We sat down with West Virginia/ Nashville/ New York-based Olivia Ellen Lloyd and had an amazing conversation. We chatted about Olivia’s most recent release “Do It Myself” which was released in 2025 and was very much a DIY project for her. We discussed how her music has evolved and how she trusts her mind and gut when songwriting.  

Olivia Ellen Lloyd will try anything once. From flight attendant school in Dallas to producing theater in New York and teaching in Guatemala, Lloyd sought adventure but struggled to find a greater sense of purpose - until she found her way back to music. Channeling that restlessspirit, she writes songs that dig deep for hope in the face of hardship. Her debut album, Loose Cannon, has been streamed over 1 million times while she has been crossing the country playing shows, winning songwriting contests (like Kerrville New Folk in 2023) and generally eatinglife down to the rind. She also works as an in-demand side woman, singing backingvocals for the likes of Lizzie No, Emily Scott Robinson, and as part of the Resistance Revival Chorus, with Renee Rapp at the 2024 All Things Go festival.   

Lloyd has spent the past three years doubling down on her efforts to build community within the Alt-Country and Americana scene while deepening her working partnership with Mike Robinson, an in-demand sideman known for touring and recording with the likes of SierraFerrell and Zach Bryan. Mike served as her producer and primary instrumentalist on Do It Myself. 

 Be sure to check out Olivia Here: 

 We had a very interesting and touching conversation with Courtney Hartman about her latest release, “With You,” which conveys the theme of giving and receiving care. Courtney talksabout balancing being a mom and a career musician and the fulfilling feeling of“I made something.” Courtney’s 3-year-old even makes a guest appearance.  

Courtney Hartman, a Wisconsin-based, Colorado-born guitarist, singer, writer, and producer, hasspent 15 years deftly knitting together music communities across the bluegrass,folk, and indie scenes. She turned early acclaim (including a 2014 GRAMMY nomination for her work with folk quintet Della Mae) into true partnerships, writing and recording with an ever-growing family of fellow artists. PopMatters calls Courtney “a real-life folk troubadour and scholar, informed by her travels and the relationships that she’s built through them,” and Acoustic Guitar Magazine says she is “a songwriter that delights and disturbs.” Herfirst two albums, Ready Reckoner and Glade, featured collaborations with Gregory Alan Isakov, Anaïs Mitchell, Bill Frisell, and Sam Amidon. Over the past decade, Courtney has spent time in 28 different countries, seeking to bridge cultural divides through music diplomacy andcreative cooperation. Her upcoming release, With You, is a richly collaborative album centered around the themes of care and motherhood. It will be released independently on November 14 and includes performances by Watchhouse, Tift Merritt, Phil Cook, and more.  

Be sure to check Courtney out here: 

 In this episode we have the pleasure of talking with CannonPence, who performs under the name Twilark. We find out how the moniker Twilarkcame to be (through a dream!), and more about his debut release “The TamingTies Create.” 

We get insider information about the nuances of working inthe studio as a new artist, and more about the importance of Bandcamp!   

The Taming Ties Create, the debut album from Twilark, unfolds like a rediscovered memory: 

precise, disorienting, and wide open. Imbued with a quiet force, these are songs for early mornings or late nights, when reflection becomes reckoning. The indie songwriting project of North Carolina–based artist Canon Pence, Twilark emerges from the crossroads of southern melancholy and gothic folk. A melodic collection of raw emotion, sonic sophistication, and aching beauty, The Taming Ties Create weaves introspective storytelling, emotional nuance, and atmospheric instrumentation into beautifully crafted indie rock.   

Pence is a self-taught musician whose relationship with the art form has long been private. Raised in a household where music was ever present but learning to play was actively discouraged, he found his way into bands in high school and college, teaching himself guitar and learning how to write through instinct and repetition. What began as a quiet personal exercise turned into something more urgent, more focused—a way of unburdening. Twilark took shape gradually, without a clear starting point or defined plan. The songs were written over several years, most of them at home, often late at night. Some were long forgotten before being unearthed for the recording sessions.  

Be sure to check Twilark out here: 

 Talking with Lex Lashaun was such a pleasure! She's a go-getter who has taught herselfguitar—left handed and still holds down a fulltime teaching gig! We discussedher excellent idea for how to get out of writers block and the importance of therapy. 

Lex LaShaun is a rising voice in modern country music whose songs blend heartfelt storytellingwith a soulful, down-to-earth style. Rooted in authentic experiences, her musicspeaks to life’s struggles and triumphs, capturing emotions that resonate with everydaypeople. With a natural gift for turning lived experiences into lyrics, Lex LaShaun has been carving out a space for herself in a genre that values honesty and connection. 

