The Country Heart and Jazz Mind of Sierra Ferrell

Meeting Sierra Ferrell was nothing like I expected. The scene was somewhere backstage at the Albino Skunk Music Festival this spring, and in her orbit were several new faces, one of whom was holding an elderly Boston Terrier. As I would soon find out, it was Jeremiah Jenkins whose main gig is booking Red Wing Roots Music Festival in Virginia who was holding onto the pup named, appropriately enough, Boston. However, it was not his dog. Sierra Ferrell had brought Boston, but Boston was not her dog either. She was just taking care of him for a friend by bringing him to South Carolina where the air would be better for his allergies, and holding him a lot — or in this case, getting someone like Jeremiah to do the holding. Before long many people came to know Boston, and a charming, eccentric story within the larger charming eccentricities of the festival itself was born. It seemed that almost as many people knew of Boston as there were those who got to experience the magnetic set of western swing, golden era country and fiery originals from Sierra and her band.

After her performance, she stayed through the next day to catch more of the music, which was when we took time to talk. Here, she tells us about her long awaited album debut on Rounder, titled (you guessed it) Long Time Coming, her musical upbringing and early, more rocking tastes, her new band, how the forests of her native West Virginia can be heard in her songs, and more. Many songs that Sierra Ferrell and her band played at the festival are here as well, which include several from her new collection. The music and conversation are lively and free-spirited, and hint at greater things to come in a moment when Sierra is already emerging as a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist to be celebrated.

Sierra Ferrell with Boston in the green room at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05-15-21

Boston, the elderly, blind and allergic Boston Terrier who practically stole the show

Songs heard in this episode:

“Lonesome Woman Blues” by Sierra Ferrell live at Albino Skunk Festival 05/14/21

“I’d Do It Again” by Sierra Ferrell, live at Albino Skunk Festival 05/14/21, excerpt

“T For Texas” by Sierra Ferrell, live at Albino Skunk Festival 05/14/21, excerpt

“Whispering Waltz” by Sierra Ferrell, live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05/14/21, excerpt

“Why’d Ya Do It” by Sierra Ferrell, live at Albino Skunk Festival 05/14/21, excerpt

“In Dreams” by Sierra Ferrell, live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05/14/21

Thanks for visiting! I hope you enjoyed the podcast, and might tell someone you know about it. You can follow the series on podcast platforms everywhere. And once you do that, could you take a minute and give us a top rating, and a review? In almost no time you will help make all of the topics and artists covered on this series more likely to be found by more people just like you. 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 Mark Johnson for supplying the live audio from Albino Skunk, and to Zig and everyone there for being so generous and accommodating. Thanks also to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, where our former intern Joshua Meng wrote and performed our theme songs. - Joe Kendrick

It’s Always Roots Music 12 O’Clock With Jerry Douglas

Jerry Douglas was effusive and ebullient all afternoon. He and his band approached their soundcheck session with a mixture of patience, focus and glee; it was the warmup for their first performance in front of a live audience in over a year. After sitting out the pandemic for all that time, the main hurdle to their exercise in knocking the rust off seemed to be finding what gear was in which bin, serving only to slightly delay them in getting things back into fifth gear. Jerry’s energy and enthusiasm continued afterwards, when he spoke about everything from his latest album project with John Hiatt to his analogy of the cyclical nature of musical tastes, which gave us the title to this episode.

The Jerry Douglas Band performs at Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre in Asheville, NC 06-03-21

Joe Kendrick and Jerry Douglas on stage at Pisgah Brewing in Black Mountain, NC 08-25-18

Songs heard in this episode:

“From Ankara to Izmir” by The Jerry Douglas Band, performed live 06-03-21 at Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, Asheville, NC

“All The Lilacs In Ohio” by John Hiatt with The Jerry Douglas Band, from Leftover Feelings, excerpt

“Touch and Go” by Sean Jones from No Need For Words, excerpt

Thank you for stopping by. We hope you enjoyed the podcast, and might tell someone you know about it. You can follow the series on podcast platforms everywhere. Currently Southern Songs and Stories is ranked in the top 5% of all podcasts, which is great! But for this endeavor to be self-supporting, we ask that you follow the series and then give us a top rating and a review on your platform of choice. It is all free, and doing this will make all of the topics and artists covered on this series more likely to be found by more people just like you. 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 Sean Rubin for recording and mixing The Jerry Douglas Band’s live performance of “From Ankara to Izmir”, 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. - Joe Kendrick

The Shelton Laurel Massacre, Part Two: Could History Repeat Itself?

