Of Triumph, Tragedy and the Solace of Solitude With Steve Earle

November 15, 2024

At any given time, we have a number of interviews waiting for their moments on an upcoming episode of this podcast series. Late 2024 is no exception, and may be an extreme, as there are several interviews from both the Earl Scruggs Festival as well as IBMA from recent months now in our cue. Hurricane Helene disrupted the tentative schedule for those conversations with the likes of Lindsay Lou, Mountain Home and Unspoken Tradition’s Ty Gilpin and many more being put on hold, as I pivoted to covering the storm’s impact on music in the region. If you did not hear it already, I encourage you to go back one episode to “Songs Of Grief, Songs Of Hope: Helene’s Aftermath For The Western NC Music Scene” for a glimpse into what dominated (and continues to dominate in many ways) our thoughts and our experiences in early fall 2024.

It was a mild surprise, then, to steer back into a “normal” fashion here, picking out a gem of a conversation from earlier in the year only to find that tragic loss was top of mind for my guest, Steve Earle. “There’s that sorrow and loss theme again,” I thought. How weird is that?

It is not all gloom here though, not by a long shot, so please do not let that dissuade you from pressing ‘play’ here. Although Steve lost his friend and colleague Jeremy Tepper just two days before, he was in overall good spirits, as he talks about his rigorous solo tour, his relationship with his music before becoming sober, his favorite cover songs from both artists covering his music and vice versa, aspirations to record Irish music and perhaps even a jazz record, and memories of growing up in the midst of musical greats like Doug Sahm. It is a deep and insightful conversation from the Hall Of Fame songwriter, which even includes mention of his love of North Carolina trout fishing. Along the way, we hear excerpts of music from Steve Earle’s latest album, Alone Again (Live), as well as both his favorite cover songs — an Emmylou Harris cover of one of his songs, and his own version of a Bob Dylan classic.

Songs heard in this episode:

“CCKMP” by Steve Earle, from Alone Again (Live)

“I Ain’t Ever Satisfied” by Steve Earle, from Alone Again (Live), excerpt

“Goodye” by Emmylou Harris, from Wrecking Ball, excerpt

“My Back Pages” by Steve Earle, from Sidetracks, excerpt

“Copperhead Road” by Steve Earle, from Alone Again (Live)

Thanks for joining us! We hope you can help spread awareness of what we are doing. It is as easy as telling a friend and following this podcast on your platform of choice, so easy! You can find us on Apple here, and Spotify here — hundreds more episodes await you.

From there it takes just a moment to give us a top rating, and where it is an option, a review! It makes a great difference because the more top reviews and ratings we get, the more visible we become to everyone on those platforms, which means that more people just like you connect with artists like Steve Earle.

This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks also to Jaclyn Anthony for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs — you can link to his music here. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Stages Of Grief, Songs Of Hope: Helene's Aftermath For the Western NC Music Scene

October 30, 2024

This week marked one month after Hurricane Helene made landfall, hammering a wide swath from Florida straight north into the heart of the southern Appalachians. Soon after the storm hit, it was obvious that doing another “normal” Southern Songs and Stories episode was simply not going to do. Although there are many artists with interviews on hand awaiting their spotlight with a podcast in this series, they will wait one more turn, as we focus now instead on the aftermath of the storm for the music scene in Asheville NC especially. Here are conversations excerpted from over two hours of interviews with The Grey Eagle Music Hall’s Russell Keith and Rachel Shea, along with music artists like Jesse Iaquinto from the band Fireside Collective, as well as Josh Blake, who also is known for the online music resource IamAvl, as well as music professionals like Jessica Tomasin of Echo Mountain Recording Studios, Liz Whalen Tallent of The Orange Peel, and Jason Guadagnino, formerly of The Salvage Station, which was destroyed in the flooding.

We spoke in separate interviews in mid October 2024, with only a few weeks' distance between our conversations and the tragedy of Helene in southern Appalachia. You will hear their accounts of the shock of the immediate aftermath as we look forward to what can be restored in the near future, and imagine some potential outcomes for the region’s music scene in the long haul ahead. All that, and a soundtrack of flood songs both historical and metaphorical in this special episode of Southern Songs and Stories.

Included in this post is a Spotify playlist I made for this episode, with flood songs both literal and metaphorical. Also included is a list of organizations helping people in the region recover from the storm.

Asheville, NC music venue The Salvage Station in the midst of flooding from Helene.
Photo: The Salvage Station

Flood Songs playlist in Spotify

Ways to help and to get help following Helene: the NC Arts Disaster Relief Fund is being run through the North Carolina Arts Foundation to provide funding and assistance to artists and arts organizations

Arts AVL is a well-resourced organization based in Asheville, NC. Most resources on the page linked below have been sourced by Arts AVL as they are at the epicenter of the devastation caused by Helene and are directly connected to local aid efforts as they become available. The Arts AVL Emergency Support Resources page is updated daily.

Preserving a Picturesque America: By purchasing Western North Carolina art, 50% of the proceeds will go directly to the artist, and the other half will go to relief funds to restore the French Broad region. All other purchases, which include PAPA publications, 100% of the proceeds will go to relief.

ReString Appalachia seeks to get as many instruments back into the hands of people who lost them throughout Appalachia due to Hurricane Helene. Supporting this initiative are over 125 of the leading roots musicians, nonprofits, venues, festivals, actors, artists and media outlets. ReString Appalachia is asking for collaborators to lean on their network of musicians, instrument makers, and philanthropic followers in a way that feels authentic.

This effort is threefold: focusing on finding musicians in need, calling for quality instrument donations, and finding philanthropists to cover the costs through tax exempt donations - thanks to our 501(c)3 nonprofit fiscal sponsor Music in Common. ReString Appalachia is aiming to hand deliver instruments in early 2025.

Beloved Asheville. In 2009, Beloved Asheville began its journey to create a transformational way of life rooted in community and working to create Home, Health, Equity, and Opportunity for all. Beloved Asheville recognizes that these focus areas are fundamental to building a just and equitable society, and is committed to working with the community to find innovative and compassionate solutions to the tough challenges that Asheville, the region, and world face today.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Didn’t It Rain” by Jake Blount, from The New Faith

“Waterbound” by Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi, from They’re Calling Me Home, excerpt

“Muddy Water” by The Seldom Scene, from Act 3, excerpt

“Thompson Flood” by Songs From The Road Band, from Traveling Show, excerpt

“Whippoorwill” by Fireside Collective

This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks also to Jaclyn Anthony for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs — you can link to his music here. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Twin Tragedy Travelogue: An Update

October 11, 2024

The last two weeks have turned so much upside down in my world, and everything started with a tropical storm hitting the Appalachians, while I was at the IBMA Conference in Raleigh.

