured the brand-new album from the Kody Norris Show, The Kathy Kallick Band, and that gentleman of bluegrass, Bill Clifton.

A broad spectrum of bluegrass in this week’s show, and there’ll be something for all musical tastes, I’m sure. The Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band kick-off (well, they would if it was a rugby match), then we’ve got Chris Jones and the Night riders, Tony rice & David Grisman, Missy Raines & Alleghany, and the East Tennessee State University band to follow. JD Crowe, Joe K Walsh and even the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band get to play a song. Lots to enjoy.

Mid-winter here in NZ, but this show has nothing to do with the season. All year round, it’s great to listen to bluegrass music, and there’s plenty of it here. The Lost Pines from Texas, the Earls of Leicester, Chad Manning, Claire Lynch, and the Osborne Bros get us started, then there’s Longview, Mike Auldridge, and the Bluegrass Album Band. I’ve also featured a new single from NZ band You Me Everybody, which has only recently been released.

I’ve just received the brand-new album from Seth Mulder & Midnight Run from Rebel Records, and it’s a beauty. I play a couple of tracks from it. I’ve also featured some music from the Lynn Morris Band, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys (the track I didn’t get to play last week!) and the Price Sisters. Doc Watson with Flatt & Scruggs play a tune, and Curly Seckler (former F&S alumni) sings a great tune with the Shenandoah Cut-Ups. Aussie friend Pete Denahy sings about a hanging (150 years ago) and Marc Bolen picks an unusual banjo tune he wrote. Lots of great music.

Larry Sparks kicks off today’s show, followed by a great bunch of performers including the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, John Hickman, the Kruger Brothers, Bob Baker, and Double Overtime. We have some new music from Irish band Whistle, and some from NZ’s Pipi Pickers.

All sorts of bluegrass and allied music in this week’s show, from Laurie Lewis’s ‘Nashville’ recordings to Snuffy Jenkins and some ‘pre-bluegrass’ sounds. Here you’ll find the Stanley Brothers, Patty Loveless, Del McCoury Band, Tony Ellis, Nothing Fancy, and some HCBB fiddling and Trenwiths’ original songs. Have a listen!

I’ve just returned from a week in Australia with friends, so there’s some music from these friends included in the show, as well as some from ‘regular’ artists – like Cumberland Gap Connection, Special Consensus, Kay Armstrong, Flatt & Scruggs, Skaggs & Rice, Joe Mullins, and a fiddle tune from Corrina Rose Logston. My Aussie friends in ‘Country Sound’ get to feature in a couple of tracks. All great listening.

May is NZ Music Month, and I’m playing some early NZ bluegrass from the 1960s and ‘70s. Groups include the HCBB, excerpts from the National Banjo Pickers’ conventions of 1968 and 1969, the Beale St String Stretchers, Phil Garland, and Colleen Trenwith.