Bluegrass Unlimited's Podcast

This week we feature fiddler Jimmy Mattingly and talk with him about his career playing in fiddle contests as a young fiddler, performing in bluegrass band such as Spectrum, the Osbourne Brothers and the Grascals and working with country music acts such as Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood and others.  We will also talk about him being the fiddle instructor at the Bluegrass Unlimited Workshop Weekend in February 2026 in Owensboro, Kentucky. 

This week we feature Jaelee Roberts, the lead singer and guitar player for Sister Sadie.  We talk with Jaelee about growing up in a prominent bluegrass family, performing with an award-winning band, recording her solo albums and performing on the Grand Ole Opry.  You will also hear a couple of songs from Jaelee's newest solo album.

      This week we feature mandolin master Don Stiernberg.  A protégé of the great Jethro Burns, Don is known for both his bluegrass and jazz chops on the mandolin and guitar.  In this podcast I'll talk with Don about his years learning from and performing with Jethro Burns and the connections that Jethro had with music legends like Hank Williams, Sr., Chet Adkins, Bill Monroe and Red Rector.  We'll also talk about Don's work with Special Consensus over the years.

This week we feature Avril Smith, the guitar player with Della Mae, and talk with her about her career in music, her teaching at Bryan Sutton's guitar camp, Della Mae's newest recording and what 2026 has in store for the band.

This week we feature banjo player Jeremy Stephens.  After we discuss how he got his start in bluegrass music, the various bands that Jeremy has performed with over the years and the groups he is with currently, we will talk about his deep interest in Don Reno's banjo style and his study of Reno's life story.