The String

Pete Anderson

22 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 249: One key reason that Dwight Yoakam exploded into country music consciousness in 1986 was the electric guitar and electrifying record produ...

Robbie Fulks

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 248: For all of the sardonic honky tonk music of his early albums and the more character-driven folk music on albums like Upland Stories and G...

Layng Martine Jr.

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 247: Layng Martine Jr. earned a slot in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame with numerous hits for a range of artists that included Reba Mc...

Alison Brown

23 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 246: Alison Brown found her life's work early when she started playing banjo as a pre-teen growing up in southern California. But it took some...

Dom Flemons

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 245: Dom Flemons made history founding the Carolina Chocolate Drops, an old-time band that changed the face of roots music in the 21st century...

William Prince plus Erik Vincent Huey

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 244: William Prince grew up on country and gospel music in rural Manitoba on the Peguis First Nation reserve, getting a grounding from his min...

Whitehorse

26 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 243: Canada's coolest couple - more than 12 years into their joint venture called Whitehorse - is on a creative tear, releasing three albums i...

Big Ears 2023

18 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 242: Craig reports from Knoxville, TN and the tenth edition of the world-renowned Big Ears Festival. Conceived by Knoxville native Ashley Capp...

Miko Marks

11 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 241: San Francisco-based Miko Marks hit brick walls when she made her first run at country music in the mid 2000s, when the industry was syste...

Emily Nenni plus Stephanie Clifford

28 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 240: Emily Nenni didn't fall in love with country music and then move to Nashville. She did the reverse, using the city's honky tonks and loca...

Sunny Sweeney

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 239: She sounds like she was born into a country music family, but Sunny Sweeney was actually a late and somewhat reluctant bloomer as an arti...

Larissa Maestro

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 238: Cellist and composer Larissa Maestro enjoys a rich and diverse career as a Nashville session and stage musician. When she came to town in...

Ron Sexsmith

07 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 237: Ron Sexsmith's brilliant solo debut album of 1995 - the one with the song "Secret Heart" - was on the verge of being overlooked and forgo...

Joe Henry

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 236: It would be difficult to name one musician with such long and distinguished resumes as both a recording artist and a record producer as J...

Charles "Wigg" Walker

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 235: After a remarkable life in show business and soul music, Charles "Wigg" Walker moved back to his native Nashville in the 90s, and he's be...

Sunny War

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 234: Not very long ago, Sunny War was busking on Venice Beach in Los Angeles, nearly homeless and beset with substance abuse. But she was also...

Madison Cunningham plus Jason Carter

31 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 233: Madison Cunningham blasted on to the modern folk scene in 2019 with a debut album so thoughtful and original that it landed on the presti...

Willi Carlisle

24 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 232: Willi Carlisle is a folk singer in the populist tradition of Utah Phillips and Woody Guthrie, a boisterous, tender, funny performer who i...

Special Edition: Americana and Jazz

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

To kick off the new year during my three week book leave, here's a special edition of The String in which I read my own in-depth analysis of how two g...

Sam Bush

20 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 231: Sam Bush was the first guest on The String way back in September of 2016, because he's a hero of mine and an exemplar of the Americana id...

Courtney Marie Andrews plus Peter Cooper

13 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 230: With an instantly recognizable voice and uncommon skill for balancing melancholy with radiance, Courtney Marie Andrews has released a str...

Todd Snider

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 229: Todd Snider walked out alone on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium in late September looking radiant. He was bolstered and beloved by the ...

49 Winchester and Town Mountain

22 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 228: One day during AmericanaFest 2022 I visited the headquarters of leading label New West Records to catch up with their two newest band sig...

Amy Ray and Tami Neilson

15 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 227: This week dwells on origins and growth with two artists who've had very different journeys but who had to get resourceful in their own wa...

Derek Hoke

08 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 226: The 5 Spot is a nightclub at the heart of East Nashville's music community, and for 12 years, Derek Hoke was at the heart of the 5 Spot. ...

Southern Strings And Stories With Joe Kendrick

31 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 225: When you serve a community on a good radio station, you get a feel for the soul of that place, and for me over these many years, that pla...

Daniel Tashian and Dan Knobler

25 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 224: It's a double Dan special as I visit with two movers and shakers who've contributed perhaps more behind the scenes than most musicians of...

