Stephen WIlson Jr: The Tree that Grew Close to the Apple
We are all our parents children, for better or for worse. We all must come to terms with this at some point. I never did until listening to Stephen Wilson Jr. Sometimes in topics this deep
From Rodeo Rider to ‘Purple People Eater’ Star: The Wild Journey of Sheb Wooley (AKA Ben Colder)
by Donald Jacobs …shuffle…shuffle…shuffle…THUD! Hello wall… I didn’t see you standing there… Thus begins the song Hello Walls no 2 (a parody of the hit country western tune Hello Walls written by Willie Nelson and first
John Brinkley. The Carter Family. Goat Testicles. Million Watt Radio Station. An Interview with Pope Brock
What do goat testicles and a radio station in Mexico in the 1930’s have to do with country music legends The Carter Family, the popularization of country music, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? A lot!
Lefty Frizzell, True Honky Tonk Outlaw
by Amos White My man William Orville Frizzell was born March 31st, 1928. Where? You guessed it: Texas. When you talk to fans of honky tonk and hard country, there is no doubt that Lefty will
The Timely Comeback of Country Line Dancing
by Keith Knight Every week, I find myself in the middle of a sweat-soaked dance floor, filled with smiles of all ages, moving together to some of the most infectious country songs. And every week, I

Stephen WIlson Jr: The Tree that Grew Close to the Apple
We are all our parents children, for better or for worse. We all must come to terms with this at some point. I never did until listening to Stephen Wilson Jr. Sometimes in topics this deep and difficult, having a wise guide will help you understand the relations of parent and child. Stephen Wilson Jr. is deceptively simple, but he can turn a phrase that can grasp your soul and squeeze; the tree never grows to far from the apple…

From Rodeo Rider to ‘Purple People Eater’ Star: The Wild Journey of Sheb Wooley (AKA Ben Colder)
by Donald Jacobs …shuffle…shuffle…shuffle…THUD! Hello wall… I didn’t see you standing there… Thus begins the song Hello Walls no 2 (a parody of the hit

John Brinkley. The Carter Family. Goat Testicles. Million Watt Radio Station. An Interview with Pope Brock
What do goat testicles and a radio station in Mexico in the 1930’s have to do with country music legends The Carter Family, the popularization

Lefty Frizzell, True Honky Tonk Outlaw
by Amos White My man William Orville Frizzell was born March 31st, 1928. Where? You guessed it: Texas. When you talk to fans of honky

The Timely Comeback of Country Line Dancing
by Keith Knight Every week, I find myself in the middle of a sweat-soaked dance floor, filled with smiles of all ages, moving together to

Tyler Childers’ “Rustin’ In The Rain” – A Little of This, A Little of That
by Aaron Bartmess 4/5 I’ll be honest and say that Tyler Childers’ latest album, Rustin’ In The Rain, is my first exposure to his work,

The Roots of Country Rock on the Shoulders of Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons
by Amos White Emmylou Harris moved to New York in the mid sixties and began singing folk music on a local circuit to mild fanfare.

Remembering Buck Owens and The Buckaroos
by Donald Jacobs A common conversation regarding Country and Western music often goes something like this: Person 1: “Ya know, I love Country music, I’m

Stephen Wilson Jr. Channels the Digable Planets and Drops Your New Favorite Song
Stephen Wilson Jr, America’s best living songwriter, just dropped your new favorite song: “Patches.” I signed up for Stephen Wilson Jr.’s text notifications awhile back

Dixie Dewdrop: The Uncle Dave Macon Story with Michael Doubler
Join us as we sit at the table with Michael Doubler to discuss his book “Dixie Dewdrop,” the amazing story of his great grandfather, Uncle Dave Macon. As one of the earliest performers on WSM radio in Nashville, Uncle Dave became the Grand Ole Opry’s first superstar. His old-time music and energetic stage shows made him a national sensation and fueled a thirty-year run as one of America’s most beloved entertainers. Known as the “Dixie Dewdrop” Uncle Dave Macon learned the banjo from…

Review of Weathervanes by Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – “Running Through the Red Lights”
As the master storyteller Jason Isbell has shown us over the years, life is hard. Relationships fail, our decisions, good or bad, can haunt us, regret, pain, loss, triumphs, addictions, glimmers of hope, and everything in the middle make up this world we were born into. In Weathervanes, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit take a deep dive into the physical, spiritual, and emotional frailty of being human. If you assumed the album would lean toward the darker side when you saw “Death Wish” as the first track, then your assumptions were correct…

An Interview With Kimberly Perry on Motherhood, Her Husband’s Perfect Hair & “If I Die Young Pt. 2”
Since 2009, Kimberly Perry has captivated audiences with her showstopping vocals, lyrical eloquence, and superstar presence. As one-third of the Grammy® Award-winning superstar sibling trio

Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History with Kristina Gaddy & Pete Ross
Join us as we sit down at the table with Kristina Gaddy and Pete Ross to discuss Kristina’s new book “Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History.” Named one of 2022’s Most Memorable Music Books by No Depression: The Journal of Roots Music, it’s an illuminating history of the banjo, revealing its origins at the crossroads of slavery, religion, and music. In an extraordinary story unfolding across two hundred years, Kristina uncovers the banjo’s key role in Black spirituality, ritual, and rebellion. Through meticulous research in diaries, letters, archives, and art, she traces the banjo’s beginnings from the seventeenth century, when enslaved people of African descent created it from gourds or calabashes and wood- and how these slaves carried this unique instrument as they were transported and sold by slaveowners throughout the Americas and the Caribbean…

The 1927 Bristol Sessions: The “Big Bang” of Country Music? Ted Olson | PART 2
In the summer of 1927, nineteen bands/musicians responded to an ad in a newspaper for an opportunity to be a part of a recording session

The 1927 Bristol Sessions: The “Big Bang” of Country Music? Ted Olson | PART 1
In the summer of 1927, nineteen bands/musicians responded to an ad in a newspaper for an opportunity to be a part of a recording session in Bristol, Tennessee. Some of the most well-known and influential names in American music were there…
These recordings were no doubt a key moment in country music’s evolution. In this episode, we interview Dr. Ted Olson and discuss whether or not the Bristol Sessions were in fact the “Big Bang” of country music…