What's The Reason For This Podcast

🔥🪕 The Fretliners took over the dungeon for a WTRFT Session, and this one is the perfect companion piece to When the Kettle Sings.

They came in swinging with songs off the brand new record, stripped down around the mic and played the way this band does best: live, loose, and ridiculously tight.

🎶 In the session:

🌲 “Whippoorwill” A groovy opener that immediately sets the tone.

🐢 “Snapping Turtle” An instrumental Sam literally wrote after finding a giant snapping turtle while out with his mandolin. Which is already weird enough.

Then we made it even dumber.

🔥🪕 The Fretliners are back in the dungeon, and more importantly, their brand new album When the Kettle Sings drops TODAY.

This episode is all about the record.

We dig into the two-year process behind it, how the band wanted to capture something more raw and alive, and what happened when T Bone Burnett and Daniel Tashian helped bring that vision into focus. 🎙️🔥

Instead of building the album piece by piece, The Fretliners leaned into what they already do best:

🎻 Playing together in a room

🎙️ Gathering around a single mic

🚫 No click tracks...

🌱🎻 Grassfed Bluegrass is growing up fast, and Riley and Miller came on WTRFT to talk about how the hell they’re pulling it off.

They went from bluegrass fans and festival volunteers to building their own festival on the Outer Banks and basically learning everything as they go. 😅

We get into:

🎟️ Booking bands 🏕️ Finding the right venue 🍺 Beer, vendors and logistics 🚽 The extremely glamorous world of porta potties 📱 Social media and marketing 👕 Merch 🚗 Parking 💸 Ticket sales 😬 And the constant feeling of “oh shit, we actually have to make this happen”

We also talk about how Billy Strings helped pull...

🔥 Water Tower 💦 finally made it into the dungeon and this one is equal parts bluegrass, punk rock, busking, internet chaos, and good old fashioned DIY hustle.

These guys call themselves punk rock bluegrass, which sounds confusing until you hear the story.

They started with traditional string music, punk rock roots, DIY flyers, busking on freeway off ramps, and a whole lot of figuring it out as they went. Then the pandemic hit, touring disappeared, and somehow that pushed them even harder into building a community online.

🎶 We get into:

🪕 How Water Tower went f...

🎸🔥 Jon Stickley finally made it onto WTRFT and this one goes DEEP.

We talk Broke Mountain, learning bluegrass on the fly, the difference between East Coast and Colorado bluegrass, the influence of Jeff Austin, and what happens when a guitar player gets so good that he starts casually discovering new things he didn’t even know he could do. 😂

We also get into:

🪕 The absolutely ridiculous Broke Mountain lineup

🎶 Going from punk and indie rock to flatpicking bluegrass

🏔️ How Colorado changed the way he heard the music

🔥 Playing the Jeff Austin t...

🔥 Season 3 keeps getting weirder in the best way.

This week we’ve got Austin Kress, better known as Stony McBlaze, in the dungeon and this one is a full send. 😂🌿🎤

Austin breaks down how a homeschooled Christian kid chasing serious acting in LA somehow turned into one of the internet’s favorite stoners, built a massive following, ended up at the X Games, and then had to figure out how the hell to turn viral fame into an actual comedy career.

🎤 We get into:

🌿 How Stony McBlaze was born

📱 Going viral almost immedi...

🚨 Season 3 keeps rolling with Ben Wright of the Henhouse Prowlers and Bluegrass Ambassadors.

This one goes way beyond bluegrass.

🎻 We get into:

🌍 How the Henhouse Prowlers became musical ambassadors around the world 🪕 The wild story of Ben buying his first banjo for $199.99 🤝 Why music can connect people even when they don’t speak the same language 🇳🇪 Playing banjo alongside an ancestor of the instrument in Niger 🎶 Learning songs from the countries they visit and bringing them back home 🚢 Performing for refugees from dozens of countries in Rotterdam 🔥 Walking onstage with musicians they had never met and figuring it out in...

🚨 SEASON 3 IS HERE — and we’re kicking it off with a bang.

For the first episode of Season 3 of What’s The Reason For This?, we’re joined by Cotter Ellis of Goose for a conversation from the Mishawaka in Colorado.

Since our last conversation, a lot has changed.

