Singer/songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter spends some time in the studio digging into her latest album, Sometimes Just the Sky.
Singer/songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter spends some time in the studio digging into her latest album, Sometimes Just the Sky.
Dobro master Jerry Douglas stops by the studio to talk about his various projects, including his band’s latest release, What If.
Two years ago, Lydia and Laura Rogers, the Alabama siblings who harmonize together so enchantingly as The Secret Sisters, looked like they had it all figured out. They’d built a sterling reputation with critics and a strong fan base. T-Bone Burnett was their record producer and they were in demand. But behind the scenes, the artists were suffering, at times despondent and afraid all they’d built and all they wanted to do was being torn away from them. They’d been cast adrift by their label. Faced with insurmountable legal bills, they took the extreme step of declaring personal bankruptcy. But they kept that a secret, if you will, from their fans.
But it got better. They leaned on family, faith and an ace in the hole, the friendship and mentorship of folk star Brandi Carlile. They called on their fans for what would be a make-or-break crowd-funding campaign. And they came out with a triumph, an album far more mature, revelatory and contemporary than anything they’d made before. It was the Grammy nominated You Don’t Own Me Anymore. Lydia and Laura spoke with The String before a show at the City Winery in Nashville.
Singer/songwriter Valerie June brings her musical magic to the studio and talks about her most recent album, The Order of Time.
With the aggressive acoustic bass, second-line intricate drumming and soaring brotherly harmony, the Wood Brothers have become a mainstay of roots and Americana music. What began well over a decade ago as a casual and personal initiative to spend more time together as brothers took on a life of its own and has grown steadily from listening rooms to a recent debut at the Ryman Auditorium.
It was an experiment with potent inputs. Oliver had spent years on the blues circuit, first with band leader Tinsley Ellis and then as an architect of the horn and percussion heavy band King Johnson. Chris became one of the most famous and acclaimed bass players in the world with the remarkable progressive jazz trio Medeski, Martin and Wood. Drummer Jano Rix came aboard full time about five years ago. The Wood Brothers are aptly named – sturdy, fine grained, organic and deeply rooted. Oliver and Chris join Craig for a conversation about their history and the new album One Drop of Truth.
The acoustic trio of Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O’Donovan – collectively known as I’m With Her – stops by to get into their latest album, See You Around.
David Ball is one of our best traditional country singers, a regular on the Grand Ole Opry and that rare classic indie who had big radio hits in two different decades. But before he twanged us up with Thinkin’ Problem, in his well-spent youth, he was bass player and singer in Uncle Walt’s Band, one of the most exceptional and under-appreciated ensembles in roots music history. The acoustic trio was made up of Champ Hood on fiddle and Walter Hyatt on guitar. All three contributed to the complex sound and stellar songwriting, but it was Walter Hyatt’s peculiar energy and intellect that stamped the group with his name and personality. Uncle Walt’s Band’s biggest fans were some of the biggest names in their base in Austin TX, including Lyle Lovett and Marcia Ball. They were truly something, but eventually they went their separate ways. Walter Hyatt died in a plane crash in 1996. Hood died of cancer in 2001. Here, Ball talks about the band and the new Anthology of its best work out now on Omnivore Recordings.
Husband-wife duo BĂ©la Fleck & Abigail Washburn bring all the banjo we can handle to the studio in support of their latest album, Echo in the Valley.
Lillie Mae has lived a classic Nashville journey. She came of age on Lower Broadway, playing six nights a week with her family band as a teenager. She and her siblings were mentored and produced by the great Cowboy Jack Clement. Her band was signed to and dropped from a major country label. Then she became a side musician for Jack White and eventually, he asked her to join the roster of Third Man Records, where she made the acclaimed debut album Forever And Then Some. The 26 year old is already exceptionally experienced and in every respect on her way. Plus the roots and jazz vision of guitarist Julian Lage.
