"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 2/1/2026

On Sunday afternoon, we returned with our first live-in-the-studio Bluegrass Cafe program since January 11th.  Two weeks of snow and/or ice in eastern Connecticut made us remember that we're actually having a winter this year.  Still, it was a lot of fun to be back on the radio sharing lots of wonderful music, so sure hope you were able to tune in to the show.

February 1st is a date we always celebrate, as four very important members of the Bluegrass community celebrate their birthdays that day:  Del McCoury (1939), Tom Gray (1941), David Parmley (1959), and Jason Carter (1971).  There's no better to celebrate these gentlemen than to share their music, and we definitely did that.  

New music was high on our priority list this week, too, and we shared brand-new music from Dailey & Vincent, Carson Peters & Iron Mountain, Greg Blake with Becky Buller, DownRiver Collective, and Appalachian Road Show.  

And if all of this wasn't enough, we also had an enjoyable conversation with Gerry Katz of the Boston Bluegrass Union, and he told us all about the return of the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival, as it will take place February 12-15 in Framingham, MA.  This festival hasn't happened since 2020, and should be a wonderful experience.  Learn more here.

Thanks for joining me on Sunday afternoon!  We look forward to visiting with another Bluegrass Cafe this coming Sunday afternoon, 4-7PM.  

See you then!

Amy O.

SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL [Request is RED]

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• Don't Let My Love Get In The Way / Del McCoury & the Dixie Pals / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel [Del McCoury birthday, 2/1/1939]
• Bessie's Tune / Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike / Small Town Heroes / Bell Buckle Records [Tom Gray birthday, 2/1/1941]
• Wake Up / David Parmley & Continental Divide / Pathway Of Time / Pinecastle [David Parmley birthday, 2/1/1959]
• Kissimmee Kid / Jason Carter / Lowdown Hoedown / Fiddleman Records [Jason Carter birthday, 2/1/1971]
• So Black And White / Del McCoury Band / single / McCoury Music [Del McCoury birthday, 2/1/1939]
• Grandfather's Clock / The Seldom Scene / Live At The Cellar Door / Rebel [Tom Gray birthday, 2/1/1941]
• Wonder Could I Live There Anymore / David Parmley & Cardinal Tradition / David Parmley & Cardinal Tradition / DP&CD Records [David Parmley birthday, 2/1/1959]
• Midnight Flyer / Jason Carter / Lowdown Hoedown / Fiddleman Records [Jason Carter birthday, 2/1/1971]
• Ground Hog / The Dillards / Bluegrass Breakdown / Vanguard
• Wall Around Your Heart / Becky Buller with Jim Lauderdale / Songs That Sing Me / Dark Shadow Recording [Becky Buller birthday, 1/31/1979]
• Mountains And Memories / Country Gentlemen / Souvenirs / Rebel [Remembering Charlie Waller:  1/19/1935 - 8/18/2004]
• Have You Come To Say Goodbye / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / Radio Gems / Radio Gems
• Just A Little Ways Down The Road / Laurie Lewis / Trees / Spruce And Maple Music
• With Body And Soul / Johnson Mountain Boys / At The Old Schoolhouse / Rounder
• In The Mexican Sun / Red Camel Collective / single / Billy Blue Records
• Hill Country Highway / East Nash Grass / All God's Children / Mountain Fever Records
• Ragged Man / Gibson Brothers / Bona Fide / Sugar Hill
• Conversation with Gerry Katz of the Boston Bluegrass Union about Joe Val Bluegrass Festival
• Cold Wind / Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys / Diamond Joe / Rounder 
• He Can't Own Them / Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / Bluegrass Troubadour / Mountain Fever Records
• Blink Of An Eye / Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass / Bluegrass Troubadour / Mountain Fever Records
• Don't Sell Daddy Any More Whiskey / Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys / Diamond Joe / Rounder
• Ruby / Dailey & Vincent / single / Pillar Stone Records
• Walkin' Back To Georgia / Carson Peters & Iron Mountain / single / Billy Blue Records
• Love Found Me / Greg Blake with Becky Buller / single / Turnberry Records
• Rosalee McFall / Appalachian Road Show / Della Jane's Heart / Billy Blue Records
• Come On Back / DownRiver Collective / single / Self-Produced
• Steppin' Stones / Jimmy Martin / Good 'n' Country & Country Music Time / Jasmine
• Lonesome Pine Breakdown / Lonesome Pine Fiddlers / Windy Mountain / Bear Family
• Leaning On A Travelin' Song / Billy Strings / Highway Prayers / Reprise Records
• Blue Ain't The Word / Kody Norris Show / Highfalutin' Hillbilly / Rebel
• Heartbreak Hurricane / Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time / Songs From The Workbench / Ripchord Records
• Swing Low, Sweet Chariot / Parmley & McCoury / Families Of Tradition / BGC Records
• Every Humble Knee Must Bow / Nashville Bluegrass Band / To Be His Child / Rounder
• Lay Down Your Troubles / Gary Ferguson / I'm Really Leaving / Webco
• Heavenward Bound / Country Gentlemen / The Early Rebel Recordings, 1962-1971 / Rebel
• His Charming Love / High Fidelity / Banjo Player's Blues / Rebel
• Bring Him Your Talents / Bluegrass Cardinals / Way Down Deep In My Soul / Sugar Hill
• Take Him In / The Seldom Scene / Scene 20 / Sugar Hill
• Free Salvation / Del McCoury Band / The Streets Of Baltimore / McCoury Music
• Won't That Be A Happy Time / Special Consensus / Chicago Barn Dance / Compass Records
• I Found A Church Today / Gibson Brothers / In The Ground / Sugar Hill
• Somebody Touched Me / Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys / Bluegrass Breakdown / Vanguard
• Black Mountain Blues / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