💿 Goose released Big Modern! 🏟️ Played Madison Square Garden ⛰️ Took over Red Rocks 🏠 Crashed a Colorado house party 🚀 And continued one of the wildest runs in live music

🥁 We get into:

💿 Creating Big Modern! and finding Cotter’s voice inside Goose

🏟️ What MSG and Red Rocks actual...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi sits down with the incredible Lindsay Lou for a conversation about bluegrass, motherhood, finding your voice, and shining a light on the women who helped build this music from the very beginning. 🪕🔥💙

Lindsay takes us back to growing up in a huge musical family 🎶👨‍👩‍👧‍👦, singing harmonies as a kid, and eventually heading toward a completely different career — earning degrees in human biology and Spanish with plans for medical school. 🧬🥼 Then she discovered the bluegrass community, fell HARD down the rabbit hole, and realized music could actually be her life. 🪕🤯🔥

Lindsay opens up about...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi and co-host Shay welcome Bronwyn back to the dungeon nearly one year after their first conversation — and holy hell, a LOT has happened. 🪕🔥 From stepping away from Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway to building her own band, driving the van, writing her own music, and now releasing her new album Rattlin' Bones, Bronwyn is officially spreading her wings — and doing it entirely on her own terms. 💀🎻✨

After a transition year of rotating musicians, Bronwyn has assembled a seriously stacked lineup featuring Tristan Scroggins on mandolin, Frank Evans on banjo, Grant Dresnok on...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi and co-host Shay welcome North Fork Crossing into the dungeon for a hilarious, high-energy conversation about Montana bluegrass, life on the road, finding your sound, and what it really takes to build a band from the ground up. 🪕🏔️🔥

The Bozeman crew takes us back to the beginning — from meeting as teenagers at Montana Fiddle Camp to reconnecting years later at a house party and realizing, “Dude…we should start a band.” What followed was a steady grind of pizza joints, house parties, bar gigs, festivals, DIY recordings, and plenty of miles in t...

🎧 This What’s the Reason for This Session brings a little Montana bluegrass straight from Bozeman into the dungeon as North Fork Crossing takes over the cave for a rowdy, intimate set packed with originals, stories, mountain-town energy, and plenty of banter. 🪕🏔️🔥

The session kicks off with “Portland Rose,” an original off the band’s new record featuring Silas Ray on vocals. 🚂🌹🎶 It’s a hard-driving tune about heartbreak, leaving town, and realizing sometimes there’s just no turning back. 💔🛤️

Next up, the band dives into another original, “DLL,” before sharing some of the history behind North Fork Crossing. 🎻✨ They talk about...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi welcomes Mason Via to the dungeon for a conversation that spans everything from growing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains to touring the world with Old Crow Medicine Show—and ultimately betting on himself to forge his own path. 🏔️🪕✨ Mason shares the winding road that's made him one of the most exciting voices in modern bluegrass.

What starts as a conversation about childhood quickly becomes a masterclass on following your instincts, embracing your roots, and learning that the best career move isn't always the safest one. ❤️🎶

Mason opens up about...

🎧 This week on What's the Reason for This?, Kodi sits down with High Country Hustle for a conversation about building one of Colorado's fastest-rising bluegrass bands, surviving life on the road, making records the right way, and why community will always matter more than algorithms. 🪕🏔️✨

Coming straight out of Durango, High Country Hustle has spent nearly a decade carving out their own sound. What started as a group of college friends jamming together has grown into a nationally touring band with three albums, a brand-new record, and more momentum than ever before.

This one starts with the begi...

🎶🔥 This week in the dungeon, High Country Hustle brings the heart of Durango to the basement with a session full of timeless bluegrass, fresh originals, and the kind of musicianship that makes you want to pull up a chair and stay awhile. 🪕🏔️✨

Fresh off the release of their new album New Old Roads, the band delivers a three-song set that perfectly blends traditional roots with modern Colorado bluegrass. From classic covers to brand-new originals, every tune feels right at home in the dungeon.

The session opens with:

🎹 "Long Valley Road" — a beautiful take on the Bruce Hornsby...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi welcomes Wisconsin's own Chicken Wire Empire into the dungeon for a conversation packed with Midwest bluegrass, European tours, Grateful Dead jams, and why some of the best bands in the country are coming from places people never expect. 🪕🧀🔥

When people think of bluegrass, they usually think of Kentucky, Tennessee, or Colorado... but Chicken Wire Empire is here to remind everyone that Wisconsin has been quietly building one of the strongest bluegrass communities in the country for decades. 🌲🎶

This one starts with the Midwest roots...

