Bluegrass Unlimited Podcast with Rickie Simpkins

This week we feature banjo player BB Bowness.  Originally from New Zealand, BB is a founding member of the band Mile 12.  Among other things, we'll talk with BB about how she became interested in the banjo, how she learned how to play and her approach to teaching students.  

This week we feature mandolin player David Benedict.  David is known for his work with the band Mile 12 and is currently recording and performing with his wife Tabitha in The Foreign Landers.  He is also known in the mandolin world for his long running weekly YouTube series Mandolin Mondays.

This week we feature fiddle player Bronwyn Keith-Hynes.  Currently Bronwyn plays the fiddle for Molly Tuttle's band Golden Highway.  We talk with Bronwyn about the band's great success over the past few years, their 2024 Grammy win and Bronwyn's new solo album.

     This week's podcast features banjo legend Larry McNeely.  McNeely famously played with Roy Acuff for many years on the Grand Ole Opry and is also well known for performing with Glen Campbell.  Larry shares the details of his long career as a bluegrass banjo player in this week's podcast.

This week we feature Travis Book, the bass player for the Infamous Stringdusters.  Jerry Garcia is on the cover of our March 2024 issue and many of today's bluegrass musicians have been influenced by the music of The Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia.  Travis Book is one of them.  We talk about Travis' bluegrass journey and the Garcia influence.

This week we are talking with guitar player Eric Thompson.  Jerry Garcia is on the cover of the March 2024 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited and Eric performed in a band with Jerry prior to Garcia forming The Grateful Dead.  We talk with Eric about his long career in music and his days performing with Garcia.  

This week we are talking with Chris Joslin, the Executive Director of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum about some exciting events and projects that are coming up this year at the museum and at other locations in and around Owensboro, Kentucky.  This includes a special Jerry Garcia exhibit at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the ROMP festival, The Kentucky Guitar Works and more.

This week we feature guitar player and singer Jimmy Haley.  This month Terry Baucom is on the cover of Bluegrass Unlimited and Jimmy, along with Terry Baucom, was famously an original member of Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver.  He later also performed with Terry in the band Baucom Bibey Graham & Haley.  We talk with Jimmy about his career in bluegrass and his relationship with Terry Baucom.  

This week we feature guitar player, singer and songwriter Wes Golding.  Since Terry Baucom is on the cover of our February 2024 issue, we are talking with musicians this month who have performed with Terry over the years and Wes is someone who has known Terry since they were teenagers and Wes was in the band Boone Creek with Terry.  We talk with Wes about his career in bluegrass and his work with Terry in Boone Creek.

This week we feature fiddler Mike Hartgrove.  Terry Baucom is on the cover of our February 2024 issue and Mike spent time in a few bands with Terry over the years.  We'll talk to Mike about his career in bluegrass, his time spent with Terry Baucom and his fiddle set-up and repair business.  I hope you enjoy the Mike Hartgrove podcast.