It’s hard to ascribe a single title to Steve Martin. Throughout his nearly 50-year career in entertainment, Martin has been a stand-up comedian, leading man, art collector, TV star, bestselling author, and writer of a Tony-nominated Broadway musical. And then, of course, there’s his love affair with the banjo. Since childhood, Martin has been deeply connected to the instrument, and over the years he’s performed with everyone from Earl Scruggs to the Steep Canyon Rangers to Kermit the Frog.
Adding to that multi-hyphenate lineup, Martin has now released a new audio-only autobiography detailing his lengthy career with friend and co-author Adam Gopnik (longtime contributor to the New Yorker). So Many Steves: Afternoons With Steve Martin, New Yorker contains a year’s worth of conversations between Martin and Gopnik and was published in May of this year by Pushkin, a podcast and audio production company.
In ten chapters, the two men dive into a wide set of life experiences with the kind of vulnerability and humor reserved for old friends, with chapters ranging from Martin’s teenage years working in Merlin’s Magic Shop at Disneyland to selling out arenas on his stand-up tours. But perhaps most exciting to bluegrass fans will, of course, be the chapter in which Martin details playing “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” In the early 2000s, Scruggs himself asked Martin to perform on a 75th anniversary album. When Martin showed up at the studio of his idol, however, he was at a loss. “It was so fast,” Martin proclaims, “I couldn’t believe it.” Practicing for the record kickstarted the second chapter of his musical life, at a time when he’d almost completely walked away from the instrument.
As a special exclusive, BGS readers can stream the an audio excerpt from So Many Steves (below) for a limited time. The full audiobook is available to download via Pushkin or stream on Audible, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Discover more here.
Lonnie Lee Hood and Amy Reitnouer Jacobs contributed to this writing.
Artist:Rebecca Porter Hometown: Harrisonburg, Virginia Latest Release: “Happy Go Lucky” Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): Becca
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
RP: One of my most favorite memories from being on stage is a recent one – singing on stage with The Steel Wheels at Red Wing Roots Music Festival. This was my first year performing at the festival. A couple weeks prior to its tenth year celebration, The Steel Wheels’ fiddle player reached out and invited me to join them as part of a folk choir for their song “Till No One Is Free.” After a couple run-throughs with the band and The Honey Dewdrops backstage, it seemed The Steel Wheels’ set flew by and before I knew it, I walked out on stage with them. I faced the largest crowd I’d ever performed for, shoulder to shoulder with the founders of the festival. So many smiles and festival goers welcomed us all into their hearts with open arms as they sang along with our makeshift folk choir. While the air was filled with countless voices, a calm silence of comfort fell over my heart.
What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?
Visual arts impact my music by allowing me to observe and participate in the artist’s work, their vision, their experience. I may not be directly involved in the work’s creation, but the role of observing and appreciating a work, determining if and how it informs my thoughts, feelings, beliefs. All of those things are very similar to how I write, create and listen to music. A couple of my favorite artists include Cai Guo-Qiang, a Chinese artist who works in gunpowder drawings and explosives. The mere ability to utilize materials, typically connected to death and destruction, and repurpose them into visual wonders for peace, understanding and justice is beautiful. Kara Walker, an American contemporary who works in multiple mediums, creates mind-bending silhouettes that question and investigate race, gender, sexuality, and violence.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
I was known to dance on the family room coffee table to Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart” a time or two, but the very first time I knew I wanted to be a musician was when I was four years old. I was watching an episode of Sally Jessy Raphael and a young girl sang “I Will Always Love You.” I still remember crying as I watched her sing and feeling a connection, a sort of sense of belonging.
If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?
Craft honest stories through lyrics, music and voice that foster and create connections. Utilize the power of song to build and inhabit spaces where individuals are safe to process, celebrate or escape themselves and the world around them. As with “Happy Go Lucky,” I want people to know it is okay, many times quite necessary, to feel the feels – do the shitty work for yourself – in order to move on and be at peace or replenish your happy-go-lucky when it starts to run out.
What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?
If music is what you want, take it. Seize the moment, keep strumming. Go wherever your songs take you and then some.
