💨 I went to the intersection of bluegrass and old-time

Last night I went to see Tony Triska, Michael Daves, and Bruce Molsky at Jalopy Theater, which is sort of a folk epicenter for New York City. They played both old-time and bluegrass music, exploring the shared historical roots of these two separate musical traditions. One tune they did that exemplifies this overlap was "The Rambler's Blues," which the Stanley Brothers recorded in the late 1940s, before they began emulating Bill Monroe's distinctive style of bluegrass music. They also played old-time's "Salt River," the basis for bluegrass' "Salt Creek." We also got "Fox Chase," complete with a cacophony of barking dogs and clucking chickens.

Here's a great video of Triska, Daves, and Molsky performing together at Paste Magazine. And while I'm at it, here's Michael Daves' and Chris Thile's Tiny Desk Concert from 2011. And since Chris Thile is in the air after the Punch Brothers' massive encore with Billy Strings last weekend — the full set is already fully on YouTube, by the way. When you're done with that, let's head back to NPR this Punch Brothers Tiny Desk, as well. (Looks like Chris Thile was paying rent at the Tiny Desk in the early 2010s.)

And Michael Daves, I have to shout out, wrote for the most recent issue of Train Songz. He wrote the first installment of "The Sit-In," a column I hope to continue in each issue where a musician writes about a favorite album of theirs. His words brought Bill Monroe and Doc Watson's Off The Record Volume 2 to life, and we were honored to have him in the zine.

The performance highlighted how these genres emerged from the same Appalachian wellspring, but diverged in the 1940s. While old-time music maintained its modal scales, drone-heavy fiddle bowing, and clawhammer banjo style, bluegrass adopted the innovations of Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys: the driving rhythm, Scruggs' three-finger banjo picking, and tight vocal harmonies.

Yet songs like "The Rambler's Blues" existed in that liminal space before these distinctions hardened. The Stanley Brothers' version of "The Rambler's Blues" captured this transitional moment perfectly, featuring the emotional directness of old-time but hints of the sophisticated arrangements that would define bluegrass.

I'm no expert on the intersection of bluegrass and old-time; what I know about old-time I mostly know via bluegrass and reading Bill Monroe's biography, and I'd love to hear from more of you who are experts on the topic. (Leave a comment!) I know you're out there! This is certainly something I'd like to explore more in future zines, and I'm grateful for the three excellent musicians from last night's show for breathing new life into the American folk tradition and bringing ignorant city boys like me along for the ride...