🧀 How Wisconsin's...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi sits down with guitarist, songwriter, and rock & roll torchbearer Duane Betts for a conversation about legacy, finding your own voice, overcoming addiction, and the deeply personal journey behind his new album, Isle of Hope. 🎸🔥

Fresh off the release of Isle of Hope, Duane opens up about growing up surrounded by one of the most iconic musical legacies in rock history while carving out an identity that's entirely his own. From learning drums as a kid to stepping on stage with the Allman Brothers as a teenager, this conversatio...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi sits down in the dungeon with Randy Steele of High Cold Windfor one of the most honest, emotional, and inspiring conversations we've had yet. 🪕🔥❤️

Fresh off an unforgettable week at the 52nd Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Randy shares the story behind his journey from firefighter and EMT to award-winning songwriter, bluegrass frontman, and one of the most compelling voices in the genre today.

This one starts at the beginning...

🎸 Growing up in Tennessee surrounded by music and watching his uncle join the legendary Aquarium Rescue Unit 🎶 Meet...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi flies solo in the dungeon with Front Porch, the Northwest Arkansas bluegrass outfit that's quietly building one of the most unique sounds in the scene today. 🪕🔥🌲

What starts as a conversation about bluegrass quickly turns into a deep dive into community, creativity, festivals, and why music matters now more than ever.

These guys may call Arkansas home, but their influences come from everywhere...

🎻 Growing up in family bands and learning bluegrass from an early age 🎶 French Creole music, old-time traditions, jazz studies, punk rock, metal, and jam...

🎶🔥 This week in the dungeon, Front Porch brings their Northwest Arkansas sound to Colorado for a session packed with heartfelt songwriting, rich harmonies, and the kind of road-worn authenticity that feels right at home in a late-night basement jam. 🪕✨

Fresh off a long drive through Kansas (and a highly recommended stop at Nafi's Pub 🍻), the band settles into the dungeon for a three-song session that showcases both their musical chemistry and their knack for writing songs that hit you right in the chest.

The session opens with:

🌤️ “Times Like These” — This Foo Fighters cover is a powerful anthe...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi and Shay welcome Broken Compass Bluegrass into the dungeonfor a conversation packed with jamgrass philosophy, festival culture, improvisation, and the next generation of bluegrass absolutely ripping the torch forward. 🪕🔥🌲

Hailing from Grass Valley, California, Broken Compass Bluegrass might be one of the hottest young bands in the scene right now — but what makes this episode special is hearing why they sound the way they do. From Deadhead parents and Doc Watson records to jazz phases, campground jam sessions, and growing up inside California bluegrass festivals… this band was practically bu...

🎶🔥 This week in the dungeon, Broken Compass Bluegrass rolls in from Grass Valley, California with a session full of haunting harmonies, cosmic storytelling, and the kind of emotionally driven bluegrass that sticks with you long after the last note fades out. 🌲🪕✨

Blending progressive bluegrass, rich vocal layering, and deeply cinematic songwriting, the band delivers a three-song set that feels both intimate and massive at the same time.

The session opens with:

🌌 “East Coast Blue” — a reflective and beautifully layered original about distance, memory, and searching for peace while trying to outrun the weight of the past. With soari...

🎶🔥 This week in the dungeon, Foggy Memory Boys bring the spirit of Taos, New Mexico straight into Morrison for a session packed with wildgrass energy, rich harmonies, and stories that feel like they were pulled straight from a late-night festival campsite. 🌵🪕✨

Blending bluegrass, jamgrass, folk storytelling, and outlaw country vibes, the Foggy crew delivers a three-song session that perfectly captures the freedom, grit, and heart behind their unique sound.

The session kicks off with:

🌧️ “Arkansas Rain” — a moonshine-soaked road song full of river memories, backwoods imagery, and smoky harmonies that instantly transport you deep into the Ozarks. Equ...

