The WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour Podcast

QUEEN BEE & THE HONEYLOVERS is an unabashedly joyful swing band that performs all-original compositions with a dedicated ‘nod’ to the small-jazz-combo and 'hot club' legends who first defined the genre. The Honeylovers hail from Asheville, North Carolina; a Historic township where tradition collides with contemporary innovation to create *brand new* art and culture. Their arrangements are upbeat and nostalgic - with enough ‘sweetness’ for the whole hive. Vocal-driven with an infectious groove, the Honeylovers are guaranteed to put a grin on your face and a tap in your toes.

JAMIE DRAKE is one of LA’s best-kept musical secrets co-writing and collaborating with the likes of Jim James, Mikael Jorgensen (Wilco), Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul and Mary), Ed Helms, Glen Phillips, Sara and Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek), and Moby. Drake has all the while been carefully honing her own craft and preparing to take center stage. Now, over 4 million people have discovered Drake’s premiere tracks from her upcoming album, ‘Everything’s Fine’ a record that embraces heartbreak and hope, with indie-pop stylings wrapped in lush orchestrations reminiscent of Jon Brion and Van Dyke Parks and delivered with rich vocals, derivative of her varied musical influences ranging from Harry Nilsson to Sufjan Stevens; from Lucius to Joni Mitchell.

WoodSongs Kid: Evan Singleton is a ten-year-old musician from Lexington, Kentucky. Evan will be performing the Earl Scruggs banjo classic “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” on the marimba.

JIMMIE VAUGHAN has dedicated his life to making sure the blues not only stays alive, but remains full of life and an inspiration to all who listen. For the past 50-something years, music has been the guiding light for Vaughan. He started playing young, and when the blues of Freddie King and Frankie Lee Sims crawled deep inside his young soul, it would stay there forever. After worldwide success with the Fabulous Thunderbirds during the ’80s, it came time to leave that band and build his own path in exploring different approaches to the blues.’Baby, Please Come Home’, is a rolling and righteous celebration of everything the blues can be.

WoodSongs Kid: Jack Triebold is an 18-year-old guitar player from Charleston, South Carolina.

OVER THE RHINE are the critically acclaimed husband and wife duo celebrating 30 years of making understated yet emotionally-charged music. Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist (aka Over the Rhine) have established a reputation for delivering genuine, heartfelt stories of the human condition that are both empathetic and provocative. The pair’s expansive, incisive lyrics and earthy sound are often inspired by time and place. Each album represents a certain chapter in their lives – what they have experienced, and the resulting emotional landscape. ‘Love & Revelation’ the first new music in four years finds the beloved duo in a deeply reflective place, contemplating both personal loss and the wavering of America’s collective compass.

BRIDGE 19 is a touring band based out of Louisville, KY. They offer a sound pallet of moody electric guitars, horns, accordion, & pedal steel - with rhythmic stylings of Nola jazz meets americana. Vocal harmony is the corner stone, and makes Bridge 19 unique and transfixing. Sharing stages with Brandi Carlile, Dr. Dog, Langhorn Slim, Sarah McLachlan, Asleep at the Wheel, Richard Thompson and more, Bridge 19 has come of age with its new album “In the Afterglow” like a fine Kentucky bourbon.

NEWTOWN features the first-rate vocal and instrumental work of five of the finest musicians in acoustic music who share a bond that combines individual virtuosity with a background of formal training. The band is based in Lexington, Kentucky and fronted by award-winning vocalist/fiddler Kati Penn Williams and her singer/banjo-picker husband, Jr. Williams. They are joined by the extraordinary talents of guitarist/vocalist Hayes Griffin, mandolinist Mitchell Cannon, and bassist/vocalist Travis Anderson – all who have college education backgrounds in music in addition to their collective decades of performing experience. The band’s newest album is ‘Harlan Road’.

LARK WATTS is yet another talented singer/songwriter from the state of Kentucky (Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Dwight Yoakam) His songs have a very traditional country element to them, but that voice is pure Memphis soul.

