Of Wishing Wells and the Unattainable Woman With Lindsay Lou

In the music business, the words “influence” and “inspiration” get thrown around a lot. Artist Y is “influenced” by artists A, B and C, or “inspired” by their love of genres D and E, often with no elaboration of what that really might mean. Influence and inspiration are often overused to the point of meaninglessness in these contexts, or perhaps misunderstood as something akin to emulation. It is an easy shortcut for folks reading or hearing those words to insert the phrase “sounds like” into the sentence when given no more substantial footing than those hackneyed terms. But in spending time with Lindsay Lou and hearing her perspective on bluegrass as a primary influence, this opened up another way to approach this, which was to think of “influence” and “inspiration” as something akin to a key opening a door, of being a catalyst for change and growth.

The musical world heard in Lindsay Lou’s fourth album Queen Of Time begins at a door which she unlocked over the years since first experiencing bluegrass jams as a kid. On this record, it is a world which welcomes bluegrass legends like Jerry Douglas, who makes a guest appearance, as well as first-call songwriter Jon Weisberger, plus maverick superstar Billy Strings. It is full of electric guitar and drums, adding synthesizers, organ and even djembe into the mix. Its lyrics and melodies flow from both a psychedelic experience with the sacred feminine, as well as her enduring bond with her extraordinary grandmother. It is a world where self-discovery incorporates but also supersedes tradition; it is a world where bluegrass is both there and is not there, all at once. 

Lindsay Lou performs at the Earl Scruggs Music Festival 08/31/24

photo: Cora Wagoner)

Songs heard in this episode:

“Queen Of Time” by Lindsay Lou, from Queen Of Time

“I Can Help” by Lindsay Lou, from Queen Of Time, excerpt

“Nothing’s Working” by Lindsay Lou, from Queen Of Time, excerpt

“On Your Side (Starman)” by Lindsay Lou, from Queen Of Time

Thanks for dropping by! 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. You can find us on Apple here, and YouTube here — hundreds more episodes await, filled with artists you may know by name, or musicians and bands that are ready to become your next favorites.

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 Earl Scruggs Music Festival for helping to make this interview possible, and 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

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

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).

Marty Stuart

Earl Scruggs (L) and Marty Stuart (R)

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

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.

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

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 MerleFest in recent years like Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, Colin Hay, Bella White and Peter Rowan.

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

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

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

Going Solo, With Soul: Travis Book

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

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 185 King Street for their hospitality. 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 #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

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.

Pete Wernick

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

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

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

Legacy Media, Legacy Artists and Bluegrass’ Big Pivot With No Depression’s Stacy Chandler at IBMA

When was the last time you picked up a book or a magazine instead of going to your smart phone or computer to read about music? I admit that, like so many of us these days, my first instinct is to scroll through social media or look at websites. The rise of digital media along with the ubiquity of smart phones has been nothing short of dramatic; the subsequent decline of print and other physical media is also impossible to ignore. Roots music journal No Depression, like so many others, went out of print in the midst of that sea change, although it continued online. Eventually it would reemerge, however, with new ownership and a new format as a quarterly publication, while offering a website covering music news as well as articles, columns and reviews. In an era where the expense of printing a magazine is more and more impossible to recoup, No Depression has managed to do just that. It remains as one of only a handful of music publications, and that is remarkable by itself. This is just part of our story here, though, as we welcome Assistant Editor and nodepression.com director Stacy Chandler to this episode of Southern Songs and Stories.

Stacy spoke with me at the end of September, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina during the International Bluegrass Music Association’s yearly event. Comprised of a wide ranging music industry conference as well as a music festival, the IBMAs, as it is often called, feature music panels geared towards music artists and professionals, showcase events where attendees can get introduced to new artists, and even Tai Chi classes courtesy of Jim Lauderdale. I was not up at 8 a.m. to take Jim’s classes, but I did take in as much as I could in the whirlwind week of all things bluegrass, including this conversation with Stacy Chandler as well as bluegrass legend Pete Wernick, and both Steve Mougin and Ben Wright, who will be featured in upcoming episodes here.

Stacy Chandler of No Depression interviewed at the IBMA conference 09-30-23

In this episode, we touch on the history of No Depression as well as some of the artists and articles in its current issue, plus we share takeaways from this year’s IBMAs while we examine the bigger picture of bluegrass music in 2023. It is a far ranging conversation which focuses on one of the biggest weeks of the year for the genre, the ways bluegrass has changed over the decades, as well as the parallel story of print journalism in the age of smart phones.