🎻🔥 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi and Shay sit down with New Mexico’s own Foggy Memory Boys for a conversation full of wildgrass chaos, festival lore, lamp camp philosophy, and the beautiful madness of building a band from the ground up. 🌵✨

What started as a trio of friends jamming in Taos turned into one of the most unique sounds in the Southwest scene…

🎶 Teaching themselves instruments and learning music completely by feel 🏆 Winning a mandolin competition after only knowing a few songs 🌌 Finding inspiration through Grisman, the Dead, bluegrass jams, and psychedelic festival c...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi heads into the dungeon with Jon “Barber” Gutwillig of The Disco Biscuits for a deep dive into improvisation, originality, the evolution of the jam scene, and what it really means to create something completely your own. 🎸🔥

Fresh off a massive run of Vegas aftershows during Phish Sphere weekend, Barber opens up about the mindset behind improvisation and why, after 30 years, the Biscuits still approach jamming less like a formula… and more like chasing a feeling in real time. 🌌🎶

This one starts in the chaos of the jam itself...

🎶🔥 This week in the dungeon, Liver Down the River brings the full spirit of Colorado “Funkadeligrass” straight into the basement for a session that’s equal parts haunting, heartfelt, and wildly psychedelic. 🪕🌈🔥 Blending bluegrass roots with jam energy, dark storytelling, rich harmonies, and mountain-town weirdness, the band delivers a three-song set that perfectly captures why they’ve become such a staple in the Front Range scene. The session opens with: 🎻 “Hung My Head” — a haunting reimagining of the Johnny Cash classic (inspired by Blue Highway’s version) that immediately sets the tone with cinematic energy, gritty emotion, and soaring fiddle work. The band transforms t...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi and Shay welcome Liver Down the River into the dungeon for a conversation packed with psychedelic bluegrass chaos, festival stories, Colorado roots, and the beautiful weirdness that’s helped make them staples of the mountain music scene. 🪕🔥🐟

Fresh off a ripping dungeon session, the band dives into the story behind their self-created genre…

🌈 “Funkadeligrass” — a wild blend of funk, bluegrass, jam, rock, and psychedelic energy that somehow makes perfect sense once you hear it live. 🎶✨

The episode starts back in Durango…

🏔️ Meeting in college after Patty spotted...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi goes solo in the dungeon with two absolute pillars of the Colorado scene — Joe and Matt from Head for the Hills — for a full-circle conversation that hits nostalgia, growth, and everything in between. 🪕🔥

What starts as a trip down memory lane quickly turns into something bigger… a story about how a college dorm jam session turned into a 20+ year band that helped shape the Fort Collins and Front Range music scene. 🎶✨

This one kicks off at the roots…

🏫 Meeting in the CSU dorms and turning late-night pick...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi and Shay are back in the dungeon with Dylan Flynn of Magoo— and this one goes way deeper than just the music. 🪕🔥

What starts as tour talk and band momentum quickly turns into something real… a conversation about creativity, anxiety, identity, and the voice in your head we’re all trying to figure out. 🧠✨

This one kicks off with the whirlwind…

🚐 Life on the road, 16 shows in 18 days and the grind that actually brings a band closer 🎶 Locking in as a unit how constant touring is tightening...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi flies solo in the dungeon and sits down with one of the most exciting and boundary-pushing banjo players in the game right now — Tray Wellington. 🪕🔥

From a small town in North Carolina to carving out his own lane in Nashville, Tray’s story is all about finding your voice, trusting your instincts, and refusing to be put in a box. 🌄🎶

This one starts at the roots…

🎣 Fishing trips with his grandfather, listening to Johnny Cash, Doc Watson, and helping build the foundation of his sound 🎸 Starting on el...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi taps in with the Midwest heat — sitting down with Ben and Augie of Armchair Boogie to break down how a couple of Wisconsin pickers turned porch jams into a full-blown touring machine. 🪕🔥

What starts as a conversation about bluegrass roots quickly opens up into something bigger — the evolution of a band that refuses to stay in one lane. From traditional picking to funk grooves, jam sections, and full-send live energy… this is Armchair Boogie. 🎶✨

This one gets into: 🌲 Growing up in Wisconsin’s underrated bluegrass scene and the Midwest roots...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi and Shay are back in the dungeon breaking down an absolutely wild weekend — from ticket chaos to unforgettable shows, and a band that might’ve just leveled up right in front of our eyes. 🎶🔥

What started as a simple ticket drop turned into full-blown madness…

🎟️ The Billy Strings presale struggle virtual queues, lottery systems, and the reality of fighting thousands of fans for a shot at getting in

😤 “Magic fingers” luck vs. getting completely shut out

💭 A real conversation about what’s broken in ticketing and what cou...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi and Shay sit down in the dungeon with the one and only Mark “Huggy Bear” Lavengood, a walking vibe, a musical Swiss Army knife, and quite possibly the only man out here lifting Billy Strings off the ground mid-hug. 🐻🎶🔥

From kitchen shifts at Founders Brewing to festival stages, studio builds, and full-on freak show hosting… this episode is a deep dive into the energy, evolution, and authenticity that make Huggy Bear exactly who he is.