In the conclusion of this two podcast series, you get to hear some surprising facts about the Shelton Laurel Massacre and related events, which by themselves are still surprising to many people just considering the events of those tragedies. Even once you get past the shocking nature of the executions, there are lots of ironies and unexpected twists to the story. The whole region was a hotbed of conflict that at least on paper did not seem to make sense. Perhaps these pieces can only fit together once you begin by acknowledging that wars never make much sense, especially to the people fighting them. Maybe the only logical answer to the insanity that was the Civil War in Southern Appalachia was to go off the rails county by county, mountain valley by mountain top, town by countryside and kinfolk by kinfolk. The events in Shelton Laurel in 1863 were the Civil War in microcosm, with the two sides not hundreds or thousands of miles away in distance, experience and world view, but with those fighting each other living in the same place, with the same bloodlines, the same heritage.

Cover art to the historical novel And the Crows Took Their Eyes by Vicki Lane

Asheville Citizen-Times article on the Shelton Laurel Massacre from 1981

This episode features details on the Massacre itself as well as another big surprise that Vicki Lane, Sheila Kay Adams and Taylor Barnhill revealed in their interview, plus a theory on how the seeds of this terrible event were sown. Also featured is music about the Civil War and songs that were widely popular in that era.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Republican Spirit/Mississippi Sawyer” played by Jim Taylor, from The Civil War Collection (excerpt)

“The Secesh (Shiloh)” by John Hartford, from the compilation Songs of the Civil War (excerpt)

“Shy Ann” by Byard Ray from A Twentieth Century Bard (excerpt)

“Battle Cry Of Freedom” by Bryan Sutton from Divided & United: The Songs of the Civil War

Thanks for visiting! You can follow the series on podcast platforms everywhere. After that, it helps greatly when you give it a good rating and a review. Spreading awareness by giving this series a top rating, and even more so with a review, will make all of the topics and artists covered on this series more likely to be found by more people just like you. 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. - Joe Kendrick

The Shelton Laurel Massacre, Part One: The Past That Would Not Die

There are stories where the characters and events are so extraordinary and gripping that one can miss their overall meaning. It can be easy to take stories like the one you are about to hear at face value, and leave their larger context unrealized. But even the most casual reading of the events and people of Madison County, North Carolina from 1863 should raise a lot of red flags about our own worst tendencies. Even a pulp fiction version of the Shelton Laurel Massacre would lend plenty of insight into the all too often dark heart of humanity. But pull the lens back and consider these events, their beginnings and repercussions in the arc of history and you might come to an even more chilling conclusion. What caused neighbors and kinfolk to terrorize and murder one another in the Appalachian mountains all those generations ago, what larger forces that worked to bring out the cruelty and violence this chapter of history reveals, and what hatred and divisions that earned the place the moniker “Bloody Madison” are not only in history books; they are with us today. It would be nice to think that because America went through its Civil War and Shelton Laurel had its Massacre that it cannot happen again. But once you get sight of the forest beyond all its trees in this bit of history, you might wonder.

Historical marker in Madison County, NC

Looking southeast from Vicki Lane’s home

This is the first of two episodes in which you will hear much about the Shelton Laurel Massacre as well as some other events during the Civil War in the region. Both sides of this conflict had heroes and villains in their ranks, with many larger than life characters involved.

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.

Taylor Barnhill and Vicki Lane at Vicki’s home near Marshall, NC 06-04-21

The Ambivalence and Embrace of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning with Olivia Ellen Lloyd

Like the prophets of biblical times, music artists have often found it hard to gain acceptance in the places they came from. There is a heartbreaking scene in the documentary Every Night’s A Saturday Night: The Bobby Keys Story where the sax player famous for his time in The Rolling Stones sits outside his former high school, unable to bring himself to go to his old classmates’ reunion decades after leaving his small town of Slaton, Texas. Another example is my home town’s native son, Don Gibson, who left Shelby, North Carolina being thought of as pretty much a nobody that dropped out of school in the second grade before he went on to become a successful artist and one of the most celebrated song writers in country music history.

Olivia Ellen Lloyd could be the exception that proves this rule: she left her homeplace (which is even smaller than both Shelby and Slaton) and went on to make her first album while residing in Brooklyn, New York, however this success is celebrated rather than ignored back home in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. This experience, along with the loss of family and friends and her own struggle to come of age in a world where optimism is hard to come by provides the backdrop for her country and Americana based album Loose Cannon.