Songs heard in this episode:

“No Depression In Heaven” by The Carter Family

“Thirsty” by Mipso, from Book Of Fools, excerpt

“Slipknot > Casey Jones” by The Waybacks & Friends, from One Way Or Another, excerpt

“Listen To The Radio” by Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle, from More Than A Whisper: Celebrating the Music of Nanci Griffith

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 International Bluegrass Music Association for making this episode possible, and 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

Family Ties and Roots Music Foundations: Jonathan Wilson and Bella White

For Jonathan Wilson and Bella White, family figures prominently not only in their lives behind the scenes, but also in the musical paths both chose early on. It should come as no surprise that as a boy in rural North Carolina, celebrated producer and artist Jonathan Wilson played in a family band of sorts (he would fill in for various band members in his father’s band at their practices), or that rising star Bella White’s father played in old time and bluegrass bands in Calgary, Canada when she was growing up. What may seem much more novel is that the common thread between their two experiences, separated by decades of time and thousands of miles, is also roots music like country and bluegrass. 

For Bella White, roots music like bluegrass is easily identifiable in her sound; for Jonathan Wilson that foundation is not nearly as obvious. But as you will hear in our conversations, their love of music began with their shared background in acoustic roots music in places far beyond the limelight of Nashville or Los Angeles, where their paths eventually led. Bella White brought on Jonathan Wilson to produce her second and latest album Among Other Things, while Jonathan’s latest album Eat The Worm takes off into decidedly psychedelic territory. 

I caught up with Bella White after her debut performance at MerleFest last spring, which followed her debut on the Grand Ole Opry, while Jonathan Wilson spoke with me recently by video call from his studio in Topanga Canyon, California. This episode features music from both artists as well as their conversations which touch on everything from Jonathan’s wife using AI in creating his latest music videos to Bella White’s intentional honesty and vulnerability in her songwriting, and much more. 

Songs heard in this episode:

“The Way I Oughta Go” by Bella White, from Among Other Things

“Charlie Parker” by Jonathan Wilson, from Eat the Worm, excerpt

“Break My Heart” by Bella White, from Among Other Things, excerpt

“The Village Is Dead” by Jonathan Wilson, from Eat the Worm, excerpt

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 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. A big thank you to Ayappa Biddanda at Concord, Jonathan Wilson’s manager Peter Sasala and father Al Wilson for their help in setting up interviews for this episode.

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

Connections, Reflections and Collaborations: Peter Rowan’s Cosmic Americana

We talked for an hour and a half and could have easily talked for much longer, although even in this relatively short time, it felt like our conversation was far greater than the time it occupied, almost like seeing the whole world in a grain of sand. Collaboration was the main topic we discussed, and as you will hear, collaboration for Peter Rowan comes naturally, and goes a lot deeper than just the songs themselves. Sixty years ago, he set foot on a path that would lead to one of his most noteworthy collaborations with Bill Monroe, joining the Blue Grass Boys in 1963. It was with Bill that he wrote the song “The Walls Of Time”, and in our conversation he details its genesis in a fateful sunrise experience with an enduring impact on him all those years ago. 

Following his years with Monroe, Peter Rowan collaborated with Jerry Garcia, Tony Rice, Flaco Jimenez, David Grisman and more recently, Molly Tuttle, to name just a few. Peter and I talk about those collaborations; about standing close to the fire of the great Bill Monroe; which roots music artists from younger generations have that fire today; we dive into a bit of music theory as well as Buddhist concepts that can also apply to music, and much more in this easy going and far reaching conversation.

Peter Rowan

Songs heard in this episode:

“The Walls Of Time” by Peter Rowan, from Crucial Country

“Doc Watson Morning” by Peter Rowan, from The Old School, excerpt

“Midnight On The Stormy Deep” by Bill Monroe, excerpt

“Midnight Moonlight” by Old & In The Way, from Old & In The Way, excerpt

“Squeeze Box Man” by Peter Rowan, from Texican Badman

Thank you for visiting, and are even more grateful whenever you share this with someone. Please follow us on your podcast platform of choice, and then it will only take a minute to give it a good 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 be found by more people just like you. 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 our guests, and we encourage you to check out their work.

