Bluegrass Unlimited Podcast with Avril Smith

This week we feature mandolin player Wayne Benson and talk with him about his long career in bluegrass music, the recent recorded collaborations with his wife Kristin Scott Benson and his YouTube channel for mandolin players.   You'll also hear a some music from Wayne and Kristin.

This week we feature banjo player Russ Carson.  We'll talk about his early years in bluegrass in his home state of Pennsylvania, his work with Audie Blaylock and his becoming the banjo player for Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder.  We'll also talk about his new CD and you'll hear a few cuts from the recordings.

This week we feature Nick Hornbuckle, the banjo player with John Reischman and the Jaybirds.  In addition to talking with Nick about his career in bluegrass to date—which includes how he had to go from playing Scruggs three-finger style banjo to producing the same sound using only two fingers, due to a physical issue—we will also talk with Nick about the Jaybirds newest recording. 

This week we feature singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lane of Blue Highway.  We'll talk with Shawn about how he got his start in bluegrass, the bands he performed with early in his career, his work with Blue Highway over the past 30 years and performing with his talented sons Grayson and Garrett. 

This week we feature fiddler Jimmy Mattingly and talk with him about his career playing in fiddle contests as a young fiddler, performing in bluegrass band such as Spectrum, the Osbourne Brothers and the Grascals and working with country music acts such as Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood and others.  We will also talk about him being the fiddle instructor at the Bluegrass Unlimited Workshop Weekend in February 2026 in Owensboro, Kentucky. 

This week we feature Jaelee Roberts, the lead singer and guitar player for Sister Sadie.  We talk with Jaelee about growing up in a prominent bluegrass family, performing with an award-winning band, recording her solo albums and performing on the Grand Ole Opry.  You will also hear a couple of songs from Jaelee's newest solo album.

      This week we feature mandolin master Don Stiernberg.  A protégé of the great Jethro Burns, Don is known for both his bluegrass and jazz chops on the mandolin and guitar.  In this podcast I'll talk with Don about his years learning from and performing with Jethro Burns and the connections that Jethro had with music legends like Hank Williams, Sr., Chet Adkins, Bill Monroe and Red Rector.  We'll also talk about Don's work with Special Consensus over the years.

This week we feature Avril Smith, the guitar player with Della Mae, and talk with her about her career in music, her teaching at Bryan Sutton's guitar camp, Della Mae's newest recording and what 2026 has in store for the band.

This week we feature banjo player Jeremy Stephens.  After we discuss how he got his start in bluegrass music, the various bands that Jeremy has performed with over the years and the groups he is with currently, we will talk about his deep interest in Don Reno's banjo style and his study of Reno's life story.

This week we feature Dobro player Fred Travers of the Seldom Scene.  We'll talk about how Fred became interested in playing the Dobro, his interest in Mike Auldridge's approach to the Dobro and how he got the chance to take lessons with Mike.  We'll also talk about the early bands he performed with and then how he eventually got the opportunity to take the Dobro  spot in the Seldom Scene after Mike left the band about 30 years ago.