“I lived the dream I had at nineteen. Now I’m trying to see what else is out there.”—Jason Carter

For 33 years, Jason Carter was the fiddler for the Del McCoury Band—a role as iconic in bluegrass circles as it gets. He joined at nineteen, fresh out of Eastern Kentucky, and spent the next three decades on the road, backing one of the most revered voices in American roots music. If you’ve seen Del live any time since the early ’90s, you’ve seen Jason—bow flying, head tilted, every note right where it needed to be.

Now, for the first time in his adult life, he’s stepping away from the comfort of that legacy and striking out on his own. It’s not a reinvention so much as a slow reveal: Jason’s still playing the music he loves, just a little more on his own terms. In this conversation, we talk about how it all started, what he learned from years riding shotgun on the McCoury bus, and what finally tipped the scales toward change.

I first saw Jason at the Columbia Gorge Bluegrass Festival when I was still new to the whole scene. I remember watching him and thinking, This guy is the sound inside the sound. He wasn’t just playing fiddle—he was holding the whole thing together, quietly, from the side of the stage.

And now here he is, not just stepping into the spotlight musically, but in life too. Earlier this year, Jason married his partner and fellow musician Bronwyn Keith-Hynes in the circle of the Grand Ole Opry stage—at sunrise, no less. It’s the kind of detail that feels like the end of a movie. But for Jason, it’s really just the start.

Not only was this a fantastic conversation, but we also got a little taste of Jason steppin out to sing one of his own. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did!

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