Even going into IBMA, I was almost on fumes, having crammed getting prepared for a big week away, arranging a schedule of interviews and earmarking events and panels, as well as producing the latest episode in this series, our last podcast, on Maya De Vitry and Joel Timmons. I hope you check it out if you haven't already.

Anyhow, it was a frenetic and bittersweet week to begin with -- owing to the fact that this was the last year for IBMA in North Carolina before moving west, to Chattanooga starting in 2025 -- but everything that was good about the conference was quickly shoved aside as the horror of Helene unfolded on the news. Losing contact with my family for a full day leading up to my return, I had the surreal experience of being safe and largely unaffected by the storm in the state capitol, watching footage of devastating floodwaters rise in cities like Asheville, while knowing that my family had no power and no communications in our home in the piedmont, and therefore could not see the extent of the damage two counties to their west.

I got home and endured one whole night and half of the next day without power, so count me very lucky. We had no damage to the house, just a mess with limbs down and debris blown all over the place.

As I say this, the aftermath of the storm is still unfolding. It destroyed so much that it is beyond comprehension -- as my WNCW colleague Scotty Robertson, who lives in Asheville, told me: it is like walking around in a fever dream to see the havoc wreaked practically everywhere, especially anywhere near water.

Many WNCW folks live in the mountains where communications were cut off for days, so it was an immediate challenge to fill in their shows with episodes from our archives. That process started with contacting everyone, which is more than two dozen hosts, to find out how they were immediately after the storm passed. Luckily, everyone was safe and most had little or no damage to their homes.

Even during the storm, but especially following it, WNCW kicked into a news and public information mode, acting as a conduit for information on how to help those in need, as well as how to get help in the wake of Helene. I interviewed a Charlotte public radio reporter in Linville first, then wound up being interviewed by USA Today for an online article, jumped on a press call with FEMA, and later on took an interview with WXPN in Philadelphia (thanks Dan Reed!). Everything became Helene. A torrent of emails giving information on supply distributions, ways to apply for aid, news on closures, you name it -- all of it coming from many directions. Calls, texts and social media, all day long: Helene. Essentially a mode of taking in the disaster from all fronts for purposes of reporting on it, largely engulfing my workday.

It hit me very soon, even before it was over, that this podcast would have to take a beat. All the interviews that I got at IBMA -- great conversations with author David Menconi, musician and label exec Ty Gilpin, and banjo innovator Tray Wellington -- would have to wait. Those were added to a pre existing line of interviews from the likes of Steve Earle, and all the interviews I got at the Earl Scruggs Music Festival, from Lindsay Lou, Twisted Pine and The Faux Paws. Yeah, sorry y’all. It was obvious that doing anything like the usual episode was not going to work in light of the tragedy in my own back yard.

Rob Daves (left) and Joe Kendrick (right) at Bonnaroo, June 2013

But don’t despair, you will get to hear all those artists’ episodes, Lord willing! In the meantime, get set for an episode focusing on the aftermath of Helene in western NC and Asheville specifically, as I interview artists and professionals like Jesse Iaquinto from Fireside Collective, Liz Whalen Tallent from the Orange Peel, Josh Blake of IAMAVL, Russell Keith of The Grey Eagle and others in the music community. It may become more than one episode -- that remains to be known, as I am still conducting interviews and may wind up with enough material that one episode is just not enough.

We will see, and wish me luck, because there is more than the storm that has knocked us on our heels around here. A week after Helene arrived, a dear friend of mine departed the world: Rob Daves. Rob was WNCW’s voice of the overnight music mix, the alternative show ARC Overnight, for the better part of 20 years. He was beloved by staff and listeners alike, and even though he had battled some health issues in recent years, it was still shocking to lose him. Whatever oxygen was left in the room following Helene was quickly sucked up by the void of Rob’s loss, and we miss him greatly.

With ARC Overnight, we are trying to pull that together with the help of Alex Nudd, who is a familiar voice to the wee hours, among other WNCW hosts including longtime volunteer Harry Strider. ARC totals 25 hours each week, spread over six nights, and that’s a lot of music to play. Not to mention a lot of work screening, reviewing, and generally taking care of the scores of singles, albums and events that we field weekly. Rob was also music director and programmer for ARC, so all the albums and singles in what we call the rotation for that show he selected and shepherded. That’s a big job on top of big shoes to fill, impossibly big, for all things overnight on WNCW currently. But we’re working through it.

Next week I start teaching a radio DJ and podcast production class at the community college that WNCW calls home, Isothermal, and that’s going to demand a lot of attention for the next 8 weeks. But that’s a good problem to have!

Let me leave you with one of Rob Daves’ favorite artists, who calls Asheville NC home, Angel Olsen. I hope Angel made it through Helene okay, and I think she must have, because she announced on October 9th that she is part of a new benefit compilation titled Cardinals At The Window - her song “Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow” (live from Echo Mountain) is part of that massive compilation containing a whopping 136 previously unreleased tracks to benefit flood relief efforts in Western North Carolina. All proceeds go to the aid organizations Beloved Asheville, Community Foundation of Western NC, and Rural Organizing and Resilience.

Cardinals At The Window is out now, on bandcamp. Go get you some!

And the song I am going to play is not that new song but one of Rob’s favorites from Angel’s last full album, 2022’s Big Time. I’m Joe Kendrick, saying so long for now with the title track to Angel Olsen’s Big Time to close out this Southern Songs and Stories update.

Songs heard in this episode:

Angel Olsen “Big Time” from Big Time

This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to everyone on staff at Albino Skunk for their help in making this episode possible. Thanks also to Jaclyn Anthony for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs — you can link to his music here. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

The Impact of Place, and the Art of Collaboration With Maya De Vitry and Joel Timmons

September 24, 2024

It never ceases to delight me how connected we are in the roots music world. Take Maya De Vitry and Joel Timmons, for example. The two have been making music together for five years, and have worked together with Joel’s wife Shelby Means, the bass player in Molly Tuttle’s Band. Molly Tuttle’s partner is Ketch Secor, who was our guest a couple episodes ago. Maya’s partner and bandmate Ethan Jodziewicz has played on record with former Southern Songs and Stories guest Sierra Hull, and forthcoming guest Lindsay Lou. Joel, also a founding member of the Charleston, SC band Sol Driven Train, has known one of my best friends since he was a child.