"Bluegrass Cafe" playlist - 1/31/2021

On this fifth Sunday of January, we had a whole lot of wonderful Bluegrass folks to celebrate as their birthdays happen either very late in January or early in February.  Among the celebrants:  Bluegrass Hall of Famers Del McCoury and Tom Gray, as well as David Parmley, Jason Carter, and Becky Buller.  Happy Birthday to all!

A few weeks ago, old friend and New England musician, Dave Shaw, suggested that I play a block of songs in honor of the February 4th birthday of the late Clarence "Tater" Tate.  Though Tater died in 2007, he still made his mark in the Bluegrass world by serving as a sideman for bands with Hylo Brown, Jimmy Martin, Carl Story, Bill Monroe, and even on his own.  In later years, Tater played bass on Patty Loveless's 2001 recording, "Mountain Soul."  We were happy to include several songs from Dave Shaw's vast music library, and we look forward to hearing whatever else he chooses to spotlight in future weeks.   

We shared a tiny bit of newer music this week, too, with a look back at a 2020 release by Professor Dan Boner, and newer 2021 music from Barry Abernathy, Dale Ann Bradley, and Linda Lay.

Hope you enjoyed the show, and don't hesitate to check in anytime:  bgcafe@gmail.com or visit our Facebook page.

Have a good week!

Amy O.

SONG / PERFORMER / ALBUM / LABEL [Request is RED]

• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet
• A Good Man Like Me / Del McCoury & the Dixie Pals / Who Will Calm The Storm / Strictly Country [Del McCoury birthday, 2/1/1939]
• Grandfather's Clock / Seldom Scene / Live At The Cellar Door / Rebel [Tom Gray birthday, 2/1/1941]
• Bob Wills Medley / Bluegrass Cardinals / Tennessee Mountain Bluegrass Festival / CMH [David Parmley birthday, 2/1/1959]
• Katy Hill / Del McCoury Band / RockyGrass / Blue Planet [Jason Carter birthday, 2/1/1973]
• The Barber's Fiddle / Becky Buller / Distance And Time / Dark Shadow Recording [Becky Buller birthday, 1/31/1979]
• Lights On The Hill / Del McCoury / Don't Stop The Music / Rounder [Del McCoury birthday, 2/1/1939]
• Little Glass Of Wine / Country Gentlemen / On The Road (And More) / Smithsonian Folkways [Tom Gray birthday, 2/1/1941]
• Wonder Could I Live There Anymore / David Parmley & the Cardinal Tradition / David Parmley & the Cardinal Tradition / DP & CD Records [David Parmley birthday, 2/1/1959]
• John D. Champion / Becky Buller / Crepe Paper Heart / Dark Shadow Recording [Becky Buller birthday, 2/1/1959]
• Smoke Along The Track / Parmley & McCoury / Families Of Tradition / BGC Records
• I Overlooked An Orchid / Bob Paisley & the Southern Grass / Back To The Blue Ridge / Brandywine 
• Cold Wind / Joe Val & the New England Bluegrass Boys / Diamond Joe / Rounder
• The Sweetest Gift / Johnson Mountain Boys / At The Old Schoolhouse / Rounder
• Birmingham Jail / Barry Abernathy & Friends / single / Billy Blue Records
• Things She Couldn't Get Over / Dale Ann Bradley / Things She Couldn't Get Over / Pinecastle
• Watermelon On The Vine / Del McCoury Band / Old Memories:  Songs Of Bill Monroe / McCoury Music
• Darling Nellie Across The Sea / Hylo Brown / Hylo Brown / Stetson [Remembering Clarence "Tater" Tate:  2/4/1931 - 10/17/2007]
• Love And Wealth / Hylo Brown / Hylo Brown / Stetson [Remembering Clarence "Tater" Tate:  2/4/1931 - 10/17/2007]
• Flower Blooming In The Wildwood / Hylo Brown / Hylo Brown / Stetson [Remembering Clarence "Tater" Tate:  2/4/1931 - 10/17/2007]
• The Fiddling Cricket / Lester Flatt's Nashville Grass / Fantastic Pickin' / CMH [Remembering Clarence "Tater" Tate:  2/4/1931 - 10/17/2007]
• I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes / Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys / Sing Widow Maker / Decca [Remembering Clarence "Tater" Tate:  2/4/1931 - 10/17/2007]
• Lee Sutton Special / Tater Tate / Fiddling Favorites Of The U.S.A & Canada / Rural Rhythm [Remembering Clarence "Tater" Tate:  2/4/1931 - 10/17/2007]
• The Boys Are Back In Town / Patty Loveless / Mountain Soul / Epic [Remembering Clarence "Tater" Tate:  2/4/1931 - 10/17/2007]
• Liza Lynn Waltz / Tater Tate / Fiddling Favorites Of The U.S.A. & Canada / Rural Rhythm [Remembering Clarence "Tater" Tate:  2/4/1931 - 10/17/2007]
• Your Heart Now Tells The Truth / Bear Bridge Band / One More Ride / Open Road [Dave Shaw birthday, 1/29/1961]
• An Old Log Cabin For Sale / Bear Minimum / The Automobile Of Life / Open Road [Dave Shaw birthday, 1/29/1961]
