Southern Songs and Stories

Joe Kendrick

5.0 (49)
MUSIC INTERVIEWS
UPDATED BIMONTHLY

Southern Songs and Stories is a documentary series about the music of the South and the artists who make it. We showcase their performances and discover the stories behind their songs with a look at their lives on stage, in the studio and at home as well as the family, friends, fans and music professionals around them.

FEB 4

Rock and Roots Collide To Make a Joyful Noise: SUSTO Stringband and Holler Choir

It is interesting to compare and contrast the genres of rock and roll with old time and string band music. In some ways, string bands can be more raw and intense than rock bands. No bridges. Odd tunings. Dancing to exhaustion. Music made for intimate social gatherings versus music made for the wide world. The stereotypes of old time musicians being country bumpkins have not been entirely erased, however our guests in this episode are making music that reveals how deep and refreshing that wellspring of what was the first original music export of America can be in a new context. Taking the intricacy and edge of old time, string band music and marrying that with the punch and strut of indie rock, we arrive at a hybrid, a musical animal that sings a song seldom heard in the roots music world. As Justin Osborne pointed out, “It's just been so fun and really educational for me too, because I think coming from the indie rock world, I underestimated what it was going to require of me to be able to hang. And I just, it's one of those things you don't realize how much you don't know. But it's been really enjoyable lessons in humility for me and really fun to learn, and to continue to realize how much I don't know.” Justin, of the Austin-based indie rock band SUSTO may never sound the same again after teaming up with Appalachian acoustic troubadours Clint Robinson and Jackson Grimm of Holler Choir, and they are soon to return with Volume 2 from their project SUSTO Stringband. In this episode, we get to hear from Justin, Jackson and Clint about their rock and string band amalgamation, the importance of strong songwriting, the joys of live performance, the advantages of playing festival shows and more, with music from both SUSTO Stringband and Holler Choir along the way. SUSTO Stringband Songs heard in this episode: “Rooster” by SUSTO Stringband, from SUSTO Stringband Volume 1 “Friends, Lovers, Ex-lovers: Whatever” by SUSTO Stringband, performed live at The Albino Skunk Music Festival 10/02/25, excerpt “Tell My Blues” by SUSTO Stringband, performed live at The Albino Skunk Music Festival 10/02/25, excerpt “Hamlet Blues” by Holler Choir, performed live at The Albino Skunk Music Festival 10/02/25 Thank you for listening, and we hope you can spread awareness of this endeavor and help us reach more music fans just like yourself. Please take a moment and give us a top rating on your podcast platform of choice, and where you can, a review. It makes a big impact on the ranking and therefore the visibility of this series to all the other music fans who also follow podcasts. This is Southern Songs and Stories, where our quest is to explore and celebrate the unfolding history and culture of music rooted in the American South, and going beyond to the styles and artists that it inspired and informed. - Joe Kendrick

32 min
JAN 15

A Long Winter’s Night with The Ruen Brothers

Chalk this one up to making myself do something when I was not sure I had it in me. Have you accomplished something even though you were not feeling it that day? I bet you have. And I bet that you, too, benefited from having willed yourself into action. This episode is one of those examples for me. After a full day of interviewing artists and staff at the fall 2025 Albino Skunk Music Festival, I was ready for bed, but I gathered up just enough resolve to wait past midnight to interview The Ruen Brothers. It was the first interview I have conducted that late — the time stamp on the audio file of our conversation reads 1:37AM — but it was well worth it. I hope you agree upon hearing this episode. The Ruen Brothers perform at The Albino Skunk Music Festival 11/03/25 Photo: Flash Thompson Songs heard in this episode: “Cabin on the Hill” by The Ruen Brothers, performed live at The Albino Skunk Music Festival 10/03/25 “Desert Showers” by The Ruen Brothers, from Awooo, excerpt “Bonfire” by The Ruen Brothers, from Awooo, excerpt “Unknown” by The Ruen Brothers, performed live at The Albino Skunk Music Festival 10/03/25, excerpt “Secret Agent Man” by The Ruen Brothers, performed live at The Albino Skunk Music Festival 10/03/25 Thank you for listening, and we hope you can spread awareness of this endeavor and help us grow. Please take a moment and give us a top rating on your podcast platform of choice, and where you can, a review. It makes a big impact on the ranking and therefore the visibility of this series to all the other music fans who also follow podcasts. This is Southern Songs and Stories, where our quest is to explore and celebrate the unfolding history and culture of music rooted in the American South, and going beyond to the styles and artists that it inspired and informed. - Joe Kendrick

