Jesse Appelman Release: Where We Go Release
California native, frequent CBA performer and educator Jesse Appelman recently forwent the grind of everyday work to become a full-time musician, and this new release, Where We Go, is the result. He has played with a variety of well-known CBA artists such as Sam Grisman Project, Mark Schatz, Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick, Keith Little, Scott Nygaard, the Brothers Comatose, and more. A lifelong mandolin player of bluegrass, Brazilian choro, and other “new acoustic” genres, Jesse brings it all together with this release, which includes a mix of original instrumentals and covers that feature his mandolin and vocal talent.
The release produced by John Mailander has a core band of Jesse on mandolin, with Sami Braman (fiddle), Emily Mann (bass), Eli West (guitar), and Allison de Groot (claw hammer banjo). Guests include Allison de Groot(clawhammer banjo), Mark Raudabaugh(drums), Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms(harmony vocals on “The Hills of Isle au Haut”), John Mailander(harmony fiddles, shruti box, mandolin), AJ Lee( vocals), Jeff Taylor(accordion), Laurie Lewis & Kathy Kallick(harmony vocals), Mike Witcher(slide guitar).
Listening to the album is somewhat like a journey through California mandolin history, with significant traces of David Grisman and John Reischman, while maintaining his own style on his recently purchased 2007 Nugget A5, which you can hear on David Benedict’s Mandolin Mondays series. Beyond the instrumentals, two vocal songs that stand out to my ears are Glacier Song written by Will Fourt and recorded on his album Mendocino Painting, and also by Front Country on their debut album, Sake of the Sound. Jesse said, “I played mando on the record but not on that track, which always made me a little sad since I loved the song. So this is my revenge, I guess.” Glacier Song was the first single from the album, and Jesse elaborated more on Social Media about it. “Written by my friend and bandmate since 5th grade, Will Fourt, this twisty and circular song speaks from the first-person perspective of a glacier; a meditation on the inevitability of time and change. The album takes its title from the chorus, a statement of uncertainty reframed as intent.” Another sweet vocal track is a duet with AJ Lee on the song Anna Lee, written by North Carolina native Laurelyn Dossett, which was featured on Levon Helm’s Grammy-winning record Dirt Farmer, and CD/DVD, Live at the Ryman. The song has a thematic link to the character Anna Lee in the song the Weight by the Band, which Levon sang lead vocals.
There’s been a lot of great press already on the album from No Depression, Mandolin Cafe, Red Line Roots, Rambles.Net, the Bluegrass Situation, and the just-released interview on the Bluegrass Unlimited Podcast. The album entered the FAI Folk Charts as #6 on Top Albums of the Month, January 2026. You can listen and purchase Where We Go on Bandcamp or at the streaming service of your choice from this link. Upcoming shows for Jesse Appelman’s West Coast Stringband Project include the Sonoma County Bluegrass & Folk Festival on Saturday, March 14, 2026 12:00 PM at the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center and SIERRAGRASS 2026 on Thursday, April 30, 2026, at 12:00 PM.
The album is great, so give it a listen or three, then hop over to Bandcamp and purchase a Digital download or a CD, which includes the download. I’ll leave you with this video of Jesse with the Sam Grisman Project at Strawberry Music Festival. You can see the Sam Grisman project at the CBA 2026 Fathers Day Festival and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him there.
Jesse works with students of levels at the California Bluegrass Association Summer Music Camp, Walker Creek Music Camp, David Grisman and Mike Marshall’s Mandolin Symposium, California Brazil Camp, and currently teaches private lessons at Manning Music. Students can reach him from his website.