MoxieTalk with Kirt Jacobs

Born in Chattanooga and now based in Johnson City, Amythyst Kiah's commanding stage presence is matched by her raw and powerful vocals—a deeply moving, hypnotic sound that stirs echoes of a distant and restless past. Accompanied interchangeably with banjo, acoustic guitar, or a full band, her eclectic influences span decades, finding inspiration in old-time music, alternative rock, folk, country,...

Matt is the chef/partner of the critically-acclaimed barbecue restaurant Pig Beach located in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Matt first earned his BBQ chops during his time working on America's highly competitive barbecue teams, Salty Rinse, receiving 2nd place medal for Whole Hog in 2015 and 1st Place for Best Sauce at the annual Memphis in May World Championship. Prior to opening his own restaurants, Matt w...

Chef Jose Salazar was born in Colombia South America and was raised in Queens NY. Chef Salazar got his start in restaurants as a bartender and waiter at some of New York's hottest establishments- among them, Donatella Arpia's Bellini restaurant. Although the front of the house is where he started, it was the kitchen that really caught his eye. This prompted him to enroll in the culinary program at...

Los Angeles, based Michael Voltaggio is the chef of the former ink.well concept, as well as Sack Sandwiches at LAX's Tom Bradley International. Beginning his career at the age of 15, Michael earned the prestigious Greenbrier apprenticeship at age 19 and went on to helm the kitchens at Dry Creek Kitchen and The Bazaar by José Andrés. Celebrated for having reinterpreted a new class of finer dining a...

Pearl Aday is a Honey-throated and soulful, and possessing a compelling growl full of grit and strut when she lets loose. Pearl follows up her critically acclaimed 2010 debut with her new release "Heartbreak and Canyon Revelry," ushering in a new dawn of California Country Rock. Joining forces with the venerable Jim Wilson, (longtime bassist for Daniel Lanois, Emmylou Harris, and leader of Motor S...

***DISCLAIMER*** *Due to the live nature of our Hometown Rising music festival coverage, & external circumstances  beyond our control,  the audio production in the following MoxieTalk is unable to be brought to our normal  MoxieTalk listening and viewing standards.  We apologize for any inconvenience.* As Rolling Stone so cleverly put it, Hannah Ellis is an artist for fans of "spontaneous declarat...

***DISCLAIMER*** *Due to the live nature of our Hometown Rising music festival coverage, & external circumstances  beyond our control,  the audio production in the following MoxieTalk is unable to be brought to our normal  MoxieTalk listening and viewing standards.  We apologize for any inconvenience.* "At an after-party one night we watched a video of The Band's "The Last Waltz" over a bottle of...

As an emerging female country artist in Nashville, history suggests that the quickest path to success is somehow aligning oneself with one of the major publishers, producers, songwriters, labels, or managers that are the heart of Music Row. So what do you do if you are an emerging female country artist in Nashville, and also happen to be the granddaughter of musical icon, Willie Nelson? You hook u...

Known mononymously as IMAJ, the artist fans everywhere call their "Country Darling" is a multi-talented Country singer-songwriter, visual artist, novelist, actress and humanitarian. Born in Miami Beach, FL to a model mother and actor father, 80's TV icon Philip Michael Thomas (Tubbs of Miami Vice), IMAJ grew up in a "utopian environment where creativity was encouraged." IMAJ has been a special gue...

With a pair of critically acclaimed Woods Music/Thirty Tigers releases under their belts in Straw in the Wind(2017) and Old News(2019), Nashville-based The Steel Woods have lived up to their name as a hybrid musical force both in the studio, but especially live. The band's two original members are native sons of the south who both hale from small-town backgrounds. The Alabama-born Wes Bayliss play...

"It's a song about taking the risk to do what you love," Alice Wallace says of the soaring track, "The Blue," which yields a lyric entitling her spellbinding new album. With Into the Blue, the California-country singer-songwriter conjures the atmospheric sound of the Golden State's canyons and deserts, mountains and crashing waves, its crowning beauty and its tragic losses. At the same time, the s...

A tractor cab might not seem like the ideal place for an aspiring artist to nurture her musical dreams, but it sure did the trick for Clare Dunn. Growing up in tiny Two Buttes, Colorado (population: 43), she spent days at a time helping plow and plant the family farm, sharpening her ears with uninterrupted music-listening in the driver's seat, even as she strengthened her work ethic. "That's where...

