Michael Daves

Want to jam with others more confidently? 🎶 Join @cfinkbanjo , @marcya.marxer , @michael.daves & @flatpicktyler for a live conversation on how to jam confidently with others. Plus, we'll chat about Cathy & Marcy's brand-new American Roots Songs & Arranging school and answer your questions live on air. Set your reminder now and tune in at 12 PM PST / 3 PM EST at the link in bio!

It was 15 years ago today: mandolinist @ChrisThile and guitarist @Michael.Daves ’s ‘Sleep with One Eye Open’ was released on Nonesuch. The album—a collection of 16 traditional tunes by bluegrass legends like The Monroe Brothers, The Louvin Brothers, Jimmy Martin, and Flatt & Scruggs—was recorded live to tape over four days at @officialJackWhite ’s @ThirdManRecords studio in Nashville. “A rip-roaring partnership ... Bluegrass, in their hands, gets roughed up in the best possible way, with skill and fervor, and a touch of abandon.” —New York Times Design: @EvanGaffney . Photography: @EricMcNatt . #ChrisThile #MichaelDaves #Mandolin #Guitar #Bluegrass

Atlanta, we’re coming to you! (Well, Marietta 😎). Jacob Jolliff and I are at @hunthousemarietta this Sunday for an intimate 6pm duo show. Would love to see some folks around the ol’ stomping grounds. And if you haven’t heard Jacob before his playing will melt your face. Among other things we’ll be playing selections from our new album We Like Jim & Jesse, out now on @wildgeraniumrecords . This song is Hank Snow’s The Golden Rocket, which appears on Jim & Jesse’s 1969 album We Like Trains. #bluegrassduo #davesjolliff #welikejimandjesse #jimandjesse #weliketrains

What an incredible weekend in Berkeley! Feeling so grateful for my community and mentors. Thanks so much to my incredible band @michael.daves @hazel.dean__ @draw_nave . (Shout out special guest @calebklauder !) And thanks to @laurielewismusic for inviting me to do a whole set of Tex Logan music at the festival. Also big thank you to @jodylogan for her support and sharing her dads music with me 💜💜💜 Tune: Northeast Seaboard Blues by Tex Logan Video by @tikakofi #fiddle #bluegrass #texlogan

My guest this week is @michael.daves and we’re chatting about the superb new record he has out with @jacob.jolliff , We Like Jim & Jesse! The record, released on Michael’s own label Wild Geranium Records, celebrates the music of first generation bluegrass legends, brothers Jim and Jesse McReynolds. Michael talks about meeting Jesse in 2019 - he was 90 or 91 at the time and still writing new tunes every day - and how that sparked the idea for the record. We also chat about Jesse’s unique contribution to the history of bluegrass mandolin, how one of their biggest hits was written on the spot in response to an argument and why Jim and Jesse’s vocal blend is every bit as important to their sound as Jesse’s mandolin playing. We also talk about Fables, Michael’s recent release that pays tribute to a very different act... @rem This interview was recorded at @SoreFingers , the wonderful UK bluegrass camp that runs every Easter (and has for the past 30 years). Later this week I’ll be bringing you an interview with Tony Trischka, also recorded at the camp, plus a special episode celebrating Sore Fingers. Link in bio or listen wherever you get your podcasts #bluegrass #countrymusic #musicinterview

Reuniting with fiddle hero @bruce_molsky tonight at @jalopybrooklyn . It’s part of my bi-monthly residency featuring different special guests and Bruce is very special indeed! There will be barn burning tunes like this one, the ol’ Forked Deer, plus lonesome harmonies and even a guitar duet or two… Come on down if you’re in NYC and let yer friends know Sunday, April 26 8pm Tix in bio

LOVE singing with @bruce_molsky who is also one of the gnarliest and masterful fiddlers of all time. We’re playing a duo show this Sunday, April 26 at @jalopybrooklyn - 8pm. Tix in bio This song is called Meeting is Over, and comes from the music of NC ballad singer Dillard Chandler #molskydaves #dillardchandler #oldtimesinging #oldtimefiddle

Amazing lineup of special guests here for my bi-monthly residency at @jalopybrooklyn . Tickets are now on sale via jalopytheatre.org and michaeldaves.com This Sunday, April 26 I get to reunite with old-time fiddle legend Bruce Molsky – expect barnburning tunes and mountainous vocal harmonies. Bruce is a national treasure! Photo: Maria Camillo @maria_camillo6 On June 14 is a reunion show of Breakfast Special, the madcap progressive bluegrass outfit founded in 1973 by Andy Statman, Tony Trischka, and Kenny Kosek. Those OGs will be there with me and Jared Engel holding down the fort. Warning: things may get wild, and very, very funny. Photo: @manishgosalia On August 9 I’ll be joined by one of the most phenomenal fiddlers working today, Tatiana Hargreaves. We’ll dig into the old-time tunes and songs, some Louvin Brothers numbers, some material from my album Orchids & Violence, and music from Tati’s upcoming record (which I am producing!) which pays tribute to feral fiddle hero (and physicist) Tex Logan. FYI Tati and I will also be performing in CA May 3 at the Berkeley Bluegrass Festival at @thefreightberkeley . Photo: @erinkiernanphotography And on October 11 my guest is flatpicker extraordinaire Andy Falco of the @stringdusters . This will be a picker’s paradise, a love letter to the bluegrass guitar tradition, and a joyride of collective improvisation.

Well we had a big ‘ol Hazel Dickens love fest at @sorefingerssummerschools in England (you can tell it’s England by the weather!). Led by Joe Newberry, we performed Hazel’s signature song West Virginia, My Home as part of a monthly series I’m doing to honor Hazel’s centennial (which was in 2025) on my school of bluegrass vocals with @artistworksinc . Of course that’s @tonytrischka on banjo, @beckybullerofficial on fiddle, @ericthorin on bass, @billycardine on dobro, and @mistertaterbug Mike Compton on mandolin. You can see the whole 45+ minute video on ArtistWorks (link in my bio), where I do a detailed breakdown of the lead and harmony parts on Hazel’s recording (the one on Hard Hitting Songs For Hard Hit People, 1980). Big thanks to these fine folks for pitching in with a heartfelt performance during a busy week, and to my ArtistWorks students who have been patiently hanging in there while I’ve been super busy with touring etc. #hazeldickens #westvirginiamyhome #sfss #sorefingers2026 #bluegrassvocals

Fretboard Journal Podcast 546: @michael.daves and @jacob.jolliff on the magic of Jim & Jesse! Michael and Jacob just released a new tribute album, 'We Like Jim & Jesse!' and we hear all about it, the gear they used, why Jim & Jesse remain so influential and more. Link is in the bio, or find it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

You don’t wanna miss this! 🪕 Winter village music is excited to present the high energy bluegrass, duo of @michael.daves and @jacob.jolliff at CSMA‘s Martha Hamblin Hall. Join us to celebrate the release of their new recording. We like Jim and Jesse, Naomi Summers and Rick Manning will be opening the show with a short set tickets available now. Click the link in bio!

We Like Jim & Jesse! In case that’s not abundantly clear... We will be performing tonight at the newly reborn @adamstheater in the beautiful Berkshires of Western MA. Pioneer Valley / Hudson Valley / SoVT folks we hope to see you! Ticket link in bio. We’ll play music from our new album We Like Jim & Jesse!, out now on @wildgeraniumrecords . This one is Stoney Creek, by the great Jesse McReynolds (with an assist from fiddler Jimmy Buchanan). #stoneycreek #jimandjesse #jimandjesseandthevirginiaboys #jimmybuchanan #davesjolliff