They say that true country music is dead these days. Well, that is with the exception of a select few artists, old souls, who remain dedicated to the craft. Anna Wescoat is one of those artists and her first studio album, WORLD FAMOUS, is a testament to that spirit. With a style reminiscent of country greats like Patsy Cline and George Jones, Wescoat bean playing piano and singing with her family at a very young age, and that grew into a career after she studied music in college, where she learn...
Jun 30, 2025•20 min•Season 6Ep. 4
Today we diverge from The Load’s Out’s typical menu of Americana and roots fare into something much more complex. The band 2Lot is not your typical collection of musicians. Indeed, creating its own unique brand of electronic jam music—fusing electronic elements with inspiration from classic jam bands, hip hop, soul, funk, jazz and rock—2Lot teems with intellectual prowess. After all, the band’s name comes from the second law of thermodynamics, as its goal is to resist entropy, or a lack of order...
May 31, 2025•29 min•Season 6Ep. 3
There has never been more high-quality music being made than there is today. However, unless you’re looking for sugar-coated, synth-driven pop sounds—the discovery of that music is often left to the mercy of streaming algorithms. Take, for example, punk-infused Americana (think The Clash meets Loretta Lynn). There’s a torrent of it, particularly a number of very good female artists such as past-guest Sarah Borges , Lydia Loveless, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, Jamie Wyatt and others. Arguably...
Apr 26, 2025•20 min•Season 6Ep. 2
Some modern bands—ones like Jack White, Larkin Poe, Greta Van Fleet and Marcus King among others—they are beginning to standout for their exceptional musical talents while still holding onto what has become somewhat of a lost art form. “It’s not uncommon that young people are making music that nods to the past,” according to the lead guitarist of one of those bands, Tyler Armstrong of The Band Feel, during the first episode of Season 6 of The Load Out Music Podcast. Only about two years old, The...
Mar 28, 2025•41 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Jovin Webb was first introduced to America through American Idol in 2020, but the Louisiana-native is much more than a reality show contestant. His gritty vocals and dynamic style promise to make him one of the world’s most exciting new blues and roots artists. His recent debut release album Drifter is a stunning 12-track collection that blends blues, soul, and Southern rock, showcasing his raw, powerful vocals and deeply personal storytelling. As Lionel Richie put it during his time on American...
Dec 02, 2024•17 min•Season 5Ep. 16
Dan Auerbach, the Black Keys frontman, had always been a big fan of the late Tony Joe White. The singer-songwriter—some knew him as “The Swamp Fox” had an unmistakably swampy baritone and down-home style. He was best known, of course, for songs like “Poke Salad Annie” and “Rainy Night in Georgia.” Over his career, White’s songs were recorded by the likes of Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings, Ray Charles and Tina Turner, among others. In 2018, White passed away after suffering a heart attack in Tenn...
Nov 18, 2024•24 min•Season 5Ep. 15
Andrew Browning, a gritty, California-born singer-songwriter whose new album Love is a Beautiful Thing (out 11/22) digs deep into the messy, raw truths of love and human connection. This is a record that stands out for its emotional honesty and layered narratives. The singer-songwriter delves into the complexities of love with a sound that is distinctly Californian—dark, irreverent, and pulsing with raw rock energy. The title track captures the dualities of passion and heartache, offering a pers...
Nov 04, 2024•28 min•Season 5Ep. 14
Whether on behalf of Dodge trucks, on the show “Animal Kingdom,” on behalf of Monster Energy, ESPN, in the video game Cyberpunk 2077, or just on the radio—you’ve probably heard The Cold Stares. For the past decade, The Cold Stares have toured the world relentlessly as a duo, blowing away audiences across the US and Europe with a fierce, blistering live show that belied their bare bones, guitar-and-drums setup. Now, the band is embracing a whole new kind of chemistry as they launch their next cha...
Oct 29, 2024•34 min•Season 5Ep. 13
Best known for the 2004 hit “Life Less Ordinary,” the indie rock band Carbon Leaf has been at it since the early 1990s. That’s when they got their start in Richmond, Virginia, alongside the likes of the Dave Matthews Band, Cracker, GWAR, Fighting Gravity, the Pat McGee Band, and more. The band just released its much-anticipated new album, “Time is the Playground,” Carbon Leaf’s first full-length record in a decade. The album blends nostalgic storytelling with nuanced, folk-infused indie rock, an...
Sep 30, 2024•22 min•Season 5Ep. 12
If you are a musician and have a stamp of approval from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, and blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa—odds are good things are coming your way. Thus is the case of our latest guest on the Load Out Music Podcast: British-born blues rocker Joanne Shaw Taylor, who released her latest album, Heavy Soul, this past June. Taylor’s new record, Heavy Soul , dropped June 7, through Joe Bonamassa’s Journeyman Records. It was produced by Kevin...
