In one of the big surprise stories in roots music of the past six months, Georgia-based Russell Moore was named the newest member of Alison Krauss and Union Station, taking over the male vocal and guitar role held by Dan Tyminski for years. Moore is on the upcoming album Arcadia and set to go on extensive tours in 2025 and ‘26. It’s a big move for this fan favorite. Moore got his start with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver in the 80s and then started his own band - IIIrd Tyme Out - in 1991. Since then he’s been perhaps the most awarded male voice in bluegrass. This is the story of how he launched and managed his impressive and influential career.

When I met lifelong musician Red Young on board Delbert McClinton’s Sandy Beaches Cruise, I knew I had to interview him. He’s had one of those journeyman’s careers that ties together all the threads of American music, from pop to R&B to jazz. He’s a pianist, Hammond organ specialist, singer, arranger and producer, and at 76 years old, he’s seen it all. He’s worked with Kinky Friedman, Joan Armatrading, Dolly Parton, Sonny & Cher, Linda Ronstadt, Eric Burdon of the Animals, Marcia Ball, Janiva Magness, and of course Delbert McClinton himself, whom he met in his home town of Fort Worth, TX some sixty years ago. Sit back and enjoy the stories.

For country singer Kaitlin Butts, 2023 was very good and 2024 was even better, with an Americana Award nomination, praise in Rolling Stone magazine, and festival dates she’d been dreaming of. Her reputation and acclaim grew on the strength of her feisty stage temperament, her bold and cutting voice, and her fearless songs. Raised in Oklahoma on theater and country music, the iconic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical set in her state became a touchstone. Years later, she’d take the bold step of writing and recording a concept album reacting to and enlarging on the themes of the show. It’s called Roadrunner!, and it was among the most impactful albums in Americana and country music last year.

Traditional acoustic blues has seen one of its periodic revivals, with more younger African American artists involved than any time I can remember. No survey of the scene would be legit without sizing up the career of 35-year-old Jerron Paxton, sometimes known as “Blind Boy” for a severe myopia that’s affected his life since his teens. We should be grateful he’s committed to music - as a revivalist of the old and a writer of the new in a range of styles from Delta to ragtime to stride to spiritual. His variety and vivacity bursts forward on Things Done Changed, his first album for Smithsonian Folkways Records. In a zoom from his base in New York City, we talk about his upbringing in Los Angeles and his approach to developing his advanced understanding of foundational American music.

One of my highlights of 2024 was finally getting to see Minneapolis folk rocker Humbird, an artist whose three recordings display an unusual degree of sonic imagination and bandcraft, even beyond her serene and appealing voice. On her newest, Right On, songwriter Siri Undlin conjures ghosts, protests monoculture and environmental neglect, and investigates relationships. In this conversation, taped the morning after her official showcase at Americanafest 2024, we talk about her passion for folklore, the warm embrace of the Minneapolis DIY music scene, and the benefits of bare feet when using guitar pedals.

I first heard Chris Smither as a fingerstyle guitar master who wrote good songs. With time I realized he’s a great songwriter who happens to be a standout guitarist. While never a household name, this 60-year veteran has long been a cherished icon of American folk and roots. His peers celebrated him in 2014 with the release of Link of Chain: A Songwriters’ Tribute to Chris Smither, featuring interpretations of his work by Dave Alvin, Peter Case, Patty Larkin, Mary Gauthier, Jorma Kaukonen, and Tim O'Brien. Now on the eve of his 80th birthday, Smither came by the studio to talk about his origins in New Orleans, his friendship with Bonnie Raitt, his boom times in the 1990s, and his newest album All About The Bones.

It’s one thing to get applause for your songs, and it’s another to get laughs. John Craigie of Portland, OR has quietly built a robust touring career because he’s an excellent songwriter who also keeps his audiences in stitches between songs. His newest album is a collaboration called Pagan Church with TK and the Holy Know-Nothings, the Portland band fronted by admired songwriter Taylor Kingman. We talk about how Craigie developed his stagecraft under the influence of artists like Arlo Guthrie and his friend Todd Snider, as well as his unlikely path to performing while getting a math degree in California. No surprise, it’s a lot of fun. Also in the hour, Dave Wilson and John Teer reflect on 25 years as Chatham County Line and the new directions baked into the new album Hiyo.

For a duo called the Secret Sisters, Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle let their relationship hang right out there on stage. At a packed late April show at Nashville’s Basement East, amid masterful renditions of their new and familiar songs for a spellbound audience, the sisters niggled each other, rolled their eyes, and came off at times like siblings who’d maybe been cooped up together in a van too long. And at the same time, this banter, which gets laughs, is an endearing part of their show and their relationship with their fans. On record and in performance, the Secret Sisters have been all about harmony since launching on their rollercoaster ride in the music business around 2010. But in Episode 283 of the String, we get into the unique challenges and blessings of sharing everything with each other and the audience, year in and year out.

For twenty years, Duluth, MN troubadour Charlie Parr has been touring every corner of the nation, sleeping in his van and living lean, to bring his unique take on the country blues to the people. Reserved, cerebral and devoted entirely to his own vision, he’s one of our finest folk artists and a lyricist well worthy of a certain other Minnesota songwriter who so famously blended poetry and the blues. He took a new tack with his latest album on Smithsonian Folkways, tapping producer Tucker Martine and his studio friends for a contemplative and immersive album of ruminations, pictorials, and stories. For someone who’s not comfortable in interviews, he spent a convivial hour at my studio and left behind a remarkable conversation.

There are countless reasons to pay homage to the legacy of country music and almost as many different ways to do so. Canadian artist Bahamas and Nashville’s Kelsey Waldon are doing just that in their own ways with recent projects. At a time when country traditions are strong across the Americana landscape, Bootcut by Bahamas and There’s Always A Song by Waldon demonstrate the power of devotion to a craft on one hand and celebration of heroes on the other.