RYVOLI is Jenn Whiteman and Samantha Ayres an indie-folk band based in Lexington, KY.

WoodSongs Kid. Logan Smith is a talented Singer/Songwriter from Lexington, Kentucky and a WoodSongs Crew member.

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LAURIE LEWIS is internationally renowned as a singer, songwriter, fiddler, bandleader, producer and educator. This Grammy Award-winning musician was a founding member of the Good Ol’ Persons and the Grant Street String Band and has performed and recorded since 1986 with her musical partner, mandolinist Tom Rozum. Laurie has twice been voted “Female Vocalist of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association and has won the respect and admiration of her peers. Her latest album with her band the Right Hands ‘The Hazel and Alice Sessions’, was nominated for the Best Bluegrass Recording Grammy in 2017.

NEFESH MOUNTAIN is the place where American Bluegrass and Old-time music meet with Jewish Heritage and tradition. Band leaders, genre-pioneers, and husband and wife Doni Zasloff and Eric Lindberg are the heart of this eclectic offering, and share their love for American music, their own cultural heritage, and each other with audiences throughout the world. The result of this unexpected and beautiful mix is staggering; and while complete with the kind of adept string virtuosity and through composed arrangements one would hope for from a newgrass band with influences from Bluegrass, Old-Time, Celtic, and Jazz, they also play and sing songs of the heart creating music with a sense of diversity, oneness, and purpose for our world today. Their newest and most adventurous recording to date called ‘Beneath The Open Sky’.

WoodSongs Kid: Fallon Marie is a fourteen-year-old and from Elizabethtown, Kentucky. She loves to sing and play mandolin.

GARY MORRIS is known world-wide for his vocal mastery. His recording career garnered five #1 and 16 Top 10 singles, including “Why Lady Why,” “The Love She Found in Me,” “Baby Bye Bye.” Morris’ original rendition of the classic “Wind Beneath My Wings” won both the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music “Song of the Year” awards. Morris was also named Billboard’s “Male Artist of the Year” early in his career. At the height of his Nashville recording career, the Texas-bred tenor was tapped to play the lead role of Jean Valjean in Broadway’s epic hit Les Misérables, to critical acclaim. ‘Sense of Pride’ is Morris’ latest and his 13th album release.

JASON COLEMAN & MEAGAN TAYLOR grew up with two legends at their instruments. Coleman’s grandfather is the legendary pianist Floyd Cramer whose “slip note” piano style was an essential part of countless country, pop, and rock hits in the 1950s and ‘60s and exemplified by his 1960 smash hit, “Last Date”. Taylor picked up the guitar at 18 and turned to her uncle, one of the world’s preeminent guitar virtuosos and most prolific record producers, “Uncle Chester” Chet Atkins for help in the months before he passed away. Their new album ‘Feel Like Home’ honors their families love of music with a deep appreciation of the rich musical heritage while carrying it forward.

WoodSongs Kid: Zoe Shiner lives in New Albany Indiana and has been playing mandolin since she was eight-years-old.

WATERMELON SLIM has built a remarkable reputation with his raw, impassioned intensity. He is one of the most authentic bluesman in the world today. Born in Boston, raised in Ashville, NC, a Vietnam Veteran, fisherman, baseball fan, truck driver, currently farms watermelons in his home state of Oklahoma, Slim taught himself upside-down left-handed slide guitar on a $5 balsawood model using a triangle pick cut from a rusty coffee can top and his Army issued Zippo. He’s garnered over 20 Blues Music Award nominations. His latest album is ‘Church of the Blues.’

LOVERS LEAP is a roots music supergroup from Hot Springs, NC made up bassist Shelby Means (Delta Mae), clawhammer banjo picker Mary Lucey (Biscuit Burners), guitarist Joel Timmons (Sol Driven Train), and innovative slide guitarist Billy Cardine (Acoustic Syndicate, Biscuit Burners). Collectively the bandmates have presented their sound from the Kennedy Center to Bonnaroo, Merlefest to Telluride, and across Europe, Asia, Australia and the Caribbean. They each have been musical ambassadors and have taught workshops throughout the country and internationally on their respective instruments. Their self titled debut EP was recently released.

WoodSongs Kid: Savannah Reeves is a seventeen-year-old county singer from Lexington, Kentucky. .

THE CHUCK WAGON GANG has entered its 75th year of singing the old songs, and singing them the way 'Dad Carter' taught his kids. A simple style, yet distinctive sound, is credited with helping preserve the legacy of the music so many love. Over the years, the group has managed to record well over 800 songs, and sell 40 million records worldwide. ‘The Legacy Lives On’ is documentary film that aired on PBS a few years ago that explores the history, legacy, and contemporary relevance of the Gang in America’s Gospel Singers. The band’s latest project is a tribute to The Carter Family.

THE SMALL GLORIES are Cara Luft & JD Edwards, a musical tour-de-force partnership planted on the Canadian Prairies. With a stage banter striking a unique balance between slapstick and sermon, this roots powerhouse duo have a way of making time disappear, rooms shrink, and audiences feel as they are right there on the stage with the band. Luft, one of the original members of folk trio The Wailin’Jennys, and Edwards duplicate and reinforce each other’s many strengths and yet allow their distinct personalities to shine through. Their highly anticipated sophomore album “Assiniboine & the Red” will be released on Compass/Red House Records.

WoodSongs Kid: Eli Patrick is a fourteen-year-old banjo picker from West Liberty, Kentucky.

SHANE HENNESSY is a virtuoso guitarist, composer, and songwriter from Ireland. Known for his unique virtuosic approach to the acoustic guitar, his musical style has won praise from musical giants Nile Rodgers of CHIC and guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel, with whom Shane has shared the stage. At the young age of twenty-five, Shane has sold out a solo concert in the National Concert Hall, released two highly praised albums, has worked with Bill Whelan (composer of Riverdance) and has done extensive international touring across Europe, The United States, and Russia. Shane will be premiering material from new album set for release in June.

AL, ALICE & RUTH bring new life to old music, and make new music sound vintage. This trio has a musical history that is enviable. Alice and Ruth are sisters, growing up in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, performing nationally and internationally with their family, The McLain Family Band. Al grew up in New Mexico, from a long line of family musicians, performing in the west, before heading east to join the Bluegrass Alliance, and then (after marrying Alice) joining the McLain Family Band. The trio has released several projects on their own and toured.

WoodSongs Kid: Ben Kennington is a Young Thumb guitar picker from Middleton, Florida.

SI KAHN is a folk, bluegrass and roots music legend, once described as “a rumor in his own time.” At 75 years old, he is at the peak of his powers as performer, songwriter, recording artist and playwright. His songs of family, community, love, work and freedom have been recorded and performed by hundreds of artists in North America and Europe. For 52 years, he’s worked professionally as a civil rights, labor and community organizer.

On this Special Event Broadcast of WoodSongs, we are honoring this American Folk legend. Guests appearing with Si:THE LOOPING BROTHERS are a German bluegrass trio that have recorded a new album of songs written by Si called ‘It’s Dog’s Life.’ to honor his 75th.

MATT WATORBA is a veteran performer, teacher, radio host, songwriter and more. Matt discusses his Community Sings project.

VIVIAN NESBITT is an acclaimed actress that has appeared in on hit TV shows like Breaking Bad, The Night Shift, Longmire and the theatre. Vivian is currently on tour with Si Kahn's ‘Mother Jones In Heaven’ ~ a musical one-woman show about the legendary labor organizer Mary Harris "Mother" Jones. With musical accompaniment by John Dillon, Vivian performs an excerpt from the play on WoodSongs.

SISTAH LALA is a classically trained Contralto who has been sharing her gifts with the world for over three decades She has participated in national and international tours singing many genres of music including Spirituals, Opera, Jazz, and Gospel. Spirituals In Motion is Sistah LaLa’s response to the call of the Ancestors. Using the history, and power of this work, she is on a mission to use her talents to inspire, educate and galvanize others through music.