Emerging Americana

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 223: Americanafest 2022 is in the books, and as usual, I took advantage of all the visiting talent to collect a bunch of interviews with artis...

The Local Honeys

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 222: Kentucky natives Linda Jean Stokley and Montana Hobbs have been musical partners for about a decade. They met as college students at More...

Cristina Vane

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 221: Cristina Vane discovered American roots music from a greater distance than most converts. She grew up in capitals of Europe, identifying ...

Early James

01 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 220: Early James pushed himself to find a singing voice and songwriting style all his own, and it certainly got the attention of Nashville's D...

Nicki Bluhm and Lera Lynn

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 219: This time I catch up with two dynamic women from Nashville with albums that are journalistic in nature, chronicling change and life passa...

Richie Furay and Sista Strings

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 218: Of all the 1960s California folk rockers, Richie Furay had a quieter but most interesting career. He co-founded two iconic bands in Buffa...

Mary Gauthier

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 217: Nashville master songwriter Mary Gauthier returns to The String to talk about her new album Dark Enough To See The Stars and her remarkab...

Eric Brace on 25 Years of Last Train Home

01 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 216: In a casual, expansive conversation, Craig visits with his old friend Eric Brace, founder of alt-country band Last Train Home. Brace was ...

Kenny Greenberg plus Bros. Landreth

27 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 215: Since moving to Nashville at age 21 in 1978, Kenny Greenberg has built a reputation as a guitarist who could bring rock and roll punch an...

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

14 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 214: Will The Circle Be Unbroken, released 50 years ago, revolutionized how country and bluegrass music were perceived by mainstream and youth...

Robert Earl Keen plus S.G. Goodman

28 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 213: Rarely do artists retire in their prime, but that's what Texas songwriter Robert Earl Keen is doing. In January, he announced to the surp...

Steve Forbert plus Michaela Anne

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 212: Decades after it came out in 1979, you still regularly hear "Romeo's Tune" by Steve Forbert over PAs in the grocery store or on oldies ra...

Darol Anger plus Brittany Haas

14 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 211: Not many instrumentalists have invented and spread a new technique, but Darol Anger has, and now the percussive bow and string practice c...

Drew Holcomb plus Jake Blount

31 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 210: Over the past ten years, Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors have become one of the most successful and beloved bands in Nashville, a kind of ...

The Po' Ramblin' Boys

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 209: The Po' Ramblin' Boys, probably the hottest young band in bluegrass, started as a house band at a distillery in East Tennessee, where the...

Amanda Anne Platt plus Valorie Miller Pt. 2

18 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 208: Western North Carolina has a long history in roots music, but Amanda Anne Platt and the Honeycutters have been one of the defining sounds...

River Whyless plus Valorie Miller

10 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 207: Monoflora, the fourth album from Asheville, NC quartet River Whyless speaks to the musical values that have made them  cult favorites si...

Joshua Hedley

26 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 206: Growing up in Florida, Joshua Hedley got his heart set on playing the fiddle at age 3 and on moving to Nashville to play in honky tonks i...

The Accidentals

20 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 205: An influx of superb roots artists from Michigan to Nashville has been good for Music City, with Billy Strings, Lindsay Lou, even Jack Whi...

Del McCoury plus Mike Compton

12 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 204: In a great year for bluegrass, two projects stand out. One, from our featured guest, because he's the living patriarch of traditional blu...

Rachael and Dominic Davis

29 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 203: In another conversation with a prominent musical couple, Craig visits the home of Rachael and Dominic John Davis, artists who work togeth...

Yonder Mountain String Band

17 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 202: The String's look at the improv-heavy jamgrass community continues with a band at the heart of it all, Yonder Mountain String Band. Bass ...

Steve Poltz

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 201: Friendly and funny, enthusiastic and energetic, Steve Poltz has released his tenth album Stardust & Satellites as he embarks on another y...

Joan Osborne plus Louis Michot

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 200: Joan Osborne became a star on the strength of a controversial song and a Grammy-nominated major label debut album in 1995, but when you s...

Luther Dickinson plus Jutz/Rogers

22 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 199: Guitarist and songwriter Luther Dickinson, founder of the North Mississippi All-Stars, returns to the String to talk about two albums, ea...

