It's taken decades for the nature and impact of Jerry Garcia’s formative years as a musician and band leader to emerge and become semi-common knowledge, because for many, his devotion to old-time string band and bluegrass music between 1961 and 1964 doesn’t square with the quantum jams he’d be leading just a few years later. But because of the Dead, we have jamgrass, a popular branch of the family tree where instrumental interplay coexists with preservation of classic songs. And at last, this connection is made, and this story is told, in a new museum exhibit set for a two-year run, Jerry Garcia – A Bluegrass Journey, at the Bluegrass Music Hall Of Fame & Museum in Owensboro, KY. Episode 280 of The String takes you there with sound and voices from its grand opening weekend in late March.

By design or coincidence, this week's Finally Friday features two major names in contemporary bluegrass music. Darin & Brooke Aldridge will be releasing their tenth album, a landmark in a career that's seen them win multiple awards and earn the admiration of the genre with a sound that draws as much on gospel and country music as it does on straight ahead bluegrass. Becky Buller (who once played fiddle with the Aldridges) is the industry's triple-threat with IBMA Awards for her instrumental chops, her singing, and her songwriting. She's tackling some of the most serious and vulnerable subject matter of her career on her upcoming album Jubilee. Check out Craig's preview of this Friday's talent-packed revue.

In January, the newly energized Nashville Blues and Roots Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to cultivating blues careers and spreading its history through public schools, held its first-ever local competition to nominate contestant artists at the 2024 International Blues Challenge in Memphis. And in a nice Music City surprise, the NBRA’s delegate in the band category, Piper & The Hard Times, went to Memphis during the coldest week of the year, put on several sizzling sets, and came away with the grand prize. In this hour of The String, we meet Al "Piper" Green and his bandmate/guitarist Steve Eagon to talk about their game changing win. Up first, Gulf Coast blues and R&B icon Marcia Ball talks about fifty years of rocking roadhouses and the occasional blues cruise.