The foreman of modern bluegrass and banjo virtuoso Tony Trischka has delivered a new single from his highly anticipated new album. Set for release on March 13, 2026, Trischka’s second Earl Jam record explores previously unheard recordings of Earl Scruggs and John Hartford picking at Scruggs’ home between 1987 and 1998. As the latest preview of the forthcoming offering, Trischka has tapped guest guitarist and vocalist, Billy Strings, along with Michael Cleveland (fiddle), Sam Bush (mandolin) and Mark Schatz (bass) to cover Hartford’s “Gentle on My Mind.” 

Trischka’s initial Earl Jam entry was released in 2024 to critical acclaim, including a nomination for Best Bluegrass Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards and recognition at the 2023 IBMA. For nearly six decades, Trischka has interpreted the banjo tradition and celebrated the craft, a task he continues with the release of his new record. On the set, he presents 15 interpretations of traditional standards, fiddle tunes performed with a range of collaborators, from the aforementioned Strings and Bush to Dudley Connell, Sierra Ferrell, the Gibson Brothers, Del and Ronnie McCoury,  Bruce Molsky, Sister Sadie, the SteelDrivers, Molly Tuttle, and rising star Farayi Malek.

Speaking to the set’s landscape, Trischka says, “These recordings reveal Scruggs at his most relaxed, adventurous, and inspired,” referring to the sonic captures he drew from during the making of the album. “When I started listening to these recordings, I was just mesmerized,” Trischka recalls. “Earl was unleashed—swinging for the fences and playing things I’d never heard before, even after studying his music since 1963.”

In Relix’s 2024 interview with Trischka regarding the first edition of Earl Jam, he told Editor-in-Chief Dean Budnick about the purpose of releasing this material that stemmed from a packed thumb drive: “I started thinking that these recordings may never see the light of day and people would miss out on all this music,” he says. “But if I record these tunes and play note for note what he played, then through me, people will be able to hear what Earl did. So my concept was to share this music with the bluegrass or banjo worlds, however small that might be, so that people who are nerdy like I am would get to hear exactly what Earl Scruggs played through my fingers.”

As a preview of the forthcoming record, Trischka shared his Strings-featured single, a cover of Hartford’s “Gentle on My Mind.” Watch the official music video below.

Earl Jam 2 Track List

1.Columbus Stockade Blues – featuring Del and Ronnie McCoury

2.Red River Valley – featuring Molly Tuttle

3.Old Cacklin’ Hen

4.Mom & Dad’s Waltz – featuring Farayi Malek

5. Gentle On My Mind – featuring Billy Strings

6. Maple On the Hill – featuring Sister Sadie

7. Lost John – featuring the SteelDrivers

8. I Still Miss Someone –  featuring Sierra Ferrell

9. That’s All Right – featuring Dudley Connell

10. Bill Cheatham  

11. Down In the Willow Garden – featuring the Gibson Brothers

12. Boil Them Cabbage Down

13. Here Comes the Bride – featuring Sam Bush

14. Chicken Reel  

15. I Wish We Had Our Time Again – featuring Bruce Molsky