On this special bonus, Substack exclusive episode of Wick’s Picks I’m joined by Ludlow, Ky.’s Jordan Smart, who on Sept. 12 dropped his folk-y protest record Confessions Of A C.E.O..

Smart and I spoke candidly about his evolution as a songwriter from penning tunes like the light-hearted “Song For Prine” and “Pickle Song” to hard-cutting hymnals like “Amerikka’s Veins” and “Who Would Jesus Bomb?”; the positive feedback he’s received from using his platform to speak out about the [gen-o-cide] in Gaza, working to build a better world for everyone, comparisons he’s received to Jesse Welles, and more.

Since this was conducted via Zoom and not a proper in-studio Wick’s Picks appearance featuring music, I implore y’all to check out Jordan’s work on BandCamp including Confessions Of A C.E.O. and Songs Not Bombs — a two volume project he helped to curate featuring Nicholas Jamerson, John R. Miller, Lizzie No, John Moreland, Billy Bragg and others whose proceeds raised nearly $20,000 for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund.