John McEuen, at the Gibson Guitar Showroom in New York City | Photo by Ebet Roberts

Grammy Award-winning member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, musician and producer John McEuen will soon be releasing a new solo album on Chesky Records entitled Made in Brooklyn—not surprisingly, recorded in Brooklyn, NY. The album features the man-for-all seasons on guitar, mandolin, banjo, and fiddle, and will include a few special appearances from David Bromberg, Steve Martin, David Amram, John Carter Cash, Martha Redbone, Andy Goessling and Jay Ungar to name a few. Made in Brooklyn features McEuen’s own compositions as well as his own interpretations of classics. With a keen ear for detail, the album includes tracks McEuen feels have been overlooked.

This Memorial Day we remember those who fought for our United States, and McEuen has released a video in tribute to those service men and women. Traveling to Puerto Rico recently, McEuen visited the island of Vieques and stepped into an old ordinance bunker where he discovered a resounding echo that inspired him to perform a patriotic medley. The video of McEuen’s tribute can be seen here on Elmore.

McEuen will also be touring this summer. In addition to performing, writing, recording and producing music,  over the years McEuen has been working with eager students, teaching recording techniques and guitar, banjo,  music business and basic music theory.

Stay tuned for a fly-on-the-wall report of an afternoon spent with John McEuen, David Amram, Martha Redbone and Railroad Earth’s Andy Goessling.

—Claudia Arnaldo