Welcome to Insights, everyone. Today, our guest is West Virginia native and alternative-Americana artist Christian Lopez, a high-energy, whole-hearted performer whose new third studio album, The Other Side, was just released back in October. Lopez says that if he wants his music to last in the world, he has to stay as authentic as possible, and that means not compromising or being boxed in. That also applies to just being a human, he adds. Wherever that leads him, he’s sure that'll be the place ...
Dec 09, 2021•26 min•Ep. 291
Welcome to Insights, everyone. Today, our guest is the Grammy-winning and often emulated musician Warren Haynes, a truly gifted guitar player, singer-songwriter, record producer and bandleader who’s worked with some of the most notable acts of our time, including The Allman Brothers Band, The Dave Matthews Band, Blues Traveler, Garth Brooks, Marcus King, and the list goes on. And let’s not forget the band that he co-founded back in 1994, always a festival favorite, Gov’t Mule. Oh, and there’s hi...
Dec 06, 2021•50 min•Ep. 290
We're excited to share our recent conversation with Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer Karl Wallinger, best known for his band, World Party. We caught up with Karl from the control room of his new studio in Hastings in Southern England, where he's overlooking the sea – the English Channel, to be exact. In the 80s and 90s, Karl released a series of chart-topping albums, his first being the critically lauded Private Revolution. It featured the MTV darling doing nearly everything: sing...
Dec 02, 2021•52 min•Ep. 289
Today, we're excited to say that we’ll be entering the world of one of today’s most extraordinary blues artists, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. We had the honor of chatting with Chris recently about his new album 662, while uncovering his roots, which run deep in the profoundly prolific music city of Clarksdale, MS. As you’ll hear, 662 was recorded in Nashville and co-written and produced by Grammy-winner Tom Hambridge. It features 13 songs that display the many sides of Ingram’s personality, as w...
Nov 29, 2021•20 min•Ep. 288
Today, we're excited to share a recent conversation that we had the pleasure of having with Nate Hilts of Canadian folk and bluegrass ensemble The Dead South, a gold-certified group that’s gained a cult following over the last decade for songs like "In Hell I'll Be in Good Company,” "Banjo Odyssey," and many more. And now, featuring some of their favorite bluegrass and rock covers like “People Are Strange” by The Doors and “You Are My Sunshine,” The Dead South will release Easy Listening for Jer...
Nov 22, 2021•33 min•Ep. 287
Welcome to Insights, everyone. Today, we're thrilled to get to share our recent conversation with legendary drummer, songwriter, artist, and photographer, Gina Schock. Schock has just published a new book titled 'Made In Hollywood: All Access with the Go-Go’s'. It’s a wonderfully vivid photographic journey as told by Gina, drummer of the groundbreaking, all-female rock band the Go-Go’s. The book features intimate personal photographs and memorabilia collected over the course of her 40-year caree...
Nov 09, 2021•36 min•Ep. 286
Our guest today is acclaimed filmmaker, composer, producer, and all-around creative, Chris Gero. Chris is a mover and a shaker. He’s a 12-time Emmy-winner and a Grammy-nominated record producer. Today, we’ll get started by digging into his background, which points back to Paris, Ontario, Canada, and we’ll work our way up to the present, which is focused on his new music documentary, The Sound of Us. It’s an outstanding film and it features many notable names, including Avery Sunshine, Ben Folds,...
Nov 02, 2021•57 min•Ep. 285
Our guest on the podcast today is acclaimed songwriter and Texas-bred luminary, James McMurtry. James has just released his first full-length studio album in seven years via New West Records. It’s titled The Horses and the Hounds, and today, we get into the making of the record, and other topics that show us just what makes this celebrated tunesmith tick. McMurtry recorded the new album with legendary producer Ross Hogarth at Jackson Browne’s Groove Masters in Santa Monica, California, a world c...
Oct 25, 2021•41 min•Ep. 284
Our guest on the podcast today is renowned singer-songwriter and longtime activist Billy Bragg. Bragg is a quick-witted artist and productive generator of change. He’s been a fearless recording artist and political campaigner for over 30 years, and as of this week, he’s released 10 solo studio albums. The latest of which is titled The Million Things That Never Happened. Declared “the first pandemic blues album of our times,” the record features 12 soulful country rock gems that were produced and...
Oct 11, 2021•55 min•Ep. 283
Our guest today is Justin Osborne, front man of the Charleston, SC-founded band SUSTO. SUSTO will return at the end of this month with a new record titled 'Time in the Sun' via New West Records. It follows their critically acclaimed 2019 studio album 'Ever Since I Lost My Mind'. The joy of birth, the closure of death, the warmth of true friendship, and the future rotate on the axis of this new record. Prior to entering the studio, Osborne became a father and midway through recording, lost his ow...
