GRAMMY Award-winning banjoists Steve Martin and Alison Brown have shared the video for their chart-topping single “New Cluck Old Hen,” premiered by People Magazine and filmed at Brooklyn’s beloved folk venue Jalopy. The track features all-female bluegrass powerhouse quartet Della Mae, with Celia Woodsmith’s emotive lead vocals sitting perfectly alongside Martin’s reimagined lyrics for the traditional Appalachian folk song “Cluck Old Hen.” Martin explains the origin simply: “I always loved the classic American mountain tune ‘Cluck Old Hen.’ Its only problem was it was about chickens. So one day I decided to see if I could give it a new lyric spin. Alison agreed and arranged it with ‘power/bluegrass/fusion.’ Whatever that is.”
Brown knew immediately who belonged on the track. “Once I read Steve’s lyrics I knew Della Mae would be perfect for the song,” she says. “And they totally laid down the law, bringing the perfect combination of bluegrass drive and femme attitude to the track.” Della Mae delivers exactly that, with Kimber Ludiker on fiddle, Avril Smith on guitar, and Vickie Vaughn on bass rounding out a performance that lands as a fitting capstone to Women’s History Month.
“New Cluck Old Hen” appears on Brown and Martin’s debut collaborative album ‘Safe, Sensible and Sane’, out now via Compass Records. The record showcases a wide-ranging evolution of banjo music with contributions from Jackson Browne, Vince Gill, Indigo Girls, Tim O’Brien, Aoife O’Donovan, and Jason Mraz. Billboard named their collaboration with Jackson Browne, “Dear Time,” one of the 100 Best Songs of 2025, and both artists are currently featured in the American Currents exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Over three years of collaboration, Martin and Brown have produced 4 number one singles on bluegrass radio and accumulated more than 77 million views across social media platforms. Alison Brown made history as the first female recipient of the IBMA’s Banjo Player of the Year award back in 1991, while Martin was named Entertainer of the Year in 2011 and founded the Steve Martin Banjo Prize, awarding over $500,000 to banjo players across genres. This is a partnership firing on all cylinders, and “New Cluck Old Hen” is the proof.