***DISCLAIMER*** *Due to the live nature of our Hometown Rising music festival coverage, & external circumstances  beyond our control,  the audio production in the following MoxieTalk is unable to be brought to our normal  MoxieTalk listening and viewing standards.  We apologize for any inconvenience.* Noah rose to fame covering chart-topping hits on YouTube. He received national attention with hi...

Trained at The Australian Ballet School & having enjoyed a thrilling & fulfilling career with The Australian Ballet as a Principal Artist, Robert took his passion & discipline he developed as a dancer & set his sights on diversifying his knowledge, skills & abilities. With education and experience, he continually expanded his ability to move his own body on stage & through this, moving an audience...

GE Appliances, a Haier company, is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, where Marcia Brey leads the Lean strategy for the business focusing on delivering winning products and services for customers & consumers while minimizing waste throughout ALL functions. Known as the Lean Enterprise, Marcia is responsible for implementing transformational, cross-functional processes, growing the capability o...

Alex attends Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky and has served as Lieutenant Governor of the Kentucky Youth Assembly and more recently elected to serve as the KYA President of the Senate. Additionally, he was selected to represent Kentucky at the Conference On National Affairs. Since the age of 11, Alex has been leading a bipartisan effort in the Kentucky legislature to end the use o...

Josh runs IDEAS xLab – an artist-led nonprofit based in Louisville, KY. He is an artist with a background in entrepreneurship, art & business administration, & editorial production – & explores the world through photography (& a lot of running), documenting his journey through joshmiller.ventures. In addition to his outdoor explorations, Josh celebrates the brilliance and strength of marginalized...

Lee Pennington is a graduate of Berea College and the University of Iowa. He holds two Honorary Doctor degrees – A Doctor of Literature from World University & Doctor of Philosophy in Arts from The Academy of Southern Arts & Letters. He taught for nearly 40 years, the last 32 as Professor of English and creative writing at the University of Kentucky's Jefferson Community College until he retired i...

Shelly is a community leader & an internationally recognized authority on American quilts. Check out  www.shellyzegart.com  for more information. She collects, curates exhibitions, writes, lectures, and appraises fine quilts. Shelly has curated many exhibits in the U.S. & abroad, and lectures on all aspects of quilt history and aesthetics. She is the President of the not-for-profit Kentucky Quilt...

Ramez Naam is the co-chair of Energy and Environment at Singularity University. He is a computer scientist who spent 13 years at Microsoft leading teams that worked on email, web browsing, internet search, machine learning, internet-scale systems, and artificial intelligence. The products he built have touched the lives of more than a billion people. Ramez is an inventor with more than 20 patents,...

Dr. Richard Murphy, who has been the research director at the Alltech European Bioscience Centre in Dunboyne, Ireland, for 17 years, is the recipient of the Alltech Medal of Excellence. Alltech's highest distinction, it is awarded annually to someone of great character and achievement. Dr. Murphy is being recognized for his pioneering work in the areas of organic trace element assimilation, microb...

Amanda Radke is a fifth-generation rancher from Mitchell, South Dakota, who has dedicated her career to serving as a voice for the nation's beef producers. A 2009 graduate of South Dakota State University (SDSU) with a degree in agricultural communications, education, and leadership, Amanda served internships with the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service in Wash...

Samantha considers herself a Media Specialist, having worked for such organizations as Fairfax Media, Food Miles Magazine, the Daily Telegraph, and the Glen Innes Examiner.  Based in Sydney Australia, Samantha became the Runner-Up 2019 IFAJ Alltech International Award for Leadership.

Deborah Wilson is senior vice president of TrustBIX Inc., which operates Business InfoXchange (BIX) in Canada and Viewtrak Technologies in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and China. BIX is currently expanding into other countries and beyond beef to other species and commodities. Her role includes business development, data management system development, blockchain use, traceability in supply chains, col...

Mike Mills is an American  multi-instrumentalist , singer, and  composer  who was a founding member of the  alternative rock  band  R.E.M.  Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire also includes keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments. He contributed to a majority of the band's musical compositions.