Southern Songs and Stories
Southern Songs and Stories is a documentary series about the music of the South and the artists who make it. We showcase their performances and discover the stories behind their songs with a look at their lives on stage, in the studio and at home as well as the family, friends, fans and music professionals around them.
- Update frequency
- every 14 days
- Average duration
- 32 minutes
- Episodes
- 105
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Not Jazz, nor Funk, nor Brass Band: Exploring the Living Edges of New Orleans Music With Andrew Duhon
Is there such a thing as coincidence? Recently I read an essay by Henrik Karllson, in his Substack page Escaping Flatland, titled “Almost Anything You Give Sustained Attention to Will Begin To Loop o…
Where Are We at With the Blues? Dirt and Funk at Albino Skunk With Eddie 9V
What do the following styles of music have in common: Ragtime, New Wave, Dubstep, and Doo-wop? This group may seem quite divergent, but they all share a common characteristic: they are mostly types o…
Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key: The Return of Alison Krauss & Union Station With Jerry Douglas
Jerry Douglas is never not entertaining. On stage, on record, or in conversation, Flux, as Bela Fleck famously dubbed him, is full of wit, joy and inventiveness. His talents have garnered him 16 Gram…
Wrango Bites, Ken Writes: Ken Pomeroy on Vulnerability, Faith, and Folk
What do Paul McCartney, up-and-coming singer songwriter Ken Pomeroy, and a guy I passed on the street tugging along a French bulldog have in common? They all support my theory that pets inevitably re…
The Muse Never Worries: Making It Mellow With Seth Walker
If you can make it as a professional musician in Austin, that is saying something. And if you can make it in Nashville, New Orleans, and also New York, that is saying something in all caps. Seth Walk…
Old but Not Dead: Sally Anne Morgan and the Living Tradition of Old Time Music
In this episode, we welcome WNCW intern Elena Dickson to the podcast. Elena is a student at the University of Michigan, and here, she takes a turn at the helm for our episode on western North Carolin…
Notes From Country, Cajun and Bluegrass’ Far Western Bureau With Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms
Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms make their home in the San Juan Islands, in Washington State, and their latest spring tour saw them make a stop at the Albino Skunk Music Festival in May 2025. This was …
When Country Is One Color in a Grand Kaleidoscope: Wrangling Multiple Genres With Neon Cowgirl Tami Neilson
In 2024, I had the idea to produce podcasts based on interviews from MerleFest, with the theme being a focus on both first-time performers and veterans. Combining two artists who made their debuts re…
A New Team for Two Heavy Hitters of Bluegrass: Woody Platt and Buddy Melton
It was Friday at MerleFest and I had already taken in an afternoon and evening of music the day before, which threatened more rain than it delivered. The one downpour that hit the festival grounds co…
Forget the Morning Crew and the Long Distance Dedications: Radio’s Original Hit Format Lives On With the Martha Bassett Show
The town of Elkin, NC, boasts only 4000 residents, but its downtown seems to resemble a town much larger than that. What looks to me like a downtown about half the size of my home town of Shelby, NC,…
Achieving a HercuLeon Record Decades in the Making: John Cowan and Andrea Zonn
The 19th century Swedish philosopher and poet Henri Frederic Amiel wrote one of the most eloquent observations about music, saying “Music is harmony, harmony is perfection, perfection is our dream, …
Reflections on Rounder Records, the IBMA and Music Journalism With David Menconi
It took a long time after I first read David Menconi’s work to finally meet him, and longer still to sit with him for an extended conversation, but fortunately, the time has finally come. And if the …
A Musical Animal That Puzzles and Delights: The Faux Paws
It is great fun to witness lines reconverge in unexpected ways on this series. When I spoke with Andrew VanNorstrand and Chris Miller of The Faux Paws back at the end of summer, I learned that they h…
Tray Wellington and the Black Stringband Symposium
It was a great week for roots music in Raleigh NC at the 2024 IBMAs in late September, with music showcases galore, practically every artist and label in bluegrass especially meeting and greeting and…
Of Wishing Wells and the Unattainable Woman With Lindsay Lou
In the music business, the words “influence” and “inspiration” get thrown around a lot. Artist Y is “influenced” by artists A, B and C, or “inspired” by their love of genres D and E, often with no el…
Songs of Solidarity, Songs of Struggle: A Brief Introduction to Songs of Social Movements
A couple of weeks ago, I could not have predicted that I would come upon another way of crafting a Southern Songs and Stories podcast in this fashion. Regular or even casual listeners will be familia…
David Childers, Revisited
The new year arrived and “Auld Lang Syne” bubbled up to the top of playlists all over the land. There are so many versions of this classic, which speaks to the importance of remembering friends and h…
The 2024 Christmas and Holiday New Music (and 2009 Radio Nostalgia) Special
After surveying all of the available new Christmas and holiday themed music that I could find, I came up with a tidy playlist of nine noteworthy songs to share here in an episode that departs from ou…
The Liminal Spaces and Myriad Phases Of Twisted Pine
On their third album, the Boston quartet pushes the roots music envelope with sass and wit, displaying harmony, hooks and chops for days. Hear about their unique approach, being at home in a liminal …
Of Triumph, Tragedy and the Solace of Solitude With Steve Earle
At any given time, we have a number of interviews waiting for their moments on an upcoming episode of this podcast series. Late 2024 is no exception, and may be an extreme, as there are several inter…