Music Makers and Soul Shakers with Steve Dawson

Guitarist and composer Molly Miller joins me on the show today. I first saw Molly playing a show at Nelson Drum Shop here in Nashville with her trio - Jay Bellerose on drums and Jen Condos on bass. It was a spectacular show. Molly has a really unique style that’s rhythmic and aggressive but also extremely melodic. Kinda jazz. Kinda not. The trio is a regular thing for her, and they create music th...

On the show this week is William Bell, an incredible vocalist and legendary soul songwriter from Memphis. William was the first male artist signed to Stax Records in the early 60’s and it’s an honor to have him join me today to talk about his experiences. He grew up singing in church but quickly moved to the vibrant nightclub scene on Beale Street in Memphis where he worked with his vocal group Th...

Singer and songwriter William Prince joins me on the show this week. William came by the studio here in East Nashville to talk with me on the eve of his Grand Ol’ Opry debut, which was quite thrilling for a guy from northern Manitoba. William hails from the Peguis First Nation, which is a couple of hours outside of Winnipeg, which is where he now lives. He’s just released a killer new record calle...

Songwriter and banjo player Kaia Kater joins me on the show this week. I’ve seen Kaia’s artistry grow over the years as she’s been involved in festivals and events like Folk Alliance that I’ve been a part of and seen her perform quite a few times. Kaia started showing up on the scene 10 or 15 years ago and has put out some incredible music in the last 7 or 8 years. She’s a really interesting banjo...

On the show this week we have the incredible songwriter Peter Case, who I’ve been listening to for a long time. He’s been making records for decades and has some really cool stories under his belt. He’s also a bit of a guitar nerd, so it’s fun to get into that with him as well. Peter’s latest album is called “Doctor Moan” and it’s available now at all the places. Originally from Buffalo, Peter mov...

We kick off Season 7 this week with the very remarkable singer and songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan. Aaron has released a string of compelling and original solo albums over the past decade. They are all unique and interesting, but the last 3 or 4 are real gems, both in the writing and the incredible production and delivery with Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! being the latest release. Aaron has had an interest...

A bit of info on what's to come in Season 7 - All-new full episodes starting next week! If you enjoyed this episode, please consider supporting the show with a donation or Patreon subscription The show’s website can be found at www.makersandshakerspodcast.com Your fearless host, Steve Dawson can be found at www.stevedawson.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We lost the great David Lindley yesterday. In remembrance of the great Mr. Dave, I have gone back to my conversation with him in 2019. Because I’ve had to pull the music samples from my show, the episodes were shorter, so I glued the 2 parts together into this one episode. I hope you’ll spend a couple hours with us and then go crank some Twango Bango! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...

Season 6 comes to an end this week with my guest - the incomparable Jerry Douglas, who has re-invented the concept of the Dobro over the last 50 years, while also working as a bandleader and acclaimed producer. There are select few musicians on the planet who have undeniably redefined their instrument and the way it is approached in modern music, but Jerry is definitely one of them. He has had an...

Producer and engineer Bob Rock is on the show this week. Bob is originally from Winnipeg, but he cut his teeth in the late 70’s and early 80’s Vancouver punk rock scene while working at Little Mountain Studios. While Bob was working on original music and starting to achieve success with his band The Payolas, he continued his day job at the studio, which started to snowball into a string of success...

John Leventhal is a multiple Grammy Award-winning producer, guitarist and songwriter who has been steering the ship on many albums and musical projects over the last 40 years. John first came onto most people’s radar when he produced Shawn Colvin’s successful debut album “Steady On”. They collaborated again in 1996 on “A Few Small Repairs” which was a smash hit. Coming up in the New York live musi...

Guitarist and songwriter David Grissom is on the show this week! Anyone who knows anything about the guitar knows Grissom is a monster player, and has been a key element of albums for Joe Ely and John Mellencamp, and then with the band Storyville. But what I wasn’t really aware of was his extensive list of session work he did here in Nashville during the early 2000’s. For a good 10 years or so, Na...

Nicki Bluhm joins me on the show this week. I first heard her recent record “Avondale Drive” about 6 months ago and was blown away. She jas an incredible voice and writes really interesting tunes that draw from blues, soul, country and pop music. Nicki has made some killer records aside from Avondale Drive, and also had a really cool band called The Gramblers, which she fronted with her ex-husband...

