Leading up to Father’s Day, we have memories of dear old Dad shared by award-winning bluegrass musician Gena Britt as well as singer-songwriter Maia Sharp. Mike Thomas adds a spiritual approach to his song about being a father to a kid having a rough patch. Meanwhile, Kyle Morgan and Tamar Korn cover a Gillian Welch favorite, and Special Consensus, Alison Brown, and Robbie Fulks put their own spin on a country classic, “King of the Road.” Snap to it because you gotta hear this!
Gena Britt, “He Likes to Fish”
Artist: Gena Britt
Hometown: Star, North Carolina
Song: “He Likes to Fish”
Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “I lost my dad back in 2009 and my most cherished and vivid memories are of going fishing with him. I had this idea for a song and told my friend Katelyn Ingardia about it. It resonated with her too, and she agreed to co-write it with me. She met me in Nashville one weekend when I was doing an all-star show at the Station Inn. We sat down to write this song and it just started flowing out of us. We wrote it in just a little over an hour or so. There are so many poignant moments in this song, beginning with the opening line talking about dad’s Bronco…My dad actually had an old Bronco that we would take to the coast and fish on the surf. A childhood memory like that is unforgettable. When we finished writing it, Katelyn and I looked at each other and tears were streaming down both our faces. It was in that moment that I knew I had to record this song.
“I miss my dad. He was my best friend and we could talk about anything. I hope this tune will reach out and tug on some heartstrings like it did mine. Once we started recording it, it became even more special. Hearing something like this being brought to life in the studio by some of my favorite people was so heartwarming. Alan Bartram, Jason Carter, John Meador and Johnathan Dillon knew this song meant a lot to me and they helped me arrange it. It turned out beautifully, and I’m grateful to them all for taking such a heartfelt approach. The addition of Tony Creasman on drums and Jeff Partin’s incredible dobro work was icing on the cake. I love it when songs come from such an authentic place and tell a story, and I believe this one does just that. Oh, and I hope you like to fish.” – Gena Britt
Track Credits:
Gena Britt – Lead vocal
John Meador – Acoustic guitar, harmony vocal
Alan Bartram – Upright bass, harmony vocal
Jason Carter – Fiddle
Jonathan Dillon – Mandolin
Jeff Partin – Dobro
Tony Creasman – Drums
Maia Sharp, “Tomboy”
Artist: Maia Sharp
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Tomboy”
Album: Tomboy
Release Date: September 12, 2025
Label: Crooked Crown Music
In Their Words: I’ve always been a tomboy. Dad says when I was two years old I hit him square in the forehead with a handful of spaghetti from my highchair across the table. He adds, ‘You already had a good arm.’ It came in handy when I played in a local boys’ baseball league for years until music (and girls’ softball) started calling. Athletic, makeup adverse, not afraid to get dirty, seeing boys (then) and men (now) as peers: that’s what the word tomboy means to me. I feel lucky to be those things today but when I was a kid trying to figure out where I fit in, it was an unstable combination of awkwardness and fearlessness. I didn’t want to be a boy. I just liked the clothes that happened to be in their section of the store, the sports they got to play at school and the haircuts designated as theirs. I may or may not have brought a picture of Shaun Cassidy into Supercuts when I was six and said, ‘Like this, please.’