29 min
12/18/2025

New Stages for Time Sawyer and Their Hometown Festival

Back in 2018, when this podcast was in its first year, I traveled to Burlington, NC, to interview the Charlotte by way of Elkin, NC band Time Sawyer. Since then, my path has intersected with Sam Tayloe and his band Time Sawyer many times, ranging from seeing them perform more shows and festivals, to emceeing for the Reevestock Festival in Sam’s hometown of Elkin. Time never stands still, even for (especially?) the band Time Sawyer. Reevestock took a final bow in 2024; the band changed out guitarists and said goodbye to their banjo player and founding member; the city of Elkin went forward with Sam’s help to expand the concept and footprint of Reevestock with this year’s inaugural Milltown Get Down festival. There was a lot of ground to cover since I last spoke with him, so I took a sojourn to Charlotte to catch up with Sam Tayloe at his home. We had an in-depth conversation about producing festivals, his passion for community and building bridges, the evolution of Time Sawyer, and more, including music from the band’s new live album. This episode stands out for all that and for the fact that it is hosted and produced by Molly Mattox, a student at Isothermal Community College in Spindale, NC. Molly took my class on media performance, which includes a podcast assignment. She chose this interview for her podcast, and did a great job. It is not easy to produce an episode of this podcast, even for me, but she grasped the concept, spirit, and tone of the series in — pardon the pun — no time. Photos by Daniel Coston Photography Songs heard in this episode: "Julie” by Time Sawyer, from Plumb Live at the C**k and Bull “The Boxer” by Time Sawyer, from Plumb Live at the C**k and Bull, excerpt “210 (It’s Over)” by Time Sawyer, from Plumb Live at the C**k and Bull, excerpt “Noah Got Nothing” by Time Sawyer, from Plumb Live at the C**k and Bull, excerpt “Oak and Pine” by Time Sawyer, from Plumb Live at the C**k and Bull We are glad you are here! Could you can help spread awareness of what we are doing? It is as easy as telling a friend and following this podcast on your platform of choice. You can find us on Apple here, Spotify here and YouTube here — hundreds more episodes await, filled with artists you may know by name, or musicians and bands that are ready to become your next favorites. You can follow us on social media: @southstories on Instagram, at Southern Songs and Stories on Facebook, and now on Substack here, where you can read the scripts of these podcasts, and get updates on what we are doing and planning in our quest to explore and celebrate the unfolding history and culture of music rooted in the American South, and going beyond to the styles and artists that it inspired and informed. - Joe Kendrick

37 min
12/10/2025

Discovering a New Setting for the Third Place With Wolf Jett

Regular listeners of this series will know that there is a certain festival that is near and dear to my heart, the Albino Skunk Music Festival. It is an event that insiders love passionately, and outsiders often puzzle over. What an unusual name! What an unlikely and often under-the-radar roster of artists! As I have said many times before in introducing the festival to a newcomer, I had long been a skeptic before setting foot on the property, at which point it took only minutes to realize that not only would I return to that festival; I would always return to it. As we enter the winter season, we are about as far away from festival season as one can get. But festivals are a year round endeavor -- practically all the spring and early summer festivals next year are already booked, and are rolling out their artist lineups in stages as they promote their events. Usually that means a headliner or a first volley of artists and bands announced in fall and winter, followed by one or two more updates which fill in the rest of the blanks. There is a ton of work going on right now for festivals happening next fall, and onwards to the following year. The teams that plan and staff these events never really have down periods. Even immediately after a festival ends, they go over what went right, what went wrong, what could be improved for next time, and then fill their calendar with meeting dates, dates when ticket prices go from early bird to full price, dates when they make marketing pushes, dates when they have to have new logos and merchandise, you name it. We will focus a lot on festivals here on Southern Songs and Stories over the coming months, beginning with this episode on the California band Wolf Jett. Soon, we will bring you a conversation from Time Sawyer front man and Milltown Get Down festival’s Sam Tayloe. Also in our cue is a band that I got to sit with at Milltown Get Down in Elkin, NC, which was one that I got to enjoy at both Albino Skunk Music Festival and the Earl Scruggs Music Festival beforehand -- western NC’s Holler Choir. Chris Jones of Wolf Jett performs at the Albino Skunk Music Festival 10/03/25 Songs heard in this episode: “Straight Back To You” by Wolf Jett, from Letting Go “Nothin’ But Trouble” by Wolf Jett, live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 10/03/25, excerpt “Feel the Way I Feel” by Wolf Jett, live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 10/03/25, excerpt “Letting Go” by Wolf Jett, live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 10/03/25 Please take a moment and give us a top rating on your podcast platform of choice, and where you can, a review. It makes a big impact on the ranking and therefore the visibility of this series to all the other music fans who also follow podcasts. This is Southern Songs and Stories, where our quest is to explore and celebrate the unfolding history and culture of music rooted in the American South, and going beyond to the styles and artists that it inspired and informed. - Joe Kendrick

28 min
11/19/2025

When the Party Meets Poetry: Ryan Bingham

Ryan Bingham never knew until he was an adult that his path would take him into music full time, much less that he would become an international star, nor did he dream of eventually reaching millions more people in film and television. He did not play guitar with much skill until his early twenties. However, he wrote one of his most enduring hits while woodshedding on guitar and harmonica, “Southside of Heaven”. His musical foundation goes back to early exposure to a great record collection and the influence of his father and uncle, especially: as a boy, he was gifted a trove of LPs from the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Joey Lee, Terry Allen, and The Flatlanders, and you can hear bits and pieces of all those artists’ sensibilities and approaches in his music from the jump. As Bingham said in our interview, “I still got vinyl. My family had a bar back in the 60s and 70s in New Mexico called the Halfway Bar. And my uncle saved all the vinyl records out of there from those days. And he ended up giving them to me. And that was really the music I grew up on. I remember living with him at a time and, you know, him showing me how to clean the records with the brush and on the turntable. And I was really, you know, 10, 11 years old and just fascinated with the artwork on that. I remember he had like, Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen was live at the Armadillo World Headquarters — and all that Jim Franklin art, you know, and all those albums. It was just, I loved all that stuff. So I still got those records and play them all the time.” Ryan Bingham Currently working on a new album scheduled for release in 2026, Ryan Bingham is testing out a number of his new songs on the road, which is where he spoke with my friend Jeff Williams and myself when he played Charlotte recently, in October. In our conversation, we talked about everything from those early days where he was striving to simply have a better job than manual labor, key figures in his career like Marc Ford and Charlie Sexton, pivotal moments like joining My Morning Jacket, Wilco and Bob Dylan on stage, to playing with his current band The Texas Gentlemen, and a whole lot more, including his new song “The Lucky Ones” and excerpts from his latest live album, Ryan Bingham and The Texas Gentlemen Live at Red Rocks as well. Songs heard in this episode: “Southside Of Heaven” by Ryan Bingham and The Texas Gentlemen, from Live at Red Rocks “Jingle and Go” by Ryan Bingham and The Texas Gentlemen, from Live at Red Rocks “The Lucky Ones” by Ryan Bingham and The Texas Gentlemen, excerpt “Bread & Water” by Ryan Bingham and The Texas Gentlemen, from Live at Red Rocks Thanks to my friend Jeff Williams for inspiring me to pursue interviewing Ryan Bingham, and for joining us in our conversation. Thanks also to the team at Sacks & Co. in Nashville for helping to coordinate with Ryan Bingham’s team and pave the way for this episode. Thanks to Jaclyn Anthony for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng who wrote and performed our theme songs. Please take a moment and give us a top rating and where you can, a review. It makes a big impact on the ranking and therefore the visibility of this series to all the other music fans who also follow podcasts. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

40 min
11/04/2025

Six Decades of Legacy and Love for an Ever Evolving Sound With Sam Bush

The fountain of youth could very well be located in a mandolin, or a fiddle. At least for Sam Bush, playing the mandolin, along with the occasional fiddle, seems to give him an energy level that many people several decades his junior would envy. There is a lot to be said for playing music, whatever the instrument, and its benefits for well being. Cognitively and psychologically, there is a lot of data that affirms we can benefit greatly from playing music, even from simply actively listening to music. A lot of this boils down to a fundamental truth that learning is the catalyst for positive change and growth, and we can all continue learning and picking up new skills throughout our lives. Sam Bush, like so many career music artists, embodies that spirit, and serves as a great example of the heights we can achieve when we devote our lives to reaching towards our full capabilities. Musically, Sam Bush draws from a wide spectrum of styles, ranging from bluegrass to newgrass (which he helped establish and define as a sub-genre with his former group New Grass Revival), to rock and blues with his former project Duck Butter, to having been in both Leon Russell and Emmylou Harris’ bands, among many other projects. His stories are just as lively. From recounting his times with Earl Scruggs and Bill Monroe to his observations about young stars like Sierra Hull and Billy Strings, to his many performances at Green Acres Music Hall, Sam Bush has many a tale to tell. We get to all of that, and get a glimpse at what he has in store in the near future as well, in a spirited conversation from backstage at the 2025 Earl Scruggs Music Festival. Of course, there is much music to highlight in this episode too, including excerpts from Sam’s solo catalog, as well as the festival’s namesake. Sam Bush performs at the Earl Scruggs Music Festival, August 29, 2025 (photo: Eli Johnson) Songs heard in this episode: “Stingray” by Sam Bush, from Glamour & Grits “Brown’s Ferry Blues” by Tony Trischka, from Earl Jam, excerpt “Big Mon” by Sam Bush, from Late As Usual, excerpt “Foggy Mountain Special” by Flatt & Scruggs, excerpt “Circles Around Me” by Sam Bush, from Circles Around Me We are glad you are here! Could you can help spread awareness of what we are doing? It is as easy as telling a friend and following this podcast on your platform of choice. You can find us on Apple here, Spotify here and YouTube here — hundreds more episodes await, filled with artists you may know by name, or musicians and bands that are ready to become your next favorites. You can follow us on social media: @southstories on Instagram, at Southern Songs and Stories on Facebook, and now on Substack here, where you can read the scripts of these podcasts, and get updates on what we are doing and planning in our quest to explore and celebrate the unfolding history and culture of music rooted in the American South, and going beyond to the styles and artists that it inspired and informed. - Joe Kendrick

41 min
10/15/2025

Pay Attention, Stop Listening To Yourself: The Wood Brothers

Easing up, letting things come to you, and practicing being present is a recurring theme in recent episodes of this series, and that mindset is on full display once again in this episode on The Wood Brothers. I sat with Oliver Wood, Chris Wood and Jano Rix backstage at the 2025 Earl Scruggs Music Festival, ahead of their Friday night headlining set at the award-winning event. It was one of the most jovial and insightful conversations I have had in quite a while, and we covered a lot of ground, ranging from the band’s sonic evolution and their penchant for improvisation and letting their subconscious steer the way in the studio and on stage, to their perspective on bluegrass and banjo icon Earl Scruggs, to Chris Wood’s British Columbia farmstead and Jano Rix’ salsa dancing. All that and more, including excerpts of songs from their ninth album, Puff Of Smoke, awaits you here. The Wood Brothers performing at the Earl Scruggs Music Festival in Tryon, NC 08-29-25 (photo: Scotty Robertson) Songs heard in this episode: “Puff Of Smoke” by The Wood Brothers, from Puff Of Smoke “Slow Rise (to the middle)” by The Wood Brothers, from Puff Of Smoke, excerpt “The Trick” by The Wood Brothers, from Puff Of Smoke, excerpt “Witness” by The Wood Brothers, from Puff Of Smoke Thanks for visiting! We hope you can help spread awareness of what we are doing. It is as easy as telling a friend and following this podcast on your platform of choice. You can find us on Apple here, Spotify here and YouTube here — hundreds more episodes await, filled with artists you may know by name, or musicians and bands that are ready to become your next favorites. You can follow us on social media: @southstories on Instagram, at Southern Songs and Stories on Facebook, and now on Substack here, where you can read the scripts of these podcasts, and get updates on what we are doing and planning in our quest to explore and celebrate the unfolding history and culture of music rooted in the American South, and going beyond to the styles and artists that it inspired and informed. - Joe Kendrick

31 min
09/30/2025

The Greatest Thing Is To Wake Up and Have a New Song To Sing: Jeff Tweedy

Welcome to the latest episode of the series Southern Songs and Stories, which recently made it into the top 10 best Americana podcasts on this list. Yay! It reminds me to ask you to give the podcast a top rating and where you can submit one, a review. That’s a huge part of making this series visible on platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify and everywhere you follow podcasts. Really, it makes a huge difference, and only takes a minute or two. Thanks! Another update: this week I will attend the fall Albino Skunk Music Festival, where I will record my first ever live podcast, in front of an audience. On stage Wednesday afternoon October 1, we will be recounting the history of the event, now in its fourth decade, with founder Glynn “Zig” Zeigler, along with other special guests. I would love to see you there! Our time with Jeff Tweedy continues here, with an in depth conversation about his new triple solo album, Twilight Override. Not an overtly political songwriter, Tweedy nonetheless points to broad social issues in the overall themes of the album, and in one song in particular that he details in the interview, “Enough”. Jeff also talks about the makeup of The Tweedy Band, which features his sons and other, younger artists from his home town of Chicago, and how the group is especially well suited for multi part harmonies. We do not leave Wilco out of the conversation, either, and feature several new songs from his solo record along the way. The Tweedy Band (photo: Rachel Bartz) Songs heard in this episode: “Betrayed” by Jeff Tweedy, from Twilight Override “Stray Cats in Spain” by Jeff Tweedy, from Twilight Override, excerpt “Twilight Override” by Jeff Tweedy, from Twilight Override, excerpt “Jesus, Etc.” by Wilco, from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Thank you for stopping by! We hope you can help spread awareness of what we are doing. It is as easy as telling a friend and following this podcast on your platform of choice. You can find us on Apple here, Spotify here and YouTube here — hundreds more episodes await, filled with artists you may know by name, or musicians and bands that are ready to become your next favorites. You can follow us on social media: @southstories on Instagram, at Southern Songs and Stories on Facebook, and now on Substack here, where you can read the scripts of these podcasts, and get updates on what we are doing and planning in our quest to explore and celebrate the unfolding history and culture of music rooted in the American South, and going beyond to the styles and artists that it inspired and informed. - Joe Kendrick

29 min

See All (99)

5

out of 5

49 Ratings

We thank Joe for supporting our Music community

Jan 20

Mountain Thanks

There’s nothing more special than a Radio programmer who loves the music of his region as much as the artist who created. Joe brings stories of these artists to life in each episode. We are so grateful for this.
Love this podcast!

Jan 19

Silas D

Joe is a true music lover. His passion and interest for the music and musicians on his podcast is infectious. I think any other music lovers out there will dig this!
Insightful, educational and thoughtful

03/28/2023

Rick Shanley

Joe and the team are doing us music lovers a great public service with this podcast. Very organic and a wonderful dive into the people and music that make this region so special.
Southern Songs & Stories is Great!!!

09/01/2022

Tom the Governor

Joe Kendrick does a great job bringing entertaining and enlightening stories about the music and people of the South. I’ve lived in the South my whole life and Joe still manages to surprise me!!

Southern Songs and Stories is a documentary series about the music of the South and the artists who make it. We showcase their performances and discover the stories behind their songs with a look at their lives on stage, in the studio and at home as well as the family, friends, fans and music professionals around them.