Pickin' On Series

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A tried-and-true tradition at CMH, the Pickin’ On series began in 1993 with a collection of classic movie themes. Since then it has grown to more than 300 albums that reimagine rock and pop favorites as heartfelt bluegrass, with tributes to artists from The Beatles and Bob Dylan to Linkin Park and Green Day. There’s something undeniably playful about moving rock’s heaviest riffs to fiddle, banjo and mandolin, but every Pickin’ On record is made with sincerity. Each one draws on what made the originals so beloved in the first place.

The early albums were instrumental. That changed in 2003, when Alabama’s Iron Horse brought vocal leads and harmonies to the music of Metallica on Fade to Bluegrass. Iron Horse went on to lead the series through tributes to Pearl Jam, Modest Mouse and Nirvana, alongside contributors such as The Sidekicks, Honeywagon and Cornbread Red.

In 2026, Pickin’ On Post Malone opened a new chapter with a new generation of bluegrass and Americana talent: Water Tower, JD Casper, The Barefoot Movement, Holler Choir and Big Richard, with Iron Horse returning to show the young’uns how it’s done. It showed that the Pickin’ On series grows right along with the artists shaping roots music today.

The Bluegrass Standard wrote that Pickin’ On Post Malone “works because it does not ask its musicians to arrive at the same answer.” JD Casper put the idea simply in the same article, saying, “A strong melody and good songwriting will always shine through.” That belief is behind every Pickin’ On project: find the song underneath, then let each artist hear it in their own way.