“These memories became a song when a writing day conversation with co-writer and friend Emily Kopp turned into a competition of who looked more like a boy when we were kids. We exchanged photos, a lot of laughter and a celebration of our younger, athletic, singular little selves. It felt good to be proud of something that, at the time, from the inside looking out, I wasn’t ready to be proud of sometimes. But from the vantage point of the grown-up tomboy, I can see now how strong and ruthlessly authentic it was.” — Maia Sharp
Track Credits:
Witten by Maia Sharp & Emily Kopp
Eric Darken – Percussion
Teddie Collinz – Beatbox
Will Honaker – Bass
Maia Sharp – Guitars, keyboards, synths, BG vocals & additional percussion
Mike Thomas, “A Different Story”
Artist: Mike Thomas
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee (originally from Knoxville, Tennessee)
Song: “A Different Story”
Label: Diamond Hill Music
In Their Words: “It was an early Saturday morning in the summer of 2024. I hadn’t slept well the night before. One of our kids was going through a rough patch, and my wife and I were trying our best to help her get through it all. I headed out to the patio with my morning coffee to read a little scripture, and I started thinking about how God’s grace and mercy have shown up in my own life at exactly the right moments. I had this overwhelming feeling come over me that the same grace and mercy would show up for my child. I picked up a guitar, and ‘A Different Story’ came rather quickly. While I often weave spirituality into my songs, this one is different than anything I have released in the past. It’s a gospel-infused celebration of grace, redemption, and perseverance.” — Mike Thomas
Track Credits:
Written by Mike Thomas
Mike Thomas – Acoustic & electric guitar, vocal
Joanna Cotten – Vocal
Tres Sasser – Bass
Sten Nisswandt – Drums
Michael Webb – piano & organ
Produced by Tres Sasser
Engineered & Mixed by Joe Costa
Mastered by Pete Lyman
Recorded at Tresland Studios – Franklin, Tennessee
Kyle Morgan & Tamar Korn, “Everything Is Free”
Artists: Kyle Morgan & Tamar Korn Featuring Wyndham Baird
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Song: “Everything is Free” (written by Gillian Welch)
Album: Darkening Green
Release Date: August 15, 2025
Label: Jalopy Records
In Their Words: “Sifting through songs one day with our friend and cohort Wyndham Baird, he went into playing the emblematic Gillian Welch tune. As we found harmonies above Wyndham’s beautiful baritone, it was so satisfying that we begged him to record it with us. ‘Everything is Free’ is the working musician’s anthem, a digital-age dirge acknowledging, lamenting, and perhaps transcending the modern entanglement of music-making & monetization, creative expression & intellectual exploitation. As musicians and songwriters, movers & makers of sound & story, we live the conundrum & partake in the work of dealing spiritual currency within a materialist economy. Our sovereignty seems to lay in valuing & ‘listen[ing] to the words in [our] heads,’ regardless who’s paying… attention.” — Kyle Morgan & Tamar Korn
Track Credits:
Kyle Morgan – Guitar, harmony vocals
Tamar Korn – Tenor guitar, vocals (lead chorus)
Wyndham Baird – Mandolin, lead vocals on verses
Jared Engel – Upright bass
Special Consensus, “King of the Road” (Feat. Robbie Fulks)
Artist: Special Consensus
Hometown: Chicago
Song: “King of the Road” (Feat. Robbie Fulks)
Album: Been All Around This World
Release Date: June 20, 2025
Label: Compass Records
In Their Words: “This year is Special Consensus’ 50th anniversary. To celebrate, we invited six of our past lead singers to join us on a new album project. We came up with a list of songs with each of them in mind: some covers, a few new songs and a couple fan favorites from older records. Once we were together in the studio, we worked out each song around the coffee table with Alison [Brown, our producer], scratching out an arrangement on the spot before heading into the tracking room. As soon as we put on the headphones and got behind the mics, we felt a wonderful sense of joy to be making Special C music again together.
“In the middle of the two-week stretch of sessions while Robbie Fulks was in town, Alison spontaneously came up with the idea to try a version of ‘King of the Road.’ She thought it would be a perfect fit for Robbie to sing and, of course, he already knew it. Just a few minutes later, he was in the tracking room singing the song with Dan Eubanks playing the perfect bass lines – it was magical. We all jumped back in front of the mics and tracked the song: Greg Blake on harmony vocals, Ashby Frank on guitar, Brian McCarty and me copping the piano riffs on mandolin and banjo and all of us on the all-important finger snaps. I hope the thrill we felt making this music together comes through to the listener on this unplanned addition to the album!” – Greg Cahill, Special Consensus
Track Credits:
Special Consensus featuring Robbie Fulks. Music produced by Alison Brown
Photo Credit: Mike Carter (Gena Britt); Emma-Lee Photography (Maia Sharp)
