Tasty Brew Music

Lauren Karr is a Kansas City–based singer, songwriter who blends raw emotion with thoughtful lyricism. Her music weaves together stories of resilience, healing, and truth—reflecting both her personal journey and a deep desire to connect with others. Through her LCK Studios, Lauren is building a body of work rooted in authenticity, independence, and heart.

Lauren recently reached out to me to help get the word outabout a newly penned and recorded song “Desolation”.  We got together on a recent Saturday on the radio during my monthly residency on KKFI’s Siren Song.  I appreciate it so much when artists like Lauren are willing to be vulnerable and share their most personal creations on the 100,000 watt blowtorch of creative insanity that is community radio. 

As of late 2025, early 2026 Lauren is building out a newwebsite.  For now you can find her on Reverbnation and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/laurenckarr

I love hosting Siren Song once a month on a Saturday onKKFI.  The focus, regardless of genre, is on female voices and songwriting telling the stories of women’s lives.  Kansas City based songwriter Jillian Riscoe reached out to me via email about her Ancient History EP project. We scheduleda date on Siren Song for a live performance.  The Midwest winter weather turned ugly on the appointed day so wepivoted to a phone conversation followed up a couple of tunes from the EP.

Singing and performing since the age of 7 in country,rock and pop line ups Jillian has toured and performed across the United States, including at the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show, major sporting events and teams like the KC Royals and KC Current, the GrammyMuseum Music Revolution Project, and the CDBaby DIY Musician’s Conference. She has received regional music awards, secured national radio airplay,  has been featured on regional TV and opened for international touring artists & bands. Now concentrating on leading the lyrical life as a songwriter and splitting her time between KansasCity & Nashville, Jillian is always on the road, bringing the music with her. 

Enjoy this introduction to Jillian Riscoe!

It has been years 7 years since I’ve been to Nashville andway too long since I’ve seen my friend and Illinois native Lauren Anderson who moved to Music City from Kansas City nearly nine years ago.  She returned to Kansas City recently toparticipate in a monthly Lyrical Belles residency in the Gospel Lounge at Knuckleheads. The stars aligned for me to have her join me on the radio for a gabfest and a few tunes before she headed off to the bustling metropolis of Red Cloud, Nebraska. 

These are heady times for Lauren as she was part of TeamSnoop on Season 28 of NBC’s The Voice TV show.  We catch up on how her life has incorporated that crazy and uniqueexperience.  American has now witnessed her powerhouse voice, raw honesty, and fiery stage presence.

Though her voice now lives in blues, soul, and rock,Lauren’s roots are deeply classical. She began piano at eight, sang in multiple choirs, and pursued classical voice through high school and college. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Augustana College, including atransformative summer in Italy, studying Italian and touring as an opera student. Opera was the original plan—until she discovered she was meant to belt, wail, and testify through soul and blues.

Lauren pursued a Master’s degree in Music Therapy at TheUniversity of Kansas. She trained in jails, schools, and hospice settings while also working full-time as a preschool teacher and caregiver for adults with intellectual disabilities. Her master’s thesis explored the use of music therapy to improve respiratory function and quality of life for children withCystic Fibrosis.

Lauren survived a major medical crisis of her own. Afterdeveloping a blood clot caused by Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, she underwent decompression surgery that removed her first rib. Forced off the stage for six months and facing potential long-term nerve damage, she fought her way back to full recovery.

Enjoy this conversation with and musical performance by myfriend, Lauren Anderson!

I live a rather enchanted life these days and for that I ammost grateful.  I am more open to new musical and artistic experiences as I’ve gotten older due in no small part tomy acquaintance with and participation in programming provided by Beau Bledsoe, Artistic Director of Ensemble Iberica.  I have travelled on two life changing patron trips to Portugal and Ireland.

Ensemble Iberica’s mission is to  create music and programming that enlightens, heals, and connects audiences and artists globally, with a focus on the music of the Iberian Peninsula and its connected regions like Latin America. Theiraim is to transcend cultural boundaries, foster appreciation for diverse perspectives, and build a more interconnected world through artistic exchange. They achieve this beautifully through performances, educational programs for youth, and intercontinental collaborations.

Beau asked if he could come to the Tasty Brew Music Radio Show to introduce our listeners to their latest project Tradición Viva / Living Tradition… a book of stunning pictures by Pultizer prize photographer Dan White  that includes a CD + digital download of multiple Ensemble Iberica performances captured at multiple Kansas City venues. I said yes please! Enjoy my conversation with and carefully curated selections from Beau Bledsoe, Artistic Director of Ensemble Iberica. 

Camdenton, Missouri native Trusten Williams is anothertreasure that has come into my orbit by virtue of my volunteering as a programmer/dj on community radio.  Now aretired educator, Trusten has found a way to get his penchant for collaborating and writing amazing songs, recorded by a cadre of some of Americana/Roots music’s best practitioners.

For many years Trusten and his wife Tracie have hostedstellar house concerts; I was privileged to experience one of the musical highlights of my life a few years back when the Williams’ hosted the legendary Verlon Thompson with Chad Elliot and Tommy Lewis opening at their home in Camdenton. 

Trusten recently drove up from his present home inSpringfield, MO to share the stories and give the details behind some selections from a 17 song album “Songwriters” co-written with his friend Benny Nale, the proceeds of which will go to support the mission of St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, TN. 

Enjoy this conversation and musical selections from a uniquemember of the Heartland roots music community…. Trusten Williams.

It is always a roll of the dice when attempting to make aconnection for a phone interview. We went through some things to get Kentucky native Cole Chaney on in a timely manner one fall morning as he and his crew were checking out of their Airbnb en route to Kansas City for a show atKnuckleheads. 

For Chaney, even though he’s only in his mid-twenties, his lyrical life has been quite prolific already. Cole grew up in rural Appalachia,  went to welding school but has taken thatproverbial  leap of faith to pursue music.  An admiration for 1990’s rock is a vital influence and on Cole’s latest, In the Shadow of the Mountain, he aims to find balance between rock and the bluegrass and folk music of his native Kentucky. 

In Cole’s own words, “In a lot of ways, things have goneextremely far. And yet, so many things have remained the same,”  “And that’s been the beauty of the journey.”

I look forward to following Cole’s journey as his navigateshis lyrical life.  Enjoy this conversation (despite the challenge of some background noise) with another extremely talented son of Kentucky, Cole Chaney.

Award winning Songwriter, leadership and management expert and business book author Steve Farber is an artist that came to my attention a couple of years back through open mics and song sanctuaries in Kansas City. As you will hear in this conversation and in studio musical performance, hisworking career and life long passion for music has merged in a unique way.  He returns to the Tasty Brew to celebrate therelease of a new five song EP “Echoes in the Well.” 

In addition to top rankings as a leadership and managementexpert, his book “Radical Leap: A Personal Lesson in Extreme Leadership” has been named one of the top 100 Best Business Books of All Time.  He’s been writing songs and playing guitarfor 50 years and his business clients ask him to play his original songs during keynote speeches at events all over the world.

Rooted in the folk and Americana tradition, Steve’s guidinglight has been the artistry of John Prine.  As a kid, he dreamed of playing music for folks… he just never imagined it would play out as it has.

Enjoy my conversation with musical interludes from "Echoes in the Well" courtesy of Steve Farber.

https://stevefarbermusic.com/

Max Gomez and I have only crossed paths in person one time when he opened for James McMurtry; I have been a fan of his work for some time and was very disappointed I had to miss his recent show in Kansas City.  We were able to have an on air radio conversation before that show and it was a real treat to hear stories of John Prine, Jack Barksdale, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and others.  Also, how could you grow up in a magical place like Taos, New Mexico an not be inspiredto pursue art in some form?

In the Land of Enchantment, he fell under the influence of country blues early on and developed a songwriting style that is uniquely his. He received critical acclaim upon the release of his debut album Rule The World (2013, New West Records); and his subsequent EP, Me and Joe (2017, Brigadoon Records),contained a freshly minted classic, “Make It Me,” which has gained million of listeners on Spotify alone.

As a budding performer, Max apprenticed in the rarefied musical micro-climate of northern New Mexico, where troubadours like Michael Martin Murphey and Ray Wylie Hubbard helped foster a Western folk sound both cosmic and country. He has shared billing on hundreds of stages with stalwarts of the Americana/Roots genre like the aforementioned James McMurtry, Buddy Miller, John Hiatt, Patty Griffin,  and Jeff Beck, and Johnny Depp.  His latest record, Memory Mountain, is a must listen!  Enjoy this conversation with Max Gomez.

Photo Credit: Blue Gabor

Kansas City based songwriter Amy Ward responded to a call to action to submit a proposed theme song to celebrate the 15th anniversary for my Tasty Brew Music Radio Show.  Although, like Tica Felise from our last Tasty Brew Music Podcast episode, I did not ultimately choose Amy’s submission, I thought her offering compelling enough to want to know more about her music.

I brought her into the radio station one Saturday Morning asI hosted the women-centric program “Siren Song.” As you will learn in this conversation, Ward often prepares songs for Sync Licensing, achieving hundreds of song placements on prime TV, Day Time TV, Major Motion Pictures and Independent Films.   She has performed at renowned venues like Madison Square Garden, Kauffman Stadium and T-Mobile Center, as well as recognition on Fox 25 Boston and ABC’s KMBC KansasCity. In films and television, she contributes as a songwriter, singer, and producer, including placement on Netflix progamming, and tv programs like Say Yes to the Dress, NCIS, General Hospital, Young & the Restless,  toname a few.

On the horizon, Amy lands two songs in the upcoming film,Viral - directed by Blair Underwood and her first song in an animated film , A Tooth Fairy Tale-in theaters and streaming  now.  

Enjoy this conversation with music samplings from the AmyWard catalogue!

Photo Credit: Hilary Fuller

To commemorate and celebrate 15 years of the Tasty BrewMusic Radio Show on KKFI,  I partnered with the Heartland Song Network in the summer of 2025 to seek submissions for a theme song for the show.  Although I did not ultimately choose the entry submitted by Kansas City based songwriter Tica Felise, I was enchanted by her story and musical journey and invited her to spend some time with me on air so my listeners and I could get to know her better.

Tica was born in Costa Rica and has found a home in KansasCity by way of Denver and Omaha.  A very early interest in music led to lessons and performance eventually morphing into writing her own songs and performing and recording as a solo artist in Kansas City.  Enjoy this conversation with an unapologetic ukulele goddess as we share some of the stories behind the recordings of Tica Felise!