A.A.R.T.

Abe, invited by an unnamed church group, ascends Fonde Mountain in Kentucky to search for snakes used for church services. Overlooking his old home in Middlesboro from those high places there is an epiphany: The prophesy Cody Coots gave him the first day they met, finally came to pass.  "God told me to tell you, you're gonna find the answers you're searching for..."

Abe – from the road, in Wisconsin – gives an update about concluding the first season of A.A.R.T. and where things go from here. Also, a Summerford contacts the show, updating Abe and Ferrill about what happened to her grandfather. Now, Abe and Ferrill pledge to resolve the cliffhanger remaining at the end of Alabama Astronaut.

Abe recounts three precious objects he found along his way, while touring the American South. These were needles in haystacks, but treasures in Abe's life: An old Methodist hymnal, a VHS tape, and an extremely rare record. They cost him $3. In today's Transmission, Abe argues art is not just something a discerning eye beholds, but can usher a transformation in one's very life. To see the Son House...

Abe continues his search for hidden artists in the hills of Appalachia. Today, in the same stretch of mountains his beloved friends Jimmy and Pam Morrow lived, he locates a kind man with a house filled to the top with "outsider" art. This artist (named Ralph Vaughn) informs Abe God ordained his search, and that is who provided the inevitable meeting.   Abe spends the day recording Ralph, until he...

Cassy Coots sent Abe Partridge a viral video of a woman singing and playing in an empty church house. The song was called "King Jesus." How she played and sang, Abe just had to meet her – and, if she would allow, he'd attempt to record her, too. It was Dootsie Rose, a singer and songwriter from McKee, Kentucky. Abe has made a vinyl record of the magical day he spent with Ms. Dootsie. The album rel...

Abe plays Chiefs on Broadway (Nashville) and encounters a rising songwriter named Jake Worthington. They trade songs back and forth. Abe sees "the classic country style" in him –  Abe draws connections from the roots of country to the here and now, as he sees it. At David Childer's house – recording a new Satan You're A Liars record – Abe breaks down why an upcoming show at the Laurel Cove Music F...

New to the mountains, Abe falls in love with Appalachia.  In the college dorm one night, he hears another student picking a banjo. Abe purchases an $80 Korean banjo (complete with an Earl Scruggs instructional cassette) to begin the daunting task of learning how to play. With a few basics down, Abe begins a search for "his people" – musicians who play in jam circles. As he tells it, these circles...

Today's Transmission: Abe details how he first got into field recordings, old gospel and bluegrass music. Caught with a punk rock cassette at a Fundamental Baptist college he attended, this administration decided it would be best if Abe did not return.  So ... he didn't. At his final Bible college stop, Abe finally "bought in." He eventually became a preacher. But even in his senior year, he found...

Abe Partridge promised "A Document" back in 2020 – when he first sat down with buddy Ferrill Gibbs to document the beginning of his quest. Today, we are closer than ever to a completed work. Abe's compilation of singers and instrumentalists belting out the songs of Mark 16 will soon be available to the world. Abe's "Document" aims to be the most sonically representative work of the serpent-handlin...

Song catcher Abe Partridge facilitated a recording session late one night at a serpent-handling church in Gray, Kentucky. Pastor Andrew Hamblin, of The Free Pentecostal House of Prayer, armed with a beautiful cherry red Hummingbird, rose to the moment and belted out a red-hot version of the faith's most endearing song. Little David Play On Your Harp features Andrew's wife, Taylor, a self-taught mu...

Abe Partridge travels around, showing his folk art and playing his songs. As he does, he takes the backroads in search of a kindred spirit.   The Alabama Astronaut Radio Transmission features voices of roadside artists who make beautiful things from broken things. Abe captures their songs, stories, and works of their lives – as they pursue the highest of ideals – field-recording style.