These connections color wide swathes of the mural of our lives, fostering creative endeavors as well as giving us an array of common reference points to pick up on whenever we meet people who live in or travel through the universe of acoustic, roots and Americana music. They can be the difference between having a career or not, and are overall far more valuable than any one hit song, podcast episode or viral meme could be.

This episode bears witness to the connections listed above, including one that happened much more recently than I had imagined, as our preceding guest Margo Cilker recruited Maya De Vitry to play with her at the Albino Skunk Music Festival only weeks before they were to arrive. This is one of the stories that Maya tells here, and she is joined by Joel Timmons in his own interview in an episode which highlights how important their connection to home is in their songwriting, how beneficial collaborations can be, the importance of leveraging ever-capricious streaming platforms while remaining independent, and more, including music from Maya De Vitry’s performance at the spring Albino Skunk Music Festival in May 2024.

Maya De Vitry performs at the Albino Skunk Music Festival, Greer, SC 05-10-24
photo: Joe Kendrick

Thanks for joining us! We hope you can help spread awareness of what we are doing. It is as easy as telling a friend and following this podcast on your platform of choice, both of which are quick, easy and free! You can find us on Apple here, and Spotify here — hundreds more episodes await, including performers at The Albino Skunk Music Festival like Sierra Ferrell, Shinyribs, Darrell Scott, Lizzie No, and The Ruen Brothers, among many others.

This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to everyone on staff at Albino Skunk for their help in making this episode possible. Thanks also to Jaclyn Anthony for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs — you can link to his music here. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Small Town Revelations From California to Carolina With Margo Cilker

September 11, 2024

I have been reading about Plato and Aristotle lately, in Jeffrey Kripal’s fascinating book, The Flip. Early on in the essay, Kripal points to the history of Western intellectual discourse having swung widely back and forth between the visionary philosophy of Plato, and the empirical rationalism of his student, Aristotle. In Plato’s view, our perception of reality involves our brains, but goes beyond our physiology to pull from a kind of exterior consciousness, which is filtered through our senses, bringing us what can become profound discoveries. In contrast, the empirical rationalist view of our consciousness attests that it comes from and ends with our physical selves.

Have you ever tried your hand at art, in one or more of its myriad forms? How did that go for you? Were you wracking your brain to come up with an idea, trying hard to get it all right, or were you letting your mind drift, quietly waiting for inspiration? I have plenty of experience with the former, especially in the early years of Southern Songs and Stories. Those first podcasts were longer, chock full of interviews with not only the subjects of each episode, but also quite often including many guests’ conversations which were excerpted from their own individual interviews, and a kind of encyclopedic approach to the endeavor. Not that I utterly eschewed clearing my mind and letting things come to me, but I came to realize its advantages more over time. That, and I simply improved as a writer and interviewer, and learned firsthand that less can often be more in this medium.

Margo Cilker certainly understands this, and her creative practice echoes a Platonic viewpoint, as she remarked, “My best art comes when I’m not trying too hard, and when I find out what’s on the other side of the song”. Many of her songs involve scenes and characters from small towns, like Santa Rosa, New Mexico, or Tahachapi, California, as well as locales in Upstate South Carolina, where she attended college and where we spoke on the day of her performance at the Albino Skunk Music Festival.

Maya De Vitry (left) and Margo Cilker (right) perform at the Albino Skunk Music Festival in Greer, SC, 05/09/24
photo: John Gillespie

In this episode, we talk about her travels, cultural differences between Appalachia and the American West, working with Maya De Vitry, who performed with her at Margo’s Albino Skunk debut that day and who is slated to appear in her own episode next, Margo’s focus on the lyrics to her songs, and more, including music from her live set as well as her second album, Valley Of Heart’s Delight.

Songs heard in this episode:

“I Remember Carolina” by Margo Cilker, performed live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05/09/24

“Keep It On A Burner” by Margo Cilker, performed live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05/09/24, excerpt

“Santa Rosa” by Margo Cilker, from Valley Of Heart’s Delight, excerpt

“Tehachapi” by Margo Cilker, performed live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05/09/24

untitled new song inspired by Neil Young by Margo Cilker, performed live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05/09/24

This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to everyone on staff at Albino Skunk for their help in making this episode possible. Thanks also to Jaclyn Anthony for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs — you can link to his music here. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Catching Up With the Pied Piper, Ketch Secor

August 27, 2024

Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show is never at a loss for words, and is never not entertaining, however he is, in equal measure, an ambassador of social conscience, too. Our interview concludes with Ketch saying, “[I]t's been a challenging time, and a lot of room … to be bummed out about this stuff. But I, I just got to keep going head on. I play the fiddle for a living, you know, and I and it draws people together. If you're a pied piper, you might as well lead them to someplace better than this.” It was as spot-on a summation of his now quarter century leading his band as any.

Ketch was on this podcast two years ago in the episode titled “Painting A Portrait of 23 Years With Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show”, which is based on our conversation at MerleFest that year. Old Crow Medicine Show’s famous song “Wagon Wheel” is the subject of an episode in this series from a few years before that, on the podcast titled “Wagon Wheel: Anatomy Of A Hit”, and I am attaching that episode to the end of this new conversation with Ketch Secor for everyone who missed it the first time or who might just want to hear it again. That episode details the long, winding road that began with a blues song by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, and continues through a scrap of a tune that Bob Dylan left by the wayside, to a young buck longing to make it to North Carolina in the late 1990s, eventually becoming the song we all know and either love or loathe today. There is not a whole lot of middle ground with this one, and we go into detail about it, interviewing five expert guests along the way.

Joe Kendrick (left) and Ketch Secor (right) at the PNC Arena in Charlotte, NC 08/09/24
Photo: Will Prim

Songs heard in this episode:

“One Drop” by Old Crow Medicine Show, with Mavis Staples, from Jubilee, excerpt

Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup “Rock Me Mama”, excerpt

Big Bill Broonzy “Rockin’ Chair Blues”, excerpt

Lil’ Son Jackson “Rockin’ And Rollin’”, excerpt

Old Crow Medicine Show “Wagon Wheel”, excerpt

Old Crow Medicine Show “Wagon Wheel” at the Theater of the Living Arts in Philadelphia in 2006, from The World Cafe Live, excerpt

Van Morrison “Brown Eyed Girl”, excerpt

Darius Rucker “Wagon Wheel”, excerpt

Old Crow Medicine Show “Wagon Wheel”, live from Delfest 2018, excerpt

Millions and millions sold, and still counting

Thanks for visiting, and we hope you will follow this series on your podcast platform of choice, and also give it a top rating and a review. When you take a moment to give great ratings and reviews, Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles become much more visible to more music, history and culture fans just like you. You can find us on Apple here, and Spotify here — hundreds more episodes await, including performers at The Earl Scruggs Music Festival like Rissi Palmer, as well as our collaboration with music journalist Craig Havighurst of WMOT, host of the excellent podcast The String, both from last year’s event, as well as our recent episode on a 2024 headliner, Marty Stuart, and the duo Larry & Joe. Speaking of Earl Scruggs, we also recommend our episode titled “The Humble Genius of Earl Scruggs”.