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

An Amalgamation Of Lineage and Style With Zoe & Cloyd

They call it “Klezgrass”. Taking equal parts bluegrass and klezmer, husband and wife duo Zoe & Cloyd use fusion as their north star to guide their musical direction on their latest collection Songs Of Our Grandfathers. John Cloyd Miller and Natalya Weinstein’s fifth album draws from songs associated with John’s grandfather Jim Shumate, the fiddle player known for his time with Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs, and Natalya’s grandfather David Weinstein, a professional klezmer musician.

In this episode, John Cloyd Miller and Natalya Weinstein talk about the concept of their new collection, the importance of harmony to their sound and more, plus we welcome WNCW’s jazz host Roland Dierauf, as we dive into the world of old-time, bluegrass and klezmer music, featuring new music from Zoe & Cloyd, and sampling a famous jazz fusion record along the way as well.

John Cloyd Miller and Natalya Weinstein (photo By Sarah Johnston Photography)

Songs heard in this episode:

“Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn” by Zoe & Cloyd, from Songs From Our Grandfathers

“On the Corner” by Miles Davis, from On the Corner, excerpt

“Up and At ‘Em” by Zoe & Cloyd, from Songs Of Our Grandfathers, excerpt

“We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart” by Zoe & Cloyd, from Songs Of Our Grandfathers

Thank you for visiting, and are even more grateful whenever you share this with someone. Please follow us on your podcast platform of choice, and then it will only take a minute to give it a good 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 be found by more people just like you. 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 our guests, and we encourage you to check out their work.

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

Fiddlin’ Femmes: Della Mae and Sister Sadie

Half a century ago, one of the first all-female bluegrass bands gave us the genre’s first album played exclusively by women; their banjo player’s mother was embarrassed about her daughter’s choice of profession. It was only fifty years or so after the passage of the 19th Amendment, after all.

Today, there are more all-female bluegrass and roots music bands, but they remain an exception. Join us as we talk with two of the best: the newgrass oriented quintet Della Mae, and the more high lonesome minded five piece Sister Sadie. Both groups have a range of generations in their ranks, and plenty of experience with taking on hurdles that female artists of every age still face all these years after Buffalo Gals took those first steps on their shared paths.

Della Mae (standing) and Sister Sadie (sitting)

In this episode, we talk in wide ranging conversations ranging from songwriting, collaborations, covers and solo projects, to keeping both themselves and their audiences fully engaged, and we sample some of their latest music throughout. You will hear what both have in store for the coming year as well, which  includes being part of the lineup of the 2nd annual Earl Scruggs Music Festival on Labor Day weekend in Tryon, North Carolina.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Raleigh’s Ride” by Sister Sadie, from Sister Sadie II

“Dry Town” by Della Mae, from Family Reunion, excerpt

“Diane” by Sister Sadie, excerpt

“Something You Didn’t Count On” by Jaelee Roberts, from Something You Didn’t Count On, excerpt

Thank you for visiting, and are even more grateful whenever you share this with someone. Please follow us on your podcast platform of choice, and then it will only take a minute to give it a good 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 be found by more people just like you. 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 our guests, and we encourage you to check out their work. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. — Joe Kendrick

Sketching the Classic and the Tragic With The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys

The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys’ C.J. Lewandowski sat with us at the International Bluegrass Music Association conference and festival in Raleigh, North Carolina in early Fall, 2022, and our conversation touched on everything from the often unflinching nature of their approach to subject matter, how he views his band as “progressively traditional”, their love of George Jones songs, how C.J.’s home state of Missouri factors into their music, and how he came to own Jimmy Martin’s pickup truck, and much more, along with music from the quintet, including new music from their next album, a collection featuring two songs with Jim Lauderdale.

C.J. Lewandowski of The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys at IBMA in Raleigh, NC, fall 2022

Songs heard in this episode:

“Hickory, Walnut & Pine” by The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, from Toil, Tears & Trouble

““For Me, It’s Hello” by The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, from God’s Love Is So Divine, excerpt

“Last Resort” by Jim Lauderdale with The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, excerpt

“Old Time Angels” by The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, from Never Slow Down

We are glad you stopped by for a visit, and are even more grateful whenever you share this with someone. It is super easy to follow us on your podcast platform of choice, and then it will only take a minute to give it a good 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 be found by more people just like you. 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, and to 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

Sierra Hull, Natalya Weinstein, Becky Buller, Claire Lynch, and Della Mae: What Does It Take To Be A Leading Lady?