The headline for Los Angeles-based Raye Zaragoza’s new album Hold That Spirit is that after she broke off her engagement, she used her wedding budget to fund the recording. She wrote the songs the year she turned 30 while she was thinking of the expectations placed on women in society to have everything together at a certain age: marriage, kids, career, etc. She’s decided to let those expectations go and live in the joy that life offers, and explores her newfound freedom and indigenous identity in these new songs. She’s moving forward as a role model in Los Angeles’ indigenous community, which she has been a part of since she was 14 years old.
We go through the album track by track covering topics of social justice, eating disorders and perfectionism. She worked exclusively with female collaborators on Hold That Spirit, which allowed Raye a vulnerability in her writing sessions and studio time that she had yet to experience. She found co-writing with other women an easy space to feel emotionally safe. Working with like-minded feminists and activists fueled this album, which has allowed Raye to begin to break through those unfair expectations society places on women. In our conversation, Raye is thoughtful and serious, yet fun and playful even with such heavy topics addressed. Thank you, Raye!
Artist:Birds of Play Hometown: Telluride, Colorado Song: “Breathe” Album:Birdsongs of the American West Release Date: August 25, 2023
In Their Words: “‘Breathe’ was written as a response to witnessing my wife navigate a somewhat tumultuous time, rife with hard questions about meaning and purpose and her place in life. I was also wrestling with some of the same sentiments at the time and wrote this song as a friendly reminder to us both of the impermanence of all of our states and experiences and how much agency we have to reground with a simple breath. We worked this song up specifically for this album as it was one of the only songs in this group that we hadn’t played before recording Birdsongs of the American West. We’ve only started to play this live during our most recent tour around the PNW and it’s been really moving to see how deeply it’s resonating with our audiences.” – Alex Paul
On August 11 and 12 Queerfest returns to Nashville, Tennessee, after its first in-person event in 2022 was named Nashville Scene’s Best New Music Festival. The multi-venue festival and celebration of queer folk, roots music, and indie will take place at three popular Nashville music venues – the 5 Spot, Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge, and the Basement East – and will feature over eight hours of programming from LGBTQ+ identified musicians from across the genre landscape. (Full lineup and schedule below, tickets available here.)
In anticipation of this year’s event, we spoke to festival founder, community builder, singer-songwriter, and BGS contributor Sara Gougeon, founder and director of Pineworks Creative, about Queerfest, its growth, and why queer-centered communities are so vital, not just in Music City but in the music industry in general.
Congratulations on your second in-person Queerfest and your third ever! What are you looking forward to during this year’s festival?
SG: I’m so stoked about the lineup and the community. There are SO many phenomenal LGBTQ+ artists on this year’s lineup. And I’m so excited to bring the community together again in a way that supports queer music, artists, and organizations. I’m really looking forward to soaking up that energy.
Are there particular artists on the lineup you’re excited to have this year? Who are some of the artists and bands you think the QF audience will be most excited to discover?
I’m honestly excited for the lineup as a whole. As a songwriter and musician myself, I’m very particular about the artists and bands that I chose to book. If I had to choose one stand out band, it’d be The Collection. Their live show has this electric live energy and they also just seem so genuine. I’m stoked to be booking them. I love highlighting great music all around – regardless of how big the artist is. Sydnee Conley and Dani-Rae Clark are two up-and-coming artists who might not be as well known and their music blows me away. And Great Aunt who is coming all the way from Australia!
Liv Greene (center) performs with Jobi Riccio (right) and Christine Wilhoyte (left) at Queerfest 2022
How would you describe the growing and blossoming queer music scene in Nashville, and more broadly, in the music industry as a whole?
What an interesting question. There’s been so much growth and acceptance within the industry. I’m always blown away by how many phenomenal queer artists there are in Nashville. The industry as a whole is definitely seeing more artists come out.
It’s actually incredible to talk to artists who are a few generations older about that growth. I’ve heard stories from artists who were kicked off their label after coming out. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of history of that sort. But it’s been so incredible to build spaces, highlight queer music, and watch the industry become more inclusive in many ways.
Why do you think it’s so important to create and hold spaces like Queerfest for LGBTQ+ musicians, artists, and fans?