Olivia Ellen Lloyd

In this episode you will hear Olivia talk about her intriguing backstory and how she finds herself thriving in a much different place than where she grew up while she still embraces her homeplace, how she has a knack for bringing our worst impulses to life in a song, and much more, including music from her album Loose Cannon.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy this episode and will tell someone you know about it. You can follow this series on most every platform where you can find podcasts. And once you do, it helps even more when you give it a good rating and a review. Spreading awareness by giving this series a top rating, and even more so with a review, will make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more likely to be found by more people just like you. 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 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

Songs heard in this episode:

“High & Lonesome” by Olivia Ellen Lloyd from Loose Cannon

“Sorrow” by Olivia Ellen Lloyd from Loose Cannon, excerpt

“Emily” by Olivia Ellen Lloyd from Loose Cannon, excerpt

“The West” by Olivia Ellen Lloyd, from Loose Cannon

Tough Times Encapsulated in the Beauty of Her Song: Esther Rose

Esther Rose might surprise you. She certainly gave me a start at the very beginning of our conversation when I found out that she was not living in New Orleans anymore, after having called the Crescent CIty home for the past decade. It turns out that she had followed her muse to the high desert of Taos, New Mexico, a place that she had thought about moving to for years. That is not the only thing that you might find curious about her — other eye-openers include her list of influences which were three artists I had yet to hear about. For someone like me whose bread is buttered by research and preparation, twists like these do not happen very often, let alone more than once in the same interview. So prepare for a revelation with Esther Rose, whose music itself comprises the most pleasant of those surprises. With her third album How Many Times, she reveals themes of heartbreak, loss and renewal housed in a collection of ten songs that are rooted in country and early rock and roll (The Everly Brothers comes to mind), brought to life by a crack band of young players and tied together with a voice so crystalline as to make you almost wish you could have your heart broken that way, too.

Esther Rose

You can see the full interview with Esther on video, which is linked on my YouTube here. I hope you enjoy this episode, and might talk to someone you know to let them know about this podcast. You can subscribe to the series on most every platform where you can find podcasts. And once you subscribe, it helps even more when you give it a good rating and a review. Spreading awareness by giving this series a top rating, and even more so with a review, will make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more likely to be found by more people just like you. 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 Sean Rubin for engineering our interview 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

Songs heard in this episode:

“Without You” by Esther Rose from How Many Times

“Good Time” by Esther Rose performed live

“How Many Times” by Esther Rose performed live

Getting Back To the Basics of a Great Song With Tyler Ramsey

There is a complexity to Tyler Ramsey’s music, and a corresponding simplicity. It makes for an intriguing yin and yang, with an abundance of lyrical and instrumental components matched with his lucid fingerpicking style guitar playing. These stylistic poles are not opposites in Tyler’s musical world, rather they become complimentary, and over his career he has managed to use both to his advantage. From his early solo work to his decade in the group Band Of Horses and back to being solo, he has navigated a path that shows how such seemingly diametrically opposed modes can be harnessed and used to create something unique. Currently we find Tyler Ramsey leaning more in the direction of simplicity, with his stripped-down covers EP Found A Picture Of You. Or is it really all that straightforward? Even with this streamlined approach to songs by artists like Pretenders and The Innocence Mission, the layers are still there and the intricacy remains.

Tyler Ramsey performs in WNCW’s Studio B 11-23-20

In this episode, Tyler tells us about the virtues of simplicity in life and in songwriting, about being an unlikely rock and roll hero, how country blues is foundational to his approach, and he plays us some of his latest music, including an as yet untitled new song from a live session on WNCW late last November.

Thank you for visiting, and I hope you might talk to someone you know, and let them know about this podcast. You can subscribe to the series on most every platform where you can find podcasts. And once you subscribe, it helps even more when you give it a good rating and a review. Spreading awareness by giving this series a top rating, and even more so with a review, will make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more likely to be found by more people just like you. 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 Sean Rubin for engineering my session with Tyler Ramsey, and Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW. Thanks also to Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs. I’m your host and producer Joe Kendrick, and this is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Hard Work, History and Hope in Small Town Southern Appalachia: Pony Bradshaw

Somehow, I missed out on James “Pony” Bradshaw’s major label debut, Sudden Opera, a well received record that was really his second album following his self-released debut. I almost missed out on his next album, the newly minted disc Calico Jim. Skimming over the songs to get an initial impression did not stop me in my tracks, which is a qualifier that is as necessary as it is so often ill suited to recognize great music in a world such as mine, where there is always too much worthwhile music to take in and not enough time to sort it all out. So, yes, Pony Bradshaw is probably not going to jump up and grab you on first listen. Just as driving through the rolling hills of Appalachia will not give you a real sense of their beauty and their corresponding, equally defining flaws, giving a cursory listen to Calico Jim will likely leave you with only a fuzzy memory or where you really were. But stop a while, stay for an extended listen, and it becomes clear that Pony Bradshaw has given us an incredible collection of songs, one that draws these mountains and their people into sharp focus.

