Season 2, Episode 1 // Ain't Gonna Study War No More

Featured in this Episode:

Traditional - “Down by The Riverside” (00:27)

Mance Lipscomb (10:28)

Ramblin’ Jack Elliot (23:31)

Emmylou Harris (45:17)

Chris Thile (57:27)

Teaser:

After the civil war, songs such as these were created and sung from Alabama to Ohio for a perilous journey through the Underground Railroad, where the enslaved were in pursuit of their freedom. He wasn’t a bluesman as much as a songster, known for his incredibly broad catalogue of songs and his front porch philosophizing. The student of Woody Guthrie, the father of Bob Dylan, the son who ran away to become a cowboy, and America’s purveyor of folk music at 90 years old today. She’s one of the most influential female singers of the 20th century, not just in country music but folk, pop and bluegrass, and is considered an American icon Widely considered the greatest mandolin player alive today, and perhaps to ever live, his acclaim reaches far and wide through several Grammy-winning projects and over 30 albums, despite only being 40 years old.

Performances by the Host:

“Down By The Riverside” - Traditional (8:16)

“Take Me Back Babe” - Traditional (21:29)

“Roving Gambler” - Traditional (42:37)

“Angels Rejoiced Last Night” - The Louvin Brothers (55:08)

“Bury Me Beneath the Willow” - Traditional (1:13:03)

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For the final collaboration of the “Sitting In” miniseries, I’m excited to share a fantastic multi-instrumentalist, fluent in clawhammer banjo and slide blues guitar, named Cristina Vane. Born in Italy, and living many places overseas before arriving in America at 18 years old, Cristina accumulated a wealth of culture and a diverse range of songs before discovering her love for pre-war blues and the likes of the pioneers Skip James, Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson and Rory Block who have all shaped her guitar technique and song catalogue. She worked at the famous McCabe’s Guitar Shop in LA, and studied finger-style guitar under her mentor Pete Steinberg before exploring country blues picking and old folk guitar styles on her own in the years that followed. She has said, “I’m essentially a rock kid who is obsessed with old music.”⁠

⁠Cristina just released her debut full length record on April 2nd, titled "Nowhere Sounds Lovely", and American Songwriter premiered one track titled “Badlands” adding: “Like a young Bonnie Raitt, Vane sings from both her voice and her supple, bluesy guitar playing almost simultaneously–her sound as earthen as the South Dakota landscape…”⁠

Cristina shares a story of how she got into American Folk and Blues music outside America, and her quest to music preservation. Enjoy!

Links:

Cristina’s Official Site

Stream Music

Buy Music

Follow Cristina on Social Media:

Instagram

Facebook

Today on the program will be my sixth guest for the “Sitting In” mini-series, Jody Carroll. Jody is a performer and songwriter who effortlessly creates bold interpretations of old Blues and American Folk music, and makes them his own improvisational musical journeys. He’s a finger-style and slide guitar master, and a soulful singer blending flavors of Blues, Folk, Mountain music, Jazz and Rock all together into a true power- packed gumbo.

Raised on Willie Nelson and AM Country Radio in the late 60’s, he’s toured with or shared the stage with legends such as Buddy Guy, Honey Boy Edwards, R.L Burnside, Johnny Winter, John Mayhall, George Thorogood, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeski, Robert Cray, Canned Heat, Robert Earl Keen, and Sonny Landreth just to name a few. No Depression magazine says “If there is one artist who embodies roots music to it's fullest, it has to be Jody Carroll"

Jody was forever changed when he heard a collection of recordings from the Newport Folk Festival, between 1963-1965. This is a short story of his journey to and from there, enjoy.

Links:

Jody's Official Site

Buy His Music

Follow Jody on Social Media:

Instagram

Facebook

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The fifth edition of the “Sitting In” miniseries features a new project by international touring Irish musician Dylan Walshe. Steeped in the traditions of folk, Irish, Blues, Singer-songwriter and roots music, Dylan has received wide acclaim from all over, including Dave King of Flogging Molly who has said that “The future of songwriting is safe in the hands of this man.”

This episode features Dylan’s new music podcast, The Stirring Foot, and the first 20 minutes of a conversation he had with none other than Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, who Dylan first met at Tennessee’s Muddy Roots Music Festival back in 2015. If you’re not familiar with the legendary Ramblin’ Jack, you should be. Now 90 years old, he’s been described as the "son of Woody Guthrie & the father of Bob Dylan". They talked about trips to Ireland, Europe & the UK, The Clancy Brothers, Frank Zappa, Bob Dylan, Odetta, The Grateful Dead, Margaret Barry, Ewan MacColl, and Woody Guthrie. You can hear the entire show through the tags below, or by searching for “The Stirring Foot” wherever you get your podcasts. Enjoy!

Follow on Instagram

@dylanwalshe

@AmericanSongcatcher

Links:

The Stirring Foot

Dylan’s Official Site

Ramblin Jack Elliott’s Official Site

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Good people! I'm so pleased to share my fourth guest to embark on this “Sitting In” mini-series, a local legend in my neck of the woods, Chattanooga’s own Lon Eldridge. Harboring a unique blend of traditional pre-war blues, ragtime, jazz and swing, Lon has spent the last two decades evoking the styles of those who laid the framework of these genres, from the likes of Mississippi John Hurt to Robert Johnson to Blind Blake and countless other musical masters. He’s an avid collector of 78rpm records and restores old Victrola record players, and showcases his deep collection under the guise of DJ Passe. Lon’s also a member of a gypsy jazz and swing group called The 9th Street Stompers, who cull up the musical scenery of an era when the lines between swing, gypsy jazz, blues, rockabilly, and if all that wasn’t enough, he also has his own bolo tie business, Lookout Bolo Ties.⁠

For this collaboration, Lon expanded his skills once again to celebrate the work of Hawaiian steel guitarist Pale K. Lua, who was instrumental in bringing the unique sound to America at the turn of the century, before it was adopted by blues, western, bluegrass and country music starting in the 1920’s. Lon is the only person to assemble all of Pale’s recordings and release them as a complete set. Here’s his story, enjoy.⁠

Follow Lon:

@bolo_knee

Pale K. Lua Complete Recordings 

Lon's Official Website 

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Hey Folks! I’m so pleased to share the 3rd act of this “Sitting In” miniseries with you, none other than the inimitable Willi Carlisle. A multi-faceted writer, performer, and instrumentalist, Willi has spent the last several years collecting folklore, playing or calling square dances, and working in the avant-garde. He’s a folksinger with a style forged in the fire of Ozark old-time, and has a masters degree in Poetry. He’s spent years in the woods with poets and old folk singers and he’s a queer-identifying storyteller whose musical stories hoot, stomp, and saunter through joys and troubles uniquely southern and timelessly true. He’s equally comfortable on banjo, accordion, fiddle, and guitar, and has earned accolades for his versatility with performances in the UK, Canada, and across the USA, appearing with acts like Dom Flemons, Mary Gauthier, Los Texmaniacs and more. 

The Washington Post said that:

"Carlisle has a poetry in describing songs passed down through generations as a most precious cultural commodity, and a passion and immediacy in performing them. Both down home and brainy, [Willi] is worth seeking out."

The following is classic Willi. Short stories of the Ozarks told over a collection of sounds and from Willi’s pocket, followed by a talking’ blues piece called “Peculiar, Missouri”. Enjoy!

@WilliCarlisle 

Link:

Official Website 

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Hey Folks! I’m thrilled to share the second part of the “Sitting In” mini-series, where I hand over the podcast reins to some of my folky friends, so that they can share a story that ties into music preservation and play a few songs in line with their story.

My guest today is Sparrow, who along with her partner Keith, leads the Asheville, NC group The Resonant Rogues, who seamlessly weave the threads of old time, country, swing, folk and more into a beautiful tapestry that simultaneously showcases tradition and innovation. In late 2020, she was immersed in a month-long mentorship program at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, which has a fascinating history, curriculum and mission. This is a journal of her experience.

Follow on Instagram:

@ResonantRogues 

@SparrowPants 

@JohncCampbellFolkschool 

Links:

Official Website -

John Campbell Folk School 

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Today, I’m delighted to share the first “Sitting In” mini-series episode with you, where I’ve handed the podcast reins over to a music preservationist and performer. First up, is a story of the African American spiritual turned protest song called “We Shall Not Be Moved”, written and spoken by Matthew Sabatella.

Matthew’s mission is to “connect people with music that is woven into the fabric of the United States”. He’s a singer, writer, multi-instrumentalist and award-winning old-time banjo player, music historian, leader of the Rambling String Band, and serves on the board of directors for Southeast regional chapter of Folk Alliance International. He’s also the founder of Ballad of America, an educational non-profit that not only provides and develops vital resources for preserving all of the songs and genres that have shaped America, but also travels to colleges and universities to give educational lectures and presentations to spread awareness of this important history directly down the generational ladder.

I can’t wait to share all the “Sitting In” episodes with you over the next several weeks, they’re all very different, entertaining and educational. Matt’s also got a great radio voice, so enjoy!

Follow on Instagram:

@Balladofamerica 

@ramblingstringband

@sabatellamusic

Links:

Matthew Sabatella 

Ballad of America 

Rambling String Band 

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Today I have the pleasure of sharing a conversation I had with multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter Jay Cobb Anderson, co-founder of the group Fruition, who has been making big waves in the major festival circuit during the last decade with blends of traditional sounds, contemporary folk and bluegrass, and most recently the roots of rock and roll.

We talked about Jay’s busking journey, how he reached the other members of Fruition, how they developed their sound, about Bob Dylan and the wake he left for so many to dive into old music, how traditional music fits into his life today and the music he creates, some interesting stories and a few artists that I hadn’t heard of.

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Follow on Instagram:

@JayCobbAnderson

@fruitionpdx

@tkandtheholyknownothings

Jay's Musical Projects:

Fruition - https://www.fruitionband.com/home

TK and the Holy Know-Nothings - https://www.tkandtheholyknownothings.com/

Jay Cobb Anderson - https://www.jaycobbanderson.com/

Today, I’m delighted to share a talk I had with mandolin prodigy and Grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter Sierra Hull. Accomplishing more in her first 28 years of life than most could over a few lifetimes, Sierra made her Grand Ole Opry debut at the age of 10, played Carnegie Hall at age 12, then landed a deal with Rounder Records at 13. Sierra was mentored by Alison Krauss and Chris Thile, she’s collaborated with all the big hitters in bluegrass from Ricky Skaggs, to Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglass and Sturgill Simpson. Despite all those big names I threw out there, as you’ll hear Sierra could not be more humble.

In early 2020, she released her fourth critically acclaimed record “25 Trips”, an inventive piece of work revealing her profound warmth as a storyteller, building off Sierra’s bluegrass roots and venturing into entirely new terrain.

We talked about her childhood, small town living, the broad palette of music and bottomless well of traditional music, we geeked out on Tony Rice and Doc Watson, and Sierra shared r a few in depth wild stories that led her down the path she’s on.

More on Sierra Hull: 

Official - https://www.sierrahull.com/

Sierra and Husband Justin Moses "Little Liza Jane" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Eg2TotshKs

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