This one gets into: 🐻 The origin of “Huggy Bear” and how one job interview hug t...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi sits down in the dungeon with Will “Mustang” McGee the groove-driving backbone of Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country for a deep dive into music, identity, and what it really takes to build your own sound. 🐎🎸🔥

From Memphis soul roots to sold-out festival stages, Mustang breaks down the journey balancing life on the road, developing his voice as a bassist, and carving out space for his own artistry through his solo project Horseplay. 🎶✨

This episode dives into: 🎧 Growing up on Memphis music and the influence of legends like James Jamerson...

🎶🔥 Banshee Tree: Evolution, Experimentation & the Road to a New Album 🔥🎶

This week in the dungeon, the crew welcomes Colorado’s genre-bending powerhouse Banshee Tree for a wild and insightful conversation about the band’s evolution, their upcoming album, and the strange, beautiful road that got them here. 🌲✨

From the early days playing weekly gigs under the Boulderado Hotel—with unlimited bar tabs and pheasant dinners—to touring the country and carving out a sound that refuses to sit inside any single genre, Banshee Tree shares the story behind more than a decade of musical experimentation.

What started as a sw...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi hangs in the dungeon with none other than Cotter Ellis of Goose — and this one goes deep. 🥁🔥

From Vermont heady snowboard spots 🏂🌲 to driving 20 minute jam peaks in front of thousands, Cotter opens up about the journey, the grind, the growth, and the surreal full circle moments that brought him from Swimmer to the Goose drum throne.

They dive into:

🥁 The drummers who shaped him. Bonham swagger, Neil Peart spectacle, and the caveman genius of Jay Lane

🎶 What it actually feels like to step into Goose...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi sits down with Christopher Henry (Ol’ Clunky) and bluegrass phenom Wyatt Ellis to celebrate something truly special, the release of Wyatt’s brand-new recording of “West Dakota Rose”… and the official music video dropping on YouTube the very same day this episode airs. 🌹🎻🔥 Huge shout out to Joseph Cash (Yes, that’s Johnny’s grandson) of Weeping Willow Productions in producing this amazing video.

🎥🐎🧭🥀Check it out here: ⁠https://youtu.be/mUHbBEedWag⁠

For years, West Dakota Rose has taken on a life of its own, from Billy Strings performi...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi and Shay welcome the chaotic, brilliant, cello-slinging string sorcerers of High Horse into the dungeon and things go from bluegrass to banjo science to Narcan policy to glizzy marketing in about 12 minutes flat. 🪕🔥😂

Fresh off a high-energy Dungeon Session (yes, there was a cannon… no, they weren’t prepared), High Horse sits down to unpack how a band of Boston “massholes” with Colorado ties came together in grad school, built something wildly genre-bending, and decided to bet on themselves, no label safety net, no handbook, just vibes and unpaid...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi sits down in the dungeon with Torrin Daniels of The Kitchen Dwellers for a powerful, wide-ranging conversation that blends music, identity, politics, mental health, and what it really means to not “shut up and sing” when the moment demands more. 🪕🔥🗣️

The episode centers around Torrin’s now-viral onstage speech at the Mission Ballroom during the Kitchen Dwellers’ Colorado run. Delivering the cherry on top moment at their biggest indoor headlining show to date. What began as a gut-level response to real-time events in Minnesota quickly became a defining moment, not jus...

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi and Shay welcome David Weingarden, Vice President of Z2 Entertainment, into the dungeon (virtually) for one of the most important ticketing conversations we’ve ever had — breaking down the real forces behind ticket prices, scalpers, bots, and why fans keep getting screwed. 🎟️⚠️🔥

If you’ve ever been 19,000th in a virtual queue 🧍‍♂️🧍‍♀️📉, paid triple face value for a ticket 💸😤, or accidentally bought from a fake site that looked legit, this episode explains exactly why that’s happening and who benefits from the chaos.

Fresh off testifying at a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee heari...