I decided to start Queerfest because of a personal need. I couldn’t find community spaces. And I was surprised that there weren’t places highlighting queer artists. And yet I noticed that there are SO MANY phenomenal queer artists, and so many queer people in general looking for inclusive spaces.
Queerfest and BGS have partnered on a column, Out Now, which was also created to hold space for LGBTQ+ folks in music. Who is on your wishlist to interview for Out Now? Is there anyone you dream of booking on a future Queerfest?
Oooh! I am so excited that we started Out Now! I’d love to interview Katie Pruitt and Joy Oladokun. Oh, and she’s definitely more in the popular music genre, but it’d be amazing to feature Fletcher one day.
And there are so many other artists: Becca Mancari, Jaime Wyatt, Shelly Fairchild, Palmyra, Aaron Lee Tasjan, SistaStrings, Leith Ross, Corook, Shelly Fairchild, Olive Klug.
And these artists who played the 2021 virtual festival: Mary Gauthier, Jaime Harris, The Accidentals, Izzy Heltai.
I’d love to have all of these acts both in-person and on Out Now!
Carmen Dianne (right) performs with band at Queerfest 2022
Do you have any advice for queer folks out there trying to find community and belonging in Nashville and in music?
Come to Queerfest!! But also, there are a lot of pockets of queer community/events/organizations popping up. Check out Outdoorsy Queers – I founded this community group with friends. We host hikes, climbs, park days, roller skating hangs, and more!
Other ways to connect with queer community in Nashville:
Artist:Rachel Gore Hometown: Wilmington, North Carolina Song: “Good Death” Album:Forgotten Woman of Folk Release Date: August 11, 2023 (single); October 6, 2023 (EP)
In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Good Death’ in the midst of dealing with a lot of anxiety – specifically surrounding death. I feel like it’s a topic that’s not normally discussed openly, so I wanted to write a song that took that fear and made it into something really beautiful. I recorded the song with Americana artist and producer Sarah Peacock, who transformed it into something beyond what I could have ever imagined.
“Much of ‘Good Death’ and the upcoming EP surrounds spirituality and Southern upbringing, so I knew for the video that I wanted to find some really beautiful old churches in the country. I brought this idea to the director, Corbin Eaton, who just blew it out of the water. We spent a day roaming around rural Tennessee finding the most incredible historical chapels, and we even got invited to record inside the last one we were filming. I’m so thrilled to share this song with the world, and I hope there are people who feel like ‘Good Death’ is exactly what they’ve needed to hear.” – Rachel Gore
Artist:Kim Moberg Hometown: Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the traditional territory of the Indigenous Nauset and Wampanoag Nations Song: “The Eighth Fire – Wings of the Winds” Album:The Seven Fires Prophecy Release Date: August 11, 2023
In Their Words: “The Seven Fires Prophecy teaches us that the Native Elders go to sleep because the people turn their backs on their ancient wisdom and teachings. It also tells us that if we learn to live with one another and our environment in peace and respect, the Seventh Fire will light the Eighth Fire which is the fire of brother and sisterhood.
“It is my never-ending hope that, with a lot of work, we can and will accomplish this.
“I wrote ‘The Eighth Prophecy – Wings of the Winds’ as my vision of hope after hearing a comment by National Indigenous Archbishop Mark McDonald who said, ‘When it is time for Indigenous People to return to the land, it will be the artists who will call them back.’ I believe the time has come for artists — songwriters, musicians, painters, dancers — to awaken the Elders by being open, listening, understanding, and learning from their wisdom and sharing what we learn through our art.
“The song title honors all directions of the winds – north, south, east, west, up and down – winds that carry the ancient wisdom of the Elders to us. That wisdom tells us that we already hold the power to rise up and take action for peaceful and positive change. All we have to do is listen.” – Kim Moberg
Artist:Julian Talamantez Brolaski Hometown: Goleta, California Latest Album:It’s Okay Honey Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): Julian & the Knockouts
Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?
JTB: Probably the poet William Shakespeare. I know that sounds cliché to say. I love the way he combines words which have their roots in Old English with words of Romance origin, like his line: “The multitudinous seas incarnadine / making the green one red.” He drank deep from the fount of English, and I’m grateful for what he gave us — language that sings.
What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?