Album art for Pony Bradshaw’s album Calico Jim

Thank you for visiting, and I hope you might talk to someone you know, and let them know about this podcast. You can subscribe to the series on most every platform where you can find podcasts. And once you subscribe, it helps even more when you give it a good rating and a review. Spreading awareness by giving this series a top rating, and even more so with a review, will make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more likely to be found by more people just like you. 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 Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed this show’s theme songs. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

The Sonic and Existential Transformation of Amythyst Kiah

When people talk about artists like Aretha Franklin, St. Vincent, Paul Brady and Sam Cooke, they tend to talk about these artists’ best known work, their music that came after their formative years. For Aretha Franklin and Sam Cooke, her Columbia Records sides and his time in The Soul Stirrers tend to get glossed over. For the casual fan, who remembers that St. Vincent got her start in The Polyphonic Spree, or that Paul Brady once was known as a Celtic artist? In the years to come, look for a similar phenomenon with Amythyst Kiah.

This is not to minimize the work she has already released, which includes two fine records of songs ranging from covers of classics like “Grinnin’ In Your Face” to her own originals like “Fake Plastic Trees”, and of course her award-winning stint in the roots music supergroup Our Native Daughters. Those are all well worth celebrating, but in the long run they just might be considered the prologue to a much larger story. Five or ten years from now, most people that hear the name Amythyst Kiah may likely think of her forthcoming album Wary + Strange as the launching point of her career.

Amythyst Kiah performs at the No Contact Concert Series 08/22/20

Thanks to Amythyst Kiah for sharing her time with us, and for being on the show. Thanks to you for dropping by, and I hope you might reach out to someone you know who is a fan of Amythyst Kiah or Our Native Daughters, or who might be, and let them know about this podcast. You can subscribe to the series on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, Pandora, NPR One -- most every platform where you can find podcasts. And once you subscribe, it helps even more when you give it a good rating and a review. Spreading awareness by giving this series a top rating, and even more so with a review, will make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more likely to be found by more people just like you. 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 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

Songs heard in this episode:

“Darlin’ Corey” by Amythyst Kiah from Dig, excerpt

“Trouble So Hard” by Amythyst Kiah from Amythyst Kiah & Her Chest Of Glass, excerpt

“Black Myself” by Amythyst Kiah from Wary + Strange

Twenty Years In, A New Sound and A Different Kind Of Heartbreak: Lucero

Memphis quintet Lucero has been making straight ahead rock without a hint of pretense since 1998, and just over two decades in, they are at an inevitable crossroads of sorts. A little over twenty years in with record number ten would be mileposts no matter what life had brought a band, but throw in big life changes (welcome ones for front man Ben Nichols, as he will explain) plus a new approach to their sound and a turn towards writing about characters outside rather than inside the band makes for an intersection you can spot miles away.

Join me for a lively conversation with Ben, touching on everything from his band’s embrace of synthesizers to working with his brother on film projects, the different kind of melancholy and heartbreak that he knows now from being a family man, and a whole lot more including, of course, a good bit of Lucero’s music from their new album When You Found Me.  

Cover art for Lucero’s tenth studio album, When You Found Me

The addition of synthesizers to Lucero’s mix has updated the group’s supply of tools in their chest, imparting a kind of sci-fi aura to much of the album, while also harkening back to rock and roll bands from decades past.

Thanks for listening to the show, and I hope you might reach out to someone you know who is a fan of music, history or culture and let them know about this series. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, Pandora, NPR One -- pretty much everywhere you can find podcasts. And once you subscribe, it helps even more when you give it a good rating and a review. Top ratings, and especially your reviews, will make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more likely to be found by more people just like you. 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. My full interview with Ben Nichols is on video here, and it includes even more nuggets like what it was like working in Sam Phillips Recording Studio with its upstairs bar where you can still sense the presence of all the Sun Records greats from long ago.

Thanks to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where our audio engineer Sean Rubin graciously ran my video call with Ben, and also where we were lucky to call Joshua Meng our intern for time -- he wrote and performed our theme songs. I’m your host and producer Joe Kendrick, and this is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Back In Ohio” by Lucero from When You Found Me

“Outrun the Moon” by Lucero from When You Found Me, excerpt

“When You Found Me” by Lucero from When You Found Me, excerpt

“Pull Me Close Don’t Let Go” by Lucero from When You Found Me, excerpt

Dom Flemons: Finding New Ways Forward By Reviving Music's Past

For those who adhere to the old adage that “If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room,” you would likely feel comfortable being in the company of Dom Flemons. Now living in Chicago, he has called many places home, from his native Arizona to North Carolina to Washington, D.C., and has covered even more musical territory, mastering the banjo, fife, guitar, harmonica, percussion, quills, and bones in many styles along the way. He won widespread acclaim as a founding member of The Carolina Chocolate Drops, and after leaving the group in 2013, has not missed a beat, playing at Carnegie Hall, the Grand Ole Opry, the opening ceremonies for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, and has represented the United States at the 2017 Rainforest World Music Festival in Kuching, Malaysia. These accomplishments only scratch the surface of his remarkable career, to say nothing of his warmth, openness and modest charm.

