The WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour Podcast

EMISUNSHINE & The Rain is an award winning 17-year-old songwriter and ukulele virtuoso from East Tennessee, who has been attracting national attention since age 9 with appearances on “Today,” NBC’s “Little Big Shots,” “American Idol,” the Grand Ole Opry, WoodSongs and more. With 9 albums released under her name, her 2022 album was titled ‘DIAMONDS’ and she’s currently working on two new albums, one bluegrass and one country. is an award winning 17-year-old songwriter and ukulele virtuoso from East Tennessee, who has been attracting national attention since age 9 with appearances on “Today,” NBC’s “Little Big Shots,” “American Idol,” the Grand Ole Opry, WoodSongs and more. With 9 albums released under her name, her 2022 album was titled ‘DIAMONDS’ and she’s currently working on two new albums, one bluegrass and one country.

The RED MOUNTAIN BOYS are based out of Colorado, carry the torch for traditional bluegrass, but their original songs make it sound brand-new. With four songwriters—including two award-winners and a Kansas Music Hall of Fame inductee—and four lifetimes of experience, the Red Mountain Boys perform with four-part harmony around one microphone in the style of the masters. are based out of Colorado, carry the torch for traditional bluegrass, but their original songs make it sound brand-new. With four songwriters—including two award-winners and a Kansas Music Hall of Fame inductee—and four lifetimes of experience, the Red Mountain Boys perform with four-part harmony around one microphone in the style of the masters.

Reed Elliotte is a 12 year old pianist and singer from Corbin, KY.

MARK O’CONNOR is a master musician, composer, performer, educator and mentor. He has performed everywhere from concert halls to the Grand Ole Opry, he has recorded with all the greatest artists in music from Garth Brooks to Yo Yo Ma. He is not only a master violinist but one of the best guitar pickers in America.

MAGGIE O’CONNOR is a Grammy Award winning musician who frequently performs with her husband.  With a unique background in both traditional classical violin training and American musical styles, Maggie continues her mission to show that violinists can participate in everything the instrument has to offer, performing on some of the world’s most coveted stages.

Liam Farley is a 13 year old fiddler from Chapmanville, West Virginia.

SUGAR HARP, also known as Charles Burroughs, was eight years old his great grandfather would blow harp and strum a handmade guitar formed from an orange crate and broom sticks. To witness his’ “down in the gutter, back alley, storytelling blues” today, it is clear that he inherited his great grandfather’s creativity and musical talent. Since he first picked up the harmonica, he has more than earned his moniker, Sugar Harp. 

GAIL CEASAR was born in Pittsville, Virginia; the small town that her family has called home for generations, a rich lineage of oral storytellers and musicians. She has found a beautiful sound of her own that melds the two genres. Gail’s music re-imagines generations of traditional tunes with incredible precision and depth of tone. You can imagine sitting round a porch, feeling right at home.

THE BISCUIT EATERS are a family band from Powhatan, VA.

THE NASHVILLE CELTS are fiddler Maggie Lander, Ric Blair on guitar, piano, bodhran, Fiachra O’Regan from Connemara, Ireland on uilleann pipes and lastly Bruce Hornsby Mumford & Sons sideman Matt Menefee on 5 string banjo. They have created a unique music hybrid by incorporating Irish instrumentation into their original songs. Their newest album is TRAVELING ON.
NA SKYLARK is a Kentucky-based trio that shares the rich beauty of ancient traditional  Celtic music through voice, Irish harp, Irish uilleann pipes, fiddle, Irish whistles, flutes, bodhran, and mountain dulcimer. na Skylark‘s “Old Ceol” recording was named one of the best new recordings by the Celtic Connections radio show.
WOODSONGS KID: 14 year old banjo picker from Tellico Plains, TN, Landon Hawkins

VICTOR FURTADO is a super clawhammer banjo player. He’s won many grand prizes including Clifftop Banjo Contest, the Galax Old Time Fiddlers Convention, and the FreshGrass competition. At 19, he received the Steve Martin Banjo Prize, becoming the youngest musician to do so. Starting out as a WoodSongs Kid when he was 11, he’s now got three albums out including his most recent, DELLORTO ISLAND.

KRISTINA R. GADDY is an author (he recent book is about the history of the Banjo) and banjo player who plays fiddle and banjo with her partner, banjo-maker Pete Ross, and weaves on a eight-harness floor loom in her spare time. She’s also on the planning committee of The Banjo Gathering and loves nerding out about banjos.

