The WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour Podcast

Filmed at the Lyric Theatre in Lexington, KY. 

Production date: 8/8/22   

Wyatt Ellis is a mandolin player from the Smokey Mountains who was mentored by our first WoodSongs Kid, Sierra Hull.  

Phoebe White is a 12-year-old yodeler from London, KY who is about to release a new album, UNXPECTED.  

Reagan and Amelia Brown are 11 and 14 from TN. Reagan mainly plays Mandolin while her sister Amelia shreds the Dobro.  

Reese Carroll is a local banjo player from Nicholasville KY. He's been playing banjo since he was 7!

Production Date: 08/01/2022 

Lyric Theatre in Lexington, KY  

RHONDA VINCENT and the RAGE awarded a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, IBMA Entertainer of the Year in 2001, IBMA Song of the Year in 2004 and an unprecedented seven consecutive IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards from 2000-2006

MEAN MARY James is an AMAZING banjo player … and she isn’t “mean,” she’s actually very nice. She was born into a family of six children in Geneva, AL. Her family moved near the Canadian border to hand build a log cabin. MEAN MARY tried her music in order to get her own horse, and started bringing in quite the crowd at age 14. She now produces music,  videos, and tours across the US and overseas. Her recent album is titled COLD.

ALLIE JEAN is a brilliant clawhammer banjo player from southern Indiana. A musician since she was 2 years old, a mom, a children’s author and more. While living in the Great Smoky Mountains, she learned old songs by working in different old time and bluegrass bands and performed from California to northern Michigan to Florida.

TORONZO CANNON burst onto the international stage as one the most electrifying bluesmen to emerge from Chicago in decades. His live performances unfailingly earn him heaps of critical praise and hordes of wildly enthusiastic fans. Cannon has played major cities all over the U.S., Canada, and Europe. He will be treating the WoodSongs audience with songs from his latest album, The Preacher, The Politician Or The Pimp.  

Ben Levin is only 22 years old and making his mark as a blues pianist, vocalist, and songwriter. Based out of Cincinnati, he's played 100 a year shows a year since the age of 15. His albums have been debuted on the top 10 blues albums on iTunes. His most recent album came out October 2021 and is titled 'Still Here'.   

Elle Townley is a country sweetheart from Texas. At only 13 years old, she's released her single 'One Too Many Heartbreaks'.

Live from the Lyric Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky. 

woodsongs.com 

Production Date: 06/27/2022 

Cajun music is rooted in the traditions of the French-speaking folks who were expelled from Nova Scotia by the British in 1755. They settled in southwest Louisiana alongside Native Americans, Spanish, Germans, and French Creoles of African descent. Out of this rich cultural gumbo, a distinctive Cajun music emerged.  

THE SAVOY FAMILY BAND seamlessly integrates a lesson in the history of this unique American art form, from front porch twin fiddles and French ballads to accordion-driven house party waltzes and two-steps.

 CEDRIC WATSON AND JOE HALL are a fiddle and accordion duo  

STEVE AND BURKE RILEY are a father and son duo who sing, play accordion, and guitar

DASHAWN HICKMAN is one of today’s foremost Sacred Steel players who channels the blues traditions of  the ’30’s on his debut album DRUMS, ROOTS, & STEEL. Hailing from North Carolina, his album was produced by guitar-phenom Charlie Hunter and released through Little Village Foundation, a non-profit cultural record label.  

ADAM WEINBERG is a singer and fingerstyle guitarist who is most notably known on the live music circuit as Matisyahu‘s five years of worldwide tours. Weinberg’s first lyrical record, LAUGH, CRY, GRIEF, HOPE run across the genres of Americana, Leo-Kottle-inspired instrumentals, reggae, and family music.  

WoodSongs Kid Brannock McCarton is a 16 year old banjo player from Kentucky.

MAMA SAID STRING BAND is a collection of songwriters, David O'Neal, Katie "Didit" Caudill, and Kaitlen Farmer who hail from Louisville, KY. Together, they bring a refreshing reinvention to sounds once forgotten. Drawing influences from Bluegrass, folk, and american while focusing on vocal harmonies and contemporary instrumentation to build an eclectic, eurythmic melody and a tactfully delivered message.  

ROB MCNURLIN is an Eastern Kentucky native who performs a variety of genres including folk, hillbilly-blues, and Gospel tunes. McNurlin has released six albums to this date and has performed with artists such as Marty Stuart, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and Hot Tuna. McNurlin has also played at the House of Blues and at the Ryman Auditorium. He has experience in the TV world with various songs being featured in two award winning documentaries. His latest album is "Tent of the Wicked". 

Reese Carroll is a 11 year old Banjo player from Nicholasville.

Live from the Lyric Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky. 

woodsongs.com 

Production Date: 06/06/2022  

HEIDI HOLTON reins from deep in Southern Appalachia which has allowed her to master the music of the deep south and make a name for herself in the international blues community. Heidi casts a spell on her audience with the sweet strings of her acoustic slide guitar. WHY MAMA CRIES, released in 2018, forged a friendship with producer Rory Block, which led to the production of her upcoming album BLACK STRAP MOLASSES.  

ABBIE GARDNER is a fiery dobro player with an infectious smile. Whether performing solo or with Americana harmony trio Red Molly, her acclaimed tales of love and loss, both gritty and sweet, are propelled by her impeccable lap style slide guitar playing. Solo performances feature the dobro as a solo instrument, bouncing between a solid rhythmic backbone and ripping lead lines, all in support of her voice and songs. Her latest recording DobroSinger comes out May 13, 2022.  

Amelia Brown is a 14 year old clogger, pianist, and dobro player from Springfield TN.

Live from the Lyric Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky. 

woodsongs.com 

Production Date: 05/23/22  

HUBBY JENKINS is a talented guitar, banjo, and bones, who loves to share his love and knowledge of old-time American music. He was an integral part of the Grammy award winning Carolina Chocolate Drops. and an active in touring and a recording member in the Rhiannon Giddens band. Since the he has pursued a solo career with performances around the world.     

THE DOWN HILL STRUGGLERS is an old time string band based out of Kentucky and New York. They have released albums on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and are featured on the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers film, “Inside Llewyn Davis” produced by T-Bone Burnett. The Down Hill Strugglers band formed while hanging out at the home of their mutual friend Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders, where they also met bandmate and mentor John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers.  

Opening song was sung by Phoebe White.  

WS Kid Lily Goebel is a 14 year old singer, guitarist, and pianist.

ANTHONY WILSON is a brilliant and literary songwriter from LA. His latest album, Plan of Parissolo  — his  13th in a career that began with his self-titled, Grammy-nominated debut can be interpreted as a book of individual short stories with detailed, very specific cinematic set pieces conceived as narratives, an intimate, fluid hybrid of jazz, folk and blues.  

BUFFALO WABS and the Price Hill Hustle are Cincinnati-based roots/folk & fun band. The Buffalo Wabs (as in ‘mobs’) an be best described as from the Mountains to Music Row, blues to traditional country, they combine parts of the American-born music to create an energetic experience every single night.  

THE BENNET HALL BAND is comprised of sisters Kat, Presley Rose, and Josie Hope who rein in Nashville, TN.