Dom Flemons at the Outback Opry drive-in concert 09-05-20 (photo: Daniel Coston)

Thanks for dropping by, and I hope you might reach out to someone you know who is a fan of music, history or culture and let them know about this series. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, Pandora, NPR One -- pretty much everywhere you can find podcasts. And once you subscribe, it helps even more when you give it a good rating and a review. Top ratings, and especially your reviews, will make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more likely to be found by more people just like you. 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. My full interview with Dom Flemons is on video, which is on my YouTube here. Thanks to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW. Our theme songs are by Joshua Meng. This is Southern Songs and Stories, celebrating the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Music heard in this episode:

“‘Til The Seas Run Dry” by Dom Flemons from Prospect Hill

“Going Backward Up the Mountain” by Dom Flemons from Prospect Hill: The American Songster Omnibus

“Georgia Drumbeat” from Dom Flemons’ Prospect Hill: The American Songster Omnibus

“Shake Your Moneymaker” by Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band with Dom Flemons and Steve Cropper

“My Money Never Runs Out” by Dom Flemons from Prospect Hill

Winter 2021 Preview

After a brief pause over the holidays, it is time to jump into the new year with a strong lineup of guest artists here at Southern Songs and Stories. On deck is Dom Flemons who has a new song with Reverend Peyton featured in his episode, as well as Amythyst Kiah who is soon to raise her profile with her album Wary + Strange, with its lead single “Black Myself” scheduled for release on February 19th. Also in our pipeline are Ben Nichols of the band Lucero, and a relatively new artist, Pony Bradshaw, both of whom have new albums which we will explore as we speak with them in their podcasts. Here is a taste of what is soon to come, enjoy! - Joe Kendrick

Dom Flemons performs at WNCW’s Outback Opry drive-in concert September 2020 (photo: Daniel Coston)

They've Got It Covered: The Bluegrass of Darin and Brooke Aldridge

No survey of current bluegrass is accurate without mention of Darin and Brooke Aldridge. The husband and wife duo, whose first album came in 2008, are now at the center of what contemporary bluegrass does best. And they have the hardware and chart hits to attest to that — for starters, Brooke is the 4-time, reigning IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year, and their 2019 album Inner Journey rose to the top of the charts, surprising no one on both counts.

That they are among the best at what they do is a given, but their proximity to and influence at the core of the bluegrass community is perhaps less obvious. As flag bearers, they are helping lead the overall sound in new directions that some may not have foreseen. Taking in outside influences comes naturally to bluegrass as a rule, but taking on material outside of the canon of American authorship can be crazy or genius, depending on who does it. Darin and Brooke Aldridge play songs written by themselves, as well as songs by colleagues and collaborators like John Cowan and Vince Gill, but their song IQ seems highest when it comes to drawing chestnuts like “Tennessee Flat Top Box” or “Tear-Stained Letter” into sharp focus. By sticking the landing every time, they elevate and give new context, both to bluegrass and those originals.

cover art for Darin and Brooke’s seventh studio album, Inner Journey

I spoke with Darin and Brooke over a video call (linked here), where we talked about their knack for making great covers, what projects they have going on now, their work life outside of music, how they would pitch bluegrass music to someone who had not yet heard it, and a whole lot more. They also have a new song for Christmas called “Light Of the Stable”, which is part of music featured on this episode.

Thanks for visiting Southern Songs and Stories, and I hope you might tell someone you know about the series. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and all other major platforms. And once you subscribe, it really helps when you give it a good rating and a review. 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 also to WNCW audio engineer Sean Rubin for his work on the interview audio. - Joe Kendrick

Songs heard in this episode:

“Foggy Mountain Rock” by Darin & Brooke Aldridge from Live at Red, White and Bluegrass!, excerpt

“Emmylou” by Darin and Brooke Aldridge from Inner Journey, excerpt

“Light Of the Stable” by Darin & Brooke Aldridge

“Someone’s Everything” by Darin and Brooke Aldridge from Inner Journey

Walking 100 Miles Through Barbed Wire To Get To The Reservoir: Kenny Roby

Make no mistake, Kenny Roby has turned in one of the most emotional and raw records of 2020. But listening to his fifth solo album The Reservoir, it is impossible not to feel solace. When he sings in the album opener “Don’t Ya Know What’s On My Mind”, “My mama told me I was special/ She never saw me in the dark/ A soft truth and a wet confessional/ Dressed in a mess and double parked”, you know right away that there’s going to be trouble ahead, and real soon. But Kenny’s voice is so reassuring, his music so assuaging, that you know it is all going to be okay in the end.

