Bluegrass Briefing - July 2026

Welcome to the Bluegrass Briefing for July 2026, your monthly look at what’s going on in the world of bluegrass and beyond.

Here are the links to stuff mentioned in this episode.


News and Announcements (Church Street News)

• McCoury & Douglas Family Pickin Party
• Béla Fleck's My Bluegrass Heart tour

Releases (The Grass is New)

• Natalie & Brittany Haas - North Node
• NoaBass - Late Bloomer
• Voices: A Folk Opera

Scroll on Buddy

• Punch Brothers - Found in a Frozen Fog

Other bits

• Full list of interviews
• Collings Guitars

Happy picking.
Matt

Transcript

Matt 0:00

Hi, this is Matt, and you listen to Bluegrass Chamber on the podcast for anyone and everyone who loves bluegrass. Hey everybody, welcome back to Bluegrass Jamalong. This is your Bluegrass briefing for July 2026. Uh halfway through the year already. Wow. Um so quick bit of podcast news before we get on with everything else. Um what's been going on? Had an episode a couple of weeks ago with Missy Rains um celebrating the Seldom Scenes Act 2 album, which was a lot of fun. Really enjoyed that. If you missed that, go and have a listen. Missy's fascinating, but just also a really interesting conversation about a cool band at a cool time in the music, and yeah, lots of lots of really interesting things in there. I learned a lot, and I really enjoyed catching up with Missy again, that was fantastic. Um last week's episode was a bite-sized episode with Tristan Scroggins taken from one of the earliest interviews I did for the podcast back in 2021, chatting about kind of authenticity and coming to Bluegrass from different backgrounds, and something that really resonates with me, obviously, being being a Brit, not being um either from the States or from kind of Appalachian region. Uh I have a lot of kind of a lot of interest in how people approach things like that, and Tristan is always fascinating. So I put out a segment of that as a bite-size, um, kind of a lesson that was really good fun as well. Um, and coming up, I've got a couple of uh things related to Boon Creek coming up over the next couple of weeks. Um they've just put out the Boon Creek, first Boon Creek album that came out in the mid-70s, um, and it's been out of print for a long time and never made it onto CD, it's not on the streaming services. Largely because they didn't want to put it back out, um, because there were some tracks missing. Um and Kraft Recordings have just put it back out with four extra tracks that have been sat on a tape in the engineer's garage for five decades. Um they've restored the tapes, they've remastered them, they've remixed them, and there's a re-release of that record, and that is just a fascinating story. So I had a chat with uh Scott Bellington, who worked on the project from Kraft Recordings, also spent a lot of time around us. So I talked to him about that, about kind of reissues and re-releases in general, and just about his career, which is a fascinating conversation. But I also got to chat to Jerry Douglas about Boon Creek, such a kind of pivotal time in his career um and Ricky Skag's career, and such an interesting album from a historical point of view as well. And it's just great chatting to Jerry about his memories of those sessions, um, what Boon Creek meant to them, kind of where that sat in his career, how he feels about it, looking back, what it was like hearing those four extra tracks for the first time in 50 years. Really cool conversations, those two with Scott and with Jerry. So they're coming out on the podcast in the next few weeks. Um, so stay tuned for those. I will be bringing those out in the next couple of weeks, I think. Um, but that is it in terms of podcast news. If there's anything you've missed, go to bluegrassjamalong.com. There's a list of all the episodes. You can search by theme, you can search by all sorts of things, um, and you'll also find all the backing tracks, all the chord cheeks, and everything there as well. Uh, bluebrassjamalong.com. That is it. Let's crack on with the content of this. And the first section is news and announcements, which is the bourgeois news. And the first bit of news, literally, as I sat down to put this together, um, I saw an announcement. Billy Strings has a new album coming in August, um, just announced, like about an hour or two ago, I think, uh, as I record this. Um, it's called So Much for Goodbyes. It's out August 28th on Reprise Records. I think it's available for pre-order now. Um, it's produced by Billy and by T Bone Burnett, uh, who is always interesting when he works on a project. Um, and Billy sort of talks in the notes that come with the press release today about making this record to honour his