Aug 26, 2024•25 min•Season 5Ep. 10
Welcome back to the Load Out Music Podcast where we most recently caught up with a much-heralded Americana band from my home state of Virginia. They are widely known for their annual Red Wings Roots Music Festival in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley in the western part of the state and have an ambitious new album out entitled SIDEWAYS. They are The Steel Wheels and we learned they are NOT named after the Rolling Stones album of the same name. We welcomed in Trent Wagler of the band to talk all th...
Jul 16, 2024•32 min•Season 5Ep. 9
We pick up on episode 11 of season 5 of the Load Out Music Podcast with a unique episode when we welcome in Jake Neuman of Jake Neuman and the Jaybirds, along with producer and former guest Greg Griffith. Greg not only produced the new record by the Jaybirds -- "Little Bitty Town" -- but he also produced the new album by my own band, Atomic Junction. All in the last month or so. So the three of us discuss both albums and the experiences in producing them.
Jul 08, 2024•39 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Jason Bonham’s name is synonymous with rock royalty. It started, of course, with his father—the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, who is considered one of the most transformative rock drummers in rock ‘n’ roll history. But Jason is no lesser emulation of his father. He’s a Grammy winner who has carved a different, yet highly influential path for himself, playing legendary shows with the living members of Zeppelin, touring with Sammy Hagar, leading his own band—Bonham—and playing with Foreig...
Jun 24, 2024•38 min•Season 5Ep. 7
He may not be the tallest musician going, but John Oates casts a immensely large shadow in music. One part of the most successful duo in music history—Daryl Hall & John Oates—he co-wrote a number of the band’s legendary catalogue including "Sara Smile," "She’s Gone,” "Out of Touch,” "You Make My Dreams,” "I Can’t Go for That," "Maneater” and more. In 2014, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 2014, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But at 76, Oates is taking stock in ...
May 23, 2024•30 min•Season 5Ep. 6
Coreen Sheehan knows how to sing. It’s how she’s toured all over the world fronting powerhouse rock ‘n’ roll bands and why Sheehan’s been employed by Grammy winners and helped countless singers prepare to compete in both U.S. and international versions of shows like NBC’s The Voice and American Idol. In fact, the vocal technique curricula she developed is used by the Musician’s Institute Hollywood, in music schools across Japan like the Osaka School of Music and the Fukuoka School of Music, in t...
May 09, 2024•38 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Acclaimed international jazz artist Jose James has a composure about him that one might compare to James Bond. The Minneapolis native claims he was one of the least talented artists in his music circles growing up, yet he ultimately attended The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. His first album, The Dreamer , debuted in 2008. Since then, he’s gone on to play at the Kennedy Center, The Hollywood Bowl, Ancienne Belgique, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Melbourne Symphony and has recorded 11 ...
Apr 20, 2024•33 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Earnestness. Authenticity. These are the things Nashville-based guitarist Tobin Dale relates to when he considers his chosen craft as a guitarist and playing the music he loves. A true student of rock‘n’roll guitar, Dale has been at it since discovering the Beatles and subsequently picking up the guitar around age 12, growing up in Orlando. In music circles, he’s become known as a go-to sideman for touring and sessions when artists are seeking the much-admired weave sound of guitars made popular...
Apr 07, 2024•40 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Like any other art form, rap music or hip-hop has a defined, ever-evolving legacy. There are names etched in the walls of the greats industry founders ranging from Curtis Blow to Grandmaster Flash, LL Cool J to Run DMC, the Beastie Boys, Will Smith, Doug E. Fresh, the Fat Boys and Queen Latifah. As the genre evolved, rap developed more of an edge, telling painful stories of street life from performers like N.W.A., Ice-T, Public Enemy, Tupac Shakur, and the Notorious B.I.G. Rappers Jay Z, Dr. Dre...
Feb 20, 2024•47 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Some guests need no introduction, especially when they've been a founding member of one of the most lendary rock bands in history, Traffic. But if you need more, Dave Mason has it. He's penned well over 100 songs, has three gold records, worked with the late Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartnery, George Harrison, Eric, Clapton, Rita Coolidge and the list goes on. The self-described "country boy" from England who now lives in Nevada is about the hit the road again--because he wouldn't...
Jan 27, 2024•28 min•Season 5Ep. 1
You might recognize Caleb Lee Hutchinson from his short stint on NBC's The Voice, on American Idol, country music radio or your favorite streaming platform. But after dropping an EP and a few popular singles, as well as working with some renowned producers, he emerges with his first full-length album, Southern Galactic , and it's certainly not your run-of-the-mill country music fare. Indeed, it's reminscent of the forays into pop, electronic music and rock that we've heard from the likes of Stur...