This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to the staff at PNC Arena, and MerleFest for their help in making this episode possible. Thanks to WNCW intern Will Prim for taking part in the interview. Thanks also to Jaclyn Anthony for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs — you can link to his music here. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Pioneering a New Style: The Musical and Cultural Synthesis of Larry & Joe

August 14, 2024

When you think of Venezuelan music, perhaps salsa or merengue come to mind. But have you delved into joropo, or llanera music, from the western portion of the country?

When you think of string band music like bluegrass, does anything far outside the region of the southern United States jump out as having a parallel makeup, or a kinship that might lend itself to fusing with that tradition?

I freely admit to never dreaming that combining bluegrass with a Latin style was possible, let alone a good fit. Enter Larry & Joe to put these stylistic puzzle pieces together from a distance of thousands of miles, and across cultural divides that make their partnership jump out that much more. Larry Bellorín grew up in Punta de Mata in the state of Monagas, Venezuela, and is a master of the harp and 4-string cuatro, while Joe Troop is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter from North Carolina. Joe is also known from his work in the GRAMMY-nominated string band Che Apalache. Their story is as remarkable as their music.

I spoke with Larry and Joe at the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby, NC, ahead of their performance for the Scruggs’ Center’s Center Stage series in July 2024. They are also part of the lineup at the upcoming Earl Scruggs Music Festival in Tryon, NC over labor day weekend 2024. In our conversation, we talk in depth about the duo’s synthesis of musical styles and cultures, we discover why the harp became so popular in Venezuela, and we get into how their music often has themes of social justice with songs and lyrics about immigration and border issues in particular, and their conviction that cultural differences can be overcome without violence and discrimination. Plus, a tutorial on how to roll your r’s! That, and more music from Larry and Joe is all ahead in this episode.

Larry Bellorin (left) and Joe Troop (right) in WNCW’s Studio B performance January 18, 2024. photo: Brenda Craig

Songs heard in this episode:

“Gabanjo” by Larry & Joe, performed live on WNCW 01/18/24

“Love Along the Way” by Larry & Joe, performed live on WNCW 01/18/24, excerpt

“Border Wall” by Larry & Joe, from Nuevo South Train, excerpt

“Runnin’ From the Weather” by Larry & Joe, from Manos Panamericanos

Thanks for visiting, and we hope you will follow this series on your podcast platform of choice, and also give it a top rating and a review. When you take a moment to give great ratings and reviews, Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles become much more visible to more music, history and culture fans just like you. You can find us on Apple here, and Spotify here — hundreds more episodes await, including performers at The Earl Scruggs Music Festival like Rissi Palmer, as well as our collaboration with music journalist Craig Havighurst of WMOT, host of the excellent podcast The String, both from last year’s event, as well as our recent episode on a 2024 headliner, Marty Stuart. Speaking of Earl Scruggs, we are especially fond of our episode titled “The Humble Genius of Earl Scruggs”.

This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to the staff at MerleFest for their help in making this episode possible. Thanks to everyone on staff at the Earl Scruggs Center for their hospitality, and to WNCW intern Will Prim for helping prepare me for the interview. Thanks also to Jaclyn Anthony for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs — you can link to his music here. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Bluegrass, Country and A Whole Lot In Between: The Extraordinary Life and Career of Marty Stuart

July 30, 2024

When it comes to Marty Stuart, there simply is not enough time or space available to address the enormity and the lasting impact of his music, let alone his life story, here in this episode. We would need a whole year’s worth of podcasts to come close, and I doubt that he would be quite that generous with his time. Luckily, he was generous enough to give us 25 minutes of his time, in which he touched on everything from his time in Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash’s bands to his current work with his band since 2003, The Fabulous Superlatives. There was more, like mention of his ongoing photography project with the Lakota people, which for sake of time is left out even here (although you can read the full transcript of our conversation on my Substack page here).

What you will hear in this episode, though, is a master of his art holding court, telling rich tales filled with vibrant metaphors, as only he can. Joining in the conversation is music artist and lifelong bluegrass and country music fan and historian, Tom Pittman. We spoke with Marty Stuart ahead of his performance in Lenoir, NC in June 2024, which precedes his appearance as a headliner at the Earl Scruggs Festival in Tryon, NC over Labor Day weekend, beginning in late August. As with every episode in this series, there is music as well, ranging from Marty Stuart’s bluegrass to his more recent work, often referred to nowadays as cosmic country (spoiler alert — Marty says he does not even know what that term means).

Songs heard in this episode:

“Lost Byrd Space Train (Scene 1)” by Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives, from Altitude

“Shuckin’ the Corn” by Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives, from Live At The Ryman, excerpt

“Vegas” by Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives, from Altitude, excerpt

“I Need To Know” by Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives, from Petty Country, excerpt

“Mojave” by Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives, from Way Out West

Thanks for visiting, and we hope you will follow this series on your podcast platform of choice, and also give it a top rating and a review. When you take a moment to give great ratings and reviews, Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles become much more visible to more music, history and culture fans just like you. You can find us on Apple here, and Spotify here — hundreds more episodes await, including performers at the Earl Scruggs Music Festival in recent years like Rissi Palmer, Michael Daves, and Della Mae, as well as a collaborative episode from the festival itself with The String podcast host Craig Havighurst.

This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to the staff at MerleFest for their help in making this episode possible. Thanks also to Jaclyn Anthony for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs — you can link to his music here. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Jim Lauderdale, Donna the Buffalo and the Many Collaborations of MerleFest

July 17, 2024

When it comes to artists like Jim Lauderdale and Donna the Buffalo, I think back to a comment that Jerry Douglas made to me in an interview for this series, when he talked about what he called roots music 12 O'clock. Whereas the mainstream comes back around to roots music only so often in this metaphor, for artists like himself it is always roots music 12 O'clock. Like Jerry Douglas, our guests in this episode have always looked to it as their north star, even while they have wound their way around to some of the more prime time hours on the dial in their storied careers.

