Gallagher Guitars, a boutique luthier in tiny Wartrace, TN that had earned the loyalty of Doc Watson and other important acoustic musicians, was all but left for dead a few years ago. Middle Tennessee native David Mathis took over the brand and moved its equipment and legacy to Murfreesboro. Now it's back on track to make more guitars this year than ever in its history, and it's throwing its first-ever festival in the street outside its shop next Saturday, May 4. A day of instrument contests and performances is capped by a ticketed show featuring bluegrass star Dan Tyminski and his band.
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Few pickers have toured harder or traveled farther than jamgrass veteran Vince Herman, who co-founded the iconic Leftover Salmon 34 years ago in Colorado. Yet there are always new things to try, so he’s added the band The High Hawks to his list of collaborations. Our sit-down visit was sparked by that band’s album Mother Nature’s Show doing so well on the Americana chart and by his own recent move from Colorado to Nashville, where he’s become a hub of the picking scene and an avid co-writer. We cover a lot of ground from his origins in Pittsburgh and West Virginia to the everlasting desire to play the next show. Also in the hour, progressive banjo player Kyle Tuttle calls in from a fishing trip to talk about his years with Molly Tuttle and his new solo album Labor Of Lust.
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John Leventhal is one of the quiet achievers of American roots music going back more than 30 years. Early on as a guitar player in his native New York City, he connected with Jim Lauderdale and Shawn Colvin, co-writing and producing their debut albums. He met his wife Rosanne Cash as they worked on the pivotal album The Wheel. He’s produced some epic albums since then for William Bell, Sarah Jarosz, and others, winning numerous Grammy and Americana awards in the process. At last, he lent his guitar and studio skills to making the solo debut album Rumble Strip. Rosanne is there for some duo vocals, but otherwise it’s warm and tuneful instrumentals that foreground some of the lovely textures and grooves that have been behind so many albums we’ve loved.
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History was on Béla Fleck’s mind as he released Rhapsody In Blue on Feb. 16, the 100th anniversary of its 1924 premiere. It's a multi-faceted, album-length celebration of the great work of American music - and its adaptability. The centerpiece is a 19-minute classical version by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra with Fleck playing Gershwin’s tricky piano part on banjo. But there are blues and bluegrass versions of the piece too. Because even at age 65, when he could be coasting on all he’s done, Fleck still looks for apparently the hardest thing he could possibly try at any given time.
LINER NOTES
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A closer look at the three bands performing Wednesday night from 7 to 9pm at Tennessee Brew Works for WMOT's Local Brew Fifth Anniversary show.
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Jessie Scott sat down with Willi Carlisle at The Fitting Room Studio in Madison, as he is getting ready to play the Basement East on April 13.
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Jessie Scott sits down with Grammy winner, Cedric Burnside for a WMOT Words & Music session.
WMOT VIDEO: LIVE SESSIONS ON NPR MUSIC
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Click here to watch Tommy Prine and Maggie Antone LIVE at Riverside Revival for WMOT's Wired In series on May 1st at 7 p.m. CST.
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KT Tunstall performed "Three", "Hallowed Ground" and "Big Black Horse & A Cherry Tree" at a beach house turned studio in Florida for WMOT's 2024 30A Songwriters Sessions.
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Earlier this month, Sarah Jarosz and John R. Miller performed at Riverside Revival for WMOT's Wired In series. Watch highlights from their show here.
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Last Friday, Allison Russell was honored with an exhibit at the National Museum of African American Music. To note the occasion, she was interviewed by Alice Randall and her daughter Caroline Randall Williams. Watch the full interview and performance here.
NPR Top Stories
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The federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., ruled in favor of transgender patients on Monday. The case was brought by Medicaid recipients in West Virginia and state employees in North Carolina.
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A few years ago, Jon Bon Jovi stopped performing due to a vocal cord injury. The Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight offers a career retrospective, plus a view of his surgery and return to the stage.
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While some property owners try to turn a profit from the street artist's murals, others have carried the intense and costly responsibility of protecting them.
Win a pair of tickets to Ruston Kelly at Ryman Auditorium on May 2, 2024.
Win a pair of tickets to Ray LaMontagne & Gregory Alan Isakov at FirstBank Amphitheater on October 6, 2024.
Win Tickets To The 3rd Annual Southern Skies Music And Whiskey Festival, May 11th In Knoxville— Featuring Old Crow Medicine Show, Maggie Rose, Amythyst Kiah, And More
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