As this album began, circumstances were most definitely not okay in Kenny Roby’s world. Many things came to an end for him in 2019: the lives of friends and family, his marriage, his time in the Carolinas. And looming large, especially for this record, was the loss of his longtime friend and musical partner Neal Casal. Already in the beginning stages for Kenny’s album (which was originally to take the name of probably its most uplifting song, History Lesson), the project was upended in late August when news came that Neal had taken his own life.

As heavy as all of that was and is, the result is a revelation. As awful as it sounds to take the journey that Kenny Roby took, the destination is all the more alluring. Listening to The Reservoir is to witness what it is like to go through great hardship and come out with balance and calm, and even manage to keep a sense of humor.

In this episode, you will hear conversations with the native South Carolinian, who now lives in Upstate New York, as well as Dave Schools, who picked up production duties on The Reservoir after Neal Casal’s passing. Three of the sixteen songs in the collection find their way into the podcast as well, along with a flashback to the 1994 debut of Kenny Roby’s former band 6 String Drag.  

Kenny Roby

Thanks for dropping by Southern Songs and Stories, and I hope you might tell someone you know about the series. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, you name it. And once you subscribe, it really helps when you give it a good rating and a review. 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. - Joe Kendrick

Songs heard in this episode:

“Akabanah” by Kodo from Ibuki (excerpt)

“She’s A Hurricane” by 6 String Drag from Six String Drag (excerpt)

“Don’t Ya Know What’s On My Mind” by Kenny Roby from The Reservoir

“Vampire Song (Whatcha Gonna Do)” by Kenny Roby from The Reservoir

“Just Because” by Kenny Roby from The Reservoir

Full interview of Kenny Roby is here

Full interview of Dave Schools is here

Arm in Arm on Their Journey: Steep Canyon Rangers

It could be easy to lose sight of this, with all of the trials and tribulations we have endured in 2020, but Steep Canyon Rangers is having a banner year. Beginning with their live album North Carolina Songbook, continuing with a surprise collaboration with Boyz II Men on the remake of their song “Be Still Moses”, and finishing with their studio album Arm in Arm, the western North Carolina six piece band has been fully en fuego despite all of the cold water thrown on the music world lately. Twenty years into their run, they have already won two IBMA awards and a Grammy, and unless things go even more sideways and the sky goes from blue to green in 2021, expect more hardware to come their way for these recordings.

(l to r) Woody Platt and Graham Sharp warm up in WNCW’s Studio B 9/28/20

Photo: Mike Gavin

In this episode, you will hear conversations from members of Steep Canyon Rangers as well as plenty of their latest music, including a live performance from Woody Platt and Graham Sharp of their song “Honey On My Tongue” on WNCW. Jacob Groopman of the band Front Country joins us along the way, and we get a word from Steve Martin as well.

Thank you for visiting us at Southern Songs and Stories, and I hope you might tell someone you know about this podcast. You can subscribe to the series on your podcast platform of choice, and it helps greatly when you give it a good rating and a review. Top ratings, and reviews especially, will make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more likely to be found by more people just like you. 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. - Joe Kendrick

WNCW control room during the simulcast of Steep Canyon Rangers’ drive-in concert in Asheville NC 8/28/20

Photo: Joe Kendrick

Songs heard in this episode:

“One Drop of Rain” from Steep Canyon Rangers album Arm in Arm

“Golden Highway” from The Chapel Hillbilly Way by The Shady Grove Band, excerpt

“Afterglow” from Arm in Arm by Steep Canyon Rangers, excerpt

“Sunny Days” from Arm in Arm by Steep Canyon Rangers, excerpt

“Honey On My Tongue” live in Studio B on WNCW 9-28-20

Grass That Goes Against the Grain: Wood & Wire

In 2018, the four piece group Wood & Wire was nominated for a Grammy award for their album North of Despair. Since their four members had come up playing styles like jazz and punk rock, of course they would find themselves in a band on the verge of winning nationwide recognition as a bluegrass band -- from that hotbed of the genre, Austin Texas no less. Somehow, two plus two equals five with Wood & Wire, and here they are, carving out a niche that seems as unlikely as it is fortunate.

