…no forgetting Mommy’s Day ’round here!

Boy I’ll tell you, if there’s one topic that makes it into more bluegrass songs than any other, mother is sure in the running. Right alongside equally relevant subject matter such as loneliness, murder, the old home place, the road that never ends, and coon dogs. You are sure enough in good company mom!

In all the years “Fields of Bluegrass” has been on the air our approach to this most sacrosanct of subjects has been to spin a bunch of them pitiful, mournful, “Mama’s  up yonder in heaven a-waiting” type numbers and then put it out there that there’s just one more shopping day until you-know-what. No hidden agendas here, pretty all out there indeed.

Larry Sparks will share one in which mama is the first person he writes when life in the big city isn’t all he’d hoped it would be. Newfound Road sings one from the perspective of a daddy telling his motherless little girl what her mommy was like. Lynn Morris sings one written by the great Hazel Dickens about letting your child leave the poverty she was born into for the hope of a better life elsewhere.

Yup, on a ‘pitiful scale’ of 1-10 we’re looking at about a 9.3 this time around, friends.
Any buddy have an ‘in’ with the folks that make Kleenex so we can look into an endorsement deal?

Other artists in the program include Reno & Smiley, Jesse Brock, Flatt & Scruggs, David Grisman, Del McCoury, Ricky Skaggs, IIIrd Tyme Out, Grasstowne, The Stanley Brothers,The Dry Branch Fire Squad and more. And lest we lose sight of the fact that grandmothers are mommies too, Randy Kohrs will provide a fine number that’ll serve to remind us.

Join us at 9PM Eastern if you’re in “The Land of Bean Blossom.” You’ll find us at 88.7 on your FM dial, right smack dab in the middle of “Friday Night Folk” programming on WICR.

Not in Indy? Not a problem!
The current show is posted on the player at the right side of this very page and updates once a week, friends.

Sadly, had to say goodbye to George Jones this week. We have a fine bluegrass rendition of “Her Name Is…” from The Lost & Found to share, will have George Jones ending the program singing “Angel Band” with Dr. Ralph Stanley at the end of the gospel set, too.

Been listening to Doc Watson a lot at home this week. Songs from Peter Rowan and Jack Lawrence gave me reason to believe I’m not the only one. And towards the end of the show Doc will get a nice version of “I Am A Pilgrim” going in the gospel set.

Let’s see. In addtion to those already mentioned…Del McCoury, Gibson Brothers, Ricky Skaggs, Frank Solivan. Sutton, Holt, & Coleman. John Reischman. Steel Drivers. Country Gentlemen, Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass. Ralph Stanley. Don Rigsby.
Yeah, I know. Right?

Join us at 9PM Eastern if you’re in “The Land of Bean Blossom.” You’ll find us at 88.7 on your FM dial, right smack dab in the middle of “Friday Night Folk” programming on WICR.

Not in Indy? Not a problem!  The current show is posted on the player at the right side of this very page and updates once a week, friends.

All Spring. All Birds.
That’s the theme.
The Music?
Well, fiddles. Banjers. Mandolins. The whole nine.
You know, bluegrass and old-time mountain music.

I’d be real surprised if any bluegrass artist performed more songs on the subject of the little winged ones than The Stanley Brothers. And after brother Carter’s passing, Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys added quite a few on the subject to their repertoire as well. We’ll even squeeze a Don Reno & Benny Martin collaboration in there that was recorded some time ago too, if time allows.

So, this week, no matter who is singing them, they’re going to be about birds. Redbirds, bluebirds, thrush, white doves, mourning doves, blackbirds and crows of course, and the Eastern Whippoorwill (Caprimulgus vociferus). Even the cuckoo makes an appearance, in the form of an old-timey instrumental from Norman Blake.

Offerings from the modern era include Donna Hughes, Cadillac Sky, King Wilkie, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Blue Highway, The Wilders, The Grascals, Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers, Tim O’Brien, Rowan & Rice, Reeltime Travelers, Don Rigsby, Laurie Lewis, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper…

…and you’d better know that ain’t all!

We’ll take it on out with a number about a robin that built a nest on daddy’s grave and one popularized by Roy Acuff about that ‘great speckled bird’ from Jim & Jesse.

Join us at 9PM Eastern if you’re in “The Land of Bean Blossom.” You’ll find us at 88.7 on your FM dial, right smack dab in the middle of “Friday Night Folk” programming on WICR.

Not in Indy? Not a problem!  The current show is posted on the player at the right side of this very page and updates once a week, friends.

Sure, it’s fun to joke about murder and coon dogs being the subject matter of your typical bluegrass song. Truth is, there are more songs on the subject of home than just about anything else.

A contributing factor is the great migration of rural southerners in decades past. Many left the farm to relocate to large cities such as Chicago, Detroit, and Indianapolis where factory jobs were plentiful. It’s little wonder then that songs about mom and dad, “The Old Home Place,” and a life left behind resonated with said audience and ultimately sold records.

We’ll get started with one co-written by Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt about a little cabin home on a hill, and I’m bettin’ that rings a bell! Mac Wiseman, Dave Evans, The Dillards, Ricky Skaggs, Laurie Lewis, The Rice Brothers, Larry Sparks, and Peter Rowan & The Red Hot Pickers will all have songs to share on the subject, as does Indy’s own Cornfields & Crossroads.

The gospel set, as you might suspect, will focus on “That Home Far Away.” And Don Rigsby, Paul Williams, JD Crowe, Doyle Lawson, and James King are the artists featured.

If you’re in the greater Indianapolis area, tune in to 88.7 on your FM dial at 9PM EASTERN during “Friday Night Folk” programming on WICR.

Not in Indy? Not a problem!

You can pick up our live stream by clicking on the WICR logo on the right here, or the program will be posted right here on “The Old Homepage” later this week and remains on our player for 7 days.