Great conversation with bluegrass fiddler Bronwyn Keith-Hynes on her exploding career — from attending this year’s Grammys under the auspices of Molly Tuttle (in whose band Golden Highway she plays fiddle), to making her debut on the Grand Ole Opry last month, to a year chock full of tour dates and festivals playing under her own name.

We talked about the pros and cons of playing in someone else’s band versus rallying under your own flag, and the challenge of striking any kind of reasonable work-life balance when you in hot pursuit of a lifelong dream. I think my favorite part of this conversation was Bronwyn’s articulate description of the way she learned how to improvise, a skill that came fairly late for a picker of such proficiency. "I made a list of all the things I was bad at and slowly worked at raising each of them.”

We discussed the difference between West Coast bluegrass versus the same kind of music coming out of Appalachia or the South (this is my distinction, not any kind official pronouncement, but I think there’s something to it and I did try to put some words to it).

In a new thing for the podcast, I queued up a highlight reel of bluegrass favorites in the throes of their own spirited playing: Vassar Clements, Stuart Duncan, Michael Cleveland, and Alison Krauss, while Bronwyn dished out her takes. Super fun.

Finally, she played a live one here in the Ranch Vovo studio — the Peter Rowan classic “Angel Island”, with her husband (and 6x IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year) Jason Carter, accompanying on guitar and harmonies).

It’s not everyday I get the opportunity to speak with a young player whose recent considerable successes feel like the prelude to a much larger career. Bronwyn plays the hell out of her instrument, even while she’s looking toward finding new ways of expressing herself. First playing, then singing, now songwriting.

The heart of this podcast has to do with a kind of transparent vulnerability — people, even very talented people, are all on a dynamic journey, part growth, part risk, part dream. Hope you like this one as much as I did.

00:00 Intro - Vassar Clements Reaction 00:45 Hi Bronwyn just debuted on the Grand Ole Opry 03:34 If you're not getting nervous then you're not really living 04:09 The latest record 05:20 Bronwyn's BG Story begins in Irish Fiddling 06:28 Fiddle Contest culture vs jamming culture 09:29 When did Bronwyn get curious about improvised music? 12:23 "I would make a list of everything I was bad at and try to raise the level" 14:31 Do you have go-to solos you'll play in pressure situations? 15:52 Whats the trade-off between being in a band vs a solo act? 19:23 THe perils of self-identifying a a BG fiddler 20:47 Bronwyn sets up Angel Island 25:29 Korby’theory abt the difference between West Coast BG and Appalachian BG 28:46 Where does Bronwyn think her music falls in terms of traditional BG? 33:21 Reaction to Vassar Clements 35:20 Reactsion to Stuart Duncan 37:19 Korby tells a story about seeing Edgar Meyer at the Kinkos in Green Hills 38:01 Reaction to Michael Cleveland 40:37 Reaction to Alison Krauss 41:49 Bronwyn discusses her relationship to social media 44:40 Do you have a decent sense of a work-life balance?