Sierra Hull won her fourth award for Mandolin Player Of The Year at the IBMA conference in fall of 2022, a feat that would not have been within her grasp in the not-too-distant past. Now, women like Sierra Hull, Natalya Weinstein of Zoe & Cloyd and the group Della Mae can and do receive the recognition that women before them, like Becky Buller and Claire Lynch, worked so hard to put within their reach. We welcome all these artists to this episode where we tackle the question of what it takes to be a leading lady in bluegrass. Their answers reveal an array of challenges but also a number of positives about being a woman in a scene that has come a long way just in the past decade.

This episode has two parts: first, we hear from Sierra Hull about everything from coming up with a mentor like Alison Krauss to becoming a mentor herself, to how she is never satisfied as a musician and how that has made her push her boundaries, and what she has in store for a very busy year. Then, we hear from our other guests about the question of overcoming hurdles and finding their place in the spotlight.

Sierra Hull at the convention center in Raleigh NC during the IBMAs in October 2022

Songs heard in this episode:

“The Last Minute” by Sierra Hull, from 25 Trips

“Poison” by Sierra Hull, from 25 Trips, excerpt

“Bulgar Sigansky” by Zoe & Cloyd, from Songs Of Our Grandfathers, excerpt

“Didn’t Die” by Becky Buller, from ‘Tween Earth and Sky, excerpt

“The Day That Lester Died” by Claire Lynch, from Crowd Favorites, excerpt

“Peg Monster” by Della Mae, from Headlight

Thanks for listening to this episode, and I hope you might tell someone you know about the series. You can follow us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, you name it. And once you do that, it really helps when you give it a good rating and a review. Top ratings and reviews help greatly to 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, and to 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

The Humble Genius Of Earl Scruggs

For his 99th birth anniversary, WNCW honored the late great Earl Scruggs by sharing portions of interviews with artists who knew him, broadcasting stories ranging from brief encounters in young adulthood, like Sierra Hull’s memories of Earl, on to years of friendship and collaboration with guests like John McEuen and Pete Wernick (note: Sierra Hull will also be our featured guest in her upcoming episode). These conversations were rich and deep, and helped me understand Earl Scruggs as the man in ways that were at turns surprising, but always inspiring. I asked everyone here essentially the same two questions: tell us your favorite memories or stories about Earl, and talk about his impact as an artist and how that legacy continues since he has been gone. It all adds up to three and a half hours of audio (!), and it should be no surprise that there is a ton of gold to be mined in all those conversations; here is a synopsis, a sampling of everyone’s thoughts, insights and memories. This episode hones in on the stories that reveal Earl Scruggs as a humble genius, a quiet and kind man who was in so many ways the same farm boy and mill worker from the foothills of western North Carolina even after living in a mansion in the heart of Nashville. Plus, there is plenty of talk about the genius and enduring legacy of Earl Scruggs, whose namesake lives on in the form of not only his vast catalog of recordings, his songwriting and revolutionary playing style, but also in the Earl Scruggs Center in his home county, housed in the county courthouse built in 1907 in downtown Shelby NC, as well as the Earl Scruggs Music Festival, which began in 2022 and continues on Labor Day weekend in 2023 in nearby Tryon NC. 

Earl Scruggs

In this episode we welcome Kristin Scott Benson, Travis Book, Alison Brown, Sam Bush, Jeff Hanna, Vince Herman, John McEuen, Jim Mills, Earl’s nephew J.T. Scruggs, Pete Wernick, and even my dad, who gives us a glimpse of what a Scruggs family gathering was like in the 1950s.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Earl’s Breakdown” by Flatt & Scruggs

“You Are My Flower” by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, from Will the Circle Be Unbroken, excerpt

“Hot Corn Cold Corn” by Flatt and Scruggs, from Flatt and Scruggs at Carnegie Hall, excerpt

“Some Of Shelley’s Blues” by The Earl Scruggs Revue, excerpt

“Foggy Mountain Breakdown” by Flatt & Scruggs

Thanks for stopping by! Would you share this episode with someone too? It takes just a click to follow us on your podcast platform of choice, and then it will only take a minute to give it a good rating, and on platforms with the option, a review. Great ratings and 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 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, and to 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

A Bluegrass Homecoming With Bela Fleck

When you think about the history of the banjo, its modern context seems ironic in that so many people who enjoy banjo music are unaware of its origin story and any other context than bluegrass and old time. The banjo has become closely associated with string bands especially from the American South of the mid 20th century onwards, while its early American, let alone its African and Caribbean origins tend to be ignored or forgotten.

