Jack Barksdale's Roots Revival

On this episode I interview Brendan Forrest, who is a fantastic multi-instrumentalist, composer, and singer-songwriter. I loved getting to talk to him about his musical background, his approach to his music, his new album, Daydreaming Music Fiend (which is available now!), and much more. I hope you like this one and stay tuned for more interesting episodes in the future. As always, you can email m...

On this episode, I talked with my good friends, Lindi Ortega and Mike Meadows, about a project that we actually worked on together. I’ve known Mike for a while and have worked with him a lot over the years. Late last year Mike introduced me to his friend Lindi and shortly afterwards we three cooked up a plan to record some Tom Waits songs and release them as a joint single. Lindi and Mike are both...

Liam St. John is an amazing singer-songwriter based out of Nashville, TN. His songs are a modern amalgamation of a wide range of American music. Roots, Blues, Rock, Soul, R&B, he does it all. Liam’s new EP, Believer is a shift from his two previous “stripped back” records. Believer features full band arrangements of Liam’s songs and shows a different side of his music. I really loved talking t...

In this episode, I sat down once again with Van Plating. Van and I last spoke in 2021 when she was releasing her sophomore album. Now, two years later, we’ve reconvened to discuss her third and most daring album yet, Orange Blossom Child. Chronicling the lives of her and her family, and others undergoing the Floridian experience. Self-produced with 11 songs and many collaborators, such as Elizabet...

Today I sat down with Ed Snodderly, an amazing roots singer-songwriter and musician from Johnson City, Tennessee. We got to talk about his new album (Chimney Smoke) coming out in July, the songwriting class he teaches at East Tennessee State University, how he got started in music, and much more. Ed has released LPs on Sugar Hill and other prestigious roots-oriented labels and, in addition to his...

This week I conversed with singer-songwriter, Will Payne Harrison. Will is a Nashville based Country/Roots artist. He just released his new ten song album, Tioga Titan. The album was produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Will, himself. I highly recommend giving it a listen if you haven’t already. As always email me at jack@jackbarksdale.com for any questions or show ideas .

Today I had the pleasure of talking with Ever More Nest (specifically lead singer/songwriter Kelcy Mae). Ever More Nest’s new album, "Out Here Now" was produced by Neilson Hubbard. With contributions from multi-instrumentalists Will Kimbrough, Fats Kaplin and bassist Dean Marold, it’s hard to go wrong. I really love this new album. It’s so soulful and emotive. I highly recommend it as well as Ever...

This week I was able to visit with Caleb Caudle. Caleb’s new album, Forsythia, will be released in October 2022. It is a treasure trove of great songwriting and self-reflection. On this new album he worked with many fantastic artists and creatives such as John Carter Cash, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Carlene Carter, Elizabeth Cook and more. I hope you enjoy learning about Caleb and his music. I know...

On this episode of the podcast I talk with Kevin Houston, a music engineer and producer. He’s worked with bands and artists such as Robert Plant, North Mississippi All Stars, Patty Griffin, Buddy Guy, Walter Trout, Lucero and many more. In fact Kevin was the engineer on my new song “Gone”. It was fun getting to talk and learn more about the other side of the recording process. As always email me a...

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my all time favorite songwriters, Adam Carroll. We talked about how he started, what he's learned over the years, his plans for the future and so much more. I had so much fun learning more about Adam and his music and getting to ask him some questions as a fan that I had been wanting to ask for a while. I hope you learn some cool things from this...

John “Jz” Zaskoda is an amazing musician, songwriter and frontman. His band Dirty Pool, after years of playing shows around Texas, have released their debut album, Late Bloomer. The album blends many genres and styles. It doesn’t feel like they’re trying to be anyone else, it feels unique, satisfying and original. I had a great time learning more about Jz and I hope you do too. Make sure you go li...

On this episode of the podcast I interviewed singer-songwriter Kyle Nix. Kyle has been recording and touring as the fiddle player in the band Turnpike Troubadours for years, but in 2020 Kyle emerged with his debut solo album, Lightning on the Mountain & Other Short Stories. The album is a a western-inspired collection of literary songs, which tell stories from Kyle’s own history as well as of...

Today I had the pleasure of chatting with Cindy Emch of the band Secret Emchy Society. Cindy’s music is a blend of Americana, California Country, Gothbilly, Honky Tonk and Roots music. It was great getting to talk to her about her band’s new album (Gold Country, Country Gold), her influences, her overall musical journey and more. I hope you enjoy this episode and make sure to check out Secret Emch...

This week I interviewed Graham Weber. Graham is a proud resident of Austin, Texas, a phenomenal singer-songwriter and solo artist. He sings torch songs with his jazz combo and rock and roll with Western Youth. He’s the Artistic Director of The House of Songs, which is an organization that invites songwriters from around the world to the United States to share the universal language of music in col...

On this episode of the podcast I had the pleasure of talking with Seattle based singer-songwriter Peter Donovan. We discussed his new album, This Better Be Good (his very first solo album, coming out April 29, 2022), some of his prior projects (All The Real Girls, The Rose Petals), his love of The Beatles, and much more. I hope you enjoy this episode and look up Peter’s music if you haven’t alread...

This week I got to talk with Jaimee Harris. Jaimee is a phenomenal songwriter with a wonderful voice and a deep passion for music. Her 2018 album, “Red Rescue,” is an amazing collection of awe-inspiring songwriting and musicality that I highly recommend. Her mix of blunt relatability, beautiful imagery, and master-level storytelling is rare and refreshing. No matter what kind of music you like you...

Nicholas Edward Williams is a folk singer, singer-songwriter, and creator and host of the music history podcast, American Songcatcher. I had the honor to interview him this week and It was phenomenal. This episode is a bit longer than usual because there was just so much ground to cover. Nicholas is such an interesting individual and it would have felt wrong not to talk about it all. So please enj...

To celebrate the release of my single, Sideways, I had an amazing conversation with my co-writer on the song, Jeff Plankenhorn. We talked about how we came up with the premise of “Sideways,” what influences and inspirations we had for the song, how the song warped and shifted from our original vision, and what ever else we felt like talking about. I hope you enjoy this episode as well as the new s...

This week I was lucky enough to interview Anthony Simpkins. Anthony is a folk and roots musician and songwriter. With his YouTube channel, GemsOnVHS Anthony acts as somewhat of a modern day Alan Lomax in the way that he finds these great artists and introduces their music to a wider audience. It was fun talking with Anthony about how he got to where he is, his goals, and some shared personal pet p...

Charles Wesley Godwin is a country/folk musician and songwriter with a voice so comforting yet powerful that it can knock you off of your feet. His 2019 debut album, Seneca, set the bar high and he continues to deliver with his sophomore album, How the Mighty Fall, coming out November 5th. I had the privilege of getting an exclusive listen and I can confirm that it’s going to exceed all of your ex...

I had a great time this week talking with Grace Morrison. Grace has just released her brand new 12 song album entitled Daughter. The album was produced by well respected musician and producer Jon Evans and includes a co-write with Lori McKenna. Not to mention Lloyd Maines makes an appearance on every song on the album! In addition to her new album, we talked about her many unbelievable experiences...

I was fortunate enough to interview Elijah Ocean this week. Elijah has been praised as an artist to watch in Rolling Stone, Saving Country Music, LA Weekly, Uproxx, Wide Open Country, and beyond. He just released his sixth studio album “Born Blue.” According to Elijah, this album has been a long time coming. “Born Blue” has a true country sound and I highly recommend it. We talked about many thing...

This week I had the pleasure of talking to singer/songwriter Dominique Pruitt. Dominique has a new 5 song EP called Praying for Rain coming out July 2, 2021. I enjoyed hearing how she got her start in music, her musical goals and how her new EP came together. So for the singles she has already released from the EP are amazing. As always send me an email if you have any questions or guest ideas to...

On this episode my Mom and I recapped the crazy month that we just had including playing in Houston with Wynonna Judd among other things. As always email me at jack@jackbarksdale with questions or show ideas.

I was fortunate enough to sit down and talk with Scott Nolan. I’m a big fan of his and it was so much fun to get to interview him. Scott’s an accomplished singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Winnipeg, Canada. He has a very rare and unique sound that I absolutely love and I hope you will too. Scott has worked with artists such as Adam Carroll, Mary Gauthier, Hayes Carll, and Fred Eagle...