AIDAN MUSE is 10 years old from Wisconsin.  He began playing banjo at 8 years old.  He earned 1st (2021) and 2nd (2022) place titles at the East Troy Bluegrass Festival Banjo Competition, and was recently awarded a blue ribbon and Kenosha County Fair Merit Award for Musical performance in 2022.

THE KODY NORRIS SHOW is one the finest and most entertaining bands in the world of bluegrass just won the SPBGMA ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR as well as the INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR awards. The band has crafted a  performance style that harkens back to Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, the Stanley Brothers, and the Grand Ole Opry … with a bit of Vaudeville thrown in. Always clad in colorful, tailored suits, hats and ornate boots, the band earns its moniker as a “show.” Top notch picking is center stage, but humor and flash are part of the package.
WONKY TONK is Kentucky’s musical version of hard cider folksinger with a dash of Loretta Lynn, John Prine, Lucinda Williams and Guy Clark. Wonky Tonk was born Jasmine Poole in Cincinnati, but grew up in Northern Kentucky. The story behind her stage name is long and complicated but involves a high school project, a late-night hang-out with friends at Waffle House, and, ultimately, the acquisition of a banjo. Find out the rest of that story on the WoodSongs broadcast.

WoodSongs Kid: Alex Davis is a 10 year old banjo picker from Manchester, TN.

BRIT TAYLOR is a singer-songwriter based in Nashville, TN. Brit just released her sophomore album, KENTUCKY BLUE, which was produced by Sturgill Simpson and engineered by David Ferguson. KENTUCKY BLUE is a musical celebration of her healing and rebirth with influences drawn from the sounds of Eastern Kentucky. She’s a storyteller in song form.
IAN FLANIGAN is a rural troubadour and has toured his whiskey-soaked voice and evocative lyrics across America. His style is reminiscent of Joe Cocker and Chris Stapleton. Among his successes, Flanigan was a celebrated finalist on NBC’s The Voice and has toured with Trace Adkins and Chris Janson and comes to WoodSongs with tunes from his new album

PARKER COLLINS is a 14 year old multi-instrumentalist from TN who works as an entertainer at Dollywood!

TOM WOPAT was so much more than the famous actor in DUKES OF HAZZARD, he is also a world class musician and songwriter. One of the most recognizable faces on television, actor-singer continues to enjoy a major career on stage, screen and in the recording studio.

BILLY DEAN & PAUL OVERSTREET are two of the most respected and successful artists in country music. Billy Dean has hits like “Billy the Kid” and “Somewhere In My Broken Heart.” Paul co-wrote “A Long Line of Love“, “Love Can Build a Bridge” for The Judds, “Forever and Ever, Amen” for Randy Travis and so many other huge songs. 

REESE CARROLL is an 11 year old banjo picker from Nicholasville KY.

JASON CARTER is undeniably one of the best, most talented and gifted fiddle players in bluegrass. His worldwide reputation is anchored as a band member for the DEL McCOURY BAND and with the TRAVELIN’ McCOURYS. He is a three-time Grammy winner and five-time IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year. Join us as Jason introduces his first solo album in 25 years on WoodSongs.

ROB ICKES & TREY HENSLEY have been stunning the roots music and bluegrass world the past few years with fireball musicianship and stunning talent. Rob is a 15-time IBMA Dobro Player of the Year, Trey is a master guitarist who has been turning heads since his Grand Ole Opry debut at the age of 11, when Marty Stuart invited him to perform and Earl Scruggs. 

IAN LANE is a 16 year old fiddler from Vero Beach, FL.

TOWN MOUNTAIN is the popular North Carolina band of alt-country rebellion and honky-tonk attitude pushed through the hardscrabble Southern Appalachian lens. Formed 15 years ago by Robert Greer and Jesse Langlais on a ridge high about Asheville’s skyline, their latest release LINES IN THE LEVEE presents a renewed sense of self for the band’s sound.

THE LOCAL HONEYS have been part of the Kentucky music scene for almost a decade now. Duo Linda Jean Stokley and Montana Hobbs speak through their music the struggle and complexity of contemporary Appalachian life. Their newest self-titled album has rollicking banjo meets overdriven guitar hooks, and blue collar rural grit met with lush melodies and nimble harmonies.

SALLY HICKS is a 16 year old musician from Tellico Plains, TN where she is also a member of their SongFarmers chapter.