Saturday’s WMOT festival gives us a fresh reason to pause and think about the fuzzy quantum energy particle that is Aaron Lee Tasjan. He’s a shapeshifter, a rocker and a folkie, a singer and guitar player for the ages, and a mensch beloved by his Nashville community. In the dozen years he’s been in Nashville, he’s released a wildly daring and diverse string of albums. Among them: the jangling alt-country of In The Blazes, the Glamericana of Silver Tears, two different versions of his Beatles-ish rock and rolling Karma For Cheap, and last year, the delicious and sometimes snarky synth-pop opus Stellar Evolution. A bit of all those moods will work their way into ALT’s set on Saturday for Roots On The Rivers. It was time to catch up with our restless friend.
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Texas songwriter Vincent Neil Emerson graduated from playing on the streets and in the bars of Fort Worth to tours with Colter Wall and American Aquarium and then a well-received debut album (2019’s Fried Chicken And Evil Women). That inspired none other than Rodney Crowell and Shooter Jennings in turn to take an interest in producing the young country troubadour, resulting in a self-titled release in 2021 and the more recent The Golden Crystal Kingdom of 2023. They heard what I hear - an artist processing his past and making his struggles universal, a singer with an honest voice and a distinct point of view. He paused during his ongoing touring to sit down with WMOT after a show at Skinny Dennis. -
Musical diversity is one important touchstone for our lineups at Roots On The Rivers, and as co-host of The Old Fashioned, I maybe want to say that we’ve been a little light on bluegrass music over these past few years. That all changes on Saturday, May 31, when we bring you two stars of the genre from different generations and styles, the iconic Sam Bush and breakout fiddler, singer and songwriter Bronwyn Keith-Hynes. In case you aren’t up to speed or up to date with this artistic mutual admiration society, here’s a briefing. -
Atlanta native Kristina Murray moved to Nashville in 2014 with a fresh and original debut album and steely determination. The country singer and songwriter carved out a respected space at honky tonks like Santa’s Pub and the American Legion. When hard work and critical acclaim for her two releases didn’t launch her career to a new orbit, it felt like defeat. That, plus the pandemic, fueled some challenging times and emotions that inspired her new one, Little Blue, a lovely, lament-filled album on New West’s Normaltown imprint. Murray is due for new waves of attention, and we talk about how hard that is to manifest in this edition of The String.
LINER NOTES
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Jessie Scott sat down with Judy Collins for a special Words & Music session at WMOT's Riverside Revival studio in East Nashville. -
Listen to Jessie Scott as she sits down with William Prince for a Words & Music session. -
The gang from Fruition sat down with Jessie Scott for a special Words & Music set Monday, November 18th.
WMOT VIDEO: LIVE SESSIONS ON NPR MUSIC
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Willi Carlisle is this week's guest for 30A Songwriters Sessions, where we invite artists to perform acoustic sets in a beach house turned studio near Santa Rosa Beach, Florida during the 30A Songwriters Festival. Carlisle performed the title track of his upcoming album 'Winged Victory', "I Want No Children", and "The Arrangements". Plus, a behind-the-scenes interview with Jessie Scott about his upcoming tour with Tyler Childers and songwriting process. -
Ohio-based band The Shootouts dropped by the WMOT studio for the latest episode of Words & Music, where we invite artists to discuss and perform acoustic versions of their latest projects. The band performed "Trampoline" and "The Other Side of My Life" from their latest record, Switchback. Plus, a behind-the-scenes interview about recording the new album in Nashville, why they commit to their iconic western stage wear, and why they include covers on their records. -
Susan Werner is this week's guest for 30A Songwriters Sessions, where we invite artists to perform acoustic sets in a beach house turned studio near Santa Rosa Beach, Florida during the 30A Songwriters Festival. Werner performed "Halfway to Houston", "I Can't Be New", "What Did You Do to Your Face?". Plus, a behind-the-scenes interview with Jessie Scott. -
Mike Delevante joins us for another edition of Words & Music, where we invite artists to discuss and perform stripped-down versions of their latest projects. Mike and his all-star band performed "The Rain Never Came", "Too Far Gone", and "Good Cry" from his debut solo record, September Days.
NPR Top Stories
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The close race had the country on edge since a first round two weeks earlier and through the night into Monday, revealing deep divisions in the country along the eastern flank of NATO and the EU. -
Authorities said at least 80 shots were fired in the shooting that began at about 12:45 a.m. People reported running, ducking for cover and scrambling to their cars for safety. -
Air quality reached "unhealthy" levels in North Dakota and small swaths of Montana, Minnesota and South Dakota, according to the EPA.
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