The String

Episode 183: He's the most gifted and innovative banjo player of all time and one of the architects of an American string band jazz tradition that's influenced generations of bluegrass musicians. And now after two decades of varied explorations in classical, world and fusion music, Bela Fleck has circled back to the music that captivated him as a teenager. My Bluegrass Heart is an epic 19-track double album featuring the finest acoustic pickers of our time and the completion of a trilogy of albums that began in 1987. Also in the hour, a report from the 20th anniversary Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion. 

Episode 182: To spotlight the 2021 AmericanaFest, returning after a year off, I reached out to two of the most interesting artists showcasing during the week. Sierra Ferrell is a rambling free spirit from West Virginia who found her way to Nashville and its new era honky tonk scene way off of Broadway. Rounder Records heard her arresting old-world voice and feel for songs and signed her to a deal, and her debut is remarkable. Live, she's a brilliantly energetic and unusual singer songwriter. From the other end of the country music spectrum comes newcomer Brittney Spencer, who deftly rides the line between the commercial mainstream and roots. From the Opry stage to the ACM Honors live broadcast, she's knocking Nashville out.

Episode 181: It’s a jangle pop special with two bands of brothers who are back on record after two-decade breaks. The Delevantes, Bob and Mike, are pioneers of Americana, chart toppers when the format was born thanks to their Everly Brothers harmony and country twang. Their enchanting new album will be called A Thousand Turns. Also in the hour, also with a brother named Mike, Raleigh, NC band The Connells on their work with REM producer Mitch Easter then and now. They take me back to turning 19 in Chapel Hill when my world was defined by southern college radio rock and roll. 

Episode 180: When Maggie Rose held her album release party in late August for her third album Have A Seat, she filled one of the city's largest music halls with wildly enthusiastic fans, testimony to her 13 years of work and resilience and acclaim. She's a bold and emotive singer who has forged a unique fusion of roots, soul and pop, and her recording sessions at FAME Studio in Muscle Shoals picked up just the right amount of vintage vibe. We get to know an artist who will surely be on ever bigger stages as the coming years unfold. Also, a legendary voice from country music, as I catch up with Opry star Connie Smith on the release of her new project, The Cry of the Heart. 

Episode 179: He goes by "Ferg" and he's one of the most interesting and influential creative forces in Nashville, whether you've heard of him or not. David Ferguson grew up in town, connected as a teenager with the great producer Cowboy Jack Clement and learned the mystic arts of recording and producing records. He engineered Johnny Cash's iconic comeback albums with Rick Rubin. He's worked the board or produced for John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Margo Price and recently become a creative partner at Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Records. Now he's made an album of his own, featuring easy country arrangements of classic and favorite songs. He's the most interesting man in Music City. 

Episode 178: East Nashville's J.P. Harris has been a train-hopper, a logger, a shepherd, a honky tonker and a historic home carpenter. Indeed he was getting up from this early morning interview to work on an old home. It's a mix that makes him the most interesting man in roots music. And now, he's turned his attention back to the music that first drew him into country, old-time fiddle and banjo ballads. His new album Don't You Marry No Railroad Man brings a fresh reading to some ancient songs and a vivid partnership with album producer and fiddler Chance McCoy. This was a remarkable conversation. 

Episode 177: This year marks the 30th anniversary of Jim Lauderdale's solo debut album Planet Of Love, but he was a veteran even then of the burgeoning alternative country music scenes in New York and Los Angeles. In his Nashville decades, he's been cherished as a leader and spokesperson for Americana music, a very successful hit songwriter, a collaborator with giants and an artist who just kicks out incredible album after album. In this laid back conversation, Jim talks about how his first album came to be, how he pursued a long-running writing relationship with the legendary Robert Hunter and his new album Hope.

Episode 176: Parker Millsap burst on to the folk and roots scene in 2014 out of Oklahoma with a voice beyond his years and a bold way with drawing characters from the American heartland. Raised in the Pentecostal church, he's a rare Americana singer comfortable with celebrating and critiquing the faith community that shaped his picture of humanity. On his newest Be Here Instead, Parker turns his lens more inward and in a season of socially conscious music, delivers a musically ambitious set of songs about more conventional terrain - life and love. Also, a visit with Leah Ross, director of the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, one of the major festivals taking place in crowded, historic return to live music in America this fall. 

Episode 175: Tim O'Brien is one of several roots music icons who've circled back for a second visit to The String in recent weeks, and that's a great thing. His band Hot Rize dominated bluegrass in the 1980s and since the 90s he's been a dynamo of songwriting, ensemble playing, recording and collaborating. The latest project He Walked On finds Tim reflecting on the accelerated, unnerving world unfolding out his window during the pandemic with his signature mix of old-time tradition and contemporary songwriter sensibility. Also, an introduction to Nashville bass player Geoff Saunders, an academy trained jazz artist and composer out with his debut as a band leader. 

Episode 174: Amythyst Kiah grew up in East TN and discovered traditional folk music at college there. Drawn to its heritage and its sound, she launched her career as a solo singer of original and traditional songs on guitar and banjo. Her low-timbred voice reminded me in her growth years of Odetta. Frustrated with her trajectory, she nearly quit but was revived by the support of folk star Rhiannon Giddens and included in the acclaimed project Our Native Daughters. Now, on her label debut Wary & Strange, Amythyst forges a personal sound that is earthy and epic at the same time. And through songs like "Black Myself," she's changed the conversation about African American voices in contemporary folk and country. Also, a visit with Jody White about his role in the posthumous album Smoke From The Chimney by his late father Tony Joe White.