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.

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

Artist stereotypes do not apply

How many times have parents cringed when their children fell in love with a musician? Let's be honest, the world has looked askance at artists of all stripes (with notable exceptions) for most of our history. Musicians tend to be thought of as people who may be great at their art but who are nonetheless pretty bad at life skills like paying bills, getting to work on time, and sticking with the missus.

Aaron turns all those stereotypes on their head; he is not only a fantastic songwriter and musician, but he also runs his own construction business and is a devoted family man living a stone's throw from where he grew up in the western NC mountains. He is as meticulous and intense about his guitar and ballads as he is about his green built homes and raising his two girls.

As you'll see in our pilot episode, Aaron does both life and art exceptionally well. The folks around him are a big part of that.