What's The Reason For This Podcast

🎸🔥 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 tribute and trading licks with Courtlyn
🥁 Why the Jon Stickley Trio basically said “nah” to the normal bluegrass rulebook
🎸 Building a sound around weird rhythms, different chords, and late-night festival chaos
🤝 Playing with Larry Keel and trying to make your heroes laugh onstage
And then the episode takes a much more personal turn.
Jon opens up about his son Callum, his STXBP1 diagnosis, and how his family turned one of the hardest moments of their lives into Strings for Callum, using the music community to raise awareness and money for research. ❤️
That part really says everything about this scene.
When somebody needs help, people show up.
We also talk about Jon’s new teaching platform, where he’s taking everything he learned the hard way and breaking it down for the rest of us regular wooks who need the video slowed down another 37 times. 😂🎸
🎧 New episode with Jon Stickley is live now
Go watch it. Go listen to it. Support Team Callum.
And if you’ve ever wondered how somebody becomes an absolute monster on guitar, apparently the answer is practice for 20 years and then still tell everyone you’re figuring it out. 😂🔥

🔥 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 immediately on TikTok
🚀 Riding the algorithm straight to the X Games
💸 Why millions of views do NOT automatically mean millions of dollars
🎭 The difference between playing Stony and being Austin on stage
😂 Why writing stand-up as Stony completely failed
🎟️ The absolutely ridiculous story of almost getting an Austin show cancelled with eight tickets sold
📲 Why having a huge following does not mean people will actually leave their couch and buy a ticket
🧠 Building jokes from real life instead of chasing cheap shock value
🎤 Trying to evolve from “Stony McBlaze” into Austin McBlaze without confusing the hell out of everyone
🍦 And, obviously, a completely necessary breakdown of elite stoner snacks
The funniest part of this episode might be Austin explaining that one of his biggest problems is that people know Stony McBlaze but have no clue he actually does stand-up. Which is a pretty wild problem to have when hundreds of thousands of people follow you. 😂 And then there’s the Austin, Texas show…
Eight tickets sold. 😬
A pissed-off venue. 😡
Random people overseas buying tickets. 🌍
A last-minute social media rally. 📲
And somehow a packed room and a great show at the end of it. 😂🔥
Underneath all the stoner jokes and chaos, this is also a really good conversation about creative identity, social media, stand-up, failure, vulnerability, and figuring out how to turn internet attention into something real.
🎧 Season 3 Episode 3 is live now
🌿 Follow Stony McBlaze
🎤 Go see Austin do stand-up when he comes to your city
📲 And for the love of God, if you say you’re coming to the show... BUY THE TICKET. 😂🔥

🚨 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 real time 🌱 Why community, curiosity, and making people feel seen sit at the heart of everything they do
Ben also opens up about how these experiences changed the mission of the Bluegrass Ambassadors, turning it into something much bigger than touring. It’s about using music to break down barriers, celebrate culture, and remind people that connection can start with something as simple as listening.
One of the wildest moments comes from West Africa, where Ben realized he was playing his banjo alongside an instrument widely considered one of its ancestors. Two musicians from completely different worlds, connected instantly through sound. 🪕🌍🤯
And in Rotterdam, that mission came full circle with performances for refugees and an unrehearsed collaboration that Ben described as scary, imperfect, authentic, and completely human. ❤️🎶
🎧 Watch or listen to the full conversation with Ben Wright.
🌎 Learn more about the Bluegrass Ambassadors and the work they’re doing around the world.
🔥 Follow What’s The Reason For This? for more conversations about the music, people, and community behind the scene.

🚨 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 actually felt like from behind the kit
🪿 The Goose hate, internet critics, and musicians talking shit
🌱 Why growing the jam scene matters more than guarding it
🚌 The real grind of touring and life on the road
🥣 Going from vans and microwave oatmeal to sold-out venues
🥋 The story behind “Suck It, Storm” and “Kung Fu Fighting”
🧩 Goosemas clues, fan theories, and the world being built around the band
❤️ Why the people behind Goose might be the real secret to their success
Cotter also opens up about imposter syndrome, criticism, supporting other artists, success, and what it takes to keep chasing this life when there are no guarantees.
🔥 Season 3 starts right here.
🎧 Watch or listen to the full conversation with Cotter Ellis of Goose.
🪿 Follow What’s The Reason For This? for more conversations from inside the jam, bluegrass, and live music world.
💬 And send this episode to the friend who still thinks Goose is Christian rock. 😂

🎧 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: 🎶 Discovering bluegrass and becoming obsessed with Doc Watson, Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and the Stanley Brothers 🚐 Years of touring, grinding, and even going without a real home base 🎤 Learning how to protect and understand that powerhouse voice 🏠 Moving to Nashville to surround herself with musicians — not chase fame ❤️‍🩹 How loss, divorce, COVID, and recordings of her grandmother helped shape Queen of Time 👶 How becoming a mother completely changed her body, brain, heart, and perspective on life 👑 The inspiration behind her new project Bluegrass Women — celebrating the women whose songs have been part of bluegrass history all along 🎻💪✨
Lindsay shares the incredible realization that songs many of us associate with legendary male bluegrass performers were actually written by women — women whose voices were always there, even if their names weren't front and center. 🤯🎶👑
She brings together an absolutely badass lineup of female pickers 🎻🪕🔥 to honor those writers, return to the original lyrics and source recordings, and remind the next generation of girls that there has always been a place for them in bluegrass. 💙💪🌈
And because motherhood doesn’t care that you’re recording a podcast… Bart crashes the interview to reclaim Mom. 😂👶🎙️
At its heart, this episode is about music, motherhood, representation, legacy, and authenticity — and the realization that women aren't new to bluegrass… they helped build the damn thing. 🪕👑🔥
🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts and check out Bluegrass Women! 🎶💙✨