Ryan Hommel has just released his latest work, “Default To Open”, and he premiered several “new” songs for us on NineVoltHeart. These songs are part of a long-delayed project going back to 2015. Life on the road with Amos Lee got in the way of it’s proper treatment. Well, Ryan is now the proud father of a six month old daughter and decidedly “off the road”. It was time to record these songs and a trip to Nashville resulted in this release.

We hear a live in-studio version of “Bury Me” followed by a studio version of “Wide Open”. We also heard a cut from “Daisy Jones and the Six” TV show that Ryan was tasked with teaching the actors to play their instruments!! Our conversation is broad ranging and hit topics like Ryan’s local roots here in Amherst and his first guitar! We explored his time with Amos Lee touring world-wide, his move to LA and subsequent return to Holyoke. We heard a live in-studio version of “Same Side” from Default To Open and “Chrysalis” from the studio version. Highly intelligent answers to my inquiries all throughout the conversation. It was a joy to catch up with Ryan Hommel who has collaborated with so many of our favorite artists like Jamie Kent, Mikey Sweet, Heather Maloney, Sandy Bailey and Seth Glier!! His artistry adds to all the folks he works with and it’s so special to hear the long-delayed work from a true craftsman and musical hero of mine. Give the segment a listen.

My interview with Becky Buller, ten time winner of International Bluegrass Music awards, is chock full of songs along with Becky’s preview of her band’s set at this years Freshgrass Festival. We begin with a trio of successful co-writes that Becky wrote with the Infamous Stringdusters, The Travelin’McCoury’s and Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway. Along the way we talk about her successful co-writing process and her award winning collaborations with folks like Special Consensus, Peter Rowan, and the First Ladies of Bluegrass.

Freshgrass Festival arrives in North Adams, Massachusetts on September 22-24 on the grounds of MassMOCA. Becky’s set will kick off the Friday festivities around 6:00PM. She was asked to write a song-cycle at Freshgrass’ southern version in Bentonville, Arkansas this past year and she expects to perform that commissioned work this September. She also expects to record the commissioned work at North Adams’ Studio 9. Our segment finishes (appropriately) with a single from Becky’s upcoming album of cover songs; James Taylor’s ode to the Millworker. A perfect labor day song in homage to the milltown workers who toiled in towns exactly like North Adams all over New England, eventually throughout the country.

Info on this years festival can be found at Freshgrass.com

Reed Foehl made his first visit to NineVoltHeart studio to sing some songs from his latest couple of albums in advance of his Parlor Room show on June 1st. We had a lively conversation about his musical journey including growing up in Dover Mass (home of the Dover Demon) with musical parents and sibling. From Boston to Colorado to Nashville and recently Vermont, Reed has plenty of stories from the road and songs to document them! We heard his grammy-nominated song “Fly” co-written with Brent Cobb for Lee Ann Womack to start the segment. Reed played a number of songs live in this session including “My Song”, “Stealing Starlight” and “Wild Wild Love”. We finish with “This Too Shall Pass” from the latest release. Make sure to catch Reed in his Parlor Room debut, Thursday night June 1st.

Lisa Bastoni is a pro at these in-studio sessions! Our conversation covers her latest Visual Art projects, her work as an Art teacher, her upcoming full band album, and more! Our segment begins with a cut from her latest “Backyard Birds” CD called “Bring It On”. She debuts a brand new song called “Right Side of the River” and “Nearby” from the gorgeous release called “How We Want to Live”. We finish the segment with the recorded version of “Walk a Little Closer” from that same release. Powerful personal songs from our favorite local singer-songwriter. Catch her show opening for Reed Foehl on June 1st at the Parlor Room or next week 6/7 at Club Passim in Cambridge or 6/15 at Easthampton’s Luthiers with Pamela Means!!

