My guest this week is Alison Brown.

Alison was the first woman to win an IBMA award in an instrumental category, winning Banjo Player of the Year in 1991. She's also a sought after producer, with credits including Dale Ann Bradley, Peter Rowan, Missy Raines and Bobby Osborne and she spent three years as a member of Alison Krauss's band Union Station.

She joins me to talk about another long standing project, Compass records, the label she co-founded in the '90s with her husband Garry West.

We talk about Alison's background and how Compass grew from a sketch on the back of a napkin to being one of the most celebrated independent labels in roots music. We also discuss how the music industry has changed over the three decades Compass has been around and what that means, for the label and for artists.

We also pick out a few of Alison's favourite releases (and mine!) and chat about what's next for her, including presenting the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards with Steve Martin, who she has a new record with, due out in October.

Over the course of the episode there are excerpts from some of the albums we discuss. You'll hear (in order of appearance):

- 'Paint it Shut' - Phillps, Grier and Flinner

- 'Weetabix' - New Grange

- 'Longhair Bluegrass' - Robbie Fulks

- '5 Days Out 2 Days Back' - Alison Brown and Steve Martin, feat. Tim O'Brien

For more info and to buy Compass releases, visit the Compass Records website

Here's the episode of the podcast celebrating Phillips, Grier & Flinner

Happy picking,

Matt

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
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- Review us on Apple Podcasts

My guest this week is Ethan Setiawan.

Ethan's new album Enyclopedia Mandolinnica is a collection of duets and trios featuring some of Ethan's mandolin heroes and contemporaries, including Mike Marshall, Caternia Lichtenberg, Jacof Jolliff, Matt Flinner and more.

Recorded over the space of a year, the album showcases a wide range of styles and dynamics and sits comfortably alongside classic duet records like Into the Cauldron, Diary of a Fiddler and Not Too Far From the Tree.

We chat about how the project came about, what the recording process was like and how Ethan approaches the writing process. It's a fascinating record and we had an equally interesting conversation!

For more info and to buy the record, visit Ethan's website and BandCamp page

Happy picking.

Matt

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

Hi everyone. This is a very short episode just to update you on a couple of bits and let you know about some changes coming to the Bluegrass Jam Along podcast over the coming weeks.

There's some really exciting content coming your way but the format will be changing a little (I explain why in the episode).

That's all, folks.

Happy picking,

Matt

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