• I'm Watching The Train Passing By / Bear Bridge Band / Broken Hearts & Better Times / Open Road [Dave Shaw birthday, 1/29/1961]
• Why Don't You Tell Me So / Professor Dan Boner / West Of West Virginia / Self-Produced
• Looking For A Reason / Ronnie Bowman / Ronnie Bowman / Engelhardt Music Group
• Grown Cold / Carolina Blue / Take Me Back / Billy Blue Records
• Jolly Blacksmith / Paul Warren / At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight / Bear Family Records
• Black Eyed Suzy / Earls Of Leicester / Live At The CMA Theater At The Country Music Hall Of Fame / Rounder 
• Blue, Blue Ridge Mountain Girl / Linda Lay / single / Mountain Fever Records
• Is It Wrong (To Love Somebody New) / Paul Adkins & the Borderland Band / Reflections Of Love / Rebel
• The Last Thing On My Mind / Professor Dan Boner with Sally Berry & Buck Trent / West Of West Virginia / Self-Produced
• Lone Star Rag / Tater Tate / Fiddling Favorites Of The U.S.A. & Canada / Rural Rhythm [Remembering Clarence "Tater" Tate:  2/4/1931 - 10/17/2007]
• You're Drifting Away / Bill Monroe with Ricky Skaggs / Cryin' Holy Unto The Lord / MCA [Remembering Clarence "Tater" Tate:  2/4/1931 - 10/17/2007]
• Let Him Lead You / Shenandoah Valley Quartet / Shenandoah Valley Quartet with Jim Eanes / County [Remembering Clarence "Tater" Tate:  2/4/1931 - 10/17/2007]
• Will The Angels Play Their Harps For Me / Hylo Brown / In Concert / Copper Creek [Remembering Clarence "Tater" Tate:  2/4/1931 - 10/17/2007]
• Light At The River / Carl Story / 16 Greatest Hits / Starday [Remembering Clarence "Tater" Tate:  2/4/1931 - 10/17/2007]
• Daniel Prayed / Patty Loveless / Mountain Soul / Epic [Remembering Clarence "Tater" Tate:  2/4/1931 - 10/17/2007]
• Lay Down Your Troubles / Gary Ferguson / I'm Really Leaving / Webco
• Get In Line Brother / Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs / The Essential Earl Scruggs / Columbia
• Come On Down / Lost & Found / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel
• I'm Rollin' Through This Unfriendly World / Nashville Bluegrass Band / The Boys Are Back In Town / Sugar Hill
• Heavenward Bound / Country Gentlemen / The Early Rebel Recordings, 1962-1971 / Rebel
• Place On Calvary / Dailey & Vincent / Dailey & Vincent / Rounder
• Before The Fire Comes Down / Del McCoury / Blue Side Of Town / Rounder
• I Saw Mother With God Last Night / Bluegrass Patriots / Kneel At The Cross / Red Feather
• I'll Meet You In The Morning / Appalachian Express / 35 Years Of The Best In Bluegrass / Rebel
• They Were Fishermen / Kenny & Amanda Smith / Gonna Sing, Gonna Shout / Billy Blue Records
• Row By Row / Balsam Range / Papertown / Mountain Home
• Gone Home / Gibson Brothers / Iron & Diamonds / Sugar Hill
• Little White Church / Jim & Jesse with Mac Wiseman / Music Among Friends / Rounder
• Lay Your Burdens At His Feet / Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver / Heavenly Treasures / Sugar Hill
• Bluegrass Twist / Johnson Mountain Boys / Requests / Rounder