Oct 04, 2021•50 min•Ep. 282
Our guest on the podcast today is Martin Sexton, a native of Syracuse, N.Y., and the tenth of 12 children. He’s been praised for his down-to-earth songwriting and otherworldly voice by everyone from Rolling Stone to the New York Times and Billboard. A friend of his, someone you might’ve heard of named John Mayer had this to say: “Martin Sexton is the best live performer I’ve ever seen. I may just quit my job and go follow Martin and make a fuss everywhere I go, just to make sure that people don’...
Sep 13, 2021•46 min•Ep. 281
Our guest today is renowned singer-songwriter Amy Ray, a longtime activist as well as co-founder of one of our favorite groups, Indigo Girls. Today, we chat primarily about the formation of the Indigo Girls, her and Emily Saliers’ coming up in Georgia and signing to Epic Records, her love of vinyl and its recent resurgence, her passion for activism, her solo career, her recent single featuring The War and Treaty and Michelle Malone, plus a whole lot more! Part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more abo...
Sep 06, 2021•54 min•Ep. 280
Our guest today is Jimmie Dale Gilmore, a Texas music icon who’s been writing and playing songs for more than 50 years. Most folks know Gilmore best from his work with The Flatlanders, the legendary trio of Butch Hancock, Joe Ely, and, of course, Jimmie Dale Gilmore. The Flatlanders just released a new country music album called Treasure of Love, their first album of new recordings in more than 12 years. Fellow Flatlander Butch Hancock had this to say about Jimmie Dale: “From swapping songs sitt...
Aug 30, 2021•44 min•Ep. 279
Our guest this hour is award-winning singer, songwriter, and musician, Sean McConnell. Sean is considered a top tier collaborator in the Nashville Country and Americana music scenes, and well beyond for that matter. His latest album, A Horrible Beautiful Dream, features thirteen songs marked by emotional depth, world-weary tones, and a tongue-in-cheek quality that most songwriters can only attempt to find, while McConnell has proven that he has it down pat. We had a great chat about his new albu...
Aug 23, 2021•29 min•Ep. 278
Today our guest is Easy Eye Sound recording artist and Bristol, England native, Yola, a 4-time Grammy nominee with so much spirit and so much determination that you’re undoubtably going to walk away from this conversation feeling inspired. We're so excited to take you behind-the-scenes to a very special place, Memphis Record Pressing plant, where Yola was visiting to listen to her beautiful new record Stand For Myself on vinyl for the very first time. We had a blast catching up and talking about...
Aug 16, 2021•23 min•Ep. 277
Today our guest is Mike Harmeier. Mike leads the acclaimed country-rock outfit from down in Austin, TX known as Mike and the Moonpies, a band with extra-tasty guitar licks, great grooves, lyrics that conjure up nostalgia, and a sound that’s old school, but without coming across as imitation. In other words, they’re the real deal. We always enjoy talking with Mike and we learn something new in each conversation. He’s intuitive on stage, he’s dedicated to his craft, and he’s got a clear vision for...
Aug 09, 2021•24 min•Ep. 276
Our guest today is Travis Linville, an Oklahoma native and friend of DittyTV’s who’s been hailed as "one of the most sought-after songwriters and collaborators in the Sooner State and beyond.” Linville recently released a new album titled I’m Still Here, which was produced by JD McPherson, another Oklahoma native, and which features help on the songs from artists like Natalie Hemby, Hayes Carll and more. We first encountered Travis when he stopped by our studios in Memphis to record as part of t...
Aug 02, 2021•30 min•Ep. 275
We're delighted to share a conversation that we recently had with the band Jamestown Revival and Beau L’Amour, the son of the immensely influential and prolific author, Louis L’Amour. They all stopped by to chat with Amy Wright about the new EP, Fireside with Louis L'Amour: A Collection of Songs Inspired by Tales from the American West, which Jamestown Revival released on May 28th. L’Amour’s stories have been a major influence on Jonathan and Zach’s writing, and their lives, for that matter, and...
Jul 26, 2021•45 min•Ep. 274
We're very excited to share a conversation we recently had with acclaimed Americana artist Rachel Baiman. Baiman’s known as a fearless voice, a gritty and defiant songwriter, and a heartbreaking observer of humanity. She moved to Nashville at eighteen and has spent the last decade working as a musician in a wide variety of roles, from session musician with the likes of Molly Tuttle and Caroline Spence, to live sidewoman with Kacey Musgraves and Amy Ray. She’s also released several of her own alb...
Jul 19, 2021•45 min•Ep. 273
Today, you’re going to hear an in-depth interview between Amy and Nashville-via-London emerging blues and roots music duo Ida Mae. Chris Turpin and Stephanie Jean comprise this soulful husband-and-wife act which just released its sophomore LP Click Click Domino via Thirty Tigers. Whether they’re performing an intimate set in the English countryside or an amped up big stage show opening for Greta Van Fleet, which they have indeed done, this duo’s obvious energy connects with people of all ages an...
