The Yolo County Breakdown

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.

Replays Sunday 3-4pm
Live Friday 10-11am
Podcast
Music programs are only online for two weeks after they are broadcast.

The Yolo County Breakdown for Nov 14, 2025

Reno & 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 Oct 31, 2025

Rocky's got a challenge for all you mandolin afficianados this week. He spins a set of mandolin-centric instrumentals. How many of the 8-string pickers can you name? No cheating and looking at the playlist before you listen! Plus he has a brand new bluegrass cover of a Blind Faith song from Dre Anders & Ronnie Bowman that is bluesy and real real fine.

The Yolo County Breakdown for Oct 24, 2025

Rocky checks out the bluegrassy side of a few legends of country music - Johnny Cash, George Jones, and John Prine. Plus something brand new from Megan McKamey that sounds real nice and a look back at the sound of the newest member of Alison Krauss's band (Russell Moore) when he was with IIIrd Tyme Out long ago.

The Yolo County Breakdown for Oct 17, 2025

Rocky 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.

The Yolo County Breakdown for Sep 12, 2025

Rocky spins a mostly instrumental set this week. There are a few vocals in the mix, but listen to some of the best instrumentalists in the history of recorded music including Chris Thile, David Grier, Bela Fleck, Tony Rice, Mike Compton and many more. Check out the bluegrass version of the Jimi Hendrix classic - Little Wing!

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