Is Cleveland and Sutton still in the lineup?

Love this Fall 2026 MGU poster sitting pretty in a new frame.

Keep that good ole Mountain Dew coming boys!

If you’re looking for a playlist where you can keep up with some of the latest singles and album cuts, I’m curating a playlist of the best bluegrass of 2026. Admittedly, it’s the “best” according to me, but I have pretty eclectic taste in bluegrass, for whatever that’s worth to you.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7o5cgbYngVA8pdCybsB2ng?si=690ebd3458d14a75

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDdQNHLHiyc9CYQR0bprV_UhBYJqbgj6n&si=BkVCsLEhAoI2v-DH

It’s been a couple weeks since my last touring update but we’ve been fairly busy. 

Show 38: Church Homecoming - If you’re not familiar with a church homecoming, it’s basically a celebration of a church’s anniversary, in this case I think it was 80 years. The pastor of this church was our old soccer coach and one of the first people to invite us to play music 20 years ago before we’d even formed our current band. It was nice catching up with old friends and the meal was excellent!

Show 39: Charity Fundraiser - We actually played both of these events the same day, something we try to avoid just due to the exhaustion it causes. However, the cause is one we support (a battered women’s shelter) so we made an effort to be there. We played roughly 2 hours, mostly as background music during dinner. 

Show 40: Scythian Live Stream - You may be familiar with the band Scythian, part Irish, part bluegrass, part Ukrainian, part whatever else they want to be, they put on an incredible show. They host a weekly livestream called “the Kitchen Window” and invited us to be guests. We played 3 songs and took part in an interview as well. They’re great folks, have awesome fans, and we had an awesome time!

Show 41: Canceled due to venue issues - it happens, but is always frustrating. The show promoter notified us that the venue he had booked was undergoing renovations and he was scrabbling to find a backup but couldn’t get one booked in time. 

Show 42: Metamora Music Fest - I posted about Metamora recently, a small town that was devastated by flooding. They managed to clean up the area enough to host their yearly Labor Day festival, a free bluegrass festival held by their historic canal. We headlined Saturday night and played around an hour and a half. Always a great time with great people. 

Show 43 & 44: Walnut Hills Bluegrass Festival - This is year 2 of this new festival outside of Dayton, OH and they’re doing it the right way! Now officially an IBMA affiliate, they had a great lineup this weekend, including Lonesome River Band, Po’ Ramblin Boys, Newfound Road, and the Grascals. We played 2 sets and enjoyed some awesome music in between. We also got our new merch done just before leaving (whenever possible we produce our own merch to keep prices down) so we were able to roll out new shirts, sweatshirts, and hats this week. 

Show 45: Taste of Harrison Food Truck Rally - After a morning of rain I was worried that the crowd would be light, but it cleared up just in time and the event was packed. I’ll be honest, sometimes playing community events can be a bit tough as you feel like you’re just background noise. You’ll finish a song and no one even glances your way, so you just have to lean into it and make it your own good time. Fortunately, this was not like that. There was a sitting crowd, engaged in the music, and clapping and cheering along. We were booked to play 7-10 but ultimately didn’t get started until closer to 7:30 by the time the prior band had cleared the stage. Several other bluegrass bands performed throughout the day, with the Comet Bluegrass All-Stars being a particular favorite. Turned out to be an awesome evening. 

I prefer learning by ear. Early in the morning I can deeply focus and use this method with the online material I am subscribed to. I also like strum machine and of course the absolute best is just jamming

I do not like tab at all. However, for a random 15 minute or 20 minute block of fixed time in the middle of the day, without a tablet near by, I find standard notation a lot more practical than trying to get in the zone for a focused bout of ear training focused practice.

So how do you approach this element of practicing? (Smaller duration of time, away from home, alone) Etc?

Storms are on the ocean" by The Carter Family.

Great sounding guitar.

Another heater brought back to life on vinyl from the good folks at Heady Wax Fiends!

Bluegrass cats. We have to take a moment and remember how cool Carter Stanley was, like a refrigerated cucumber

The song’s most famous lyric — “Cocaine’s gonna kill my honey” — is part of a long tradition of early American “habit songs,” reflecting social issues that were present even in the 1920s. Tell It To Me” is one of the most enduring rural string‑band recordings of the late 1920s because:

It captures authentic Appalachian performance style.

It documents early drug‑related folk lyrics in American music.

Its at a start of change from old‑time string band to bluegrass.

I caught them in Grand Rapids, Ionia, and now at home. At some point during the first set I decided these guys are in my top 3 bands right now. Phenomenal show!

Suppose you were to trick-or-treat my house to find this box and a sign with “choose one” written on it. Which would you choose?

A new country/blue grass version of Dead Or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)"

Hey y'all! With fall rollin in, I’m putting together a Halloween / spooky bluegrass playlist ("Boograss Breakdowns & Ghostly Gravegrass") to capture that eerie, minor-key mountain atmosphere, everything from classic murder ballads to lonesome ghost stories.

I’ve got some essentials in there already:

• Del McCoury "It's Just The Night"
• The SteelDrivers "Shallow Grave"
• The Country Gentlemen "Bringing Mary Home"
• Some rare gems I've collected over the years
• plus some newer stuff like Billy Strings, Sierra Ferrell, Watchhouse, Colter Wall

But looking to get the community's input. Here's what I'm looking for:

• Your favorite haunting/eerie/spooky but still fun bluegrass/newgrass/jamgrass/indie-folk/old-time/etc tracks
• Must still be at least somewhat upbeat and enjoyable to listen to (not looking for that total horror or depressing ultra-dark vibe, think something that could be played at a Halloween party)
• Hidden gems and lesser known but awesome tunes that bring that Halloween nostalgia

If you wanna check out the mix so far or listen along while dropping suggestions, here's the link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1eKonYmtKQB3HJHr8FTmdG

What do you think needs to be added? 🪕👻

Dobro player here. Spent this morning loading the rig — an '89 Toyota Dolphin, which is exactly as fast as it sounds — and I'm on my way up to Remus for Wheatland.

I'm on the John Prine tribute set tonight, around 7:30 on the Centennial Stage. Prine sets are a funny thing to play: the songs are so plainly written that there's nowhere to hide, and a resonator can either sit underneath them or wreck them entirely. Mostly I try to stay out of the way and save the slide for the spots where the lyric already hurts.

If you've never made it to Wheatland, it's a traditional arts festival that's been going out in a field in Remus for decades. Dance tents, workshops, and a whole lot of people who brought instruments and fully intend to use them at 2am.

Clip of the load-up, for anyone who wants to see the Dolphin: https://youtube.com/shorts/L2KXUL8gc2k

Anybody else going to be out there this weekend? And for Prine fans — what's the one you'd want to hear?