Charles Esten was born in Pennsylvania, but moved to Virginia with his mother and his sister after his parents divorced. After college, he played Buddy Holly in a long-running UK stage production before becoming a member of the casts for both the UK and US versions of Whose Line is it Anyway? Eventually, he landed a role on TV’s Nashville as troubled songwriter Deacon Claybourne, where he got to show off the musical skills he’d been developing since childhood. 

Charles joins Sid to discuss how his parents – and their divorce – shaped him. Plus he reveals how his recent surge in songwriting, which garnered him a Guinness World Record for the number of singles released in consecutive weeks, has led him to release his first full-length album, Love Ain’t Pretty.

For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam

Biscuits & Jam is produced by:

Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living

Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living

Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer

Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer/Producer

Jeremiah McVay - Producer

Jennifer Del Sole - Director, Audio Growth Strategy & Operations

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nashville-based country star Brittney Spencer talks about her deep respect for The Chicks, her admiration for the trailblazing country artist Mickey Guyton, as well as what she’s learned from performing with Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead. Spencer hails from the city of Baltimore, where her family runs a popular Southern-style restaurant called Granny’s. Her debut album, which is already gathering a lot of critical acclaim, is called “My Stupid Life,” but her journey thus far has been anything but stupid. She’s toured with Jason Isbell, performed with the Highwomen, been nominated for CMT and Americana Music Awards, and is currently on the road with Grace Potter.

For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam

Biscuits & Jam is produced by:

Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living

Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living

Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer

Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer/Producer

Jeremiah McVay - Producer

Jennifer Del Sole - Director, Audio Growth Strategy & Operations

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

José Andrés was born and raised in Spain and has brought his love of Spanish cuisine to successful restaurants in New York City and Washington DC. While he now has dozens of dining establishments in a host of different cities, what really sets him apart is the work he’s done with World Central Kitchen. Founded in 2010 in response to the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti, World Central Kitchen has gone on to feed survivors of hurricanes, tornadoes, and fires all around the world, as well as countless people traumatized by war.

In this episode, José talks to Sid about the many kitchens of his childhood, how cooking for those in peril is both an act of relief and a chance to learn, and how longer tables are perhaps the closest thing to a perfect place on Earth.

For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam

Biscuits & Jam is produced by:

Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living

Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living

Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer

Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer/Producer

Jeremiah McVay - Producer

Jennifer Del Sole - Director, Audio Growth Strategy & Operations

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Southern Living is excited to announce the launch of Season 5 of Biscuits & Jam on February 20th, 2024 with chef José Andrés. Since 2020, Sid Evans, Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living has been interviewing Southern icons like Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Wynonna Judd, Darius Rucker, and more about their family traditions, meals that remind them of home, and of course, what it means to be Southern. Join him every Tuesday as he continues the conversation with some of the most interesting and influential Southerners around.

For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before he starred in Breaking Away or The Big Easy, Dennis Quaid was a kid from Houston, Texas, who grew up loving Elvis Presley and wanting to play rock and roll. His early success as an actor led him to a legendary career in movies, but he never gave up his musical ambitions. As the longtime frontman of Dennis Quaid & the Sharks, he’s built a reputation as a legitimate, high-energy rock star. Recently, though, he’s settled down in Nashville and produced an album called “Fallen: A Gospel Record For Sinners,” that reconciles his rediscovered faith with years of hard living and addiction. 

For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam

Biscuits & Jam is produced by:

Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living

Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living

Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer

Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer/Producer

Jeremiah McVay - Producer

Jennifer Del Sole-Director of Audio Growth Strategy & Operations

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Country star Thomas Rhett grew up in Valdosta, Georgia, with a father and grandfather who primed him to be a Bulldogs superfan. Meanwhile, his wife, Lauren Akins, bleeds the orange of the Tennessee Volunteers. Somehow they’ve managed to build a lasting romance and a loving family in spite of rooting for teams on opposite sides of the field. In this episode, they talk about where they grew up, how they came to love their favorite teams, and the one thing they can always agree on - Frito Pie. 

For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam

Biscuits & Jam is produced by:

Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living

Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living

Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer

Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer/Producer

Jeremiah McVay - Producer

Jennifer Del Sole-Director of Audio Growth Strategy & Operations

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode, Sid Evans, Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living Magazine, chats with Hoda Kotb, one of the anchors of ‘The Today Show’ on NBC and an author. She was raised in West Virginia while visiting family in Egypt. Unfortunately, her father passed away while she was in college, which of course took an emotional toll, but the lessons she took from the experience has helped her to move through her life successfully. Before her time covering world events, she spent time as a local news reporter in various markets and, in more recent years, she’s also become an author. In fact, her time working in New Orleans local news led her to fall in love with the town, which recently led to a cover story in the April issue of Southern Living in which Hoda shares the best of her old hometown.

For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam

Biscuits & Jam is produced by:

Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living

Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living

Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer

Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer/Producer

Jeremiah McVay - Producer

Jennifer Del Sole-Director of Audio Growth Strategy & Operations

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode, Sid Evans, Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living Magazine, chats with Ruston Kelly,  a singer-songwriter with a remarkable talent for channeling his life experiences into his music. Born in South Carolina, he moved all over with his family, eventually ending up in Belgium before he moved to Nashville to start his career. But before that, he pursued a figure skating dream that left him feeling alone, but also led him to writing songs. Since then, he’s struggled with addiction and was married to one of the most famous women in the music business, Kacey Musgraves. But most recently, he moved away from Nashville to spend the pandemic working on a historic house as he also wrote his new album, The Weakness.

For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam

Biscuits & Jam is produced by:

Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living

Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living

Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer

Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer/Producer

Jeremiah McVay - Script Editor

Jennifer Del Sole-Director of Audio Growth Strategy & Operations

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode, Sid Evans, Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living Magazine, revisits some of his favorite conversations about the holidays from Season 4. You’ll hear stories from  Jason Isbell, Miranda Lambert, Wynonna Judd, and more!

For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam

Biscuits & Jam is produced by:

Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living

Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living

Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer

Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer/Producer

Jeremiah McVay - Producer

Jennifer Del Sole-Director of Audio Growth Strategy & Operations

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Back in 1982, Emeril Lagasse famously took over from Paul Prudhomme as executive chef at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, and after an incredible run there he decided to open his own place, Emeril’s, in 1990. Now, more than three decades on, his son EJ, at age 21, is chef patron, revisiting dishes his father made famous and updating them with his own unique spin. We’ll talk about all that, as well as the magic of New Orleans, their over-the-top holiday food traditions, the ways their Portuguese heritage informs their work, and how Emeril is teaching a new generation about the power of food.

For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam

Biscuits & Jam is produced by:

Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living

Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living

Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer

Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer/Producer

Jeremiah McVay - Producer

Jennifer Del Sole-Director of Audio Growth Strategy & Operations

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices