Tell You What! the Podcast

We recorded this episode in person at AmericanaFest in Nashville. Early James released “Strange Time to Be Alive”, his second album produced by Dan Auerbach at his Easy Eye Studios, earlier this year. We hear about the process of working with Dan and his band of legendary musicians as they interpret James’ songs, working with Sierra Ferrell on their duet “Real Low Down Lonesome”, how he developed...

We talk with Canadian artist Abigail Lapell about her recent album Stolen Time. Abigail tells us that writing melodies, for her, is “like breathing…I can’t avoid it”, while lyric writing she finds more challenging, as she struggles to find the language to express the moods and feelings her melodies carry-“…words are ...very definite…” We also hear tales of canoes and bicycles, guitar for dummies,...

Fellow Pynins is a contemporary folk duo from Portland, Oregon. Dani Aubert and Ian George sat down with us at the Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City to discuss their beautiful new album, Lady Mondegreen. All the songs on the album are traditional songs that were learned person-to-person from various people they met while traveling with their two children through Europe/UK/Irela...

For this particularly special episode, we are joined by Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner, folk music legend and prolific songwriter Tom Paxton; along with Shane McLaughlin and Lucy Clabby, principal songwriters for the band Buffalo Rose. Tom tells us how he discovered the music of Buffalo Rose and was so taken by it that he reached out to Lucy and Shane to suggest they work together writin...

Maya de Vitry joins us from her home in Nashville to discuss her recent album, Violet Light. Maya co-produced this record with partner Ethan Jodziewicz in their home studio during quarantine, collaborating with a different cast of musical guests (including her three siblings) for each song. Maya discusses her musical youth, her time as a touring musician as part of The Stray Birds, and how she has...

Ryan Anderson, songwriter and frontman for the Louisville based band Bendigo Fletcher is our guest, in a conversation recorded at SXSW in Austin. We hear about working with producer Ken Coomer (Uncle Tupelo, Wilco) on their amazing 2021 release “Fits of Laughter”, playing a gig at Willie’s ranch, and the element of surprise in music making. Also covered: sword fighting with rock stars, and which i...

Margo Cilker released her debut full length album Pohorylle late in 2021 on Portland label Fluff and Gravy, and it has quickly received a lot of attention. She joins us to talk about working with producer Sera Cahoone, how her time living in various parts of the globe has impacted her creative process; and singing songs to the elk on the prairie. Also, it turns out Margo and I approached higher ed...

We sit down at AmericanaFest 2021 in Nashville with Vivian Leva and Riley Calcagno to discuss their wonderful self titled record released earlier in the year. We also talk about their upbringings immersed in the world of string band music, and how they view the creative and performing processes of the two projects they are involved in: the Vivian and Riley duo and the traditional string band The O...

Winnipeg musician Liam Duncan records and performs under the name Boy Golden. We discuss the quite excellent Boy Golden record Church of Better Daze, which is also the name of the church of which Boy Golden is founder and minister. The goal of his church is to “enjoy each day and make better music”, and Boy Golden has made some great music with this album. Liam reflects on his creative journey, an...

Buffalo Nichols joins us from Austin to discuss his debut solo self-titled album, just out on Fat Possum Records. While the record certainly showcases his masterful skills on the acoustic slide guitar, it is also a collection of great songwriting: soulful, emotional and often challenging lyrics sit atop the beautiful guitar work. Nichols talks about his musical journey, from a childhood spent teac...

Kentucky musician Jeremy Pinnell joins us to talk about the making of his third studio album, “Goodbye L.A.” This time around, Jeremy went for a record that “would make people feel happy, make people dance”, but the themes are still weighty as on his previous critically acclaimed albums. Here he sings of the conflicts inherent in the lifestyle of touring musicians who try to balance their musical...

We are joined by Nashville based musician and songwriter Rachel Baiman, who discusses her recently released record Cycles. Rachel has travelled an interesting and varied creative path: from young fiddle prodigy to Nashville session and touring band musician to producer and noted songwriter. Our conversation centers on the transitions in Rachel’s musical journeys. For her new album Cycles, Rachel t...

Beth Whitney joins us from her home state of Washington to discuss her album “Into the Ground”, recently released on Tone Tree Music. It is a wonderfully rich, at time orchestral collection of songs that draws deeply from the forests and high desert landscapes of Beth’s home state. We hear about Beth’s early years singing with her family, how a procrastinated school assignment birthed her first so...

We are lucky enough to be joined by the full complement of the indie power-trio band The Accidentals for Episode 31. Sav Buist, Katie Larson, and Michael Dause join us to discuss their just released EP Time Out (Session 1). Recorded during quarantine, the EP is the product of online collaborations with some of the band’s favorite songwriters, including Kim Richey, Dar Williams, Maia Sharp, Tom Pax...

David Wax returns to Tell You What! to discuss the new David Wax Museum album Euphoric Ouroboric and what else they have been up to during quarantine. For the full David Wax Tell You What! interview, check out Episode 14.

Texas born and raised and now Nashville based musician/songwriter Katy Kirby joins us to talk about her excellent debut album Cool Dry Place and her approach to songwriting and music making. Cool Dry Place is an intriguing and marvelously put together collection of musical gems, songs that combine catchy pop melodies with poetically askew, thought provoking lyrics, all wrapped in complex and somet...

Cincinnati native Arlo McKinley released his debut solo album Die Midwestern in 2020 on John Prine’s Oh Boy Records, an album that ended up on a number of “best of 2020” lists. These are songs of deep personal truth, snapshots from a difficult time in Arlo’s life. His soulful voice, songwriting talents, and the services of an all-star Memphis studio band combine to produce beautiful and wonderfull...

James Bradshaw, who records under the Pony Bradshaw moniker, joins us to talk about his new album Calico Jim. The songs on the record, most of which were written during quarantine, are stories and poems about the north Georgia territory that James calls home. It is a truly remarkable collection of songs, evoking images and characters that come to life through his finely crafted lyrics and subtly c...

In this episode we talk with Dave Senft and Harris Paseltiner, who, along with Don Mitchell and Auyon Mukharji, make up the Massachusetts based band Darlingside. The band recently released their fourth full length album Fish Pond Fish. We talk about how this album’s creation took some different paths than Darlingside’s previous work, some of which were planned (different approaches to group song w...

We are joined by Dani Stone and Nick Stone, two of the members of self described "folk forward indie rock" band South for Winter. They discuss their amazing new record Luxumbra, their musical paths from Colorado (Dani) and New Zealand (Nick) to Nashville, and their approaches to songwriting and collaboration. Also discussed: dancing the Carlton, murder, and it turns out that one of the three of us...

For our 25th(!) episode of Tell You What! we are joined by Canadian musician and songwriter Jeremie Albino. Jeremie talks about his late teen years when he moved from the Toronto suburbs to the farmlands of Ontario, working the soil while writing songs. We discuss the songs on his amazing debut record Hard Time, how the sounds of creaking floorboards made their way onto the album, and how he works...

We talk in this episode with musician and songwriter Joy Ike. Currently based in Philadelphia (after moving from Pittsburgh), Joy’s latest album, “Bigger Than Your Box”, released in 2018, is a wonderful record. Joy talks about the Nigerian praise music that was the soundtrack to her childhood and how its percussive sounds influence her songwriting, her interesting on and off relationship with the...

We spend this episode with Nashville based singer/songwriter Michaela Anne, who released her third full length album (her first with label Yep Roc Records), the wonderful Desert Dove, in 2019. We discuss the diverse arrangements and songwriting styles on the record, which, while a country record at its core, integrates a variety of sounds and influences. Michaela has an interesting background, mov...

We are joined by Cara Luft and JD Edwards, who make up the Canadian duo The Small Glories. Recently named artist of the year by the International Folk Alliance, as well as Vocal Group of the Year at the Juno Awards, (where their recent album "Assiniboine and the Red" garnered Contemporary Album of the Year), The Small Glories are a product of both JD and Cara’s individual veteran singer/songwriter...

In this bonus episode, we talk again with Logan Ledger, whose long awaited debut album was recently released on Rounder Records. Logan discusses the process of putting the album together, how his co-write with Steve Earle came about, and the origin stories of several of the tracks. Also, Logan dishes out some heavy font knowledge.