Oct 23, 2023•43 min•Season 4Ep. 15
Despite a rather decorated, 20-year history that includes accolades any band would relish, the GRAMMY-nominated, multi-platinum band NEEDTOBREATHE isn't satisfied. Indeed, the band came into their latest studio album feeling there was much to prove despite living in rare air in the modern genre landscape--having placed five Number One albums all across the Billboard chart spectrum. In our most recent episode of The Load Out Music Podcast, we speak to NEEDTOBREATHE's Josh Lovelace about where the...
Oct 18, 2023•29 min•Season 4Ep. 14
If there’s anything to be learned from the monumental successes of Beyonce and Taylor Swift, it’s that music artists can do more than simply record and perform music. Certainly, each has established themselves as exceptional artists. But they have also cultivated remarkably strong seemingly interpersonal bonds with their fans ranging from Beyonce’s “Bee Hive” to Taylor’s “Swifties.” A few rungs down the ladder, yet furiously climbing higher and higher, sits the uniquely engaging Zsuzsanna Eva Wa...
Aug 28, 2023•33 min•Season 4Ep. 13
Singer-songwriter Susan Gibson was born in Minnesota but spent most of her formative years in Amarillo, Texas. Growing up, she and her family would often drive between Amarillo and Missoula, Montana, where she drew comfort and inspiration from the wide open spaces along their route. Ultimately, Gibson took to music and the continuum of movement through those scenic vistas would become an essential muse that, in the early 1990s, would end up on a cassette tape of her early songs. “I didn’t start ...
Aug 20, 2023•49 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Singer-songwriters Diane Gentile and Alejandro Escovedo seemingly could not be more different. Gentile grew up as one of eight siblings in Flushing, Queens, and every morsel of her oozes New York City in a manner that evokes memories of the famed all-female band The Runaways . While Gentile cut her teeth in the music business as a club booker in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Escovedo—the son of a Mexican immigrant who grew up in Texas—was living the life of a classic, nomadic troubadour. Yet...
Aug 14, 2023•36 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Over the four seasons of The Load Out music podcast, we’ve had a variety of artists on the show that have ranged from Rock-and-Roll Hall-of-Fame inductees like John Oates, Steve Cropper and Chris Hillman; to Grammy winners, alt-country stars, longtime record executives and noted rap producers. On the latest episode, we welcome an up-and-coming band from New York City that’s a little bit rock, a little bit pop, and a little bit electronic music—a very different twist for our listeners. Rebel Kick...
Jul 31, 2023•36 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Let’s start here. Cody Canada—our latest guest on The Load Out Music Podcast—is many things but he is most certainly not some radio DJ in Canada, in the event you were curious. No, he’s a pioneering figure in red dirt music and one of the more respected musicians in songwriting circles today. But many casual music fans might be unfamiliar with his name, instead knowing his work from the legendary band that he founded and led from 1994 – 2010: Cross Canadian Ragweed. For those unfamiliar with red...
Jul 17, 2023•41 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Singer-songwriter Joshua Radin didn’t think he was going to be a musician. Certainly, he loved art and studied drawing and painting at Northwestern. But after college he worked as a teacher, screenwriter and other odd jobs. In his late 20s, Radin’s father bought him a guitar and things slowly came together. In 2004, actor Zach Braff—a friend since college—helped Radin get his song "Winter" on the NBC show Scrubs . Ultimately, Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence cherry-picked several of Radin’s other so...
Jul 11, 2023•34 min•Season 4Ep. 8
When he was 12, Joe Bonamassa started his career in blues-rock by opening for the legendary B.B. King. Somehow, things only got better for his career from there. Bonamassa has since been nominated for three Grammy Awards, had the number one position on the Billboard Music Blues Charts 26 times and been noted as one of the pre-eminent modern day blues-rock guitarists. But in reality, he is much more. Bonamassa is a tremendous songwriter and vocalist, but also continually demonstrates his passion ...
Jun 20, 2023•34 min•Season 4Ep. 7
The 1990s saw a host of new rock ‘n’ roll and adult-oriented roots come to the forefront on the American music scene. There was an understated, long-haired kid from Georgia in the mix with bands like the Black Crowes, Wilco, Sheryl Crow and the Counting Crows. His name was Shawn Mullins and his brooding, lyrically-thoughtful style stood out, harkening back to the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young. He exploded out of the gates with the album Soul’s Core and it left a mark with the Grammy-nominate...
Jun 13, 2023•38 min•Season 4Ep. 6
In 1994, I moved to New Orleans, where I lived until 1998. I loved my time there and still love the city today. Life in NOLA is hard to explain to those who’ve never been, or maybe only spent time partying in the French Quarter. It’s unique in so many ways, and as my children grew up, we tried to expose them to it as often as we could. Unlike most cities, communities in New Orleans are often racially integrated. They call them “checker-board neighborhoods,” which gives you a depiction of how whi...
May 04, 2023•44 min•Season 4Ep. 5
