The music industry has been promising music credits on the streaming services for more than a decade. They’re having another conference about it in Nashville this week, where some well-meaning people will once again discuss the nerdy, vexing challenge of “metadata.” To be fair, it’s not an easy problem, and the business can point to some progress. But in this special report, Craig Havighurst finds that in a world where public-facing databases can track 20 million UPS packages a day, baseball career statistics from 100 years ago to last night, and millions of global Bitcoin transactions, musician credits remain incomplete and hard to access. Left hurting are Nashville's working musicians, arrangers, producers and engineers who are trying to build resumes and reputation - and in some cases get paid.
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The Americana Music Association released its nominees for the 2024 Honors And Awards on Tuesday in a music-rich ceremony at the National Museum of African American Music. Tyler Childers and Sierra Ferrell led the list with nods for Artist, Album and Song of the Year. Familiar past winners will also be eligible for 2024 awards, including Allison Russell, Jason Isbell, and The War and Treaty.
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For twenty years, Duluth, MN troubadour Charlie Parr has been touring every corner of the nation, sleeping in his van and living lean, to bring his unique take on the country blues to the people. Reserved, cerebral and devoted entirely to his own vision, he’s one of our finest folk artists and a lyricist well worthy of a certain other Minnesota songwriter who so famously blended poetry and the blues. He took a new tack with his latest album on Smithsonian Folkways, tapping producer Tucker Martine and his studio friends for a contemplative and immersive album of ruminations, pictorials, and stories. For someone who’s not comfortable in interviews, he spent a convivial hour at my studio and left behind a remarkable conversation.
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There are countless reasons to pay homage to the legacy of country music and almost as many different ways to do so. Canadian artist Bahamas and Nashville’s Kelsey Waldon are doing just that in their own ways with recent projects. At a time when country traditions are strong across the Americana landscape, Bootcut by Bahamas and There’s Always A Song by Waldon demonstrate the power of devotion to a craft on one hand and celebration of heroes on the other.
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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Last week, Steve Poltz and Maggie Antone performed at Riverside Revival for WMOT's monthly Wired In series. Watch highlights from their show here.
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Jon Muq performed "Runaway", "Shake Shake" and "Hello Sunshine" at a beach house turned studio in Florida for WMOT's 2024 30A Songwriters Sessions.
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Click here to watch Steve Poltz 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.
NPR Top Stories
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Hundreds of Native American tribes are getting money from lawsuit settlements with opioid companies. Some are investing the new funds in traditional healing practices to treat addiction.
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Playwright Paula Vogel is known not just for her work on Broadway — but for the generations of famous playwrights whose careers she has nurtured. Mother Play is about her own mother.
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Over some five decades, Corman filled America's drive-ins with hundreds of low-budget movies. Many of Hollywood's most respected directors have at least one Corman picture buried in their resumes.
Win a pair of tickets to Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors at The Ryman Auditorium on May 17, 2024.
Win a pair of tickets to the Nashville Symphony featuring Marcus Miller at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center on May 22, 2024.
Win a pair of tickets to Steve Martin & Martin Short at The Opry House September 19th
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