mum, who he lost last year, um, to notice and embrace this very significant period of grief in my life and make art from it, he says. Um really looking forward to hearing this record. There's a track out now, I'll talk about that in a minute. Um, but yeah, so Billy Strings has a new record coming on August 28th. Uh, what else? There is the Bin announcement of the McCauray and Douglas family picking party. They had one uh early this year, it's returning January 2nd to 5th at Wigwam Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. Um, it'll be Dell and the Delmacory band and the travelling McCauries, Jerry Douglas, Brian Sutton, David Grissman, Sierra Hull, Molly Tutton, Sarah Watkins. I mean, this sounds like a very, very cool event. Um, there's a link in the show notes, it's just dalmacory pickingparty.com, but go and have a look in the show notes. There's a link if you want to find out more about that. Um, and Baylor Fleck has announced another kind of run of the My Bluegrass Heart Tour with a new band, which sort of pulls together some people who he's toured with recently for this project and some new people. Um so he's got Michael Cleveland and Mark Schatz still in the band who were in it when I saw it a couple of years ago in London. Um, but he's got Dominic Leslie on mandolin, Jeff Parton on Dobro, and Jake Stargell on guitar. So that'll be a really fun kind of iteration of that band. Uh, lots of dates, go to uh Baylor's website and have a look, see if they're coming to your town. I would love to see that. Hopefully, they'll come back over to Europe at some point as well. Um, also, Rene Fleming is doing some dates with Baylor for the fiddle and drum record they had out, which I interviewed them both for recently. So if you missed that, go check that out as well. But yes, lots of new Baylor Fleck tour dates. Go and have a look and see where he is playing. That is it for the news and announcements. Let's move on to The Grass is New, which is the new releases. Um Billy Strings, as I mentioned just before. He's got a single called Burn the Other End, uh, which is off the new record that's coming out soon. That's out on the streamers now. Going to have a listen. There's also a video up um on YouTube for that. So yeah, go and check out Buddy's new. I haven't heard it yet, I've only just found out about it, so I'm gonna be listening to that as soon as I finish this. Um, what else? Uh Natalie and Britney Haas had an album out a couple of years ago just called Hass, just duets of uh fiddle and cello, which I love very much indeed. They also come on the podcast to talk about it. Go and have a listen if you missed that one. Um, but they've got a new record out called North Node, um, which is on all the streaming services. You can go and buy it on Bandcamp, um, and it is fantastic. Really, I'd love listening to those two. They're such a cool the the range of textures and rhythms and sounds to get out of such a simple combination of instruments is fascinating, and they're just both amazing players, and I love listening to them. Such an amazing energy they've got. Um, so go and check out North Node by Natalie and Brittany Haas. Um, Alex Graf, who is a friend of this podcast, came on fairly recently to chat about Tony Rice's Manzanita. Again, go and dig that one out on the website if you or your kind of podcast platforms if you didn't hear it. But um, yeah, I bumped into Alex the first time I went out to IBM A and we hung out a bit. He's a great picker, he's a really cool guy. Um, and he has got a new album coming out soon that is a trio with him, Jacob Jolliffe and Cody Tillin. But the first track from that is Long Journey Home, which is out in the streamers now, so go and listen to that. Um new project from uh bassist and composer Noah Eve, goes under the name of Noah Bass. Uh, album called Late Bloomer, which is a bass-led album. Uh, really interesting, some really cool stuff on there. I'm kind of getting to grips with that one at the moment. I've been listening to it a bit recently. Um, we'll be listening to it much more. So go and listen to that Late Bloomer by Noah Bass. Um that's just No A and then Bass B A Bless, all one word. Um, check that one out. Bronwyn Keith Hines, who has kind of put out an announcement recently saying she's just gonna refer to herself as Bronwyn from now on, um, has a new album, also in August called Rattling Bones, and the first track from that Sticks and Stones is out now. Um, really interesting progression with Bronwyn. The first kind of record she put out was very much a kind of collaborative fiddle project. Second record she wanted to sing the songs, third time around she wants to write the songs. It's a fascinating journey she's