Moonshine Moonlight

This week on Moonshine Moonlight, Kyser George (Shadowgrass), Jed Clark, and Riley Gilbreth pull up a chair to talk about the strange, hilarious, and occasionally brutal business of playing bluegrass for a living. From childhood prodigies and viral videos to selling tractors at the merch table, we get into the stories behind the music, the characters along the way, and what it takes to keep the wheels turning. No scripts, no industry polish. Just a room full of pickers swapping stories and telling it like it is.

What happens when you leave one of bluegrass music's biggest bands to forge your own path? Mason Via and Charlie Chamberlain crack open a cold one and catch up on life, music, and the unpredictable road of being a working musician. From Mason's Ryman Auditorium debut and IBMA Best New Artist nomination to touring with Sierra Hull and The Wood Brothers, they swap stories, revisit unreleased recordings, and explore the creative freedom of making music on your own terms. Plus, a few surprises from the vault.

Jeremy Darrow, a renowned bassist and musician, joins Mason and Charlie to talk about  everything from bourbon, to musical influances, to egg salad sandwiches.  We touch on the pros and cons of music school, our shared love of Bill Evans and Whos Hat is This, old east nashville, Bob Weir and much more.  

Griffin Mcmahon is a virtuosic keys player from up in New England, he is even an alumnus of the prestigious Juliard school. Griffin talks about his move to Nashville, how he fell in love with Honky Tonk music as well as 80s rock. He opens up about his new project he just released that was recorded by our very own Charlie Chamberlain. He also gives us the scoop on what its like to have a weekly residency at the world famous Roberts Western World  and to tour and perform with the wild Wheeler Walker Jr. Our surprise guest is mandolinist extrordinaire Thomas Cassell who is known in the bluegrass community from his work with Circus No. 9, a band that has since went on indefinite hiatus. Thomas now is the mandolin player in Woodbox Heroes, a top notch bluegrass band filled with all stars. Thomas also plays with his own project as well as gigging with Mason Via and The Cleverlys from time to time. We were also lucky enough to hear these two render us a lovely duet performance on piano and mandolin.

Lily Grace is an up and coming country and pop superstar from Australia who is making waves as the hottest new name in Nashville, TN. Worlds collide when our surprise guest Avery Merritt hops in the booth to chat about his experience touring as an A-List fiddler with the amazing Sierra Hull. We chat about writing, touring, picking, and the artistic process.  As always your cohosts Mason Via and Charlie Chamberlain are here to stir the pot and spill the tea with you our fine listeners. We even got a lovely solo rendition of Sally Goodin from the finest fiddler himself! Huge thanks to 4115 studio for always supporting our wild podcast.

This episode, Mason & Charlie sit down with Folk Rock singer/songwriter, Irakli Gabriel. We talk about his new project with Charlie, "The Blue Light Specials," his work on his partner Anana Kaye's new record, and his last album collaboration with the late great David Olney. We also get off on tangents talking about Georgian Folk music and the current state of the world.  Our surprise guest was none other than Chris Cappozzoli, the most undiscovered gem in Nashville. Chris chats with the boys about his recent ACM and GRAMMY nominations as well as his longtime residency playing at 12 South Taproom every Monday. Chris also renders us an armadillo song from his new record that is intentionally no where to be found on streaming services. Bubblys were had by all.

Howdy friends, we are back with episode 2 of the Moonshine Moonlight Podcast. Our special guests are John Gray Zahurancik and Rico Wallenda of the band Down River Collective. They talk about their new single "Come On Back" featuring Dan Tyminski and elaborate on writing and recording their band's upcoming music. John Gray is also touring with country acts Liam St John and Dylan Gossett as a utility musician. Rico Wallenda comes from a travelling circus background and his family "The Flying Wallendas" was famous for walking the high wire tight rope. Mason talks about how he knows Gray from their time together touring with OCMS. Charlie talks about pedal board rigs and drinking on shine.

This is Mason and Charlie's first attempt at making a internationally famous podcast that will surely be loved by one and all alike! On our first episode, we have special guest Eddy Hay. Eddy is a young man not even 21 years old yet and has recently been asked to join the TikTok sensation, Bayker Blankenship's touring band. Eddy is a Nashville electric guitarist who is inspired by blues & rock 'n' roll. He did his time at Brown's Diner where he had a monthly residency with his band and amassed a local following. Eddy tells us what it's like going on his first national tour and jumping on the tour bus, playing to hundreds of screaming fans each night.  Our surprise guest on the show is hillbilly banjo extraordinaire Nick Ball! Nick plays us a couple tunes on the banjo and informed us about the current state of legality surrounding cannabis in Tennessee. Nick is playing some shows with Mason this year and can also be seen playing with Off the Rails. Mason talks about his recent tour with Logan Ledger and how he is about to hit the road with mandolin phenom Sierra Hull as well as his upcoming debut self-titled album that will be released on April 25. Charlie also speaks about his recent release that is available everywhere now entitled "Welcome Home." Mason and Charlie also hint at their psychedelic indie rock Americana side project called "Intergalactic Tightrope," and about how there will be singles from that project being released at some point later this year potentially. This podcasts name was inspired by Mason Via's father David Via's song " Moonshine in the Moonlight" and based around the concept of candidly talking with our buddies from the greater music and festival community. Having conversations much like we might would around the campfire, campsite, or jam circle. Find us all on Instagram @mason_via @Charliedchamberlain @eddyvanhay @nfbmusicpage