Since it debuted in 1988, MerleFest has also shown the world what roots music 12 O'clock means on its now 12 stages over the decades, and is a phenomenon that has become much more than the sum of its parts. It made the blueprint for so many other festivals and events, a format which has gone on to become more and more prevalent as one of, if not the, primary way to experience live music.

Jim Lauderdale with Wyatt Ellis at Merlefest 04-27-24.JPG

Jim Lauderdale at Hillside Album Hour Merlefest 2024 - Michael Freas.jpg

Donna the Buffalo at Dance Tent Merlefest 2024 - Michael Freas.jpg

I caught up with Tara Nevins and Jeb Puryear of Donna the Buffalo and Jim Lauderdale at MerleFest in late April 2024, where we talked about their extensive history which goes back before even coming to the festival, memories of time spent with Doc Watson, key differences between old time music and bluegrass music, and much more, including music excerpts from MerleFest performances from Doc Watson as well as Donna the Buffalo, and music from Jim Lauderdale and Donna the Buffalo’s collaborative album Wait ‘Til Spring.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Wait ‘Til Spring“ by Jim Lauderdale With Donna the Buffalo, from Wait ‘Till Spring

“Blue Moon of Kentucky” by Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Alison Krauss et al, from MerleFest Live!: The 15th Anniversary Jam, excerpt

“Conscious Evolution” by Donna the Buffalo, from MerleFest Live!: The Best of 2003, excerpt

“Holding Back” by Jim Lauderdale With Donna the Buffalo from Wait ‘Til Spring

This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to the staff at MerleFest for their help in making this episode possible. Thanks also to Jaclyn Anthony for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs — you can link to his music here. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

American Songcatcher: Bob Wills

June 27, 2024

Back in the day, I discovered the music of Bob Wills when I was a fresh faced college DJ at WXYC Chapel Hill. It was like hearing songs from an alternate universe to me, a kid who grew up listening to FM and AM radio’s menu of pop, rock and rap of the day, sprinkled with music bought from cassette clubs and record stores that ventured as far back as Buddy Holly and what we called beach music (which is its own cultural rabbit hole). Being the future audio producer that I was, our apartment’s answering machine messages were dominated by yours truly, and the soundtracks to these boisterous salutes were often songs that I drew from the ever-expanding roster of gonzo artists I found in the radio station’s album library. It was Will’s trademark, drawn out interjection “Ah ha!” — which so often punctuated his music —that grabbed me, an exclamation which record executives first regarded as something from out of this world. Luckily for all of us, they were quickly proven wrong in their assessment that audiences would be turned off by this refrain. That part of the legendary Bob Will’s story, as part of a compelling overview of his life and music, is detailed in this special collaborative podcast episode, thanks to Nicholas Edward Williams.

Welcome to this episode of American Songcatcher, with the story behind the King of Western Swing, Bob Wills. One of the most influential and iconic bandleaders and musicians of the 1930’s-1950’s, Bob came from a humble life of a poor sharecropping family, and was deeply influenced by old time and breakdown fiddle through his Texas state champion family of fiddlers in his father and uncle. Bob also loved all the turn of the century and 1920’s black music, and this confluence of cultures would help him create the craze that became Western swing, and the details of his journey to get there will surprise you.

American Songcatcher is one of my favorite podcasts, and it is also part of the programming lineup at public radio station WNCW. Tracing the roots of American music from its cultured past to artists playing it forward, folk musician, musicologist and host Nicholas Edward Williams takes listeners on a unique documentary-style podcast experience. Dive into the stories of centuries-old Traditional songs and migrants who carried their musical heritage here, and uncover the lives of pioneers and integral musicians who created and shaped styles such as Bluegrass, Ragtime, Jazz and Swing, Country, Gospel, Blues, Old-Time, and the Folk music that's derived from it all. Here's to the songs of old, may they live on forever.

Thank you for visiting us and giving this special episode a listen! This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, and to Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed out theme songs.

This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Rural Roots That Run Deep With Nick Shoulders and Adeem the Artist

June 18, 2024

In the first of two episodes from MerleFest in April 2024, we highlight two artists making their debuts at the festival, Nick Shoulders and Adeem the Artist. Following this episode are two artists who have made MerleFest a regular stop over its history — 24 and 26 times, respectively — Jim Lauderdale and Donna the Buffalo.

Gallery images above: (left to right) Nick Shoulders, Adeem the Artist, Adeem the Artist performing at MerleFest 2024, Nick Shoulders’ comic in his series “Country Music History”

Nick Shoulders is from Arkansas, while Adeem the Artist, who now lives in Tennessee, has lineage from North Carolina going back seven generations. As with so many roots music artists, the place where their roots are found is central to their art, and you will hear more about that from both in our conversations here, including excerpts of their latest music.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Hoarse Whisperer” by Nick Shoulders, from All Bad

“Plot of Land” by Adeem the Artist, from Anniversary, excerpt

“Appreciate’cha” by Nick Shoulders, from All Bad, excerpt

“Arkansas Troubler” by Nick Shoulders, from All Bad, excerpt

“Rotations” by Adeem the Artist, from Anniversary, excerpt

“There We Are” by Adeem the Artist, from Anniversary

This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to the staff at MerleFest for their help in making this episode possible. Thanks also to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs — you can link to his music here. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

When Praise and Worship Is Also a Really Good Time: Trombone Shout Bands

June 4, 2024

Hymns and gospel songs have flowed into, and very often, back out of out of every style of music with roots in the American South. From the music itself to its context in worship through choirs, instruments ranging from piano to organ to praise bands, and communal singing, the gospel tradition is, if not front and center in one’s life experience, then at the very least somewhere along the spectrum of influence for everyone native to the region. We touch on this often in episodes of Southern Songs and Stories, with guest artists who lean heavily on the gospel tradition (like The War & Treaty and Darin and Brooke Aldridge), and others who were brought up in church settings and whose music is often informed by gospel music (like Paul Thorn). Gospel music has tremendous depth and width, and here, we focus on one of its many branches, a little known tradition thriving in places like Washington D.C. and Charlotte, NC: the trombone shout band.

According to historian Tom Hanchett, no one seems to know when the trombone shout band tradition began. In the Pentecostal Holiness churches such as the House of Prayer For All People, which is central to our story here, brass bands go back at least a century, but in the early twentieth century, featured a full range of instruments rather than massed trombones. It was a time when brass band music was big everywhere in America, among blacks and whites alike. The House of Prayer took the praise band template and transformed it, with a new and unique instrumental configuration and style, around the 1940s. The history gets murky as to exactly where this happened and who gets credit, but by 1960, trombone shout bands had become synonymous with the United House of Prayer for All People.

