Craig Havighurst

The first voice you'll hear in Episode 372 of The String (besides the host's) is not the show's guest Bryan Sutton but that of his first guitar hero, the late North Carolina folk icon Doc Watson.

Eighty years after the genre’s Big Bang, a case can be made that bluegrass has never been more dynamic, more ubiquitous or more artistically exciting than it is in 2026.

Roots music tells its story to the world mostly through its leading festivals like this weekend's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Telluride, and Merlefest.

At its best, the Americana movement nurtures a healthy balance between some timeless and precious forces: the regional vs. the national, the wisdom

At its best, the Americana movement nurtures a healthy balance between some timeless and precious forces: the regional vs. the national, the wisdom of elde

I first became aware of Forrest O'Connor's prowess on several instruments from seeing his family band, and since that included his dad, galactic-level fiddle master Mark O'Connor, it came as no surprise that Forrest had the goods. Forrest struck up a tuneful relationship with Oregon singer-songwriter Meredith Lane, and in the past year or two, they've become a married couple and a duo called Rosine The Band. Rosine, KY is the birthplace of Bill Monroe, and while the new outfit is open-minded in its folky repertoire, their debut single “It Never Ends” really does stake out a nice patch of progressive bluegrass. Forrest plays a ripping guitar solo, while Mark is here too with incendiary fiddle. Also this week, we launch with the formal release of the big Delmore Brothers multi-artist tribute album we've been waiting for, featuring in this case Junior Sisk and Don Rigsby. High Fidelity is back with a single. And Amy introduces us to another wonderful married duo called Admiral Radio.

The country-rock wing of Americana music is not short on grave and gravely troubadours in the vein of Steve Earle and Hayes Carll.

WMOT | By Craig Havighurst Published October 19, 2026 at 2:23 PM CDT

Chattanooga, TN is becoming a key autumn stop on the never-ending Billy Strings road show.

Folk singers often stand solo on stage, but they're never acting alone. At least that's how I interpret one of Pieta Brown's many trenchant remarks