Jul 12, 2021•29 min•Ep. 272
Today our guest is Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and musician Brent Cobb. You probably already know Brent for his wonderfully twangy and often laid-back music. He’s released some incredible Americana albums including Shine On Rainy Day, Providence Canyon, No Place Left to Leave, and Keep ‘Em On They Toes. But what you might not know is that he just published his first ever children’s book this past Father’s Day. It’s titled Little Stuff and it was inspired by his song of the same name. Bre...
Jul 05, 2021•23 min•Ep. 271
Today our guest is Oliver Wood, a Grammy-nominated artist and founding member of the Wood Brothers, who has also just released his debut solo album, Always Smilin', on Honey Jar & Thirty Tigers. Oliver’s spent the better part of the 21st century earning an international audience with his sharp songwriting and savvy guitar chops, and one-of-a-kind voice that’s somehow raw and smooth at the same time. Oliver says that his new album is first and foremost an album of celebration, with themes of ...
Jun 28, 2021•38 min•Ep. 270
Our guest today is Amythyst Kiah, an amazing singer-songwriter whose new album Wary + Strange just released on Rounder Records. It’s a truly haunting and remarkable album. From embracing Black identity as an artist to overcoming the social anxiety, grief and alienation that defined her formative years, Wary + Strange recounts the pivotal moments in a life ultimately defined by reclamation and self acceptance. Kiah is currently nominated for three Americana Music Awards, tying Jason Isbell for th...
Jun 21, 2021•53 min•Ep. 269
Rodney Crowell stopped by to chat about his upcoming album, Triage, which is set to release just over a month from now. About two years ago, Crowell began scribbling the first few lines that would become the songs for Triage, with monotheism, climate change, and cultural divide foremost on his mind. His primary goal with the songs was to adequately frame the healing power of Universal Love. He says that he’s learned from experience that writing and recording songs with the desire to make a diffe...
Jun 14, 2021•43 min•Ep. 268
Singer, songwriter, and celebrated guitarist Patrick Droney stopped by to talk about his debut full-length studio album State of The Heart, which was released last month via Warner Records. It’s an album that explores the meaning of loss, reconciling what’s behind you, and the pursuit of self with 15 tracks entirely co-produced and co-written by Droney. At its core, State of The Heart offers an in-depth look into the long journey its creator undertook in order to get to this exact moment in time...
Jun 07, 2021•26 min•Ep. 267
Today on the show we have Parker Millsap, one of the most soulful and perceptive songwriters that Oklahoma has ever produced, and that’s saying something! We hadn’t seen Parker since he recorded in the studio in support of his 2018 LP release, Other Arrangements, so it was really great to reconnect to discuss his brand-new album, Be Here Instead. He said that this was the most fun that he’s ever had while making a record, chasing unpredictable sounds and that special magic that’s always a challe...
May 31, 2021•41 min•Ep. 266
We have some of the most talented pickers and players around on the call today: Certified Guitar Player, Tommy Emmanuel, as well as two uniquely gifted collaborators, multi-award-winning Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley. These three fellas teamed up to release an EP as part of Tommy’s Accomplice Series, one of the most talked-about projects of the year. This is just volume one, and it’s completely and utterly impressive. All you have to do is give it a listen and you’ll hear why. We're honored to have...
May 24, 2021•37 min•Ep. 265
Today we'll be sharing a fascinating conversation that we recently had with Rev. Peyton of Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, possibly one of the best live bands we've seen in the last decade. Their shows are absolutely action-packed. The last time we saw them, Breezy, the consummate washboard player, actually set her washboard on fire while playing it, so that should give you an idea of where they’re coming from! They just released a new album called Dance Songs for Hard Times, an album they say was ...
May 17, 2021•49 min•Ep. 264
Today we're sharing a delightful conversation that we recently had with Jimbo Mathus, a one-of-a-kind musician from North Mississippi. Back in March, Jimbo teamed up with his old bandmate Andrew Bird to release a new record called These 13, a record about the special type of human connection that can survive any distance of time or geography. As former collaborators in Squirrel Nut Zippers, Mathus and Bird's friendship dates back 25 years, and they decided to reunite to record thirteen songs liv...
May 10, 2021•36 min•Ep. 263
Our guest this hour is Shannon McNally, who dropped by to chat about her upcoming record, The Waylon Sessions, a covers album of Waylon Jennings songs which she recorded with an all-star band and special guests like Jessi Colter, Buddy Miller, Rodney Crowell, and Lukas Nelson. McNally’s put together an album of classics that challenges our perceptions and assumptions about just what made them classics in the first place, providing a feminine perspective that only a restless, and truly creative s...
May 03, 2021•49 min•Ep. 262