Trombone shout band at the United House of Prayer For All People, Charlotte NC (photo: Daniel Coston)

Fast forward to 2024, when Henry Louis Gates Jr. became the face of the PBS documentary series, Gospel. In a series of events described in this episode, the impact of that series reverberated throughout the public television and radio world, eventually making its way to public radio station WNCW. From there, host and producer Kevin Washington and I produced a radio special on gospel music in this region of North and South Carolina especially; I would then, reluctantly at first, go on to help produce a live event at the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby, NC that showcased and delved into even more of the region’s gospel music past and present. That event led to my discovery of trombone shout bands, courtesy of Tom Hanchett. From there, it was only a hop, skip and a jump over to producing this podcast. I think you will enjoy finding out about where we landed.

Songs heard in this episode:

Cunningham Spiritual Return, live at The United House Of Prayer in Charlotte, 04/09/24, excerpt

“He’s Still Alive” by Golden Angels Choir, live at The United House Of Prayer in Charlotte, 04/09/24, excerpt

“Keep Oil In Your Vessels” by Clouds of Heaven, from Saint’s Paradise: Trombone Shout Bands from The United House of Prayer, excerpt

“Spiritual Conversation” by Clouds of Heaven, from Saint’s Paradise: Trombone Shout Bands from The United House of Prayer

I hope you enjoy your time here, and that you will follow this series on your podcast platform of choice, and also give it a rating and a review. When you take a moment to give great ratings and reviews, Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles become much more visible on those platforms to more music, history and culture fans just like you. You can find us on Apple here, and Spotify here. This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks also to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs — you can link to his music here. Thanks for listening! - Joe Kendrick

Striking the Eternal Chord of Cosmic Country With Daniel Donato

May 21, 2024

It was the last gig of a late winter tour, and Daniel Donato was ready to exhale. His band was, too, having had the rare treat of seeing their wives the night before, as they prepared for one more show, a late night performance in Asheville, NC. As Daniel told me, they were all in high spirits, and I knew this bode well for their performance, which dovetailed with the Billy Strings concert in town earlier that evening. Thanks to my friend Greg Gerald, I got to take in Billy Strings’ show before we scooted from downtown to west Asheville for Donato’s set.

Earlier that evening, I spoke with Daniel in the green room at Salvage Station, named for the site’s former use as a salvage yard, in February 2024, where he spoke in depth about his conviction that his life’s work is a service to listeners, his ever-present muse, playing with Bob Weir, and surprisingly to me at least, being an angry kid who was an avid wrestler not all that long ago. Still in his 20s, Daniel Donato has quickly made a name for himself as a kind of musical mystic, a master of the telecaster and a favorite in the burgeoning cosmic country scene.

Joe Kendrick (L) interviews Daniel Donato (R) at Salvage Station in Asheville NC ahead of his show 02-18-24. Photo: Greg Gerald

Songs heard in this episode:

“Dance In the Desert” by Daniel Donato, from Reflector

“Lose Your Mind” by Daniel Donato, from Reflector, excerpt

“Darlin’ Corey” by Daniel Donato, live at The Grey Eagle 03/12/2022, excerpt

“Sugar Leg Rag” by Daniel Donato, from Reflector

Thank you for stopping by! We are glad that you took time to listen, and hope you can help us by spreading awareness of what we are doing. It is as easy as telling a friend and following this podcast on your platform of choice. From there it takes just a moment to give us a top rating and a review. It makes a great difference because the more top reviews and ratings we get, the more visible we become to everyone on those platforms, which means that more people just like you find musical kinship with artists like Daniel Donato. I would love to hear your comments about that sort of thing and all things Southern Songs and Stories -- you can drop me a line at southernsongsandstories@gmail.com, or hit me up on our Facebook or Instagram pages, and I will be glad to reply.

This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here.

Thanks to Jason Guadagnino at The Salvage Station for helping make this interview possible, to Greg Gerald for hosting me after the show and for taking photos of our interview. Thanks also to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

From Beethoven to Emily Dickinson and Earl Scruggs: The Musical Archaeology of Tony Trischka

April 23, 2024

It is natural that a second generation bluegrass banjo player would have soaked up as much of Earl Scruggs’ style on the five string as possible when starting out; it is just as natural that they would push outside of those boundaries of the territory staked out by their pioneering forebears. In Tony Trischka’s case, part of this instinct to turn bluegrass on its head early on in his career involved doing things like adding saxophone to an instrumental version of “Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms”, which began with a cacophonous drum solo. Now, we find the habitual trailblazer discovering and reinterpreting never before heard jams from none other than Earl Scruggs himself. It is a bit of a full circle moment, although that is not to say that Tony Trischka ever left the traditional bluegrass fold, either. He is and always was a banjo renaissance man, respected by fans of the roots music avant-garde and the three finger roll alike.

In the past couple of years in his now nearly sixty year career, Tony Trischka has been excitedly traveling down an even deeper Earl Scruggs rabbit hole than even he could ever have imagined. Already at work on another book of re-transcriptions of Earl Scruggs' music, which had previously been transcribed by guitar players, a friend named Bob Piekel sent Tony over 200 home recordings of Earl made by John Hartford, which included other greats like Tony Rice, Mac Wiseman and Del McCoury playing for fun over many years in the 1980s and 1990s. These tapes revealed a side of Earl’s playing, both in style and repertoire, that no one outside of those small circles of musicians ever heard, including multiple versions of songs like "Gentle on My Mind" and "Here Comes the Bride"; Earl playing blues licks on “Cripple Creek”; syncopations that he used only in those private settings. Brimming with inspiration, Tony Trischka crafted an album based on the John Hartford tapes, bringing in players like Sam Bush, Molly Tuttle, Michael Cleveland, Billy Strings and Mark Schatz, to record his new collection titled Earl Jam: A Tribute To Earl Scruggs.

Tony Trischka plays banjo alongside Darol Anger on fiddle

Just after Earl Scruggs’ 100th birth anniversary, and just ahead of his own 75th trip around the sun, I sat with Tony Trischka at the Earl Scruggs Center following his performance at the Remembering Earl concert, which included the Travelin’ McCourys and Jerry Douglas. This episode contains the bulk of that conversation, which was also partially excerpted in our earlier episode titled “An Update, and Two Quick Takes With Tony Trischka and Travis Book”, which includes a portion of Tony’s interview that does not appear here.

Songs heard in this episode:

“John Henry Medley: John Henry/Bonaparte’s Retreat/Twists and Turns” by Tony Trischka, from Territory

“Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms” by Tony Trischka, from Heartlands, excerpt

“Quite Early Morning” by Pete Seeger, from Pete Seeger: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection, excerpt

“Dooley” by Tony Trischka, featuring Molly Tuttle and Sam Bush”, from Earl Jam: A Tribute To Earl Scruggs

Thank you so much for visiting! We are grateful that you took time to listen, and hope you can help us by spreading awareness of what we are doing. It is as easy as telling a friend and following this podcast on your platform of choice. From there it takes just a moment to give us a top rating and a review. It makes a great difference because the more top reviews and ratings we get, the more visible we become to everyone on those platforms, which means that more people just like you find musical kinship with artists like Tony Trishcka, and legends like Earl Scruggs and Pete Seeger. I would love to hear your comments about that sort of thing and all things Southern Songs and Stories -- you can drop me a line at southernsongsandstories@gmail.com, and I will be glad to reply. Speaking of Earl Scruggs, check out our episode titled The Humble Genius of Earl Scruggs, which is chock full of interviews with bluegrass artists sharing their memories of Earl and how he impacted their lives.

This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here.

Thanks to Mary Beth Martin and Zach Dressel at the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby, North Carolina for all their help in setting up my interview with Tony Trischka, and to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Revisiting a North Carolina Massacre: Shelton Laurel, Part One

April 11, 2024

There is a decidedly darker mood in the United States than ever in our lifetimes, it seems. In just one example poll recently, one in five Americans agreed that violence is necessary to get the country back on track. With that in mind, it seems like a good time to remember what happened the last time the country acted on this, when we fought the Civil War. Between 1861 and 1865, at least 1,030,000 people were killed, including about 620,000 soldier deaths—two-thirds by disease—and 50,000 civilians. No major battles were fought in the North Carolina mountains, although there was one particularly dark Appalachian chapter of the bloody nationwide saga, the Shelton Laurel Massacre, which took place in Madison County NC.

Here, we revisit the first of a two-part series that originally published in 2021. The original article, with much more back story, is on our page here, and you can find these and 150 other episodes of Southern Songs and Stories on your podcast app of choice.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Bonaparte’s Retreat” by Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith & His Dixieliners

“Beautiful Dreamer” by Hesperus from A Civil War Scrapbook

“8th of January/Cumberland Gap/8th Day of January” by Sheila Kay Adams, from All The Other Fine Things

Southern Songs and Stories is a part of the podcast lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here . You can also hear new episodes of this podcast on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to Carol Rifkin for pointing me to much of the music here, to Sean Rubin for converting tapes of the show Over Home to digital format, and to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs.

Going Solo, With Soul: Travis Book

March 26, 2024

It was one of the first cold days of the fall in the western NC mountains when I trekked up from Spindale to Brevard to talk with Travis Book ahead of his show in town that night. Spindale is perhaps 60 miles away, where I work at WNCW, and with special shortcut directions from a trusted source who travels that route regularly, I figured it would take about an hour to get there. Only that travel time forecast was wildly optimistic, compounded by the fact that I wound up with most of the directions but did not have the last bit, which I figured I would somehow intuit, but could not. So instead of taking about an hour and a half, which was more like normal, I had to stop, then call Travis and ask for directions, and was pushing up against his practice time once I rolled in to his driveway a good two hours after leaving work.

After a quick hello, we sat at Travis’ kitchen table and dove into conversation. The hectic and anxious lead-up to this could have derailed other interviews, but Travis took it in stride, and I seemed to be able to focus some of that nervous energy into a free flowing series of questions and commentary that became the foundation for this episode, which includes music from his solo debut album Love and Other Strange Emotions.

Travis Book plays upright bass along with Jon Stickley on guitar at his Travis Book Happy Hour show at 185 King St. in Brevard NC 11-28-23

Songs heard in this episode:

“A Little Too Much” by Travis Book, from Love and Other Strange Emotions

“Leavin’” by Travis Book, from Love and Other Strange Emotions, excerpt

“The Truth Is Out There” by Travis Book, from Love and Other Emotions

Southern Songs and Stories is currently ranked #14 in Southern podcasts here on feedspot.com, and recently moved up to a top 2.5% globally ranked podcast by Listen Notes, which makes us smile.

This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Teaching the Art of the Bluegrass Jam: Pete Wernick

March 12, 2024

What connects you to the year 1946? Think of the time immediately following World War II, and perhaps black and white images of men in fedoras and women in long dresses come to mind. Maybe you have parents or grandparents who were born around that time, or maybe you know someone who lived then and has past on. It is an era that now seems quite distant for most of us, a kind of abstraction that can be read about but which remains present only in its dusty tomes and mono records. But like all eras of our past, the time when bluegrass music was born remains with us in tangible, even impactful ways. In 1946, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys recorded their first songs with new members Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, and a new genre of music was born. Born that same year in New York City was Pete Wernick, who came to know all of the Blue Grass Boys as well as most if not all of the other first-generation stars, and played with many of them eventually as well. He remains one of the few people today who embodies a direct link to this era, making it leap from the pages of history across the decades and get us tapping our feet to bluegrass music that is still being born.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Waiting For Daylight” by Pete Wernick & Flexigrass, from What The

“Powwow the Indian Boy” by Hot Rize, from Hot Rize, excerpt

“Untold Stories” by Hot Rize, from Untold Stories, excerpt

“Spring Break” by Pete Wernick, from On A Roll

Thank you for visiting us and giving this podcast a listen! This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to everyone at IBMA for their role in making this episode possible, and you can listen to more episodes on this series on artists interviewed at previous IBMA conferences, like Sierra Hull, Bela Fleck, Stephen Mougin and Ben Wright (Sam Bush Band and Henhouse Prowlers respectively), and C.J. Lewandowski (Po’ Ramblin’ Boys), to name a few. Thanks to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, and to Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs.

Southern Songs and Stories is currently ranked #13 in Southern podcasts here on feedspot.com, and moved up to a top 2.5% globally ranked podcast by Listen Notes, which makes us smile.

This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Blurring Lines and Packing a Punch With Stillhouse Junkies

February 23, 2024

Here at Southern Songs and Stories, we take some liberties from time to time with what we put forward as songs and stories that fall under the umbrella of the American South. After all, we have featured a band from England (The Ruen Brothers), an artist from Idaho (Eilen Jewell), and several artists out of the sui generis state of Texas (Shinyribs, Joshua Ray Walker, The Deer), for starters. Add to that list the second group from Colorado profiled here (Yonder Mountain String Band being the first), as we bring Durango trio Stillhouse Junkies to the series.

Although all these artists are not from or living in the South (Texas notwithstanding), they all share a musical heritage that has direct connections to the region and its outsized music culture. Stillhouse Junkies is right in line here, with their members playing a style of music taking directly from forms so closely associated with the South, namely bluegrass, blues and country. With that in mind, and knowing that Southern hospitality is a hallmark of the region, we welcome Alissa Wolf, Fred Kozak and Cody Tinnin with open arms to this episode, which features conversation touching on topics ranging from uncommon trio configuration to how that trio format can sound as full as it does on record and at their live performance at the Albino Skunk Music Festival, where we spoke after their set. The band points out the advantages of being from a relatively small city in Colorado and hints at future collaborations, as well as giving us insight into life on the road, and we feature excerpts of music from their Albino Skunk set, which includes new songs that are slated for release later in 2024.

Stillhouse Junkies perform at the Albino Skunk Music Festival in Greer, SC 10/06/23
Photo: John Gillespie Photography

Songs heard in this episode:

“Up River” by Stillhouse Junkies, from Albino Skunk Music Festival

“Colorado Bound” by Stillhouse Junkies at Albino Skunk Music Festival 10-06-23, excerpt

“Johnny Mac” by Stillhouse Junkies at Albino Skunk Music Festival 10-06-23

“Whiskey Prison” by Stillhouse Junkies at Albino Skunk Festival 10-06-23

Thank you for visiting us and giving this podcast a listen! This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to everyone at the Albino Skunk Music Festival; many of the great people at Albino Skunk made this episode possible, and you can listen to more episodes on this series on artists who played there, like Shinyribs, Darrell Scott, Miko Marks and Eilen Jewell. Thanks to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, and to Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs.

Southern Songs and Stories is currently ranked #13 in Southern podcasts here on feedspot.com, and moved up to a top 2.5% globally ranked podcast by Listen Notes, which makes us smile.

This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Diversifying and Exporting Bluegrass With Dark Shadow Recording’s Stephen Mougin and Ben Wright

February 8, 2024

It was day five of the IBMAs and I had been up until four that morning, but Stephen Mougin and Ben Wright might have even seen the sun come up that day after they hosted yet another late night music showcase. Technically their showcases shut down around two or three in the morning, but there was always the chance that artists such as Sierra Ferrell might show up and want to jam after folks like myself called it a night, like she did a couple nights before. Such was the atmosphere in Raleigh, NC for the marathon annual fall event — business conference by day, with shows and jam sessions all night. You can probably hear it in our voices that we lacked sleep, but our level of excitement about all of what we had seen and heard remained undiminished.

Stephen Mougin is probably best known for playing guitar in the Sam Bush Band (he is also a producer, engineer, music instructor and band coach), while Ben Wright is the banjo player and a founding member of Henhouse Prowlers (as well as the nonprofit organization Bluegrass Ambassadors); they are also partners in the music label, Dark Shadow Recording. Our conversation touches on the business of bluegrass as well as its culture and history, their insights on the future of the genre, and their work to spread awareness of that music worldwide. Included in this episode is music from the Henhouse Prowlers’ latest album Lead and Iron as well as Stephen Mougin’s solo album Ordinary Soul.

Henhouse Prowlers with producer Stephen Mougin at Dark Shadow Recording studio. (L-R: Jon Goldfine, Jake Howard, Chris Dollar, Stephen Mougin and Ben Wright.) Photo by Madison Thorn.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Lead and Iron” by Henhouse Prowlers, from Lead and Iron

“New Beginnings” by Stephen Mougin, from Ordinary Soul, excerpt

“It’s Not What You Think” by Sam Bush, from Storyman

Thank you for visiting us and giving us a listen! This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, and to Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed out theme songs. Thanks also to the staff of IBMA for their help in making our interview possible.

This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

An Update, and Two Quick Takes With Tony Trischka and Travis Book

January 23, 2024

Here at Southern Songs and Stories, there is never a shortage of stories to draw from a seemingly bottomless well of music artists; we only scratch the surface of what we would love for you to hear on this series. But even with that, we have a parallel problem, a good problem if you will, of having a whole lot of material on hand waiting to make it into a podcast episode. I have been anticipating, waiting for the right time to publish episodes featuring a number of artists going back to fall 2023 (and I have to admit that the urge to scratch that itch is strong), and with this mini, hybrid episode, a little bit of that pressure will be released.

Beginning with our most recent interview first, we bring you an excerpt of the conversation with Tony Trischka, recorded in mid-January 2024, following his performance at the Remembering Earl concert to benefit the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby, NC. Previewing his forthcoming full episode, Tony tells us here about how the public perception of the banjo has improved over the decades since he began playing the instrument, as well as his unique approach to playing it, and other players who push the envelope that he admires.

Tony Trischka’s new album Earl Jam: A Tribute To Earl Scruggs is one of the most innovative yet unlikely tribute albums in bluegrass music: it began with Tony receiving recordings of Earl Scruggs jamming at his Nashville home in scores of sessions which saw friends John Hartford and a slew of other greats picking and experimenting with traditional and original songs alike. Note for note, Tony meticulously recreated Earl’s banjo work on songs from these jam sessions and, with a full band, brought them to life in an impactful, new context.

After hearing some of Tony Trischka’s conversation, we preview our episode on Travis Book as he tells us about stepping out on his own for a decidedly rock and soul vibe on his first solo album, Love and Other Strange Emotions. And beyond that, we cannot wait to bring you interviews going back to IBMA week, with another legendary artist and banjo player Peter Wernick as well as both Stephen Mougin and Ben Wright, known first as musicians with the Sam Bush Band and Henhouse Prowlers, respectively, but also for their partnership in Dark Shadow Recording. Speaking of that music label, a band on their roster named Stillhouse Junkies played at last fall’s Albino Skunk Music Festival, where we had the chance to hear from all of its members in a lively late night conversation.

Travis Book looks to stage right in Infamous Stringdusters’ set at Carolina In The Fall in 2016

Songs heard in this episode:

“Brown’s Ferry Blues” by Tony Trischka, with Billy Strings, from Earl Jam: A Tribute To Earl Scruggs

“The Truth Is Out There” by Travis Book, from Love and Other Strange Emotions

Thank you for visiting us and giving us a listen! This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, and to Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed out theme songs. Thanks also to the staff at the Earl Scruggs Center and for their team that put together their Remembering Earl event for all their help in making our interview with Tony Trischka possible.

This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick