Only In The Green Room

What happens when the spotlight takes you away from the music that made you want to step onstage in the first place?

Backstage at High Sierra Music Festival, Paul McDonald joins Tami and Dennis for a candid, funny, and heartfelt conversation about finding his way back. From an unexpected American Idol audition to the whirlwind of Hollywood, Paul reflects on the experiences that shaped him—and the sense of belonging he’s ...

In this episode, we catch up with Boy Golden backstage at High Sierra Music Festival for a conversation that goes well beyond the music.

The Winnipeg singer-songwriter opens up about The Church of Better Daze, why songwriting has become a spiritual practice for him, and his belief that music and creative expression can be deeply healing.

We also get into the story behind the name Boy Golden, his early years playing hundreds of shows,...

What was supposed to be a conversation about the Grateful Dead quickly becomes something else entirely when photographer Jay Blakesberg and singer-songwriter Steve Poltz join us at High Sierra.

The two give us a preview of Working Man’s Dead, their wonderfully unpredictable live collaboration combining Jay’s iconic Grateful Dead photography and storytelling with Steve’s music — including songs he writes spont...

What if a dream changed the course of a band?

Don Was joins Jay Lane and Only in the Green Room for a remarkable conversation about Bob Weir, Rob Wasserman, Wolf Bros and the music that continues to connect them all.

Don shares the story of the phone call from Bob Weir that started with something extraordinary: Rob Wasserman had come to Bob in a dream — and told him why he had introduced Don and Bob decades earlier.

That call he...

What started as a conversation about Bob Weir and RatDog turned into one of the most personal stories we've ever captured.

In this episode of Only in the Green Room, drummer Jay Lane shares what it was like joining Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman despite knowing very little about the Grateful Dead, learning songs from Heaven Help the Fool, navigating unpredictable RatDog setlists, and witnessing Bob's determination to keep creating a...

Michael Mullins (trombone) and Bradford Lewis (guitar) — two more members of the Legacy Coalition, and bandmates in their own project — join us to fill in the rest of the story.

They walk us through how the Coalition really came together: an idea years in the making, a chance meeting at a recording session, and the moment a teenage keyboard player named River showed up and made the whole thing click. They talk ab...

Backstage at the New Orleans Jazz Museum during French Quarter Fest, we caught up with Cyril Neville, his son Omari Neville, guitarist Jake Eckert, and his son River — the teenage keyboard player who rounded out the lineup of the Legacy Coalition, a band built entirely from the sons and daughters of New Orleans music royalty.

The conversation moves through what it means to inherit a sound rather than learn it — from ...

Trumpet player and vocalist Jennifer Hartswick sits down with us in the green room at Jazz Fest to talk about her decades-long love affair with New Orleans — a city she calls "its own planet" — and the musical relationships that have shaped her career. 

Jennifer recounts her first New Orleans gig at the Maple Leaf, an overnight set that ran from 3am to sunrise, and reflects on what it took to earn that kind of audie...

Singer-songwriter Kristin Diable joins Only In The Green Room at the New Orleans Jazz Museum during French Quarter Fest — and the conversation goes deep.

We talk about what it really means to lose your creative voice, how traumatic experiences can freeze a songwriter's ability to be vulnerable, and what it took to come back from that and finish her long-awaited album Impossible Things — out now.

Kristin also opens up abou...

Recorded live at Bayou Boogaloo during Jazz Fest in New Orleans — two of our favorites in one green room. Eric Krasno (Soulive, Lettuce) and Wally Ingram (percussionist, collaborator extraordinaire) join us for a wide-ranging conversation as the golden-hour sun goes down over the bayou. 

We get into the deep connection between the Grateful Dead world and New Orleans music, what it was like for Eric to join Phil Lesh on st...

🎟 WIN PIT ACCESS + A SEAT AT OUR FESTIVAL INTERVIEW
Buy tickets at highsierramusic.com and enter code GREEN at checkout. You’ll be automatically entered to win front-of-stage pit access for all shows + an exclusive seat at a live Only In The Green Room podcast interview at the festival.

High Sierra Music Festival · July 2–5 · Grass Valley, CA

🎸 In this episode:
— The New Orleans roots of High Sierra going ba...

🎧 Listen + backstage photos, transcript & more:
https://onlyinthegreenroom.com/episodes/pink-talking-fish-interview

A playful, lively, and informative conversation with all members of Pink Talking Fish (Eric Gould, Zack Burwick, Cal Kehoe, Richard James) moments before their recent performance at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, CA. The boys delve into some of their favorite stories, including playing with George Porter...

🎧 Listen + backstage photos, transcript & more:
https://onlyinthegreenroom.com/episodes/greg-loiacono-stingray-interview

In this episode of Only in the Green Room, we sit down with Greg Loiacono & Stingray, a Bay Area super-group built on deep respect, serious groove, and a whole lot of joy. What started as a solo recording session for Greg Loiacano quickly turned into something much bigger when drummer Michael Urbano st...

🎧 Listen + backstage photos, transcript & more:
https://onlyinthegreenroom.com/episodes/jon-chi-interview

Marin County singer-songwriter, community and music collaborator Jon Chi joins “Only In The Green Room” as the first guest under the show’s new banner—recorded in the Sweetwater Music Hall Green Room before Jon played to a packed house for his birthday show at the iconic venue. In a conversati...

🎧 Listen + backstage photos, transcript & more:
https://onlyinthegreenroom.com/episodes/jonathan-mchugh-interview

In this episode of Tales From The Green Room, recorded backstage at the 2025 High Sierra Music Festival, the hosts sit down with veteran film producer, director, and music supervisor, Jonathan McHugh. Jonathan shares his experiences growing up in New Orleans, starting in college radio at WTUL, and his journey...

🎧 Listen + backstage photos, transcript & more:
https://onlyinthegreenroom.com/episodes/karina-rykman-interview

In this episode of Tales From The Green Room, recorded backstage at the 2025 High Sierra Music Festival, host Dennis Strazulo sits down with hardcore New Yorker and bad-ass bass player, Karina Rykman. Karina shares her experiences growing up in a highly intellectual family, her early start in punk bands at the age ...

🎧 Listen + backstage photos, transcript & more:
https://onlyinthegreenroom.com/episodes/amy-helm-interview

Fresh from bringing the spirit of the Midnight Ramble to the High Sierra Music Festival stage, Amy Helm sits down with the hosts for a moving and unflinching conversation about family, recovery, and carrying forward a legacy. Recorded backstage among the festival magic, this episode blends raw honesty with deep musical ...