Kingfish and Carolyn Wonderland

15 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 198: It's a double shot of blues from Alligator Records this week. Christone "Kingfish" Ingram is the most exciting prodigy to hit the electri...

Tim Bluhm of The Mother Hips

02 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 197: Bay Area rock and jam hero Tim Bluhm founded The Mother Hips with Greg Loiacono 30 years ago while still students at Chico State in Calif...

Greensky Bluegrass

25 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 196: The String's spotlight on the contemporary jamgrass scene continues with a career-spanning conversation with Paul Hoffman (mandolin) and ...

Aoife O'Donovan plus Citizen Vinyl

20 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 195: Aoife O'Donovan has one of the most beautiful and nuanced voices in popular music and she's deployed it in a lot of collaborative directi...

The Infamous Stringdusters

12 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 194: Formed in the mid 2000s in Nashville, the Infamous Stringdusters executed one of roots music's most successful pivots. Their foundation w...

Allison Russell plus Joel Savoy

20 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 193: From where we sit at WMOT, Allison Russell was the artist of 2021. Her album Outside Child, our most played disc, emerged in the summer t...

Jackson and Sellers

16 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 192: Nashville-raised songwriter Aubrey Sellers returns to The String as half of the new duo Jackson & Sellers. She and Jade Jackson became In...

SUSTO's Justin Osborne plus Dori Freeman

07 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 191: The Charleston, SC collective SUSTO has been a vehicle for the fertile mind of songwriter Justin Osborne since 2014. The music and his ly...

Tony Kamel, Bruce Robison and The Next Waltz

29 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 190: Veteran songwriter Bruce Robison set the pace for the alt-country/Americana format in the 1990s and wrote hit songs for George Strait, th...

Phoebe Hunt plus Doc Watson

16 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 189: Phoebe Hunt established herself on a national stage playing for years with her former band the Bellville Outfit out of Austin. Since purs...

Doyle Lawson

09 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 188: Doyle Lawson has been mingling the holy and the down home in his blistering traditional bluegrass over a career on the road stretching ba...

John Sebastian

01 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 187: John Sebastian is most famous as the founder of and songwriter for the Lovin' Spoonful, which produced a fresh crop of folk rock hits in ...

Della Mae plus Twisted Pine

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 186: Formed as a showcase for women in string band music in 2009, Della Mae has seen lineup changes but no drift in its mission to create a ne...

Tim Easton

18 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 185: Tim Easton is one of the most interesting guys in the Americana troubadour game. He grew up split between Akron, OH and Tokyo, Japan. He ...

AmericanaFest 2021

11 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 184: AmericanaFest returned to the clubs and yards of Nashville with a slimmer but spirited 2021 edition. Those able to come found community, ...

Béla Fleck's My Bluegrass Heart

27 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 183: He's the most gifted and innovative banjo player of all time and one of the architects of an American string band jazz tradition that's i...

Sierra Ferrell plus Brittney Spencer

21 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 182: To spotlight the 2021 AmericanaFest, returning after a year off, I reached out to two of the most interesting artists showcasing during t...

The Delevantes plus The Connells

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 181: It's a jangle pop special with two bands of brothers who are back on record after two-decade breaks. The Delevantes, Bob and Mike, are pi...

Maggie Rose plus Connie Smith

31 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 180: When Maggie Rose held her album release party in late August for her third album Have A Seat, she filled one of the city's largest music ...

David Ferguson

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 179: He goes by "Ferg" and he's one of the most interesting and influential creative forces in Nashville, whether you've heard of him or not. ...

J.P. Harris

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 178: East Nashville's J.P. Harris has been a train-hopper, a logger, a shepherd, a honky tonker and a historic home carpenter. Indeed he was g...

Jim Lauderdale

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 177: This year marks the 30th anniversary of Jim Lauderdale's solo debut album Planet Of Love, but he was a veteran even then of the burgeonin...

Parker Millsap plus Bristol Reunion

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 176: Parker Millsap burst on to the folk and roots scene in 2014 out of Oklahoma with a voice beyond his years and a bold way with drawing cha...

Tim O'Brien plus Geoff Saunders

11 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 175: Tim O'Brien is one of several roots music icons who've circled back for a second visit to The String in recent weeks, and that's a great ...

