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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Suzy Bogguss started playing and performing on a hand-me-down guitar from her sister in small-town Illinois. After almost a decade making a living out west playing at ski lodges and smaller venues, she moved to Nashville, where she carved out a special place in 1990s country music. Amid a time of diversity and vibrancy in the format, her sweet, folky voice took flight when she found the right songs, including the career-makers “Someday Soon” and “Outbound Plane.” She’s toured steadily ever since, though recordings have been selective since 2000. During the pandemic though, she took on her first album of new material with last fall’s Prayin’ For Sunshine, the first where she’d written all of the songs. In this hour, we cover every key stage of this award-winning career.
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The Wonder Women of Country, a side project of busy Americana songwriter/artists Brennen Leigh, Kelly Willis and Melissa Carper, started in 2021 as a touring vehicle for three friends with compatible visions of country music. Fans have been loving it, and naturally they started asking if there was a recording to take home. The WWOC have made good on that desire with a self-titled EP, released on March 15.
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After more than a decade helming her progressive acoustic band The New Hip, bass player Missy Raines has reconfigured and turned back to the music she was raised on and the genre for which she’s been named Bass Player of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association ten times, most recently in 2021. Her new band is called Allegheny, and her new album Highlander finds her singing about the lonesome wind, fast-moving trains, and more weighty and contemporary subjects in the old school style.
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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The Reverend Shawn Amos performed "Weight of the World", "Stranger Than Today" and "Revelation" at a beach house turned studio in Florida for WMOT's 2024 30A Songwriters Sessions.
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Click here to watch Sarah Jarosz and John R. Miller LIVE at Riverside Revival for WMOT's Wired In series on April 3rd at 7 p.m. CST.
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Last week, Alex Harris and Katie Pruitt performed new music at Riverside Revival for WMOT's Wired In series. Watch highlights from their sets here.
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Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams performed "Desert Island Dreams", "A Little Better" and "The Way You Make Me Feel" at a beach house turned studio in Florida for WMOT's 2024 30A Songwriters Sessions.
NPR Top Stories
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A new study shows people who are in the habit of climbing stairs are less likely to die from heart disease compared to those who don't. Stair climbers also had a slight boost in longevity.
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Although HIV transmission from contaminated blood through unsterile injection is a well-known risk, the CDC said this is the first documentation of probable infections involving cosmetic services.
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The aid group said the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire and that it has almost 8 million meals ready to distribute. The group halted efforts after Israeli strikes killed seven workers.
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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