Mixtapes Of Today
In this podcast I will talk about all types of music, different genres, different decades, themes, and soundtracks of our lives. Discussing personal experiences and cultural nostalgia. We will build a playlist every week and share it with the listeners.
Mixtapes Of Today
Episode 24: Progressive Bluegrass
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Progressive Bluegrass Spotify Playlist Link
This week we are discussing Progressive Bluegrass or New Grass.
- Is it bluegrass?
- Is it jazz?
- Is it folk?
- Is it all the above?
Welcome to Mixtapes of Today, Episode 24. I am your host, Suze Jones. This week we are going to take a walk through the unique sounds of progressive bluegrass. Traditional bluegrass, of course, was based on the plight of the working man starting in the 1940s, which was part of the history of the people, the country, and the regions where it was originated. Today, bluegrass music has evolved into something that focused less on the issues and struggles of people. Progressive bluegrass artists grew up listening to traditional bluegrass standards and honed their skills to make it a much different style while still being reverent and respectful to the original pioneers. Traditional bluegrass uses only acoustic instruments like banjo, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and upright bass to play historic folk songs. It sticks to basic chord patterns and focuses on that high lonesome sound. Progressive Bluegrass, or Newgrass, takes those same acoustic instruments and adds some complex jazz chords, rock rhythms, and songs that even borrowed from pop music. Many of the songs that came out have even been reimagined cover songs or instrumental versions of popular rock and pop songs. The first development of Progressive Bluegrass started in the 1960s and 70s, continued to evolve in the 1980s and 90s, which carried into the next millennium, with upcoming artists that moved the subgenre closer to folk, rock, and jazz. I have 10 tracks this week of Progressive Bluegrass, or Newgrass, that revived the bluegrass genre. You can find my Spotify playlist with the songs linked in the description. Track 1.
SPEAKER_01I spent last night in the arms of a girl from Louisiana.
SPEAKER_04Newgrass Revival was an American progressive bluegrass band founded in 1971 and composed of Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, Eva Walker, Curtis Birch, Butch Robbins, John Cowan, Bella Fleck, and Pat Flynn. They were active between 1971 and 1989, releasing more than 20 albums. In the year 2020, the group was inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. The song Callin Baton Rouge is a country music song written by Dennis Lind. Newgrass Revival released the song, and it was their highest charting single on the U.S. country charts in 1989. Five years later, Garth Brooks also recorded the song, which was a top five country hit. The Infamous String Dusters are a progressive acoustic bluegrass band that emerged in 2006. The band consists of Andy Hall, Andy Falco, Chris Pandoffy, Jeremy Garrett, and Travis Book. The infamous Stringdusters won three awards at the International Bluegrass Music Association Award ceremony in October 2007. Gravity is a bluegrass love song written by bassist Travis Brooke and his wife Sarah Siskant. It serves as the opening track and the lead single from their 2017 studio album Laws of Gravity, which won the Best Bluegrass Album of the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018. Nickel Creek, formerly known as the Nickel Creek Band, is an American bluegrass group formed in 1989. The band consists of Chris Theley, Mandolin, and siblings Sarah Watkins, fiddle, and Sean Watkins guitar. The group broke out in 2000 with a platinum-selling self-titled album produced by Allison Krause. The Lighthouse's Tale was written by Adam McKenzie and Chris Theley. The song is about a lighthouse, the keeper, and his fiancee. The narrator tells the story of how his love was sailing through a storm to marry, and she didn't survive the journey. The song peaked at number 49 on the U.S. Hot Country Billboard charts. The Flektones formed in 1988 when Bellafleck was invited to perform in the PBS TV series The Lonesome Pines Special. When Fleck was near the end of his time with the New Grass Revival. Big Country is a celebrated instrumental track by Bella Fleck and the Flectones that won a Grammy Award in 1998. It blends bluegrass, jazz, and acoustic fusion styles. Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway was a Grammy-winning American Bluegrass band formed in 2021 by singer and guitarist Molly Tuttle, featuring banjoist Kyle Tuttle, fiddler Bronwyn Keith Hines, mandolinist Dominique Leslie, and bassist Shelby Means. The collaborative group released two critically acclaimed Grammy-winning albums before dissolving in May of 2025. The song Crooked Tree is the title track and a prominent song from the Grammy-winning studio album of the same name that was released in April of 2022. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards! Track 6: Cattle in the Cane by Punch Brothers. Punch Brothers is an American band consisting of Chris Thely, Mandolin, Brittany Haas, Fiddle and Violin, Naomi Piklene, Banjo, Chris Eldridge, guitar, and Paul Cowart on the bass. Their style has been described as bluegrass instrumentation and spontaneity in the structure of modern classical, as well as an American country classical chamber music. Feely formed the band in 2006 to record the album How to Grow a Woman from the Ground. The song Cattle in the Cane is a traditional bluegrass tune featured on their sixth studio album, Hell on Church Street, released on January 14th, 2022. Sam Bush is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. He was a founding member of the group The New Grass Revival, and was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of that group. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame a second time in 2023 as a solo artist. Greenbrier is an instrumental track co-written by Bush and banjo player Scott Vestel. The song appears on Bush's 2016 studio album Story Man. The tune grew from a melodic phrase that Sam Bush woke up thinking about at 4 a.m. and grew as a piece that was designed on how it might sound, played by acoustic jammers at a festival campground. Billy Strings is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bluegrass musician. Strings was born in Lansing, Michigan, and his stepfather, Terry Barber, was an accomplished amateur bluegrass musician whom Strings regards as his father. The family later moved to Moorhead, Kentucky, and then to Moore, Michigan. In 2012, Billy was invited to play a pan gig with Don Julian, a mandolin player, and their partnership lasted the next four years, as well as being invited to play on stage by many greats like Dirk Spentley and Del McCory. Dust in a Baggy was written by Billy Strings telling the story of a person getting a long prison sentence due to being caught with a small bag of drugs. Track 9 Weighted Mine by Sierra Hull. Sierra Hull is an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, mandolinist, and guitarist. Hull was signed to Rounder Records at the age of 13 and released her debut vocal album, Secrets, in 2008 at the age of 16. Weighted Mine is a song written by Sierra Hull and Zack Bevel, and on her album of the same name, released in December of 2016. The arrangement centered on Hull's vocal, her mandolin, and her double bass player, Eth Jodowitz, with occasional backing vocals by Allison Krause, Abigail Washburn, and Rihanna Giddens. The album was produced by Bellafleck, and it is a great example of the use of jazz and more contemporary instrumentation that veers away from the traditional bluegrass chord progressions. The main band members include Alison Krause, Ron Block, Dan Teminsky, Barry Bells, and Jerry Douglas. Allison Krause, assigned to Rounder Records at the age of 16, released her 1987 debut solo album, Too Late to Cry. Soon after, she joined Union Station and was going back and forth between her membership with the group and her solo career, which also included collaborations, backing vocals, and producing. The song Restless is a Grammy-winning track by Allison Krause and Union Station featured on their sixth studio album Lonely Runs Both Ways from 2004. This concludes this episode of Mixtapes of Today. 10 tracks of the new grass or progressive bluegrass genre. As always, if you would like to listen to the entire songs, check out the Spotify playlist link in the episode description. Thanks for listening to Mixtapes of Today. We will be back next week. Talk to you soon.
SPEAKER_02Dancing the dog, but then pushed around.