Bluegrass, newgrass and beyond. From Bill Monroe to Billy Strings, the Yolo County Breakdown is a journey through acoustic string music ranging from the traditional to the cutting edge.
Podcast
The Yolo County Breakdown for Jan 16, 2026Fri, 01/16/2026 - 10:00am | Rocky OutcropBob Weir was a giant. He has a place in music history among the rare breed of artists who could reach deep inside your heart and mind to connect on an ephemeral plane that would find you questioning everything you thought you once knew. As a guitar player, he forged a new path made of ear-twisting chords rich in augmented and diminished tones that delivered a perfect blend of harmony and dissonance. If you ever found yourself at a Grateful Dead concert looking around and confusedly asking yourself, "What was that sound?" chances are, that sound was Bobby. As a songwriter, he crafted tales that painted puzzling pictures of sound on the ceilings of dancehalls and stadiums across the world. And he did it with a smile and an enthusiasm that invited everyone to jump on the bus and come along for the ride. This week on the Yolo County Breakdown, we remember the life and music of Bob Weir who passed away on January 10, and we do it bluegrass style. |
Replay of The Yolo County Breakdown from Oct 17, 2025Fri, 01/02/2026 - 10:00am | Jim BuchananRocky plays a version of the song that brought a lot of fans to bluegrass. From the movie Deliverance, people surely remember the epic tune Dueling Banjos. Lester Flatt's outfit knows the original title was Feudin' Banjos, and they take it for a ride. Plus outlaw Billy Strings enjoys singing about weed and running from the law. Well C.W. McCall was doing that before Billy was born, so Rocky lets him show young Billy how it was done before it was cool. |
Replay of The Yolo County Breakdown from May 02, 2025Fri, 12/26/2025 - 10:34am | Jim BuchananRocky is joined by a very special guest - the one and only Flux himself - Jerry Douglas. They celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the most important bluegrass recordings of all time - the J.D. Crowe and the New South album better known as Rounder 044. Jerry is one of only 2 surviving members of the band that created a new standard of excellence in bluegrass when they released this album back in 1975. In the 50 years since, Jerry has cemented his place in music history as the greatest dobro player of all time. He has won 16 Grammy Awards and appeared on thousands of recordings in a career that is unmatched by any other resophonic guitar player on planet Earth. Jerry reminisces on the legendary New South recording sessions, playing alongside Tony Rice, Ricky Skaggs, Bobby Slone and J.D. Crowe. |
The Yolo County Breakdown for Dec 19, 2025Fri, 12/19/2025 - 10:00am | Rocky OutcropRocky brings out some fine banjo pickers like Don Reno, Bela Fleck and Snuffy Jenkins. He satisfies the deadheads with an acoustic ditty from Jerry Garcia. And he plays a live recording of the legendary Berkeley, CA appearances of Doc & Merle Watson that were released on a 7 disc box set that sure would be a nice stocking stuffer for those bluegrass fans in your life! |
The Yolo County Breakdown for Dec 12, 2025Fri, 12/12/2025 - 10:00am | Rocky Outcrop50 years ago, an album was released that would sell more copies than any other album in bluegrass history - and hold on to that record for 25 years. The album was called Old & In The Way and its all-star cast of pickers included Grateful Dead icon Jerry Garcia on banjo, David Grisman on mandolin, Vassar Clements on fiddle, John Kahn on bass, and Peter Rowan on guitar. Peter and Rocky recently had a great conversation about his music career, and this episode of the Yolo County Breakdown features that interview. Peter talks about his early days sneaking into music clubs in Massachusetts, and Rocky follows the path of his musical journey through his time with Joe Val, Bill Monroe, Muleskinner, Townes Van Zandt, Wyatt Ellis, and much more. Peter is a gifted story teller, and this conversation is one you will not want to miss! |
The Yolo County Breakdown for Dec 05, 2025Fri, 12/05/2025 - 10:00am | Rocky OutcropRocky walks the traditional path with Bill, Doc, Earl and Jimmy but also branches out with Stuart Duncan and Natalie Merchant. And there is a romping cover of Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze brought to you via Tommy Emmanuel and Jerry Douglas. Excuse me, while I kiss this guy! |
The Yolo County Breakdown for Nov 28, 2025Fri, 11/28/2025 - 10:00am | Rocky OutcropIf you ate some turkey this week, then come along and Ride the Wild Turkey with Rocky! Lots of tracks from the year 2023 this week for some reason including a great cover of a Crosby, Stills & Nash classic. And for all you pilgrims out there, Kris Kristofferson offers an update. Rocky is sure to make you hit the buy now button for all the Black Friday Bluegrass Specials. |
The Yolo County Breakdown for Nov 21, 2025Fri, 11/21/2025 - 10:00am | Rocky OutcropRocky has a delightful set from some lovely ladies of bluegrass including names like Alison, Emmylou, and Laurie. If you know Rocky's taste, you already know who those 3 are! Plus a couple of bluegrass covers of Beatles tunes. Rocky serves ya the goods! |
The Yolo County Breakdown for Nov 14, 2025Fri, 11/14/2025 - 10:00am | Rocky OutcropReno & Smiley show us where we came from and Billy Strings shows us where things are going. Tony Rice tells the tale of the Edmund Fitzgerald which sank 50 years ago this month. And the husband and wife team of Kristen Scott Benson and Wayne Benson close the show with an instrumental that has as deep a groove as any bluegrass tune of the last decade. Rocky picks tunes that are sure to keep your toes tapping... |
The Yolo County Breakdown for Nov 07, 2025Fri, 11/07/2025 - 10:00am | Rocky OutcropRocky has 2 different bluegrass covers of Adele songs this week - one from the son of a country music legend and the other from a powerhouse trio of female folk & bluegrass superstars. Plus a track that is decidedly grassy from a member of Crosby, Stills and Nash. Guess which one?! |
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