going on. I really enjoy listening to Bronwyn stuff, so do go and check out um Sticks and Stones from Bronwyn and check out Rattling Bones in August. I'll give you a reminder in next month's briefing, or maybe September's when it's actually out, um, but I'll remind you about that. Uh, also, Matt Coombs, uh fiddle player Matt Coombs has a new single out called 50 Years of Clown School, also off uh an album that is coming out soon as well, so I'll let you know about that one as well. But go and have listen to Fifty Years of Clown School now, that is out on the streamers wherever you get your music. Um, and finally, a really interesting project. Um, Mickey Abraham got in touch. I know Mickey through Marcel Ardan's The Lessons with Marcel YouTube channel, and they do a lot of work together. And I uh saw Marcel first time I was out in um rally for IBM A and got to say hello to Mickey and meet Mickey then, and that was really nice to meet him, he's a cool guy. Um, he's got a really fascinating project down called Voices of Folk Opera by Catherine Bale Long and by Mickey. Um it tells the story of Bale, a fictional character based loosely on Catherine's real life. Um, and in November, just weeks before they were finishing this recording, Catherine was diagnosed with terminal cancer and passed six months later. Um, this project, Mickey, has kind of finished and got it out, and it's a really, really interesting project. Uh, there's a link to the band camp so you can go and check it out, you can buy it, you can listen to it. It's a it's yeah, really cool project. It's like it's a chunky thing, and I'm I'm sort of working my way through it now, but really enjoying that. So do go and give that a listen as well. Um, so lots of cool stuff out at the moment. There's the Billy String single, um Alex Graf's Long Journey Home, uh Natalie and Brittany Hass's New Record, Noah Bass's Late Bloomer, uh Bromwin's Sticks and Stones, Matt Coomb's Fifty Years of Clown School, and Voices a Folk Opera by Catherine Bell Long and Mickey Abraham. Go and have a listen to all of that. But that is it for your new releases this month. And that just leaves us the scroll on buddy, which is something that I've spotted on one of the social platforms and thought you might like. Um, and it's a bit there's been some videos, there's a new Punch Brothers record coming out in a month, um, which is all instrumental and I'm looking forward to it very much. Um, there's a new video out of them playing a track called Found in a Frozen Fog, which is an extraordinary bit of music. Um really interesting. Go and have a look at that. It's on YouTube and there's a link in the show notes. Very much looking forward to that album when it comes out in a few weeks. Um if what we've heard so far is anything to go by, it's gonna be brilliant. Uh, but yeah, go and have a look at that. Punch Brothers Found in a Frozen Fog. Um and the other thing I spotted on social media, I had a really interesting experience last week. I was due to interview the guitarist Julian Large about um the re-release of his solo acoustic record World's Fair, which I love and I know a lot of you do as well. Um and we'd supposed to be do it a couple of months before, and I'd had some tech problems and we haven't been able to do it. We rearranged it for Friday last week, uh, and then I woke up to an email saying really sorry, but Julian can't do it. He has um a sudden last minute conflict, and I was like, Okay, fair enough. Uh disappointed, but you know, fair enough. And then opened my Instagram app and realised that his last minute conflict was that he'd been invited to join Bob Dylan's band and had a gig that night. Um yeah, Julian Large now plays with Bob Dylan for however long that lasts, who knows? But um what a fascinating mix. I'd love to hear a bit of that. I'm gonna have a dig around online and see if I can find any recordings of that. Because yeah, I would only just love to hear him play those songs, that'd be really interesting. Um, yeah, so that is that for this week. Finally is in my ears this week, and I've been listening to the Boon Creek uh album. I got a copy of the vinyl uh of Boon Creek, which is the original record with the four extra tracks, and I've been listening to that. It's a really interesting one. It's uh like influences from all over the place. It's a really fascinating listen. Um, I'd never heard it before, and so that was really cool. So I've been listening to that a bit more. Um, but that is it, I will leave you there. Um next week, I think, will be the start of the Boon Creek content coming out, but I'll post some details about that as and when. In the meantime, have a great week, I will see you next time, and happy picking.