There are two special bluegrass radio shows on Friday morning (10/24) that will be streamed live online. Unfortunately, their air times coincide, so you’ll have to choose your own best option.

First up at 10:15 a.m., Jeanette Williams will join Carol Beaugard on WFDU to talk about her new CD, Thank You For Caring, and her participation in the third release from the Daughters Of Bluegrass, Bluegrass Bouquet, a celebration of female bluegrass artists and musicians. Music from these recordings will be featured as well.

Then at 11:00 a.m., Carol will welcome the ear-shattering instrumental duo Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile into the WFDU studio. The two have been out in support of their CD, Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile, a CD/DVD combo project of mandolin/bass duets, ahead of their final show at Carnegie Hall next week.

Carol is a huge Thile fan so she’s sure to talk about his meteoric career at length, in addition to his current work with Meyer. Expect lots of music early in the show and in the 11:00 hour from the Meyer/Thile album, plus Nickel Creek, the Punch Brothers and Chris’ various solo CDs.

Her show, Lonesome Pine RFD, is broadcast from 9:00 a.m. to noon (EDT) on 89.1 FM in the NYC area, and streamed live online at WFDU.fm.

Also at 11:00 a.m., there will be live music over at WAMU’s Bluegrass Country.

Claire Lynch will be in the studio with host Lee Michael Demsey to spread the word about her show at The Birchmere Friday night. Guitarist Jim Hurst and bass player Mark Schatz will accompany Claire for an impromptu set in WAMU’s Studio 3. They will also talk about what The Claire Lynch Band is up to for the rest of 2008 and beyond, and whatever else Lee Michael might come up with.

You can catch their 24/7 online bluegrass feed at www.bluegrasscountry.org.

All in all, a good morning to tune in online.

Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer were the sole guests on Monday’s (10/20) Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour, with the full 60 minutes dedicated to the music of their recent CD/DVD project, Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile. Host Michael Jonathan also conducts brief interviews with both artists.

Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile features both an audio CD with 12 new compositions the duo wrote for this project, and a 50 minute DVD with rehearsals, performances and behind-the-scenes conversations. All the tunes are performed as duets on mandolin and upright bass.

Video in the Windows Media format can be found on the Woodsongs site.

Nonesuch is set to release a CD/DVD combo project from Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile, titled Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile.

The CD includes 12 new instrumental compositions the two have c0-written, performed with Thile on mandolin and Meyer on bass.

The companion DVD features 50 minute’s worth of live performances, rehearsals and conversation between these two stellar virtuosos, who both separately and together have been responsible for some dramatic rethinking about the capabilities of their respective instruments.

The release date is September 23, and pre-ordering is enabled on the Nonesuch web site, where you can also hear the audio for one full track.

Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer will spend two weeks touring together in mid-January, 2007. The tour will take them primarily through the southern and central parts of the US, from 1/13-1/28.

Thile has long been known as a startlingly gifted young mandolinist, and Meyer has won the respect and admiration of critics and musicians in both the classical and new acoustic fields as a bassist with few peers. They will perform in a duet format, almost surely featuring a free form, improvisational set.

Look for the tour dates on Chris’ MySpace page.