If Hatred Builds It Up, Surely Love Will Break It Down: Shay Martin Lovette

Shay Martin Lovette lives on Goshen Creek in Boone, in one of the most picturesque regions of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The place every artist calls home has a great bearing on their work, but in Shay’s case, that effect seems more profound than most. As he told me, “The creek flows under the porch behind my home and hearing the constant sound of moving water when writing is something that I’ve grown accustomed to. My music video for the tune, “Never Felt So New” was filmed on Goshen Creek on and around the Mountains to Sea Trail. If you’re not familiar, this is North Carolina’s longest trail and it runs from Clingman’s Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains to Jockey’s Ridge at the Outer Banks. I’ve hiked/backpacked about 400 miles of the 1175 mile trail and hope to eventually get to hiking the rest of this trail segment by segment. I guess you could say that I’m in for the long haul. The same can be said about my songwriting as I remain dedicated to the craft and recently went back into the studio to record a few new songs.”

Shay Martin Lovette in studio at WNCW 05/05/21

Shay’s new album Scatter & Gather is the result of countless hours of meditation and contemplation hiking on the many nearby trails and sitting by Goshen Creek. It is an album that in part answers the question of where the metaphorical Appalachia really is. As he said in our interview, Shay feels most present when playing music, and his hope is for that feeling to transfer into his songs, songs which speak to the beauty and miracle of life without ignoring the pain that comes with it.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Sourwood Honey Rag” by Shay Martin Lovette from Scatter & Gather

“For Rose Marie” by Shay Martin Lovette from Scatter & Gather, excerpt

“Parkway Bound” by Shay Martin Lovette, live in Studio B on WNCW

“Never Felt So New” by Shay Martin Lovette from Scatter & Gather

I hope you enjoy the podcast, and might tell someone you know about it. You can follow the series on podcast platforms everywhere. And once you do that, could you help by giving us a top rating, and a review? In just moments, you will help 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 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

The Unlikely Story Of A Band With A Lot To Like: Mipso

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