Wood & Wire

In this episode, singer and guitarist Tony Kamel and mandolin player Billy Bright talk about updating and spinning the old murder ballad “Darlin’ Corey” into their song “Pigs”, bringing in Peter Rowan for a tune, how growing up in Houston did not feel like growing up in the South at all, and how growing up in El Paso could easily be thought of as growing up somewhere not at all in Texas. That is just part of what they have to say, and of course, we feature some music from the band’s fourth studio album No Matter Where It Goes from Here.

Wood & Wire album cover for No Matter Where It Goes From Here

Thanks for dropping by Southern Songs and Stories, and I hope you might tell a friend about this endeavor. You can subscribe to this series on your podcast platform of choice, and it helps even more when you give it a good rating and a review. Great ratings, and reviews especially, will make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more visible to more people just like you. 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 Sean Rubin for the audio of my call with Tony and Billy, and to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it.   - Joe Kendrick

Songs heard in this episode:

“Clamp’s Chute” by Wood & Wire from No Matter Where It Goes From Here, excerpt 

“Pigs” by Wood & Wire from No Matter Where It Goes From Here, excerpt

“Roadie’s Circles” by Wood & Wire from No Matter Where It Goes From Here, excerpt

[“My Hometown” by Wood & Wire from No Matter Where It Goes From Here]

Carryin' On With Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires

Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires are amongst the most celebrated couples in music, and their star continues to rise. Theirs is a story that brings to mind iconic husband and wife teams like Johnny and June, and they can boast an ever growing legion of fans and critical acclaim. The past year or so has proved to be one of their most successful in terms of their music, while it has also been a span with times of great difficulty -- both with their art and their relationship. Jason and Amanda speak here in separate interviews from their home in wide-ranging conversations covering everything from Jason’s subconscious character portrait of a departed friend in the song “Only Children” to Amanda’s account of common misconceptions about their lives as artists, and they reveal a playful and affectionate side of themselves that does not often show itself in their lyrics.

Cover art for Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s 2020 album Reunions

Included in the podcast are excerpts of music from Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s latest album, Reunions, and Amanda Shire’s latest singles, as well as an unearthed live radio performance of the two playing “Relatively Easy” in early 2014. In a way, Jason and Amanda have come full circle in the time since: they find themselves today once again in a simpler situation than in the years between. Credit the coronavirus pandemic for that, but even so, those intervening six years can now be seen as a distinct chapter in their lives. Back when their performance of “Relatively Easy” was live on the radio, they didn’t have their daughter Mercy Rose; there were yet no Grammy awards. And this year when these interviews were recorded, Jason and Amanda’s lives had retreated from the stage to their home and their family life. Before, they didn’t carry the weight of the level of stardom they have since achieved; now, the pressure to maintain their status at the top of the musical food chain is relieved by current circumstances, which include having just released what will surely be more award winning work.

Artwork for Amanda Shires’ 2020 duet with Jason Isbell, “The Problem”

Thanks for visiting us here at Southern Songs and Stories, and I hope you might tell a friend about the podcast. You can subscribe to this series on your podcast platform of choice, and it helps even more when you give it a good rating and a review. Great ratings, and reviews especially, will make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more visible to more people just like you. 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 WNCW’s Sean Rubin for engineering my call with Jason Isbell and for remixing “Relatively Easy”, and to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW. Our theme songs are by Joshua Meng. I’m your host and producer Joe Kendrick, and this is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it.

Music heard in this episode:

“Overseas” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit from Reunions, excerpt

“The Problem” by Amanda Shires with Jason Isbell, excerpt

“Only Children” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit from Reunions, excerpt

“Deciphering Dreams” by Amanda Shires from To The Sunset, excerpt

“Relatively Easy” by Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires live on WNCW January 22, 2014

Telling the Tale of Music

Recently, an old friend of mine hit me up to contribute to a storytelling compilation he was making, and after lots of procrastinating, I came up with my own story — or rather, my own account of how I love to tell stories. Brian John Mitchell is the friend in question, and he started his label Silber Records officially back in 1996, and has been making zines and comics for decades as well.  

album cover for Remora’s 2011 release Scars Bring Hope

As Brian says on the Silber website, “Good music deserves to be heard & we’re doing our part to make sure it gets from the bedroom to your ears…. Our music is likely mellower, but no less angst-ridden than the music we all grew up on.  Punk rock, post rock, metal, sludgecore, freak folk, americana, bedroom pop, drone, shoegaze, aggressive ambient, post apocalyptic pop, noise - it’s all music.” 

I hope you can take a few minutes and go to the Silbermedia Bandcamp page and listen to some of the stories that Brian compiled for his series.

Going Over Home With Doc Watson

In May of 1989, Doc Watson was 66 years old. He was known around the world, and had already cemented his legacy, but was nowhere near the end of his achievements. With four Grammy awards under his belt, he had four more to go. He had yet to be inducted into the International Bluegrass Hall Of Honor, and was probably not anticipating that the National Medal Of Arts would be awarded to him in the coming decade. One of his great contributions to the music world had begun just the year before: the event which was born out of the tragedy of losing his son, MerleFest.

It was a time when more people were awaking to and actively participating in the culture that Doc Watson knew in his youth. Although he had been at the forefront of the folk music boom in the early 1960s, which was itself an exercise in national self-rediscovery, that music was largely ignored by the Baby Boomer generation. By the time the late 1980s rolled around, there was still a core of roots music adherents, but their numbers likely had been waning since The Beatles arrived.

Enter Taylor Barnhill and Sheila Kay Adams, then his wife. Taylor, an architect, and Sheila, an old-time performer and lover of mountain tales, took on a project to preserve and reinvigorate oral traditions of the Southern Appalachians: a live radio show they called Over Home. They had no experience being on the radio or with producing live events, outside of Sheila’s budding music career. But they had more than enough heart to make up for it, and a willing partner in a soon-to-be public radio station with a signal covering parts of six states, WNCW.

In this episode of Southern Songs and Stories, we bring you a one-of-a-kind performance from Doc Watson. Instead of playing music, Doc tells stories. You probably know that Arthel “Doc” Watson often told stories in between songs at his performances, but this is a whole show’s worth. He opens up even more than usual, with tales from his own family’s history; stories that will make you laugh, and one especially that is pretty chilling. These are stories that give you a glimpse into the world that Doc was born into almost a century ago, a world that was then not so different from the time a century before it when many of these tales took place. And maybe best of all, they are stories which give us a bit more understanding of Doc himself. 

You’ll hear from Over Home producer Taylor Barnhill about his remarkable live series as well as we journey back to Doc’s performance on May 27th, 1989, on the campus of Isothermal Community College in Spindale, NC. All this has been lying dormant for more than three decades, until now.

(L to R) WNCW host Marshall Ballew, Jack Lawrence, Doc Watson, and WNCW Program Director Dan Reed at WNCW in 1997. Photo: Linda Osbon Bost

Thanks for visiting Southern Songs and Stories, and I hope you might tell a friend about the podcast. You can subscribe to this series on your podcast platform of choice, and it helps even more when you give it a good rating and a review. Great ratings, and reviews especially, will make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more visible to more people just like you. And it helps to spread awareness and make more people connected when you like and follow the show on our social media -- you can find those accounts linked on their icons in the masthead above. 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 at https://www.osirispod.com/. You can also hear new episodes of this podcast on Bluegrass Planet Radio at https://www.bluegrassplanetradio.com/. Thanks to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW. Our theme songs are by Joshua Meng. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick 

The Allman Betts Band: Where The Song Is The Boss

Because it is 2020, nothing is the same, and music is no exception -- podcasts like this one included. As we all find ourselves in the new reality that the coronavirus pandemic has thrown at us, however, the old mantra that “the show must go on” still holds true. And in our case, Southern Songs and Stories goes on in a new way with this episode. With this podcast on The Allman Betts Band, it is the first time that we have done a show with an interview from a video call. A side benefit with this is that we can also share the video of our conversation, which is worth watching just to see Devon Allman changing his background images throughout the interview, so his Iron Maiden reference makes more sense there, for starters. That video is posted below. 

Devon Allman and Duane Betts are well known as the sons of Greg Allman and Dickey Betts, respectively, and their partnership now seems like it was meant to be, especially now that The Allman Betts Band’s second album, Bless Your Heart, is well on its way to being a big hit. But their friendship and musical partnership did not happen right away after they first met some thirty years ago, as teenagers attending an Allman Brothers show. Listen in for that story, as well as the meaning of letting the song be the boss, the expansion of their band members’ and co-writers’ roles on this album, and much more.

Devon Allman and Duane Betts of The Allman Betts Band.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you enjoy our time with The Allman Betts Band. If you haven’t already done it, please tell someone you know about this series, and subscribe on your podcast platform of choice. Bonus points if you give it a good rating and a review, which helps make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more visible to more people just like you. Southern Songs and Stories is a part of the podcast lineup on both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available at https://www.osirispod.com/ . You can also hear new episodes of this podcast on Bluegrass Planet Radio at https://www.bluegrassplanetradio.com/. Thanks also to Sean Rubin at WNCW for engineering our interview session. - Joe Kendrick

Songs heard in this episode:

“Magnolia Road” from Bless Your Heart (excerpt)

“The Doctor’s Daughter” from Bless Your Heart (excerpt)

“Savannah’s Dream” from Bless Your Heart