Just a quick episode to give you the scoop on how/when the rest of Season 6 will unfold (soon!), and a peek behind the curtain on how some of these episodes come together. And also a call out to see who you’d like to hear on the show on Season 7 - chime in! (use the comments section on this episode, or send me an email or DM. Thanks for your support, and your fearless host, Steve Dawson can be fou...

On the show this week is the prolific film and TV composer, Patric Caird. I’ve known Pat for a long time, and I’ve worked with him a few times over the years on various scoring projects. He’s had an extremely busy career both as a composer, and earlier on as a music editor for TV shows. His credits include shows like The Dead Zone, The Collector, The Imperfects, The Order, and Outer Limits, not to...

Bryan Sutton, one of my absolute favorite bluegrass guitar players is on the show this week. I first heard of Bryan years ago when I was on a serious bluegrass binge (It occasionally continues to this day!). Around that time, Ricky Skaggs made a return to bluegrass and released his “Bluegrass Rules!” album. His band was called Kentucky Thunder and it was mostly youngsters with just unbelievable ch...

Mick Flannery is on the show this week. Mick is an amazing songwriter, well known and loved in his native Ireland, but has also made alot of in-roads in recent years into the US and Canada. This conversation came about very organically, after we met at the Edmonton folk festival this past summer, and it was a real pleasure getting to speak with Mick about his music and writing and recording proces...

This week on this show I have Stanton Moore, one of the great drummers to emerge from the New Orleans music scene in the 90’s and early 2000’s with his band Galactic, and he has become an absolute force of nature - performing, touring, recording, teaching, making cool stuff for drums, and being an ambassador for New Orleans music worldwide. Stanton has been one of the most respected drummers in co...

My guest this week is a killer guitar player and songwriter, known for his work with his band Cry of Love, and being a sideman to the Black Crowes, Dixie Chicks, Sheryl Crow and many others - Audley Freed. Audley is a master of groove and tone, and his undeniably cool approach to playing rock n roll guitar has landed him some amazing gigs over the last 3 decades. He started out in North Carolina p...

This week on the show is the great mandolin player, singer and songwriter Sierra Hull. Sierra is a monster player, and while she’s still really young, she’s been making records of her own for over 15 years now. The latest one, called “25 Trips” came out right around the pandemic, so her touring was curtailed for a while, but she’s back at it now in full force, playing with her band and also with C...

My guest today is a killer steel guitarist who has been working out of Austin, TX for years - Rose Sinclair. We had this conversation over zoom a few months ago and I’m thrilled to be bringing it to you today. Rose put out an album recently called “Wave” that I sort of stumbled across and listened to it over and over again for weeks. There was just something that really spoke to me in her tone and...

The great Hawaiian slack-key guitarist, George Kahumoku Jr. is on the show this week! George has been playing around the Hawaiian islands for decades, but came to prominence in the 80’s and 90’s when Dancing Cat records started putting out records by the foremost traditional slack-key players. George was one of the main ones, but we were alo introduced to his brother Moses, Sonny Chillngworth, Keo...

Hey everyone, welcome back! My guest today is an incredible drummer who lives and works here in Nashville, Fred Eltringham. Fred one of my favourite drummers around town and has held down the drum chair in Sheryl Crow’s band for the last 10 years or so. I’ve had a chance to see them in action a few times and they are really special. Fred keeps pretty busy here in Nashville when he’s not out with S...

This week on the show is an incredible singer, songwriter and musician - Amy Helm. Amy has a sublime feel for music, and a really interesting story too. She grew up in New York, partly in the city and I think at various times with her dad in Woodstock - her dad, of course, being legendary Band drummer and singer, Levon Helm. She was around Levon’s barn an awful lot and has seen that place go from...

Today I’m bringing you a conversation with one of the most recorded pedals steel players in modern times - Russ Pahl. Russ has played on all the great T-Bone Burnett records of the past bunch of years, and has also recorded for the likes of Sturgill Simpson, Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Norah Jones, Blake Shelton, Orville Peck, Marcus King, Ceelo Green, Yola, Jim Lauderdale, Buddy Miller, and...