Resonating From The Heart

"I love him," says Stuart, who recently invited Uncle Josh to join him when he headlined a bluegrass show at the Ryman. ("That really ended up being me joining Uncle Josh," he says, with a proud wink.)

"I used to stand in front of the TV when I was a little boy in Mississippi and wear my hat like him. Flatt & Scruggs had a show and I liked Josh. One day they ended a song and (with him) playing the same string I was playing at the time on the guitar."

He says that was the beginning of a special "cosmic" connection.

"There has never been a time in my life when there hasn't been an Uncle Josh," he says, adding that he has been known to drop in on the Graves family unannounced and ask for a bowl of beans.

"I always know where there's a pot of beans and some straight talk. He and Evelyn have raised more musicians than anyone in town.

"There's always a couch to sleep on. There's always a new song. He's always got a gangster tail, war stories, and a pot of beans."

Stuart adds that his relationship with Uncle Josh has flavored his own work. And that Uncle Josh taught him not to change, to stay with what works, and let the trends come and go.

"He's always in style ... Trends come and go around him. And each January 1, he's still Uncle Josh."

By Tim Ghianni