Twin Tragedy Travelogue: An Update

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Songs heard in this episode:

Angel Olsen “Big Time” from Big Time

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wait, There Is Rap in Bluegrass Now?

It would be very easy to think that rap and hip hop have little if anything in common with music like bluegrass and old time. After all, we have been led to believe that these styles of music come from cultures on opposite sides of the musical spectrum. How could the two have any common ground? Actually, they have many more connections than you might imagine. This connection is embodied in groups like Gangstagrass and in recent work by Jake Blount, and as members of Gangstagrass point out in our conversation here, rap and folk music both stem from the same instincts. At its heart, this is about a musical path that diverged centuries ago, or at least seemed to.

In this episode we speak with Dolio the Sleuth, Rench the Mastermind and B.E. Farrow of Gangstagrass, as well as Dan Tyminski, who performed with them last fall, and we welcome Dr. Jordan Laney of Virginia Tech and the Virginia Rural Health Association, and author, podcaster and former editor at No Depression and Folk Alley, Kim Ruehl, as we unravel a story that began centuries ago, but has only recently reached a pivotal chapter in its history. 

Gangstagrass

Songs heard in this episode:

“Floo-id” by Turbo Pro Project, from Daydream, excerpt

“The Downward Road” featuring Demeanor, by Jake Blount, from The New Faith, excerpt

“Ride With You” by Gangstagrass, from No Time For Enemies, excerpt“Talking Columbia” by Woody Guthrie, from Hard

Travelin’: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 3, excerpt“Nickel and Dime Blues” by Gangstagrass, from No Time For Enemies

We are glad you came by, 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. You can find more about Kim Ruehl on her podcast Why We Write, and soon you can hear Jordan Laney’s podcast The Bessie Lee Society. 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

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