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.

5d ago

The Happy Warriors of Fiery Folk: Scythian

“My mom went to Juilliard, graduated from Juilliard. She taught us all of our instruments. We performed very high-level classical music, but we never felt a connection with the audience. And that's what we really yearned for.” — Dan Fedoryka You might not guess that the Fedoryka brothers, the core of the four-piece band Scythian, would have started their musical journey in such a formal setting, judging from their freewheeling, sweat-soaked and jet-engine-loud performances. As spontaneous and loose as you may think they are, however, Scythian is actually leaning hard into that foundational experience with their approach. It is the second part of Dan’s quote that is obvious from the first notes they play on stage, as Scythian is well known for getting their audiences fully engaged in their show — wide swaths of spontaneous dancing, pockets of shoulder surfing, and much of the audience singing along at full volume. You might not expect that such a scene would be commonplace at a music festival founded on the music of the decidedly non-raucous flat-picking guitar legend Doc Watson and the festival’s namesake, his son and frequent musical partner Merle. But they are a staple at the festival over their now 17-year tenure there, and Doc gave them their first opportunity to play the festival himself. In April 2026, I caught up with Scythian for a conversation that touched on everything from their first time playing at MerleFest, to their nomadic warrior ancestors from Ukraine and much more. We also dive into brand new music from the band as we salute the memory of Doc and Merle with a hearty toast from their homeland, “Nostrovia!”. Happy Warriors of Folk - Scythian Joe Kendrick Download Songs heard in this episode: “Get There” by Scythian “Bulgarian Suite” by Scythian, from Paste Studio’s “On The Road” session at the 7th Annual Suwannee Spring Reunion “Life To Live” by Scythian Thank you for dropping by! We encourage you to follow this series wherever you listen to podcasts, and to share it with a friend. We are especially grateful for top ratings and your reviews. You can follow this series on social media: @southstories on Instagram, at Southern Songs and Stories on Facebook, and you can view these episodes and a lot more on my YouTube channel, at the handle JoeKendrickNC. We can also send you newsletters via Substack, 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. 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
Jul 23

Bluegrass That Is Traditional and Transcendent All at Once: Ettore Buzzini

One of the greatest things about roots music in general, and bluegrass specifically, is that it continually brings in new generations of players to the fold. These young artists cut their teeth on the classics of the genre and then, very often, branch out into new directions, pushing the boundaries of the form, and inventing new styles while reinvigorating the overall framework of the music they love. Ettore Buzzini only recently graduated from high school, but you might never guess that from listening to his new album Blue Blue Blue. I chanced upon his performance in my new hometown of Charlotte, NC, which is adjacent to Ettore’s home in Mooresville. At the show, I was intrigued with his faithful renditions of traditional bluegrass numbers contrasted with his classical music-leaning originals, coupled with grassy versions of hits by artists like Pharrell Williams and The Beatles. While working on an upcoming episode on the band Scythian this week, I noticed that Ettore was opening for them in Galax, VA this weekend, so I thought, why not have an opening podcast for the opening band, so to speak? Here is the result, a conversation with the banjo phenomenon who is on the Patuxent Records label, which helped bring in established stars like Danny Paisley, Mark Schatz and Michael Cleveland alongside him to play on his forthcoming album Blue Blue Blue. Ettore Buzzini (center) and his band performing at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Charlotte, NC, June 20, 2026. Photo: Daniel Coston From Traditional To Transcendant All At Once - Ettore Buzzini Joe Kendrick Download Songs heard in this episode: “Flowers” by Ettore Buzzini, from Blue Blue Blue “The Birth of Eros” by Ettore Buzzini, performed live at Bela Fleck's Banjo Concert at the Blue Ridge Banjo Camp at Brevard Music Center, Brevard, NC in 2025, excerpt “Dear Old Dixie” by Ettore Buzzini, from Blue Blue Blue Thank you for being here! We encourage you to follow this series wherever you listen to podcasts, and to share it with a friend. We are especially grateful for top ratings and your reviews. You can follow this series on social media: @southstories on Instagram, at Southern Songs and Stories on Facebook, and you can view these episodes and a lot more on my YouTube channel, at the handle JoeKendrickNC. We can also send you newsletters via Substack, 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. 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
Jul 7