Banjo legend Tony Trishka was my guest on the Town Crier. We talked about his musical path starting with his NYC days in the 1970’s. His band included an eclectic fusion of styles and players including Kenny Kosek and Andy Statman. His influences from classical to jazz to fusion are on full display in these early recordings. Tony discusses those early scene gigs as well as mentoring folks like Bela Fleck. Fleck and Trishka were fearless innovators on the instrument over their careers. Both have also embraced traditional bluegrass as well. The latest project from Tony is a note for note transcription of Earl Scruggs banjo parts obtained from a home recording tape with John Hartford! Tony will be bringing a talented group of young players with him at the Drake! Folks like Michael Daves (guitar) Jared Engel (bass) and Nate Lee (fiddle and mandolin). Other dates include Jacob Jolliff, Alex Hargreaves and Brittany Haas. If you’re in the Boston area the “Earl Jam” will be at City Winery at Noon on the same day 5/6.

Our conversation touches on lots of topics from the young talent in the roots music world to the learning the Scruggs catalog. We include a batch of tunes as well including Tony’s take on “Reuben” the first tune Earl mastered his three finger style as a young man; now referred to as “Scruggs style” playing. We hear from the trio of banjo players Bill Keith, Bela and Tony do “Black Mountain Rag”. The only recorded duet with Earl Scruggs and Trishka is documented on “Farewell Blues” from Tony’s Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular release. We end the segment with Earl’s take on his “Nashville Blues” from Will The Circle Be Unbroken collection with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Give the segment a listen or better yet go to thedrakeamherst.org and get a ticket for this Saturday’s show 5/6.

Natalie Padilla was born and raised in Montana. Her fiddling began at an early age with classical and eventually Texas style fiddling culminating in a half dozen Fiddle Contest Championships. She has just released two new albums. “Hell Broke Loose” which is an old time trio album released in February. But on March 31st, Natalie will release “Montana Wildflowers” a mix of Celtic and Old Time styles. The album release party will be at Ana Bandeira Chocolates (48 Main Street)in Northampton @6:30.

Our conversation covers Natalie’s Contest experiences as well as Fiddle Camps throughout the Mountain West. We talk about the differences between styles of fiddle playing and how she prepares for certain styles. Natalie compares these regional styles like learning a new language which necessitates immersion in the culture. If she’s playing Celtic music she’ll attend a “session” in a pub with the celtic repetoire. Conversely, she’ll need to play Bach violin and practice with the orchestra. Natalie is very adept at Texas , Celtic, Old Time and Classical styles as well as bluegrass. Her selections played live in studio show her mastery. Give the segment a listen. Many of the selections are from the “Montana Wildflowers” CD including “Prairie Flax”,”Ladyslipper”,”Forget Me Not”,” as well as “Court The Widow”. She finished with a version of “Hell Broke Loose”

Make sure to get to AnaBandeira Chocolates in Northampton for the release party. Natalie is also starting an “Irish Night” and an “Old Time Night” at the same business every week. Check the website for details.

Mark Erelli is a touring singer-songwriter. His craft is finely tuned, he has a substantial following and a network of reliable venues. He’s also going blind. After a devastating diagnosis of Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare inherited ocular condition which begins as loss of peripheral vision and progresses to legal blindness, Mark decided to simplify his creative process by recording at home. He reached out to his KickStarter community and was astounded at the positive response. This enabled Erelli to record his most recent album, “Lay Your Darkness Down”. Mark Erelli will be appearing at Northampton’s Parlor Room on March 25.

Our conversation covered more than Mark’s RP diagnosis. We talked about the songs he had already written and how they may have changed in light of changes in his life. We chatted about Tom Petty and Neil Young as well as Justin Townes Earle as influences. Mark talked about how relationship songs have changed as he and his wife celebrate decades together. The impact of Western Massachusetts is also explored. Throughout our conversation, we hear songs form Mark’s catalog including “By Degrees”, “Is It Enough”, “Call You Home”, “Lay Your Darkness Down” and “Love Wins in the Long Run”.

The conversation was lively and fun, despite Mark’s setbacks, he’s remarkably resilient and upbeat. I’m honored to have such honesty, courage, and insight in one interview. I hope you give it a listen (and buy his album) and go to the Parlor Room in March.

