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.
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Malcolm Holcombe, the brilliant and enigmatic songwriter whom Lucinda Williams called “an old soul and a modern-day blues poet” has died at 68 years old, after a battle with cancer and a late-life surge of creative fire. He passed away on Saturday near where he was raised in western North Carolina, but Holcombe jolted his way into the consciousness of many roots music lovers and practitioners during a spell in Nashville 25 years ago. In a music community characterized by polite songwriter rounds, Holcombe was unnervingly ferocious and feral - a mesmerizing performer and lyricist whose mix of gifts and demons invite worthy comparisons to Hank Williams and Townes VanZandt.
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In the 1990s, Paul Burch was among the pioneer artists who brought legit country music and old-school Music City values to Lower Broadway’s honky tonks. In the years since, he’s been an admired songwriter and performer while branching into scoring and production. Now he puts on yet another hat as he joins Middle Tennessee State University’s Center For Popular Music (CPM) as the manager of its non-profit, in-house label Spring Fed Records.
LINER NOTES
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Hear Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams' performance from their 30a session with WMOT.
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Grace Potter stopped by and performed a set for WMOT during this year's 30A Music Festival.
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Tinsley Ellis with Jessie Scott on March 6th.
WMOT VIDEO: LIVE SESSIONS ON NPR MUSIC
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Grace Potter performed "Something That I Want", "Little Hitchhiker" and "Ready Set Go" at a beach house turned studio in Florida for WMOT's 2024 30A Songwriters Sessions.
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Click here to watch Katie Pruitt and Alex Harris LIVE at Riverside Revival for WMOT's Wired In series on March 13th at 7 p.m. CST.
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Watch highlights from Tommy Emmanuel's 2023 AmericanaFest Day Stage performance.
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Last week, Corb Lund and Emily Nenni performed new music at Riverside Revival for WMOT's Wired In series. Watch highlights from their sets here.
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Win a pair of tickets to Mat Kearney at The Ryman Auditorium on September 19, 2024
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