Be Comfortable With Yourself and Live Loud: Tift Merritt

Ask anyone who has has been there, is getting there, or maybe just realizing that it is around the bend, and they will tell you: getting older is not for the faint of heart. Not counting all the challenges with getting physically older, there are the many curveballs that life throws our way with work, family, and friendships, not to mention just maintaining mental balance in a world full of upheaval. Amidst all of these challenges and pitfalls which accumulate and perhaps even accelerate over time, who among us has not abandoned a dream, or retreated back home, or found themselves at an untenable place in life? How did that make you feel? Defeated? Upset? Depressed? Take heart, because it takes a lot of courage to say, “I quit”, and it could be one of the wisest choices you could have made. Tift Merritt knows this firsthand, having returned to her native North Carolina feeling like she “had failed a little bit when I came home to my mama” after many years of pursuing her music career, to settle down and raise her daughter in a place where she felt people could lead “a good, simple life where the important things are right”. Her days making music her sole focus were over, as she took on other work, but as you will hear in our conversation, she never lost her desire to put love out into the world through her songs. After a long hiatus, she returned to Gold Pacific Studios in Nashville, and recorded her collection titled Sugar, an album that distills much of the wisdom that she accumulated over those years that at first felt like failure. Tift Merritt (photo: Ebru Yildiz) Be Comfortable With Yourself and Live Loud: Tift Merritt Joe Kendrick Download Songs heard in this episode: “Everyday Singing” by Tift Merritt, from Sugar “Sugar” by Tift Merritt, from Sugar, excerpt “Fate Of Man Is Sarah’s Eyes” by Tift Merritt, from Sugar, excerpt “Wild Women Don’t Have the Blues” by Ida Cox, from Wild Women Don’t Have the Blues, excerpt “Library of Dust”by Tift Merritt, from Sugar, excerpt “Finest Feelings” by Tift Merritt, from Sugar Thank you for dropping by! We encourage you to follow this series wherever you listen to podcasts, and are especially grateful for top ratings and your reviews. You can follow this series on social media: @southstories on Instagram, at Southern Songs and Stories on Facebook, and you can view these episodes and a lot more on my YouTube channel, at the handle JoeKendrickNC. We can also send you newsletters via Substack, 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. 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
Jun 4

Bringing After Dark and Charlotte’s Music Past Back to Light, Part Two

The George Hatcher Band 08/16/81 at Main Street Music Hall, Morganton NC P.B. Scott’s documentary Central Piedmont Community College online collection of WTVI archives Rick Bowles episode on WTVI’s After Dark, recorded at O’Neills, date unknown
May 21

Bringing After Dark and Charlotte’s Music Past Back to Light, Part One

Charlotte has been on my mind a lot lately. Recently, I profiled the Queen City’s Emanuel Wynter in the episode “Violin’s Architect of Joyous Sound: Emanuel Wynter”, which followed a recent episode on Charlotte artist Sam Tayloe of the band Time Sawyer titled “New Stages for Time Sawyer and Their Hometown Festival”. Around the time I interviewed Emanuel Wynter, I was in Charlotte on two occasions for interviews that are coming to light here, in the first of a two part series on the public TV program After Dark, the brain child of the late Bill Barnes, who launched the series on WTVI in the late 1970s, continuing through 1984. Charlotte photographer, writer and music producer Daniel Coston came into possession of the audio of performances which were the foundation for After Dark episodes, and Daniel gave me the idea for this podcast and joined in as a co-producer. This episode features interviews with former WTVI staff, members of Charlotte bands The Spongetones and Sugarcreek, as well as Daniel Coston, along with audio excerpts of performances from both aforementioned bands as well as The Fabulous Knobs and New Grass Revival, whose performance was the debut for banjo player Bela Fleck and guitarist Pat Flynn. Along the way is a good bit of history of the scene in Charlotte and the region, focusing on the late 1970s to mid 1980s, but also going back to the days of the Crazy Water Crystals Saturday Night Jamboree, a “barn dance” program on AM radio station WBT beginning in 1933. Featured artists from Charlotte’s Finest concert series at Charlotte, NC public TV WTVI in 1984 Bringing After Dark and Charlotte’s Music Past Back to Light, Part One Joe Kendrick Download Songs heard in this episode: “Encourage Me” by The Fabulous Knobs, live at P.B. Scott’s, Charlotte NC 09/21/83 “Every Night Is A Holiday” by The Spongetones, performed live at P.B. Scott’s in Blowing Rock, NC, 07/15/81, excerpt “Miss Mystic” by Sugarcreek, performed live at Yesterday’s, Hickory, NC, 07/28/81, excerpt “In the Middle of the Night” by New Grass Revival, performed live at Fast Company, Hickory, NC 06/18/82 Thank you for stopping by, and we hope you can spread the word about this series 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. Doing either, and especially both, boosts the ranking and therefore the visibility of this series to all the other music fans who also follow podcasts. Daniel Coston has been a previous guest on this podcast in our series titled “The Music and Culture Episode” parts one and two, and New Grass Revival members Bela Fleck, Sam Bush and John Cowan have their own episodes on this series, as well as being guests on the three part series on Green Acres Music Hall. 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
Apr 22