Sandy Bailey and bandmate Ryan Hommel performed in-studio in advance of their upcoming appearance at this year’s Back Porch Festival held March 3-5th. They performed four songs from Sandy’s not yet released album, “Daughters of Abraham”. They open the segment with “Already Down” followed by the title cut. Our chat covers some of Sandy’s musical journey and her multi-racial background. We also talk about Ms Bailey’s songwriting workshops with Mary Gauthier and Gretchen Peters; both acclaimed songwriters from Nashville. We talk about the influence of John Prine’s songwriting which resulted in Sandy Bailey’s song, “Dear John”. The last cut we hear is the song Sandy submitted to NPR’s Tiny Desk contest called “Get The Message Through”. This song was part of Mary Gauthier’s mentorship and we hear the updated version today on NineVoltHeart. It is an amazing performance of original music. I really enjoyed the conversation and the music. I know you will too. Check out her website, SandyBaileyMusic.com.

Suzanne Vega brings her New York Songs and Stories to Northampton’s Academy of Music on 12/17 along with local faves Cloudbelly .The concert is a benefit for One Roof Concerts for the Homeless. I had a chance to chat with Suzanne recently to discuss her musical journey. Give the interview( along with music) a listen.

Old time fiddler Bruce Molsky will join bluegrass singer and guitarist Michael Daves for an evening of acoustic music at Northampton’s Parlor Room, December 1st. Their shared musical history is vast with both musicians adept at many genres. Expect some old time, some country and some bluegrass when the two play together. My interview with Micharl Daves toches on his upbringing in Atlanta and his latest project highlighting that town’s musical legacy; often overlooked in acoustic music. We touch on Michael Daves education nearby at Hampshire College where he studied jazz and experimental music. He was mentored by the legendary Jusef LaTeef! We discuss the fabled NYC bluegrass and old time scene; much of it nurtured in Brooklyn with Michael Daves’ weekly residency which is celebrating it’s 16th year! Michael met Chris Thile in NYC and ended up collaborating with him on “Sleep With One Eye Open” which garnered much acclaim and Grammy nominations. More recently, Daves released “Orchids and Violence” a double album of tunes done in two distinct styles; one bluegrass and one electric experimental.

This collaboration is intuitive and combustible. Expect instrumental fireworks and passionate vocalizing. Highly recommended show.

Eric Phelps joined me in a morning in-studio session to help promote his brand new CD release “Let It Rain” along with the Release Party scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 3PM at Greenfield’s Hawks and Reed. This Valley resident has written hundreds of songs over the last fifteen years and has compiled them into this 14 track album. Our segment begins with the song that kicks off the disc called “Good Directions”. During the visit we hear five of his originals from “Let it Rain”; our recorded tracks we played all feature Valley artists collaborating with Eric Phelps. “This River” features vocal help for Rani Arbo, a longtime Signature Sounds artist.. “Got your Message” features Teresa Lorenco; whom area listeners may know from her band, Big Yellow Taxi, which channels the music of Joni Mitchell. The final recorded track we played is “Fare Thee Well” features Rani Arbo and Seth Glier, the talented local keyboardist and singer.

Eric Phelps sang two more songs from the release live in-studio; “All That I Need”, an emotional song written from his young son’s perspective entering his parent’s divorce. Eric finishes with a live take on the homesick song “Blue Moon”.

Eric has recruited a stellar cast of local and regional players on this disc; all of which will be performing with Eric on Sunday 11/13 at Hawks and Reed in Greenfield. Some of those players include Devin Griffiths on electric guitar, Paul Kochanski on bass, Joe Fitzpatrick on drums. Additionally Tommy Mac and Brian Bender will perform their contributions on guitar, keys and horns.

A great batch of talented players and singers contribute to this set of original songs by Eric Phelps on his long awaited disc, “Let It Rain”. Give the songs and our chat a listen and I’m sure you’ll agree that Eric writes mature insightful tunes in a wide variety of styles; all immensely listenable and relatable. Make sure to catch what is likely to be the only opportunity to see these songs played live with the entire crew. Hawks and Reed in Greenfield in a rare treat; a 3PM concert.