Amythyst Kiah plus Tony Joe White

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 174: Amythyst Kiah grew up in East TN and discovered traditional folk music at college there. Drawn to its heritage and its sound, she launche...

Shannon McNally plus Oliver Wood

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 173: It takes a bold woman to cover "Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line," but Shannon McNally has been fearlessly facing down naysayers in the m...

Amy Helm and Rachel Baiman

15 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 172: A sense of place pervades this split show featuring two of the most fascinating and accomplished voices in Americana music. Amy Helm is a...

Bruce Iglauer And 50 Years Of Alligator Records

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 171: Founded by an irrepressible enthusiast in his very early twenties, Alligator Records grew into the most authoritative and wide-ranging la...

John Hiatt and Jerry Douglas

03 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 170: They're both Nashville icons but they'd rarely worked together until now. John Hiatt is a songwriter's songwriter with a voice that's mad...

Mark O'Connor plus Joe K. Walsh

18 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 169: He's known worldwide as a consummate virtuoso on the fiddle and the violin, but Mark O'Connor's first instrument was actually the guitar....

Samantha Crain

13 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 168: By the time 2020's pandemic shroud covered the land and stilled its musicians, Oklahoma songwriter Samantha Crain knew all too well about...

Casey Driessen's Otherlands

04 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 167: I met Casey Driessen almost 20 years ago when he was new to Nashville, fresh off a music degree from Berklee in Boston and full of new id...

Mando Saenz plus Great Peacock

22 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 166: Still waters run deep with Nashville's Mando Saenz. He's cool and contemplative in conversation, while songwriters tell you he's a founta...

Curtis Salgado plus Kevin McKendree

13 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 165: Growing up in the Pacific Northwest in the 1960s, Curtis Salgado fell down the rabbit hole of Deep South blues, jazz, soul and R&B and kn...

Garrison Starr plus Lilly Winwood

06 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Singer-songwriter Garrison Starr grew up in Mississippi, made rock and roll out of Memphis and got signed in her late teens to a major label deal wher...

One Year With Covid

23 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 163: It's been a year since the music industry slammed to a halt due to Covid-19. Performing artists had to adjust financially, logistically, ...

Bill Kirchen

15 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 162: From his breakout days as guitarist for Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen to his four-decade career as a bandleader, songwriter a...

String Band Special

09 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 161: Bluegrass has an instrumental tradition going back to its Bill Monroe origins and its old-time forebears. Over time, the playing and comp...

Jenny Scheinman plus Kandace Springs

23 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 160: Women with roots - in jazz is the heart of this hour. Jenny Scheinman is one of the leading jazz violinists working today, yet her musica...

Hiss Golden Messenger And North Carolina Music

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 159: Tennessee snuggles up against North Carolina at the apex of the Appalachian Mountains, together making a mid-South band from the Atlantic...

Joachim Cooder plus Daniel Tashian

09 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Joachim Cooder has pursued his musical life as drummer, percussionist and family man, staying near and working regularly with his father, blues/roots ...

Sarah Jarosz plus Brit Taylor

27 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 157: The bluegrass and acoustic music world saw Sarah Jarosz coming. As she grew into her teens, artists and talent scouts knew of this young ...

Tony Trischka plus Jordan Tice

22 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 156: Banjo innovator and string band visionary Tony Trischka has kept his eyes on the future over a fifty year career, but on a new album he l...

Peter Guralnick

13 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 155: Journalist and author Peter Guralnick is regarded by many as America's premiere chronicler of roots music. Besides his influential profil...

The Grand Ole Opry's Dan Rogers

23 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 154: 2020 will go down in infamy but one happy occasion this year was the 95th anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry, the longest-running broadcas...

Brent Cobb and Dave Alvin

17 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 153: Two great roots songwriters at different stages of their careers. Brent Cobb is a laid-back Georgian who got his first chance to record t...

Margo Price and Jeremy Ivey

10 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 152: As recently as five years ago, Nashville's Margo Price was having trouble making ends meet after many years of "playing dives trying to s...

The Steep Canyon Rangers

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 151: The Steep Canyon Rangers emerged from the collegiate scene in central North Carolina around 2000 with a traditional sound that started wi...