Sam Grisman, the 35-year-old son of mandolin icon David “Dawg” Grisman, grew up in a unique and supercharged musical environment, to put it mildly. Jerry Garcia was coming over all the time to the family home to pick and record old-time folk music with the elder Grisman. Bluegrass legends came and went, rehearsing and recording, and giving Sam something to aspire to when he picked up the bass as a little kid. After a decade working and touring as sideman, he’s now based in Nashville leading his own collective, the Sam Grisman Project, which is nurturing the repertoire of the Grisman/Garcia partnership, with selected tunes from the Grateful Dead repertoire as well. With a remarkable concert at the Ryman Auditorium in January 2025, Sam stepped into a new phase of his musical life.

After decades in the shadows as a catalog company, historic Sun Records was acquired four years ago by the global music and media company Primary Wave. Now headquartered in Brentwood, a refreshed Sun is an active label again, and its 2024 releases by Americana standouts Amy Helm and Ruthie Foster - plus a flurry of vintage reissues - suggest that it’s going to make a substantial impact on the roots music space in the years to come.

For country singer Kaitlin Butts, 2023 was very good and 2024 was even better, with an Americana Award nomination, praise in Rolling Stone magazine, and festival dates she’d been dreaming of. Her reputation and acclaim grew on the strength of her feisty stage temperament, her bold and cutting voice, and her fearless songs. Raised in Oklahoma on theater and country music, the iconic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical set in her state became a touchstone. Years later, she’d take the bold step of writing and recording a concept album reacting to and enlarging on the themes of the show. It’s called Roadrunner!, and it was among the most impactful albums in Americana and country music last year.