Poetry, in both its written and oral forms. I think of folk music as a kind of oral poetry. And I love to see the trajectories of the way songs are passed down, change, and mutate, like a game of Telephone. The song “In the Pines,” for instance, or “Wildwood Flower.” There are so many versions of those songs, and stories around them, wayward histories, misheard and remade lines. I like to think of my songs as operating in that tradition, rhyming and stealing, dressing up old songs in new clothes. My song “Goodbye Brother,” for example, is a rewriting of the Carter Family song “Lula Walls.” And “Covid-19 Blues” is basically a ripoff of “Long Gone Lonesome Blues” by Hank Williams.
What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?
I do these vocal warmups before I sing that a teacher in Philadelphia taught me. They’re very annoying sounding, like a bratty baby crying, and then like a whining witch, and so I get kind of self-conscious doing them, but it really makes a difference. I meditate and try to get myself into a calm place, and focus on my intention to really be there with the songs, to sing them with my heart, and to give my all for the audience.
What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?
My grandmother Inés told me whenever you are speaking or singing, always do it from your heart. Over the years, I came to understand that that is not a metaphor, that the feeling is actually quite literal, and bodily. So I try to feel that heartspace physically, and to remember to direct my songs from there. I think that’s a good piece of advice for life, too.
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?
I live near the ocean in Goleta, California, near Santa Barbara. I love to sit and feel my toes in the sand, walk along the cliffs, smell the enmineralated air. I go to the ocean whenever I feel upset, and it always helps me. Sometimes, I write poems down there, or I bring my guitar and sit on my tailgate and watch the water. It’s very meditative to be in the water, too, swimming or surfing, and it’s humbling and exhilarating to feel the ocean’s power. I always get ideas in the water — if someone could invent a wetsuit with a zipper pocket for a waterproof notebook, that would be amazing.
Artist:Tim Higgins Hometown: Greensboro, Alabama Song: “Second Chance” Album:Higher Ground Society Presents: Patchwork Symphony Label: Cartographer Records
In Their Words: “This song is about a young man who just keeps making wrong decisions – who feels invincible. And because of those decisions, he gets the book thrown at him. Growing up, I’ve known a few very sweet, and seemingly all around good guys, who just keep doing all the wrong things – like they have some devil controlling them. And when you get a reputation with the police in a small town, you’re marked. They’ll follow you around; and when you’re immature, you’re an easy target. The law loves to make an example out of kids like that – I don’t know if it’s to try to scare everyone else straight – or perhaps it’s just about exerting power.
“In the Deep South, where this song is set and where I live, private prisons and the lack of mental healthcare and other resources feed into a system that doesn’t allow for second chances; it’s a system that allows for things to go from bad to the worst case scenario in an instant. Anyway, this is a little story about one such lost boy, who ends up in jail for a very long time – with ‘No Regrets’ tattooed across his chest when certainly, with age, he is very full of regret. Recorded at Cartographer Records in Mobile, Alabama, as part of their OddCollege Music series, ‘Second Chance’ will be featured on Higher Ground Society’s Patchwork Symphony, a compilation showcasing Alabama artists, funded in part by the Alabama State Council on the Arts.” – Tim Higgins
Artist:Abby Posner Hometown: Los Angeles, California Song: “The Starting Line” Album:Second Chances Release Date: August 11, 2023 Label: Blackbird Record Label
In Their Words: “I have always been torn between being an artist and having a family, and a part of this song is about working through some of these complicated feelings. ‘The Starting Line’ is also about feeling like an outsider, and ‘falling behind’ — it is a journey toward cultivating a new relationship and new perspective with that part of myself.
“I really wanted to do a stripped-down, live version of this song, because I didn’t want it to be perfect or over produced. The rawness is an important part of the song’s overall message. I have spent a lot of time in Temescal Canyon meditating, hiking, and unplugging from the sometimes chaotic hustle and bustle of LA! This is a place that I have always been able to self-reflect and see things more clearly.
“I hope that other artists, queer people, and non-conforming/unconventional folks will be able to hear this song as an anthem for being able to let their freak flag fly, and be proud of marching to the beat of their own drum.” – Abby Posner
Photo Credit: Jeff Fasano
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