While his spark was lit by players from the dominant narrative like Earl Scruggs, Bela Fleck was destined to take the banjo on a musical journey that is nothing short of epic. Bela played the Scruggs style; he pushed the envelope with that style in New Grass Revival; he invented his own language on the instrument with his band the Flecktones; he went on to put it square in the middle of collaborations with artists from Africa and India, among many other pioneering works.

Joe Kendrick (L) and Bela Fleck (R) at IBMA in Raleigh, NC 09-29-22

In late September 2022, I sat with Bela Fleck in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina at the convention center where the International Bluegrass Music Association was holding its annual conference and festival, an event which saw Bela win “Album of the Year”, “Instrumental Group of the Year”, “Instrumental Recording of the Year” and “Banjo Player of the Year”. My Bluegrass Heart won a Grammy award for best bluegrass album, too. They were his first awards at the event since the dissolution of his former band New Grass Revival more than thirty years ago. 

In the hours before those IBMA awards came his way, we spoke about his return to bluegrass, how the form is underestimated among many in other circles, what he thinks roots music needs most right now, which to give you a hint is not more instrumental virtuosos, his dream collaborations and much more.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Vertigo” by Bela Fleck from My Bluegrass Heart

“Wheels Up” by Bela Fleck from My Bluegrass Heart featuring Sierra Hull and Molly Tuttle, excerpt

“Slippery Eel” by Bela Fleck from My Bluegrass Heart featuring Billy Strings and Chris Thile, excerpt

“Hunky Dory” by Bela Fleck from My Bluegrass Heart, excerpt

Thanks for visiting! Would you share this episode with someone who might enjoy it also? It is super easy to follow us on your podcast platform of choice, and then it will only take a minute to give it a good rating, and on platforms with the option, a review. Great ratings and 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 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, and to 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

Singing Along With Tammy Rogers and Thomm Jutz

Let me compare apples and oranges for a moment.

For a long while now, I have been producing episodes of Southern Songs and Stories every two weeks. To make each roughly half an hour long episode takes something along the lines of three workdays to complete. This could be underestimating how much time (and certainly mental space) each episode takes up, because there is always a lot of time spent contemplating each episode and doing all manner of other things about the series itself, time and energy which is outside of the actual preparation, interviewing, writing, editing and other work directly related to the half hour shows you hear. While that is significant, it pales in comparison to the work that Tammy Rogers and Thomm Jutz put into their new collection Surely Will Be Singing. Having written the songs over a period of five or six years, they wound up with 140 songs before whittling them down to the twelve they recorded. It is a bluegrass record that any artist from any era would be proud of.

Tammy Rogers and Thomm Jutz

Tammy Rogers has had a career filled with superlatives, from her early days in Patty Loveless’ band, then working with Trisha Yearwood, Kieran Kane, plus cutting her own solo albums, as well as being a founding member of The Steeldrivers and a co-founder of the record label Dead Reckoning. Now, she joins Thomm Jutz, who has had a magnificent career too, having toured and recorded with a who’s who of roots music, from Nanci Griffith to Mary Gauthier to Maura O’Connell. Thomm has written or co-written innumerable hit bluegrass songs, recorded by artists like John Prine, Balsam Range, and the aforementioned Steeldrivers. In their episode here, they talk about everything from the making of Surely Will Be Singing to the unique nature of the music of the South to how they were inspired as young children to take the musical path they have pursued all their lives, as well as perform songs from their new album.

Songs heard in this episode:

“I Surely Will Be Singing” by Tammy Rogers and Thomm Jutz, performed live on WNCW

“The Tree Of Life” by Tammy Rogers and Thomm Jutz, performed live on WNCW, excerpt

“There Ain’t Enough Time” by Tammy Rogers and Thomm Jutz, performed live on WNCW, excerpt

“Speakeasy Blues” by Tammy Rogers and Thomm Jutz, performed live on WNCW

Thanks for listening to this episode of Southern Songs and Stories, and I hope you might tell someone you know about the series. You can follow us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, you name it. And once you do that, it really helps when you give it a good rating and a review. Top ratings and reviews especially 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 WNCW audio engineer Sean Rubin for recording our session with Tammy and Thomm, and to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, and to 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

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