The Working Songwriter

Our guest this week is Erin McAnally, the daughter of legendary songwriter and guitarist Mac McAnally. Born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and raised in Nashville, Erin grew up surrounded by the music business. Over the years, she has worked in A&R, music publishing, and film and television scoring. 

Alongside her husband and frequent collaborator Mick Utley, she co-wrote songs with Jimmy Buffett, including “Audience of One” and “Nobody Works on Friday,” both of which appeared on Buffett's final album, Equal Strain on All Parts, released posthumously in 2023. She is also a founding member of Floating Collective, a musical project with Utley and Brendan Mayer, all three of whom are children of members of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band. The group released its debut album in 2024. 

Today, Erin serves as Executive Director of Songwriters of North America, advocating for the rights of working songwriters. Her work has taken her to SXSW, Americanafest, and Folk Alliance.

I got a chance to catch up with Erin McAnally to hear about her musical journey so far.

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This episode originally aired on April 1, 2022.

The creative force behind Against Me!, describes founding the band, working with producer Butch Vig, and navigating the waters of the major label system in the late 2000s.

Recorded live at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Joe Pug interviews beloved songwriter John Moreland. TWS Forum is an annual event that the podcast hosts in June. Listeners take in concerts by the headlining artists and then attend workshops from them during the day. This was the 2nd annual event. The headliners and dates for next year's Forum will be announced this month.

The iconic singer songwriter reflects on her last few decades at the vanguard of American folk music.

This episode was originally aired on June 3rd, 2022.

Our guest this week is one of Louisville, Kentucky’s favorite sons. Jim James is a native Kentuckian who rose to prominence as the vocalist and creative force behind the celebrated rock group My Morning Jacket.

“The Jacket,” as they are affectionately called by their fans, released their debut album The Tennessee Fire in 1999 and took the country by storm with their legendary live show. Since then they’ve released a slew of critically acclaimed albums, including 2008's Evil Urges and 2011's Circuital, which both charted in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200.

The group has recorded for Capitol, RCA, ATO, and V2, and toured with Bob Dylan, Wilco, Guided by Voices, and the Foo Fighters. In addition, the hard-charging band has appeared at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Coachella, Newport Folk Festival, New Orleans Jazz Fest, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Glastonbury, the Bridge School Benefit, and pretty much any festival of note. They’ve also been frequent guests on late night TV including Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night With Conan O'Brien, and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

In more recent years, Jim has been part of the group Monsters of Folk, along with M. Ward, Conor Oberst, and Mike Mogis, and he’s also released a string of solo albums including this year’s title, Wowed Out.

Pitchfork has called the Jacket’s sound “huge, ghostly, terrifying rock ‘n’ roll.” The Guardian has dubbed the band’s output as “seven albums of resplendent melodies.” And NPR has said that his music has “the sound of a lost soul in search of something bigger than himself.”

I got a chance to catch up with Jim a few weeks ago to hear about his musical journey so far.

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This legendary folk songwriter stops by the show to discuss her techniques for sculpting melody, structuring the bridge of a song, and navigating the ever-shifting sands of the music business.

This episode was originally aired on August 20th, 2021.

Our guest this week is one of the godfathers of modern roots and Americana music. Originally from Toledo, Ohio, Gary Louris moved to Minneapolis as a young man in the 1970s and immersed himself in a Twin Cities music scene that punched way above its weight culturally. His group, The Jayhawks, would release a string of critically acclaimed and nationally beloved albums.

One of Louris’s main gifts is his ability to contribute to the music of a wide array of artists, including Counting Crows, John Hiatt, Lucinda Williams, Roger McGuinn, The Wallflowers, The Black Crowes, Nickel Creek and a host of others. As a member of the Jayhawks he’s appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night With Conan O'Brien. He’s recorded for what sounds like an anthology of record labels: Twin/Tone, American Recordings, Rykodisc, Lost Highway, Thirty Tigers, Rounder, Sony and New West Records. Over the years he’s appeared at Farm Aid, Stagecoach, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky festival.

AllMusic calls him “one of the premiere songwriters of his generation.” The Bluegrass Situation, our host network, has written about him as a “musical Swiss Army knife.” Pitchfork has written that he and Mark Olson, his musical partner in the Jayhawks, “sang like they were born joined at the throat.”

It’s an immense honor to have Gary on the show. I got a chance to catch up with him a few weeks ago to hear about his musical journey so far.

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This episode originally aired on April 15th, 2022

This songwriter has spent the last few decades building a devoted following with Hot Water Music and also with his own solo project. He discusses getting his start in the 1990s Florida Hardcore scene, getting his legendary Revival Tour off the ground, and some of his creative practices.

Our guest this week is one of Chicago’s favorite sons. Eric D. Johnson is the songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist behind Fruit Bats, which started in the late 1990s as a four-track recording project before growing into a full touring band. Over the years, Johnson has been a member of The Shins and played with Califone and Vetiver. Besides Fruit Bats, Johnson is also one-third of Bonny Light Horseman alongside Anaïs Mitchell and Josh Kaufman.

Fruit Bats have toured with acts including Modest Mouse, The Shins, Iron & Wine, My Morning Jacket, Son Volt, Ray LaMontagne and Guster. Bonny Light Horseman’s debut album earned two Grammy nominations in 2020 for Best Folk Album and Best American Roots Performance ("Deep in Love"). NPR described Fruit Bats as “sweetly flavored folk-pop.” Pitchfork wrote that Johnson has “got a good ear for a classic melody.” And Relix called him “a veteran of the contemporary folk-rock world” with an “instantly recognizable voice.”

I got a chance to catch up with Eric about his journey since our last talk!

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This episode was originally aired on April 8th, 2022.

Fresh on the heels of his latest album hitting #1 on the UK Charts, this journeyman songwriter and performer stops by the show to discuss his beginnings in Hardcore music, many years of touring, and writing methods.