"Bluegrass Cafe" Playlist - 2/1/2009

This show featured a live telephone interview with Del McCoury on his birthday. The Del McCoury Band will be performing at The Little Theatre in New Haven on Sunday, 8 February, so we thought it would be a good idea to talk to Del. The discussion was delightful. Del recalled the 1950s and 1960s days of the Baltimore bluegrass hot bed, and related how his most popular recording in recent history, "1952 Vincent Black Lightning", was pitched to him by Connecticut resident Dick Bowden. If you missed the interview, you can hear it again here.

We also celebrated other bluegrass birthdays: David Parmley, Tom Gray, and Del's bandmate and fiddler - Jason Carter, by playing some of their recordings.

The songs were mostly vintage for this show, but we did slip in a few new recordings from Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Special Consensus, Balsam Range, Mac Wiseman, Dry Branch Fire Squad, New England band Crossover, Audie Blaylock and Redline, and Pam Gadd.

Tune in next week when Amy will make the banjos and fiddles ring.

Jim & Marti

SONG TITLE / PERFORMER / ALBUM TITLE / LABEL

• Back Up And Push / Patrick McAvinue / Grave Run / Patuxent
• Opening Theme: Wake Up Susan / The Johnson Mountain Boys / Live At The Birchmere / Rounder
• We Can't Be Darlings Anymore / The Johnson Mountain Boys / Live At The Birchmere / Rounder
• Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms / Del McCoury / I Wonder Where you Are Tonight / Arhoolie
• I Wonder Where You Are Tonight / Everett Lilly & Everybody and Their Brother / Everett Lilly & Everybody and Their Brother / Swift River
• Footprints In The Snow / Bill Monroe & The Blue Grass Boys / The Essential / Columbia
• Wild Mountain Flowers For Mary / Lost & Found / Classic Bluegrass / Rebel
• Down In Caroline / Balsam Range / Last Train To Kitty Hawk / Mountain Home
• Signs / Special Consensus / Signs / Pinecastle
• Heart Wrenching Love Sick Memories / Rhonda Vincent & The Rage / Destination Life (Prime Cuts Vol. 97) / Rounder (KBC)
• Don't Act / Rhonda Vincent & The Rage / All American Bluegrass Girl / Rounder
• I'll Be All Smiles Tonight / Mac Wiseman / 1st Recorded Live Concert / Wise
• Tall Pines / Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands / Live / Spruce & Maple
• The Bluebirds Are Singing / The Country Gentlemen / Early Rebel Recordings / Rebel
• Little Joe / Dry Branch Fire Squad / Echoes of the Mountains / Rounder
• Beautiful Brown Eyes / The Gibson Brothers / Bona Fide / Sugar Hill
• As Long As I Live / Don Reno And Charlie Moore / Bluegrass Legends "Together" / Wango
• Maybe You Will Change Your Mind / Don Reno & Red Smiley / 1951 / 1959 / King
• Lonesome Road Blues / Hylo Brown / Essential Original Masters / Rural Rhythm
• Pardon Me / Tommy Brown & The County Line Grass / Hard Drivin' / Lavenir
• I Feel The Blues Movin' In / Del McCoury / The Best Of The GrooveGrass Years / GrooveGrass

Interview with Del McCoury

• 1952 Vincent Black Lightning / The Del McCoury Band / Del And The Boys / Ceili Music
• Girl From The North Country / Tony Rice / Plays And Sings Bluegrass / Rounder
• Cora Is Gone / Jack Lawrence / About Time / G-Run
• Ten Miles To Deep Gap / Jack Lawrence / About Time / G-Run
• Room At The Top Of The Stairs / Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys / At Merlefest April 25 2008 / FestivaLink
• Blue Ridge Mountain Blues / Bill Clifton / Blue Ridge Mountain Blues / Gusto
• I Don't Mind / Buzz Busby / Blue Ridge Mountain Blues / Gusto
• Three Silver Dollars / David Parmley & Continental Divide / Three Silver Dollars / Pinecastle
• I Could Love You All The Time / Flat Mountain Boys / Blue Ridge Mountain Blues / Gusto
• Blue Virginia Blue / Ken Orrick / Pictures and Stories / Hay Holler
• Some Old Day / Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs / Foggy Mountain Jamboree / Columbia
• You'll Get No More Of Me / Hazel Dickens / A Few Old Memories / Rounder
• Dark Hollow / Crossover / Friends Having Fun / Self
• Put My Little Shoes Away / Lynwood Lunsford / Pick Along / Hay Holler
• Are You Tired Of Me My Darling / Lilly Brothers & Don Stover / Early Recordings / Rebel
• My Darling's Last Goodbye / Audie Blaylock and Redline / Audie Blaylock and Redline / Rural Rhythm
• Lost / Avery County / Me & The Jukebox / Self
• Hold Whatcha Got / Pam Gadd / Benefit of Doubt / Home Sweet Highway
• Thy Burdens Are Greater Than Mine / Iron Horse / The Gospel According to Hank Williams / CMH
• What Would You Give In Exchange / Cody Schuler & Pine Mountain Railroad / Pickin', Praisin' & Singin' / Rural Rhythm
• The Candle Song / Jim Eanes / In His Arms / Rebel
• Cabin In Glory / Carl Story / The Best Of Starday Bluegrass / King
• Back To The Cross / Flatt & Scruggs / The Complete Mercury Sessions / Mercury
• They're At Rest Together / Earl Taylor & The Stoney Mountain Boys / Mountain Music Bluegrass Style / Smithsonian Folkways
• Mountain Preacher's Child / Ralph Stanley / Mountain Preacher's Child / Rebel
• How High Is That Mountain / Larry Stephenson / Thankful / Pinecastle
• The Promise / The Gillis Brothers / Sunshine In The Shadows / Hay Holler