It was a warm and picturesque spring day in the South Carolina countryside, just outside of the city of Greer, on the grounds of the Albino Skunk Music Festival, which got its name from some white skunks that were on the property, land which used to be a working farm. Now a largely wooded little valley of twenty plus acres, with one stage and many vintage RVs and campers that have been repurposed as a green room, accommodations, even storage, as well as a 1951 GMC bus that was originally owned and operated by Greyhound, which still runs and occasionally travels to other festivals. I sat with Eilen Jewell at the building dubbed the Nap Shack, on the hillside behind the stage.

(L to R) Jerry Miller, Eilen Jewell, Jason Beek, Matt Murphy perform at the Albino Skunk Music Festival 05-13-23

It has been a tumultuous couple of years or so for Eilen Jewell. Much of the adversity and life lessons she took from this time are chronicled on her new album Get Behind The Wheel, her first involving an outside producer, Will Kimbrough — we touch on that as well as her love of Loretta Lynn, how she took her dad’s record collection as a kid, which transported her to a past filled with artists like Mississippi John Hurt and Bessie Smith that continue to inspire her today, and how her young daughter has picked up playing the guitar without learning, as Eilen says, all her own bad habits on the instrument.

Songs heard in this episode:

Eilen Jewell “Where They Never Say Your Name” live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05-13-23

“The Bitter End” by Eilen Jewell, from Get Behind The Wheel, excerpt

“The Pill” by Eilen Jewell, live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05-13-23

“Alive” by Eilen Jewell, live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05-13-23

Thank you for being here, and we are even more grateful whenever you share this with someone. Sharing in person is most appreciated, but please also follow us on your podcast platform of choice, and then it will only take a minute to give it a top rating and, where it is an option, a review. Great ratings, and reviews especially, will make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more likely to find a home with more fans. 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 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. Thanks also to Charles Wiggins at the Isothermal Community College library for pointing me to examples where people talked about feeling like they were born too late, as well as Touring Logistics for supplying audio of the live performances at Albino Skunk, to Mark Johnson for recording Eilen Jewell’s performances, and to Zig and everyone at the festival for their generous hospitality.

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

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.