Jack Barksdale's Roots Revival

On this episode I interview Brendan Forrest, who is a fantastic multi-instrumentalist, composer, and singer-songwriter. I loved getting to talk to him about his musical background, his approach to his music, his new album, Daydreaming Music Fiend (which is available now!), and much more. I hope you like this one and stay tuned for more interesting episodes in the future. As always, you can email me at [email protected] for any questions or show ideas. Enjoy!

On this episode, I talked with my good friends, Lindi Ortega and Mike Meadows, about a project that we actually worked on together. I’ve known Mike for a while and have worked with him a lot over the years. Late last year Mike introduced me to his friend Lindi and shortly afterwards we three cooked up a plan to record some Tom Waits songs and release them as a joint single. Lindi and Mike are both amazing artists and musicians and it was an honor to get to work with them both. So please join us as we dive into some of the funny stories and interesting details about this project and how it was made. I hope you enjoy it and as always email me at [email protected] for any questions or show ideas.

Liam St. John is an amazing singer-songwriter based out of Nashville, TN. His songs are a modern amalgamation of a wide range of American music. Roots, Blues, Rock, Soul, R&B, he does it all. Liam’s new EP, Believer is a shift from his two previous “stripped back” records. Believer features full band arrangements of Liam’s songs and shows a different side of his music. I really loved talking to Liam about his music, what his music means to him, his journey, his goals, and much more. We even got a surprise visit from his friend Evan Honer. Anyway, this was a very interesting conversation and I hope you enjoy it. As always email me at [email protected] for any questions or show ideas.

In this episode, I sat down once again with Van Plating. Van and I last spoke in 2021 when she was releasing her sophomore album. Now, two years later, we’ve reconvened to discuss her third and most daring album yet, Orange Blossom Child. Chronicling the lives of her and her family, and others undergoing the Floridian experience. Self-produced with 11 songs and many collaborators, such as Elizabeth Cook, Reckless Kelly, and The Damn Quails, to name a few. It’s a great album. I hope you enjoy it and learn some cool facts about the album and Van in this episode. As always, email me at [email protected] for any questions or show ideas.

Today I sat down with Ed Snodderly, an amazing roots singer-songwriter and musician from Johnson City, Tennessee. We got to talk about his new album (Chimney Smoke) coming out in July, the songwriting class he teaches at East Tennessee State University, how he got started in music, and much more. Ed has released LPs on Sugar Hill and other prestigious roots-oriented labels and, in addition to his solo work, he also recorded and performed as the Brother Boys with duet partner Eugene Wolf. Ed's songs have been recorded by such artists as Sam Bush, John Cowan, Reeltime Travelers, Missy Raines, Jerry Douglas, and several others. His original lyrics from "The Diamond Stream" are featured in Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Hall of Honor Rotunda beside A.P. Carter's standard "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." He also appeared in the Coen Brothers' 2000 award-winning film O Brother, Where Art Thou as the Village Idiot, and again as a ballroom musician alongside Alison Krauss’s band. So needless to say there was a lot to discuss and, though we didn’t get to touch on everything I was really glad to learn more about him and his music. As always email me at [email protected] for any questions or show ideas.

This week I conversed with singer-songwriter, Will Payne Harrison. Will is a Nashville based Country/Roots artist. He just released his new ten song album, Tioga Titan. The album was produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Will, himself. I highly recommend giving it a listen if you haven’t already. As always email me at [email protected] for any questions or show ideas.

This week I was able to visit with Caleb Caudle. Caleb’s new album, Forsythia, will be released in October 2022. It is a treasure trove of great songwriting and self-reflection. On this new album he worked with many fantastic artists and creatives such as John Carter Cash, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Carlene Carter, Elizabeth Cook and more. I hope you enjoy learning about Caleb and his music. I know I certainly did! As always email me at [email protected] for any questions or show ideas.

On this episode of the podcast I talk with Kevin Houston, a music engineer and producer. He’s worked with bands and artists such as Robert Plant, North Mississippi All Stars, Patty Griffin, Buddy Guy, Walter Trout, Lucero and many more. In fact Kevin was the engineer on my new song “Gone”. It was fun getting to talk and learn more about the other side of the recording process. As always email me at [email protected]

for any questions or show ideas. Enjoy!