Snake Handling While Singing to the Ceiling With Alabama Astronaut

Acclaimed Alabama songwriter Abe Partridge and podcaster Ferrill Gibbs return to the podcast world with their new series titled Alabama Astronaut Radio Transmission, continuing their earlier work in the podcast series Alabama Astronaut to chronicle the religious practice of snake handling in the American South, and to document the movement’s unique and largely unknown songs and often raucous musical styles. Abe’s quest brought him face-to-face with the deadly practices of a largely ridiculed subculture, first amidst a backdrop of American crises occurring in 2020–2021. As they captured audio on a little Sony handheld recorder, Abe and Ferrill cobbled together the foundations of a bizarre and wonderful story, as mistrust gave way to genuine friendships. In their quest, the two collaborators bring us insights into a widely misunderstood and stigmatized tradition which also contains a wealth of great music. Their stories come from a place of openness and curiosity rather than from a mindset of superiority or conceit. The results reveal and interpret a rich and fantastical world seldom explored and even more rarely understood. I spoke with Abe and Ferrill about coming back together for their latest work as introduction to episode two of Alabama Astronaut Radio Transmission, which follows our conversation here. Alabama Astronaut Radio Transmission Snake Handling While Singing to the Ceiling With Alabama Astronaut Joe Kendrick Thank you for stopping by, and we hope you can spread the word about this series 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. Doing either, and especially both, boosts 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
Apr 7

Violin's Architect of Joyous Sound: Emanuel Wynter

When you think of the violin, or in country and roots music circles its kissing cousin the fiddle, what comes to mind? The Suzuki method, or Antonio Vivaldi perhaps? Maybe a song like “Ashokan Farewell” or “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”? But have you heard of Stuff Smith, Regina Carter, Papa John Creach, or Stéphane Grappelli? Charlotte artist Emanuel Wynter certainly has, and having grown up learning the Suzuki method, he would go on to take inspiration from violinists in a variety of genres to interpret his own love for blues, rock, soul and jazz. The result is a fresh take on the instrument in an electric and eclectic setting that also showcases his band’s lock-tight grooves and his own clear and confident vocals. I spoke with Emanuel Wynter in his hometown of Charlotte about how he plays violin in a variety of music settings, from his own style over to session work and a praise band, and how his early love of blues and rock music translates to the instrument, which is far more versatile and expressive than you might expect. We touch on the three boxes that he needs to check before taking on a gig, and what he wants to get across with his lyrics as well. From vintage tube amps, double stops and a love for astronomy, architecture, and spontaneity, our conversation covers a lot of ground, and along the way, we feature a number of songs from Emanuel Wynter’s live album From Orbit. Emanuel Wynter performs in Elkin, NC on October 11, 2025 (photo: Daniel Coston) Violin’s Architect of Joyous Sound: Emanuel Wynter Joe Kendrick Songs heard in this episode: “From Orbit” by Emanuel Wynter, from From Orbit “Stranger” by Emanuel Wynter, from From Orbit, excerpt “Barefoot Fiddler” by Johnny Gimble, from The Texas Fiddle Collection, excerpt “Bonaparte’s Retreat” by Fidllin’ Arthur Smith & His Dixieliners, from Fidllin’ Arthur Smith & His Dixieliners, excerpt “Pastel Skies” by Emanuel Wynter, from From Orbit Thank you for stopping by, and we hope you can spread the word about this series 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. Doing either, and especially both, boosts the ranking and therefore the visibility of this series to all the other music fans who also follow podcasts. Thanks to Charlotte photographer, writer and music producer Daniel Coston for letting me use his photo of Emanuel Wynter from his band’s set in Elkin, NC at the Milltown Get Down in fall 2025. Daniel also shot the cover for the album From Orbit. 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
Mar 10

Country That Contains Multitudes: Kelsey Waldon

Many times the way and artist finds their way onto this podcast is from their publicist or someone else on their team reaching out to me, or vice versa. Sometimes I might bump into an artist at a show or festival and hit them up for an impromptu interview then and there, but that is rare. Rarer still is the scenario where I came in contact with western Kentucky artist Kelsey Waldon, which was through writer and editor Garret Woodward, who acted as go-between to ask about an interview. Kelsey was on tour in our region and hoped to get some coverage for the WNCW audience, and I immediately jumped on the opportunity. After speaking her on a video call from her hotel room in Chattanooga TN, I took the first part of her interview and aired that on my show on radio; the bulk of that conversation comes to light here in this episode. Kelsey Waldon (photo: ©Alysse Gafkjen 2025) There is a deep well of emotion and a complex tapestry of experience that Kelsey Waldon draws from in her singular style of country music. Rooted firmly in her native western Kentucky, she calls the Nashville area home now, and in our conversation we talk about how her rural upbringing in an unusual setting shaped her, her longtime friendship with fellow Kentuckian S.G. Goodman, her often overlooked college degree in songwriting, and we go into detail about some of her latest songs, sampling many from her latest album Every Ghost. Country That Contains Multitudes: Kelsey Waldon Joe Kendrick Songs heard in this episode: “Ghost Of Myself” by Kesley Waldon, from Every Ghost “Ramblin’ Woman” by Kelsey Waldon, from Every Ghost, excerpt “Nursery Rhyme” by Kelsey Waldon, from Every Ghost, excerpt “A Robin Built A Nest On Daddy’s Grave” by Ralph Stanley, from While the Ages Roll On, excerpt “Hello Stranger” by Kelsey Waldon featuring S.G. Goodman, from There’s Always A Song, excerpt “Comanche” by Kelsey Waldon, from Every Ghost Thank you for stopping by, and we hope you can spread the word about this series 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. Doing either, and especially both, boosts 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

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

Major Governor Tom

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.