Article Contributed by Mountain Home Music Company
Published on 2026-06-02
Justin Hiltner, left, and Jon Weisberger. Photo by Sandlin Gaither
Mountain Home Music Company announces today that it is partnering with the duo of Justin Hiltner and IBMA Songwriter of the Year Jon Weisberger to release their third — and first all-original — collaboration, Wind in the Sycamore. Kicking off the project, slated for an early 2027 release, is “Marinda,” featuring an all-star band that includes former Della Mae mandolinist Jenni Lyn Gardner, ace guitarist-about-town Seth Taylor (Dailey & Vincent, Post Malone), broad-ranging fiddler Libby Weitnauer, and harmony singer Wendy Hickman.
“Marinda” is now available for pre-save/add ahead of its June 12 release.
“When Jon and I made our first album together we thought of Mountain Home Music immediately,” says Hiltner, whose solo album, 1992, earned a place on “best of year” lists from the likes of NPR Music. “Then, when we made our gospel bluegrass EP a couple of years later, we recorded right there at their studio in Arden, North Carolina. So, of course it feels exactly right to be working with Mountain Home on new Jon & Justin music! We're thrilled to have our songs released alongside some of the best voices and talents in bluegrass, Americana, and roots music. Tracking this new music with our all-star cast of pickers at Crossroads Studios was a treat, and we're so looking forward to bringing you more original Jon & Justin music in the future with our friends at Mountain Home.”
Building on a songwriting partnership that dates back to 2012, the duo recorded their 2018 debut, Watch It Burn, with a group of friends that included Molly Tuttle, Corrina Logston Stephens (High Fidelity), Tristan Scroggins (Missy Raines, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes), Brandon Godman (Laurie Lewis), and Kimber Ludiker (Della Mae); that album included a dozen original songs, while 2022’s all-gospel EP, Room at the Table, paired three originals written by Weisberger and singer-songwriter Ashleigh Caudill with one written by Weisberger, Caudill, and Hiltner, and a pair of classic hymns.
“Justin is one of my favorite co-writers,” says Weisberger, who also earned the IBMA’s first Songwriter of the Year award. “No one is better equipped to sing the songs we’ve written together than he is — and he’s one of my favorite banjo players, too. We had originally thought to record a bluegrass EP to complement Room at the Table, but somehow, when we started to think seriously about getting in the studio, we found we had nearly a full album’s worth of songs, including one we’d written with Molly. We reached out to the amazing Adam Wright to write the last one with us, and it turned out to be the title track!”
With its catchy melody and simple, three-chord harmonic construction, “Marinda” is quintessential bluegrass, yet it’s also emblematic of the duo’s ability to bend convention, bringing unique turns of phrase and imagery into a traditional setting. Hiltner’s low-tuned banjo kicks off the performance before the song’s opening chorus, which is followed by a mandolin and fiddle solo before a surprising dive into its first verse. From there, “Marinda” gallops to a conclusion that leaves listeners with one last recap of the melody’s satisfying closing cadence.
Blending both satisfaction and defiance of expectations, “Marinda” typifies the creative approach that has become the hallmark of this durable musical partnership.
About Justin Hiltner & Jon Weisberger
Fellow natives of Ohio born 40 years apart, banjoist Justin Hiltner and bassist Jon Weisberger began writing songs together in 2012, not long after the former had moved to Nashville and the year in which the latter took home the International Bluegrass Music Association’s first Songwriter of the Year award for cuts recorded by The Infamous Stringdusters, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, The Gibson Brothers, Terry Baucom, and more.
Within a few years, they were playing together in the band of Bluegrass Hall of Fame Roland White, and both appeared with him on 2018’s Tribute to the Kentucky Colonels (Mountain Home Music Company), including the IBMA-nominated track, “Soldier’s Joy.” By then, they’d written enough to record their first joint album, Watch It Burn, which featured Hiltner’s soulful vocals and distinctive banjo, Weisberger’s supportive bass and harmonies, and an assortment of friends that included Molly Tuttle, Corrina Logston Stephens (High Fidelity), Tristan Scroggins (Missy Raines, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes), Brandon Godman (Laurie Lewis), and Kimber Ludiker (Della Mae).
Over the next few years, Hiltner toured on his own — and spent a year in the “orchestra” for a touring production of Oklahoma! — while Weisberger had songs appear on GRAMMY-winning albums by The Travelin’ McCourys and Billy Strings and earned an IBMA award as producer of the 2021 all-star recording, “Ground Speed.”
2022 was a banner year for the pair, as they released a bluegrass gospel EP, Room at the Table, in the spring, followed by the fall release of Hiltner’s solo debut, 1992, which earned a place on “best of the year” lists at NPR Music and Slate. Further accolades followed, as Weisberger earned a GRAMMY nomination for co-writing the Billy Strings-Willie Nelson collaboration, “California Sober,” and scored another IBMA Songwriter of the Year award in 2025.
Yet even as they pursued separate careers, Hiltner and Weisberger continued to write together at every opportunity, and with another album’s worth of songs in hand, the two reunited in the studio in early 2026 for a new collection from one of bluegrass’s most durable writing partnerships.
