The String

Episode 108: The album Steady On in 1989 marked the pivot in Shawn Colvin's life between playing bars to make the rent and being a leader in the singer songwriter movement. Through a string of albums, including the hit-producing A Few Small Repairs, she became a multi Grammy winner and an Americana Lifetime Achievement Award winner. This year, she's revisited Steady On, recording and performing it in her signature solo acoustic guitar style. Stripped to its essence, the songs speak as clearly now as they did 30 years ago. Also, an introduction to new Rounder Records artist Logan Ledger, a Nashville transplant with a voice so arresting, his demo led to a production deal with T Bone Burnett. 

Episode 107 features three conversations held on the run during AmericanaFest 2019 in Nashville, Sept. 10-14. Billy Strings represents the cutting edge of bluegrass and improvisational acoustic music. He's a breakout bandleader and a guitar player's guitar player. His second album is recently out, called Home. Jontavious Willis is another guitar-playing youngster, but his thing is traditional country blues. He's been mentored by Taj Mahal and Keb Mo. Kevin Russell is the songwriter and band leader known as Shinyribs - a legend of the Austin scene and a wildly entertaining showman.

Episode 107 features three conversations held on the run during AmericanaFest 2019 in Nashville, Sept. 10-14. Billy Strings represents the cutting edge of bluegrass and improvisational acoustic music. He's a breakout bandleader and a guitar player's guitar player. His second album is recently out, called Home. Jontavious Willis is another guitar-playing youngster, but his thing is traditional country blues. He's been mentored by Taj Mahal and Keb Mo. Kevin Russell is the songwriter and band leader known as Shinyribs - a legend of the Austin scene and a wildly entertaining showman. 

Episode 106: Ketch Secor is the fiddler and front man of the uncanny success story Old Crow Medicine Show. As they enter their third decade as a band, they can claim to have revived and re-imagined old-time string band and blues music for new generations. They've added at least one hit song to the country music repertoire in "Wagon Wheel" and reached millions with a show full of passion and classic country music values. Their latest, Live At The Ryman, is a collection of hand-picked tracks from roughly a decade of live recordings at the Mother Church. Ketch talks about the band's origins, the legacy of its forty-odd shows at the Ryman and being part of Ken Burns' Country Music documentary.

Episode 106: Ketch Secor is the fiddler and front man of the uncanny success story Old Crow Medicine Show. As they enter their third decade as a band, they can claim to have revived and re-imagined old-time string band and blues music for new generations. They've added at least one hit song to the country music repertoire in "Wagon Wheel" and reached millions with a show full of passion and classic country music values. Their latest, Live At The Ryman, is a collection of hand-picked tracks from roughly a decade of live recordings at the Mother Church. Ketch talks about the band's origins, the legacy of its forty-odd shows at the Ryman and being part of Ken Burns' Country Music documentary. 

In her new song "1988," Kelsey Waldon tells the story of the year she was born in Western Kentucky and what happened after that. What music fans know is that she brought her songs to Nashville and found community among the top emerging figure in East Nashville, including Margo Price and Erin Rae. She's just released her third album and it's special because White Noise/White Lines is a debut for John Prine's Oh Boy Records, part of a renewal of that decades old indie label. He's her songwriting hero, and their relationship is at the core of this conversation. Also in the hour, Raleigh NC writer Tommy Goldsmith talks about his new book, the definitive account of Earl Scruggs and his famous bluegrass instrumental "Foggy Mountain Breakdown."

In her new song "1988," Kelsey Waldon tells the story of the year she was born in Western Kentucky and what happened after that. What music fans know is that she brought her songs to Nashville and found community among the top emerging figure in East Nashville, including Margo Price and Erin Rae. She's just released her third album and it's special because White Noise/White Lines is a debut for John Prine's Oh Boy Records, part of a renewal of that decades old indie label. He's her songwriting hero, and their relationship is at the core of this conversation. Also in the hour, Raleigh NC writer Tommy Goldsmith talks about his new book, the definitive account of Earl Scruggs and his famous bluegrass instrumental "Foggy Mountain Breakdown." 

Del McCoury is a bluegrass hall of famer and repeat host of the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards. Jim Lauderdale is a beloved Nashville songwriter whose wide range of projects and songs includes Grammy Awards in bluegrass. Their personalities are as big as their resumes, so they'll make memorable co-hosts of the 2019 IBMA Awards in Raleigh. In a joint interview in front of a live audience, Jim and Del talk about the World of Bluegrass and their past and potential future as banjo players. You never know what might happen. Also in the hour, the next wave of the genre with Bluegrass Ramble showcase artist Jaelee Roberts. The 18-year-old is a new voice and songwriter who's being welcomed by leading musicians into her first steps as a recording artist. IBMA's World of Bluegrass runs Sept. 24-28 in Raleigh, NC.

Del McCoury is a bluegrass hall of famer and repeat host of the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards. Jim Lauderdale is a beloved Nashville songwriter whose wide range of projects and songs includes Grammy Awards in bluegrass. Their personalities are as big as their resumes, so they'll make memorable co-hosts of the 2019 IBMA Awards in Raleigh. In a joint interview in front of a live audience, Jim and Del talk about the World of Bluegrass and their past and potential future as banjo players. You never know what might happen. Also in the hour, the next wave of the genre with Bluegrass Ramble showcase artist Jaelee Roberts. The 18-year-old is a new voice and songwriter who's being welcomed by leading musicians into her first steps as a recording artist. IBMA's World of Bluegrass runs Sept. 24-28 in Raleigh, NC.

Episode 103 features two artists who are showcasing at AmericanaFest 2019 with new albums ready for early next year. Brian Wright has lived and made music in Texas, Los Angeles and Nashville, where he's been a guitar-slinging sideman and the co-founder of Cafe Rooster Records. His next opus is the sonically experimental Lapse of Luxury. Aubrie Sellers grew up around the country music business in Nashville but took her time finding her own vision as an artist and writer. We talk about the run-up to her second album, Far From Home.