The band Mipso never anticipated being as successful or as long lived as they became. It is a band that mandolin player Jacob Sharp called unlikely, because none of the members studied music when they met in college at UNC-Chapel Hill, and none of them thought music was going to be a career -- nothing beyond their initial love of other bands, and of playing together. If Mipso is an unlikely band, it is also quite an exceptional one, now set to release their fifth album (sixth if you count their Mipso Trio debut). They were in the middle of recording their new record during the time we got together in the small city of Elkin, NC on a beautiful summer evening. In this episode of Southern Songs and Stories, we talk with members Libby Rodenbough, Joseph Terrell and Wood Robinson as well as Bridget Kearney of Lake Street Dive, who is soon to tour with Mipso in her project with Benjamin Lazar Davis. Get set for many live songs from their performance at the Reevestock Music Festival, where we met, and find out how their approach to making music has not changed all that much over the years, while their sound has evolved considerably. Mipso also shares their take on how their music reflects Southern culture, and we even take a stab at revealing exactly how they came up with their name and what it means.

Mipso perform at Reevestock in Elkin, NC 8-3-19

Songs heard in this episode:

Mipso: Excerpt of “Edges Run” performed live at Reevestock 8-3-19

Mipso: “A Servant To It” performed live at Reevestock 8-3-19

Mipso: Excerpt of “A Couple Acres Greener” performed live on WNCW 5-22-15

Mipso: Excerpt of “Get Out While You Can” (2018 single)

Mipso: “Louise” performed live at Reevestock 8-3-19

Bridget Kearny & Benjamin Lazar Davis: excerpt of “Slow Rider” from Bawa

Mipso: cover of Guy Clark’s “Dublin Blues” performed live at Reevestock 8-3-19

(L to R): Libby Rodenbough, Joe Kendrick, Joseph Terrell and Wood Robinson set up for the interview Photo: Daniel Coston

Southern Songs and Stories is produced in partnership with public radio station WNCW and the Osiris podcast network, and is available on podcast platforms everywhere. Would you like to help spread awareness of the artists featured here on Southern Songs and Stories, their music, and this series? Simply subscribe to the podcast and give it a good rating and a comment where you get your podcasts. For example, you can find us on Apple/iTunes here, on Stitcher here, and Spotify here. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Let's say you are not that interested in playing music as a kid, not really into it until early adulthood. However, you decide to partner with your best friend from second grade and form a band, and make it a full time endeavor soon after graduating from college. This coincides with the worst economy in many generations. You not only don't let that stop you, you also decide to start a music festival in the town where you grew up soon after, when people are still pretty wigged out about jobs and money in general. And, you have a banjo in a band that is not a bluegrass act, ensuring that somewhere along the line, folks are going to want to put you in that category. However, the band you’re about to meet, as you might guess, fits all of those criteria, and they have done just fine.

Time Sawyer plays in Burlington, NC 6-8-18, with Sam Tayloe on acoustic guitar and Houston Norris on banjo — **Time Sawyer** plays in Burlington, NC 6-8-18, with Sam Tayloe on acoustic guitar and Houston Norris on banjo

This is our episode on Time Sawyer, the five piece band from Charlotte by way of Elkin, NC. They are lyrically deep, musically rich, and a lot of fun to be around. We get to know all the members of the band, and bring in syndicated radio host Cindy Baucom, photographer and writer Daniel Coston, and sound engineer Jim Georgeson to the conversation as well. Plus, we feature many songs from their live sets along the way.

Luke Mears takes a turn at lead vocals in Time Sawyer's second set

We encourage you to check out and subscribe to our podcasts here, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Soundcloud, TuneIn, and now, Spotify. Please take a moment to rate the show, and comment on the podcasts on those platforms -- it is tremendously helpful in our effort to spread awareness of Southern Songs and Stories and these artists and histories we showcase. You can also support the show directly on this website via the "Tip Jar" button, or on our Patreon page. Thanks to our supporters, to the Osiris Podcast Network and Bluegrass Planet Radio for carrying our series, and to Dynamite Roasting for sponsoring our show.

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.