Lex LaShaun has built a reputation as an artist unafraid to be vulnerable. Her performances aremarked by smooth, powerful vocals and lyrics that balance strength with sensitivity. Whether singing about love, loss, or hope, she creates a space where audiences feel understood. With each release, Lex LaShaun continues to expand her reach, gaining recognition for her ability to make listeners feel like they’re part of the story she’s telling. 

As her career continues to grow, Lex LaShaun remains committed to creating music that upliftsand connects. Her vision extends beyond just performing—she aims to inspire others by showing that true artistry comes from embracing authenticity. With new projects on the horizon and a growing fan base, Lex LaShaun is poised to leave her mark on the country music world, one song at a time. 

Be sure to check Lex out here: 

 In this episode, we had the unique opportunity to chat with musician/ author Dennes Sims about his recently released novel, “Neckbeard the Awesome Pirate.” We also chat about how being a musician transitioned him into being an author, a voice artist, and a composer for audiobooks.   

Both of Dennes’s parents were professional musicians; his mother Barbara was a singer, and his father was a bassist and a drummer.   

From the age of 5, he started playing drums. His mother used to take him along to her band rehearsals, and she always told the story that one day Dennes just picked up a set of drumsticks and was keeping perfect time with the drummer.    

At 19, he started writing songs and was frustrated that he had no way to express them, so he bought a keyboard and taught himself how to play by ear, listening to Prince, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, and others. He also started performing live with bands as a singer.   

Over the years, he taught himself both guitar and bass guitar. Dennes says he tried the saxophone “but it sounded like a hit a goose with a scooter.”   

While I was teaching himself to play other instruments, he began writing short stories and then screenplays.  

Unfortunately, he says he never made any real inroads to making a career out of either. In 1998, he cut his long hair and got a real job, joining the FBI, and put aside his musical and writing ambitions. But he quietly kept doing them as hobbies over the years, recording all of his ownmusic.   

In 2021, he was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer and underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments for seven weeks. Amazingly, the doctors saved his life and his voice, but said he would probably not be a singer anymore.  

 God works in mysterious ways, they always say… because of the treatments, his voice timbre changed, and it gave him a wider range of expression. So, he started using it for a new purpose: narrating audiobooks.    

Flash to 2025, now retired from the FBI, he has narrated three audiobooks for an author’s trilogy of stories, and is currently recording the audiobook for his own debut novel, Neckbeard the Awesome Pirate.   

Be sure to check Dennes out here:   

 We had such a good time catching up with Kevin Johnston aka Stan Lang! On this episode, learn why Kevin uses the stage name, how he earned a chocolate bar on his first-ever gig, and what inspired this “simple country” doctor to get back into making music and performing. He also gives us the best-yet answer to “describe your sound in 3 words!   

Stan Lang is the alias under which Oregon native Kevin Johnston writes. He lives in Burns Oregon, a little town in the middle of the southeastern corner of the Oregon HighDesert. For 23 years he has been a generalist country doctor to approximately 7,000 people who live in a county roughly the size of Massachusetts. 

In the late 80’s, he wrote music and played in a college hard rock band, but he says, “when we never got the magical call up to the big leagues,” he eventually decided he should spend moretime studying and less time playing. 

He got married, sold his music gear, had 4 kids, worked as a social worker, went back to medical school, then ended up in the country as a doctor. 

 About 10 years ago his best friend had a cardiac arrest at the gym and he was the Emergency physician on-cal. Unfortunately, he was unable to resuscitate his friend. The grueling nature of taking care of friends and neighbors and losing his best friend and then having to tell his wife and children left him lost and in a very dark place. 

He started playing music again, to work through his grief, and slowly started performing and writing again, this time from the perspective of pain lived and witnessed rather than therebellious superficial complaints of youth. 

During COVID, he decided that he would finally record in a proper studio and created the album "Super Hero Blues." He continues to practice medicine, performs in a couple of coverbands, and performs his original music. He writes intermittently when the mood strikes, and continues to play to keep a modicum of sanity. 

Check Stan out here: 

 We really enjoyed talking with Natalie Del Carmen on this episode. And we’re really looking forward to her new album “Pastures,” which drops January 30, 2026. Natalie describes it as a ‘coming of age album,’ and Natalie seems wise beyond her years! We talk about how to deal with writer's block, writing from observation, and studying the music that you love.  

Raised amongst the pavement and pop radio of Los Angeles, Natalie Del Carmen creates her own musical geography with Pastures. It's the sound of a modern-day folksinger narrowing her focus and expanding her reach, funneling the wide-ranging sounds that appeared on her debut album — 2023's critically-acclaimed Bloodline — into a sharp, singular version ofAmerican roots music.     

With Pastures, Natalie Del Carmen joins the ranks of Kat Hasty, Maggie Antone, Noeline Hoffman, Ken Pomeroy, and other empowered artists bringing a female perspective — and a youthful outlook — to the Americana space.   

Be sure to check Natalie out here: 

We chatted with Kate and Brendan about their debut album, "One Year Since," How they make the band work while living bi-coastally, and what's coming up next for them. This was a really interesting conversation and we learned so much!

Kate (fiddle) and Brendan (cello) first started talking about making an album together during the bright, shimmery post-pandemic summer days of 2021. Despite living on opposite sides of the country (Kate is based in Portland, OR, and Brendan is based in Brooklyn, NY) they had built a musical connection through their shared appreciation of innovation and groove. Over the next several years, they performed at venues on both coasts of the US, playing tunes and singing songs from American Old-Time, Irish, and other traditional music styles. They also began writing and performing original material, much of which became the tracks for this album. Kate wrote the title track, One Year Since, in her basement during the pandemic. She recorded a voice memo of the tune and then forgot about it, only to discover it again one year later when many things about the world and her own life had changed. Fiddle in the Attic is for Kate’s fiddle, which was found in an attic in Scotland after anticipating its next tune for who knows how long. By December of 2024, Kate and Brendan were in the studio in rainy Portland with mostly original material written in the old-time fiddle style, one song Brendan composed from a poem, and one song by Emmylou Harris and the McGarrigle sisters. One Year Since is Kate and Brendan’s first EP as a duo.

Be sure to check them out at:

 We had some great conversation and great laughs with Kashena Sampson, who started out how we did—singing with her sisters and putting on shows for her parents! She told us about her third studio record (released October 2025), “Ghost of Me,” and what went into making the album. We also talk about the elephant in the room—the hardest part about being a musician.  

 Already celebrated by Rolling Stone for “evoking the best of Seventies folk,” Kashena Sampson turns a new page with her third record, Ghost Of Me. It’s an album that pulls up herAmericana roots and digs deep beneath the surface, uncovering the darker indie sounds that once provided the soundtrack to Sampson’s childhood. Laced with electric guitar, reverb, and synthesizer, Ghost Of Me offers a new backdrop for the songwriting and otherworldly singing of an East Nashville luminary who’s never sounded more authentic. 

 Sampson grew up on the move, living abroad with her family before traveling the world by boat, a gig that found her paying her dues as a cruise ship singer as a young adult. Thatdiverse upbringing is mirrored on Ghost Of Me, an album that spans genres, emotional depths, and astrological tides. “This is an album about ignoring the bullshit and doing what’s authentic to me,” she explains. “Forget the rat race. Forget the bad relationships. Forget trying to please everybody. I’m tired of doing that. I wanted to do something for myself, and that’s what Ghost Of Me became," she continues. "It’s an album for me.” 

Be sure to check Kashena outhere: 

 What an amazing conversation we had with Cole Quest of Cole Quest and the City Pickers. 

We talked about their latest album “Home Grown,” how Cole serves as the band leader and band member, and their performance on the famous Mountain Stage! 

Rooted in tradition yet driven by a restless New York energy, Cole Quest and The City Pickers are carrying bluegrass forward with wit, warmth, and originality. Led by dobro player, songwriter, and vocalist Cole Quest — grandson of folk icon Woody Guthrie —the band has carved out a singular place in today’s roots music landscape.   

Their latest album, Homegrown (Jalopy Records, 2025), produced by Grammy Award–winning engineer Steve Rosenthal, brings the band’s journey into full focus. The record weaves four new originals with reimagined takes on songs by John Hartford, Peter Rowan, and Woody Guthriehimself, linking Cole’s own creative voice with his grandfather’s enduring legacy. No Depression hailed it as “an album that deftly moves the legacy of Woody Guthrie along in all the right ways.” Critics like Songlines (UK), Glide Magazine, and the Berkshire Eagle have noted how the bandhonors its lineage while commanding its own path. Their broad recognition includes a Bluegrass Standard cover (August 2025) and a feature in Bluegrass Unlimited. 

 Formed by friends with a shared love of bluegrass, Quest first pulled the Pickers together in 2017 to record their debut self-titled project at the legendary Magic Shop studio. They went on to release their acclaimed EP Self [En]Titled on Omnivore Records in 2021. Over the years, they’ve won the Podunk Bluegrass Festival band competition, toured Germany multiple times, and shared stages with artists like Billy Strings, Sierra Hull, and Tony Trischka. 

Be sure to check Cole and the city pickers out here: