Bluegrass and beyond, with Michael Barrett Donovan and Buster Sledge
About the Episode
Michael Barrett Donovan, originally from Northern California, moved to Norway from New York City in 2019 after finishing a masters degree in music composition and gigging within a wide array of musical genres. Since coming to Norway Michael has fronted the original-music-performing trio Buster Sledge with guitar player Jakob Folke Ossum and banjo player Mikael Jonassen, and immersed himself in the many folk fiddle-scenes that can be found around Oslo.
I speak with him and the rest of Buster Sledge at the Norwegian folk festival Folkemusikkveka the day after the release of their second album «Call Home»
Topics we touch are Michael’s experiences with the Norwegian folk scene, how his eclectic musical background affects his thinking about composing and arranging music, juggling classical and folksy technique onn the fiddle, the importance of boundaries in music making and differences between the American and Norwegian folk scenes. We also speak about Buster Sledge’s new album, how they arrived at their sound and how they work together as a band.
Recording podcasts at festivals is always a blast! Lot’s of good energy in the air. Hopefully there will be more of these coming this summer!
