‘I’m a roads scholar!’ Marty Stuart’s five decades at the country university

‘If you pick up the Guardian this morning, you will find every one of the themes of country music’ … Marty Stuart plays at the Late Night Jam Live in Nashville, Tennessee in June. Photograph: Jason Moore/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock

When Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman honoured the 50th anniversary of the Byrds’ 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo by touring it for the first time, there was only one man who could lead their backing band: Marty Stuart. When Ken Burns began filming 2019’s Country Music documentary series, it was Stuart who guided the director through the genre. From Porter Wagoner to Johnny Cash, many Nashville icons have called on Stuart to play with them. Stuart is country’s ruling polymath – a musician whose skill on guitar and mandolin is matched by his encyclopaedic knowledge and vast enthusiasm.

If you only go to one country music concert, then let it be Marty Stuart’s – he’s about to tour the UK for the first time in five years, so the opportunity awaits. “I like playing the UK,” says Stuart. “First of all, I think there is an appreciation for authentic country music over there that sometimes gets lost in America. I love your knowledge of what we do play, of the roots of our music.”