She calls her sound "existential indie folk," and her own worst gaslighter her muse

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Recorded at 30A before her run on The Voice, Abigayle Oakley talks about building a life in music while still figuring out who she is. She calls her sound "existential indie folk," writes about the gap between ambition and presence, and wrote 100 songs in a year to stop being precious about it. Julia Cameron, co-writing, and a love song about a thrifted Patagonia fleece all come up. She closes with "Hazel Eyed Lover in Patagonia" and "Press Three." What do you write about when you don't have the answers yet?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold Open
1:11 Guest Introduction
4:58 Touring and Venues
7:00 New Music and EP
7:35 100 Songs a Year
8:41 Existential Indie Folk
9:37 Her Own Worst Gaslighter
11:36 Social Media and Anxiety
14:03 Co-Writing and Process
16:04 The Artist's Way
20:16 The "Hazel Eyed Lover in Patagonia" Story
21:53 60 Seconds of Curiosity
24:44 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

Tyler Halverson wants enough cows to tell the world to get lost.

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Tyler Halverson called in from his kitchen table in Nashville, guitar within reach, a few days before his debut album In Defense of Drinking came out. He talks about the long-term dream that drives him: singing enough songs to buy enough cows to tell the world to get lost, even while the touring life that pays for it keeps him from ever standing still. He walks through the western wordplay behind songs like "More Hearts Than Horses" and "Fort Worth," and traces the split between the skate-punk kid in town and the George Strait kid on the farm that shaped his sound. What happens when the thing you're running toward requires you to never stop running?

🎵 Tyler Halverson's latest: In Defense of Drinking (2026)

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction: A New Album and Life on the Road
1:00 The Debut Album and Starting Out at 22
2:00 4-H, FFA, and Growing Up in South Dakota
3:00 Belmont University and the Move to Nashville
4:00 Enough Cows to Tell the World to Get Lost
6:00 Making In Defense of Drinking
7:00 Balancing Chaos on the Road and at Home
8:00 Where He Stands as an Artist
9:00 "More Hearts Than Horses"
10:00 "Like the Rodeo" and a Texas Trailer
12:00 "Fort Worth" and a Little Bit of Bullshit
14:00 Skateboarding, Cattle, and Growing Up a Misfit
15:00 Faith, the First Pew, and the Church Van
19:00 60 Seconds of Curiosity

📊 FREE REPORT: Get the State of Music summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Subscribe free

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

A Country Music Hall of Famer who never won a single contest, on starting over more than once

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Jimmy Fortune played Holiday Inn lounges before joining the Statler Brothers in 1982, then had to start over again when the group retired in 2002. He talks about the nerves and humility of a solo career, the advice that kept him from quitting, and his "American Dreamer" project, a book, CD, and no-overdub live DVD about faith, forgiveness, and loss. He closes with "Earl's Song, Virginia Dreams." What keeps a Hall of Famer chasing the dream after he has already lived it?

🎵 Jimmy Fortune's latest: American Dreamer

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Holiday Inn Dream Advice
3:42 Meeting Jimmy Fortune
4:46 The Statler Brothers Breakthrough
5:22 Retirement and Starting Over
8:30 Three Career Eras
12:12 Going Solo
17:48 Never Quit Your Dream
21:20 The American Dreamer Project
27:38 Virginia Roots and Songs
42:50 Forgiveness and Grace
49:03 60 Seconds of Curiosity
55:12 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

The face of Gen Z folk on Joni, Woodstock, and being a 12-year-old big-band radio DJ

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Stella Prince, hailed as the face of Gen Z folk, grew up in Woodstock singing alongside artists like Pete Seeger and DJ'd a big-band radio show at twelve. She talks about making folk mainstream again, building an all-women team, and recording her debut EP in Laurel Canyon. She gets into her first sync, a Hallmark film, and writing through Gen Z anxiety and newfound independence. She closes with "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and her original "Good Luck Is Hard to Find." Can a 21-year-old really pull folk back into the mainstream?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Folk Across Generations
2:42 AmericanaFest Milestone
4:38 Why Folk Feels Real Now
6:13 Gen Z Jazz Inspiration
8:21 Woodstock Roots
9:27 Radio DJ and Big Band Years
11:00 DIY Hustle to a Team
13:04 An All-Women Team
14:42 Laurel Canyon Recording
16:26 EP Plans and the Hallmark Sync
18:35 Gen Z Pressure and Anxiety
20:55 60 Seconds of Curiosity
23:14 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

A London-raised, Italy-based cellist who became an accidental filmmaker on the way to Americana.

Get the stories behind the episodes → Subscribe to Chords of Curiosity

Janie, who performs as Bird, grew up half-Irish and half-English in London, lives in Italy, and is working her way into the U.S. on an O-1 visa. She talks about Irish storytelling, classical cello from age six, and influences from Jacqueline du Pré to Led Zeppelin, plus the "accidental filmmaker" turn that produced two short films. She gets into two EPs, "Heads or Tales" and "Strange as Folk," and plays "The Tides" solo on cello. What happens when a stalled album turns you into a filmmaker?

🎵 Bird's EPs: Heads or Tales / Strange as Folk

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Irish Storytelling Roots
2:56 Meeting at AmericanaFest
4:44 Why the Name Bird
7:22 Accidental Filmmaker
9:12 The Elvis and Roy Orbison Mystery
11:15 Festival Strategy
14:13 Classical Beginnings
15:13 Drums and Rock Influences
17:52 The "Heads or Tales" EP
19:17 Folk Horror Inspiration
25:19 60 Seconds of Curiosity
27:58 Live Performance: "The Tides"

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. Get the State of Music survey summary free → State of Music summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode: the moments that didn't make the clips, what I'm learning running this show, and one curiosity prompt every issue → Subscribe free

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com · 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts · 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

A Dallas financial planner who finally let herself claim the word songwriter

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Stephanie Sammons spends her days as a financial planner in Dallas and decided to go pro as a songwriter without quitting, pushed by a refusal to live with regret and a nudge from Mary Gauthier. She talks about her Southern Baptist upbringing, the decade her family pulled away after she came out, and the slow road back to mutual respect. She gets into "Faithless" and "Innocence Lost," off her album "Time and Evolution," and closes with "Innocence Lost." What does it take to claim the title you have been afraid to say out loud?

🎵 Stephanie Sammons' latest: Time and Evolution

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Music, Faith, and Hope
1:01 Meet Stephanie Sammons
4:07 Holistic Financial Planning
6:53 Long-Term Optimism
8:05 Going Pro Without Quitting
12:06 Regret, Calling, and the Leap
14:10 Faith Deconstruction in Americana
16:52 Southern Baptist Roots and Sexuality
18:59 Rebuilding the Relationship
23:31 The Story of "Innocence Lost"
28:53 "Faithless" and Living with Nuance
32:02 60 Seconds of Curiosity
34:39 Live Performance: "Innocence Lost"

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

She called off her wedding and turned the veil into an album cover

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Morgan Myles built her album "Laced" out of the wreckage of a called-off wedding, right down to the 20-foot veil she carried to Joshua Tree for the cover. She talks about writing 80 songs in five months, narrowing to 12 with producer Ross Hogarth, and staying authentic as AI floods the music she loves. Gary Nichols turns up as a co-writer, and she gets into "Love Is Lonesome" and "American Sky." What do you make from the thing that fell apart?

🎵 Morgan Myles' latest: Laced (2026)

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 From "Language of Flowers" to "Laced"
2:24 Survival and Authenticity in the AI Era
5:28 Comparing Laced to Therapy
10:32 80 Songs in 5 Months
11:55 The Symbolism of Lace
13:33 Performing Through Pain
16:59 How Fans Help in the Streaming Era
21:06 AI in Music
28:56 Why Words Matter
34:09 Writing with Gary Nichols
37:24 "Love Is Lonesome"
39:54 "American Sky"
49:55 60 Seconds of Curiosity

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

A quant-finance mind and songwriter on living in the present, not the glory days

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Pete Muller has built a life across quantitative finance, crossword puzzles, philanthropy, and music, and he is wary of nostalgia in all of it. He talks about the album "One Last Dance," the discipline poker and finance taught him, and the present-tense pull of yoga, surfing, and writing. He is also working to revive the iconic Power Station studio and prop up independent venues. How do you keep getting excited about what is next instead of what was?

🎵 Pete Muller's latest: One Last Dance

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 The Importance of Present Excitement
1:46 Meet Pete Muller
5:10 Quantitative Finance
9:06 Crosswords and Finance
13:34 Poker and Emotional Control
15:25 Yoga, Surfing, and Music
21:21 Redefining Success
24:47 Authenticity in Music
30:47 Recording at Peter Gabriel's Studio
34:48 Reviving the Power Station
38:46 Supporting Independent Venues
41:15 Closing

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

A conservatory-trained cellist who traded classical rigor for indie folk

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Lydia Luce trained classically in a conservatory before letting indie folk loosen her up. She talks about the album "Mammoth," the stories behind the songs, and navigating chronic pain and a pregnancy alongside a touring life. There is a Jesus-camp reckoning and some hard-won making of amends, and she closes with a performance. What changes when you stop performing rigor and start enjoying the work?

🎵 Lydia Luce's latest: Mammoth

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 The Musical Journey
1:52 AmericanaFest and New Beginnings
3:26 Balancing Music and Motherhood
4:40 The Joy of Indie Folk
7:04 Songwriting Process
15:28 The New Album, Mammoth
18:58 Chronic Pain and Life
20:35 Pregnancy and Pain Management
22:56 Reflecting on Jesus Camp
27:00 Making Amends
30:06 60 Seconds of Curiosity
32:20 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

A Nashville duo figuring it out, who almost threw away their best song before it became the title track.

Get the stories behind the episodes → Subscribe to Chords of Curiosity

Alex and Dave of The Thing With Feathers met at Belmont and built a band on melody and a refusal to take themselves too seriously. On a back patio in Nashville, they talk about the scene, the grind, and the album "So Electric," including the title track they nearly cut. There are ice-cream debates too. What does "making it" even mean while you're still figuring the band out?

🎵 The Thing With Feathers' latest: So Electric

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 The Emotional Journey of Songwriting
1:40 Meet Alex and Dave
1:55 Life in Nashville and Belmont
4:08 The Nashville Music Scene
10:25 Forming the Band
13:37 The Serious Side of the Music
16:59 Melody-Driven Music
18:06 The New Album, So Electric
20:08 Reflecting on Success
26:20 60 Seconds of Curiosity
29:21 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. Get the State of Music survey summary free → State of Music summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode: the moments that didn't make the clips, what I'm learning running this show, and one curiosity prompt every issue → Subscribe free

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com · 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts · 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast