This latest song from banjo maestro Alison Brown and johnny-come-lately upstart picker Steve Martin* is a follow up to the pair’s 2023 hit ‘Foggy Morning Breaking.’ It was the success of that which inspired Steve Martin to pen the lyrics for ‘Bluegrass Radio‘, lyrics which celebrate the adoration that hitting the Bluegrass Big Time has brought him. as he explained: “I think of a hit on bluegrass radio with the same exhilaration as a hit movie. It’s uplifting to hear your song on the radio, and the thrill never goes away.”
Alison Brown set the lyrics to music and brought in a powerhouse band of bluegrass A-listers to bring the track to life: Sam Bush (mandolin), Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Trey Hensley (guitar), and Todd Phillips (bass). Brown comments: “We had an amazing time in the studio recording this track. Each of the musicians brought a lifetime’s worth of bluegrass experience to bear and, from the first note, it was almost like we were reading each other’s musical minds.”
This banjo based hit will surely bolster Steve Martin who was recently rocked to the core when his short novel ‘Shopgirl‘ was banned in Collier County, Florida. Yup, no longer available from School Libraries – anyone who wants to read it will, as Martin has noted, have to buy a copy. Well worth it, it’s a good read.
* – yes, we do know he’s been playing for over fifty years….
