The Story

“String Wizard” John McEuen (a founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (NGBD), has released more than 40 albums, performed more than 8,500 concerts—since 1965. John’s road journeys with his sons Nathan and Jonathan have involved countless shows, including their recent thrill performing at the Grand Ole Opry to three standing ovations. After years talking about recording as a trio, all agreed the time was right. The McEuen Sessions—for all the good… from John, Nathan, and Jonathan McEuen, released through MesaBlueMoon Recordings on April 10 is a musically rich tapestry that’s as fresh and immediate, steeped in the seamless interplay and exquisite comforts of a threesome that has truly shared a lifetime in music.

Recorded at Tree Sound Studios in Norcross, Georgia, The McEuen Sessions is a thoroughly collaborative effort. Going in, John, Nathan, and Jonathan agreed they’d each choose three songs, no questions asked, and then they’d vote on three more as a group; the plan was to record the album as a band. (Dave Mason—spontaneously—added drums on “Only You Know And I Know and mixed it). Jonathan and Nathan provide all the vocals, and the trio acts as each other’s “side men” for overdubs—Jonathan is featured on acoustic and electric guitar, bass, and piano; Nathan on piano, bass, acoustic guitar, and percussion; and John on his broad range of string instruments—with the versatility that has caused many to call him a “string wizard”— banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bass, guitar, and dobro.

“The album is a culmination of influencess from Phish to Johnny Cash to the Beatles to The Band. Then, throw into the mix their having had a dad who’s been in a band for 45 years, and what that meant to them growing up,” says John. Though touring often separated the McEuens, it also provided adventures, camaraderie—and hands-on musical training. They estimate that together they have hit over 300 cities. “I said to Nathan at 17, ‘sorry you’ve had so many birthdays on the road,” says John. “He said, ‘Dad, most of my friends haven’t left the state, and I’ve already been to 25 state capitals. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”


Nathan sings lead on his songs “Grand Design,” which he co-wrote with Crosby Loggins, Time to Go Home, and “Quicker at the Draw.” His banjo piece “Banjormous” is one his father wishes he’d written. Jonathan’s Love Word is a standout, and his Hills of Sylmar kicks in the bluegrass influence from a California perspective. For John’s “The Goodtime Suite,” a six-minute solo banjo instrumental (aced in one take), he says “It was strange that the same day they both heard this, separately, they said, ‘it reminds me of when I was a kid and you’d play us to sleep,’” he says. “ It was.”

Album selections range from new originals to venerable classics, opening with Rodney Crowell’s “Long Hard Road”. With the road experience they have had, Nathan and Jonathan sing it as if they wrote it. Both sing on “All The Good It Did,” written by their cousin Jaime Hanna, which lends part of its name to the album’s title—“This is the country ‘root’ coming through the guys, with a song that should have been done by NGDB,” says John. Others include Jonathan singing lead on Dan Fogelberg’s “Leader of the Band,” Dave Mason’s “Only You Know and I Know,” and Red Foley’s “Old Shep”. The latter features Jonathan’s new vocal track along with a recording John made of him singing the song when he was 11; now adult voice sings with his kid self.

With The McEuen Sessions—for all the good…, John, Nathan and Jonathan McEuen create beautiful new yet familiar music that is the stuff of many great memories to come—for their extraordinary family story, and for music lovers worldwide.