Robbie Fulks is a native North Carolinian who has bluegrass and country as a default position, but also revels in many other musical styles. A stint at Columbia University in New York probably helped broaden his world view, but there's something of an auto didact about him, too. Music came naturally, as his father played guitar and his aunt banjo, which he started playing at age six. Skipping ahead, In 1987, he joined The Special Consensus Bluegrass Band, where he showcased his unique guitar flatpicking style. In the early 1990s he performed in the musical Woody Guthrie's American Song. Fulks writes some very funny songs that, as one critic noted, "subvert the country tropes," but his music also delves deep.

Murieann Bradley is a 19-year-old acoustic guitarist/singer from Ireland who specializes in the fingerpicking styles of the 1920s, 30s and 40s, citing influences such as Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis, and Elizabeth Cotten. She learned to play largely from her father, a blues enthusiast. After a breakout performance on the BBC's Jools' Annual Hootenanny in 2023, she has toured the world, including a performance at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee on March 28. Her debut album, I Kept These Old Blues, was released on Tompkins Square Records and later reached the top ten of the UK Albums Download Chart. She signed with Decca Records in late 2024.

Melanie D.G. Kaplan talks to Jim Motavalli about her book Lab Dog: A Beagle and his Human Investigate the Surprising World of Animal Research. She explores the ethics and future of animal experimentation through the story of her rescued beagle, Hammy.