East Tennessee's Own WDVX

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 6/15 - Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road
2023-06-15 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Rapidly rising on the bluegrass scene, Billboard-charting artists Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road perform internationally and stateside winning both industry awards and the hearts of fans who turn out to see them at some of the industry’s most iconic venues.
Growing up just down the road from Doc Watson, Liam Purcell leads Cane Mill Road as they rock the traditional bluegrass standards they were raised on, yet boldly write original music with roots in the fertile grounds of bluegrass, old-time, and Americana. Their powerful arrangements and dynamic stage presence have landed them main stage slots at legendary festivals across the country.
Named Momentum Band of the Year by IBMA in 2019, Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road have been recognized as one of the fastest growing bands in the industry. Their latest release “Roots” debuted at #6 on the Billboard Bluegrass Album Charts, joining their three previous albums for a total of 12 weeks in the Top 10.
In 2022, bandleader Liam Purcell turned heads by sweeping the Rockygrass Instrumental Championships on Guitar, Mandolin, and Banjo, becoming the first person in history to do so.
You’ve seen Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road on national TV with PBS appearances on David Holt’s State of Music and Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour. Other performance highlights include Merlefest, Grey Fox, The Berklee Performance Center, and Wide Open Bluegrass.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 6/14 - Dana Cooper / Chris Duarte
2023-06-14 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Dana Cooper is a poetic songwriter, an insightful storyteller, and a rousing musician whose performances engage and inspire audiences around the world.

To classify Chris Duarte simply as a Blues Man is an understatement. In his own words, “rockin’ blues” or ”punk blues” describes him best. “Ferocious blues” also fits. Legend has it that Chris will play so hard that his fingers bleed in a set. The legend is true. Photos attest.
Chris Duarte is a road warrior playing more than 150 dates a year. As well, Chris has headlined major festivals and clubs throughout the US, Canada and Europe.
Chris is a savant, a sorcerer of tone, a master at channeling the spirits and sounds of great musicians of our past, while remaining completely recognizable in his own sound. He has shared his stage with many of the greatest musicians of our time as well as the multitude of “young lions” and local musicians he meets on the road. From his many years as a side man in Austin, he easily changes roles from front to side, graciously allowing all to share the conversation of the jam.
Chris Duarte’s music is ever changing. In many interviews, he has said “Music must evolve.” His own early offerings often become magical journeys into changing tempo and jazzy interludes before returning to their core. With such a vast catalog of recordings, there are no two shows alike. Every set list is different, and each song may be offered distinctly, based on the feel of a show and the audience. For those reasons, loyal fans often return to a Chris Duarte show again and again, and always walk away awed and satisfied to have witnessed such a legendary, but humble guitarist.
https://youtu.be/_tUtBkglt8E

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 6/13 - Brendan Abernathy / Karen Jonas
2023-06-13 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Unafraid to write about the parts of his story that scare him most, Brendan Abernathy is known for his contemplative lyrics, memorable melodies, and a captivating live performance you will feel in your soul. Creating a fresh but familiar sound combining notes of Maggie Rogers with James Taylor, John Mayer, and Ed Sheeran, Brendan’s intimate words and powerful vocals speak straight to the listener’s soul. Since August 2019, Brendan has lived out of his car, touring the US selling out concerts across the country in Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, DC, Gainesville, and Boulder. In 2022, Brendan opened for Johnnyswim on their Southeastern tour, and he has begun touring the festival circuit -playing the 30A Songwriters Festival, the Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival, Starry Night Festival, and the Southern Wilds Festival. He has generated over 1.5 million streams and played over 300 live shows, focusing on the individual and building a loyal following. “We all just want to be seen and loved, and I try to do that — see and love.” His first two projects deal with indecision, comparison, loneliness, and dreams, where Brendan brings hope to his darkest moments. His forthcoming LP – Single and in Love – is a heart-throbbing, authentic, yet soaring work telling stories of anxiety, singleness, and sacrificial love.

Americana/Alt-Country songwriter Karen Jonas knows how to tell a story. Her new album The Restless (3.3) is “a stunning collection of dreamy and dark alt-country confessionals; a deep exploration of love and vulnerability from one of Americana’s most hopeless romantics” (Holler.Country). With “vocals that twist and snap with tension and emotional depth” and a dynamic band, it’s no wonder Karen is turning heads all around the world (Country Music People, U.K.). Flanked by her longtime guitarist the inimitable Tim Bray, bassist Seth Morrissey and Seth Brown on drums, she dazzles with energy that showcases their nine-year touring chemistry and the true joy of their art. Karen has released five full-length records and is a three-time Wammie (Washington Area Music) Award winner for Best Country and Americana Artist, Mid Atlantic Song Contest winner, Ameripolitan Award nominee, and official SXSW and UK Americanafest Showcasing Artist. As Parklife Mag DC put it, “the voice of country music in the DMV is a big, bright voice that belongs to Virginia native Karen Jonas.”

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 6/12 - The Judy Chops
2023-06-12 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
The Judy Chops are Virginia’s Americana Jam Band Sweethearts, based in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley!

ORNL FCU/Summer Sessions - 6/10 - Po’ Ramblin’ Boys / Tim O’Brien
2023-06-10 18:00 | Bissell Park, 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, United States
At a time when most people feel constantly distracted by technology and barraged by the news, authenticity and straightforward honesty are paramount. There’s something about the music of The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys that cuts right through the noise of the world and speaks plainly to the soul. Formed in the Smoky Mountains, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys are at once exactly what you would expect and not at all what you would expect from a tattooed East Tennessee Bluegrass outfit. No strangers to hard work, the boys are as much at home riding in their restored Eagle tour bus as they are crawling underneath to fix it when it needs maintenance. But they take pride in being ambassadors of their genre, and the group has brought their music from rural bluegrass festival stages to the rock clubs of Europe, and even the GRAMMY Red Carpet, with stunning results. “I think to a certain extent everyone is just craving music that they can feel, and any music that feels real will reach any audience” says CJ Lewandowski, the groups founder, “We want to put bluegrass right where it’s least expected”. Perhaps this mindset is why the group earned the title of Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2018 IBMA Awards.
In 2014, Lewandowski was working at Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery in Sevierville, TN when the band first formed. The distillery employed musicians to play for visitors seven days a week, and Lewandowski, who primarily plays Mandolin and sings, was occasionally hired to fill in when the entertainment didn’t show. Eventually, the distillery approached him about forming a band for a full time slot, so he reached out to long time music friends Jereme Brown, who plays banjo for the group, and Josh Rinkel, who plays guitar. “Jereme was doing a lot of welding work at that time, and Josh was running a sign company”, says Lewandowski, “I think we were all ready to do something new, something with our music but we didn’t know when or how”. Bassist Jasper Lorentzen happened to be working in the tasting room at the distillery, and he turned out to be the perfect addition to the band. The four friends played multiple times a week for a year and half, honing their band sound, meanwhile word was spreading about their music. “The first gig we played out of town was a festival in Alberta, Canada, and a week later we went on a two week tour of Europe, it was crazy”, says Lewandowski. In 2020, the finishing touch, the cherry on top if you will, was added to the quartet. Laura Orshaw, a seasoned fiddle player and singer joined the Boys after contributing her talents to the Sound Biscuit Productions’ full Gospel album, “God’s Love is So Divine” and “Toils, Tears, & Trouble.” On the addition C.J. exclaims “after 5 1/2 together as a four piece, we needed that perfect fit that would not only fit us on stage and recording, but a personality that would add to the band and be a part of the family we have created. Laura was that person and we can’t think of anyone else that fits our music and our family better than her. The show has benefitted so much from Laura and the chemistry we have between the now 5 of us.”
Material for the group’s freshman Rounder Records album “Toil, Tears & Teouble,” was a combination of original songs and old numbers that honor the group’s mentors and bluegrass heroes. “We love to dig up old songs that haven’t been heard in years and bring them back into the spotlight”, explains Lewandowski. In fact, two of those gems on the Rounder album, “Next Train South” and “Hickory, Walnut & Pine,” were nominated for IBMA Song of the Year along with “Next Train South” taking the trophy for SPBGMA same category in 2020. The momentum of “Toil, Tears & Trouble” has continued to grow with the band’s first GRAMMY Nomination for Best Bluegrass Album.
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys passion for bluegrass is as clear as it is contagious. With a heavy touring schedule across the United States and Europe and recent Grammy Nomination with Rounder Records, the Boys are well on their way to becoming the quintessential bluegrass band of their generation. Despite all of their recent success, they maintain a humble perspective. “Bluegrass has left such a mark on us that we feel like we owe something back to the music”, says Lewandowski. “We want to do something for the music to show our appreciation… There’s no telling what could have happened to us, what we would have become if we hadn’t found this music. It’s gotten us through a lot, the good and the bad. When I think about all of the damn medications that I didn’t have to take because I had music to turn to. We didn’t have to go to the doctor and pay for something to make us feel better, because we had this music, so we really want to honor it by bringing it out of the shadows and onto new stages and wider audiences. Because we know that if we can bring Bluegrass to new folks, those folks will come with us and support the bluegrass community.”

Born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1954, Grammy winning singer songwriter and multi- instrumentalist Tim O’Brien grew up singing in church and in school. After seeing Doc Watson on TV, he became a lifelong devotee of old time and bluegrass music. Tim started touring nationally in 1978 with Colorado bluegrass band Hot Rize. His songs “Walk the Way the Wind Blows” and “Untold Stories” were bluegrass hits for Hot Rize, and country hits for Kathy Mattea. Soon more artists like Nickel Creek, Garth Brooks, and The Dixie Chicks covered his songs. Over the years, Tim has collaborated with his sister Mollie O’Brien, songwriter Darrell Scott, and noted old-time musician Dirk Powell, as well as with Steve Earle, Mark Knopfler, Dan Auerbach and Sturgill Simpson.
Living in Nashville since 1996, O’Brien’s skills on guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and banjo make him an in-demand session player. He tours throughout the US and abroad, most often with his wife Jan Fabricius on mandolin and vocals. A voracious reader who loves to cook, he has two sons, Jackson (born 1982) and Joel (born 1990). The International Bluegrass Music Association awarded him song of the year in 2006 and named him best male vocalist in 1993 and 2006. He was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2013 and into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2022.
O’Brien’s latest release, 2021’s “He Walked On”, weaves historical and socially conscious themes through songs about ordinary and not so ordinary people just trying to “keep it between the ditches”. Other notable O’Brien recordings include the bluegrass Dylan covers of “Red on Blonde”, the Celtic-Appalachian fusion of “The Crossing”, and the Grammy winning folk of “Fiddler’s Green”. His duet recording “Real Time” with Darrell Scott is a cult favorite, and he won a bluegrass Grammy as part of “The Earls of Leicester”. His 2017 release “Where the River Meets the Road” paid tribute to the music of his native West Virginia. A new release of original material “Cup of Sugar” drops June 16.

TIM O’BRIEN talks about Cup Of Sugar:
“The songs started with ‘Bear.’ It was December of 2021, and the news was all about Russia and would Putin invade Ukraine. I had just read a book on the history of dancing bears. White Nationalism was a prominent topic, the flip side being Black Lives Matter. Trump had lost the election but was ramping up his spoiled brat act. I could imagine the gripes Putin, Trump and the White Nationalists had, even if I didn’t agree. I’d also reread some of a favorite book by Rafi Zabor: The Bear Goes Home. In the plot, this guy in NYC wins a dancing bear in a card game, and after he gets busted trying to busk with it, he leaves the bear in his flat during work. One day he comes home and the bear’s talking and playing clarinet. The bear becomes a jazz sensation but he’s also the ultimate outsider. So I was thinking about all that. I think the bear represents anyone or any social group that feels their world has changed too much while they weren’t looking. The bear comes out of his cave in spring and all the trees are cut down. He’s just pissed off. ‘I’m a bear’ he cries, ‘but damn it, I’m more than that.’ I can identify with the bear because I’m old. I don’t relate to a lot of new stuff and while I do fairly well in spite of all the changes, sometimes I’ll swear at them.
“The saddest song is one I wrote with Jan. We were driving along talking about some folks we know who are locked into a dysfunctional relationship, how we wished they could figure it out, change things. Jan said, ‘She can’t.’ I said, ‘He won’t.’ and then we both said, ‘They’ll never’ in unison.
More songs started coming in the spring of 2022. I got with Ronnie Bowman and these brothers from West Virginia, Chris and Donnie Davisson, to co-write. I try to bring something to a session so we can start right in, and I thought how about ‘thinkin’ like a fish.’ I played a funk lick on the banjo and we spit out some words to it. After we were done that day, I played it for Jan’s son Lane, who’s crazy about fishing, and he gave me an idea for the last verse. Another song that fell out one morning is ‘Let the Horses Run.’ I happened on the funny story of Lulu the Nashville border collie who inherited a fortune when her owner died with no heir. The dog’s master was a guy who helped put up a notorious statue of the first Grand Wizard of the KKK here in Nashville, and his death resulted in the statue finally coming down. Ronnie and I got together again and came up with ‘Diddleye Day,’ which rhymes dogs with hogs, and so I’m thinking maybe there’s a whole theme here.
“But I also had written ‘The Anchor’ which was just something I was just ready to write. It’s in line with the social justice songs on ‘He Walked On,” but again it’s from the point of view of someone old who realizes they’re a throwback, in this case ‘Walter Cronkite’ who’s commenting from the great beyond. I’m in my late 60’s and doing fine but I’m looking at things from that older perspective. One of my closest friends, J.D. Hutchison was in hospice care when Ronnie and I wrote ‘Goodbye Old Friend.” (J.D. passed away soon after.) With ‘Cup of Sugar,’ “The Pay’s a Lot Better Too’ and maybe even ‘Gila Headwaters,’ I’ve got that elder perspective again: life is short but it’s wonderful so don’t sweat the small stuff. The guy in ‘Stuck in the Middle’ is taken by surprise but he takes it lightly.
I let the songs dictate the arrangements. I asked myself is it all acoustic, is it an electric country record? Is it time to go electric?. But I ended up making another pretty eclectic set of acoustic tracks. Jan and I work on the form, tempo, and key for each of them at home, and she sings and plays her parts live when we get to the studio. That builds a strong frame before we get to the studio. With session guys like Mike Rojas, Russ Pahl, and Jaimee Dick, as well as with my bandmates Mike Bub and Shad Cobb, you just get them in the room and play the song. They find the way. Dennis Crouch came one day when Bub couldn’t make it, and Paul Burch joined in too on a couple. I had a lot of fun writing the songs and had just as much fun recording them. It was a blast having Del McCoury come in to play some real first-generation bluegrass. I think Cory Walker crushed the banjo part.”

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 6/10 - Ward Harrison
2023-06-10 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Ward Harrison is former Hackensaw Boy.

Kidstuff Live - 6/10 - Smiley & the Lovedawg
2023-06-10 10:00 - 11:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Chris Durman of Smiley & the Lovedawg is a East Tennessee singer/songwriter, journeyman musician, and librarian who has tried with varying degrees of success to play heavy metal, rock, bluegrass, folk-rock, old-time, R & B, doo-wop, soul, Americana, and that one, oh-so-ill-fated and ill-advised jazz gig. He’s been lucky to have played with, worked with, and/or hung out with some of the greatest musicians in East Tennessee and the world, many of whom have become his friends. It’s a shame more of their talent hasn’t rubbed off on Chris.
Chris has played in Lace, Oedipus Rex, Overkill, The New Left, Reenie’s Swinging Jugs, The Fun-Time Trolley Band, and the John Myers Band. Chris plays regularly with Exit 65 and Smiley and the Lovedawg. He’ll occasionally do a solo or duo gig with a friend, too, and he loves to jam with Folks, typically feeling most in his element when jamming with friends new and old around a campfire at a party.

The WDVX Big Plate - 6/9 - GangstaGrass
2023-06-09 12:00 - 13:00 | Barley’s, 200 East Jackson Avenue, Knoxville, TN, 37915, United States
“There are a lot more people out there with Jay-Z and Johnny Cash on their playlists than you think,” says Gangstagrass Mastermind Rench, who had previously made a name for himself as an in-demand Brooklyn country and hip-hop producer and singer/songwriter. He should know – he’s toured the country and abroad with a band of bluegrass pickers and hip-hop MCs to the delight of standing-room crowds everywhere.
Making beats for local NYC rappers and hosting country music nights in popular NYC venues, Rench had a musical itch that needed to be scratched – he was listening to the 1970s recordings of Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys and couldn’t help imagining what classic bluegrass would sound like with rap vocals and beats. The result was a genre-demolishing blitz called Rench Presents: Gangstagrass. He put it up for free download and people took notice. Hundreds of thousands of downloads followed creating an intense underground buzz. When FX Network came to Rench looking for the Gangstagrass sound for the theme song to their new series Justified, he had bluegrass players lay down an original track with rapper T.O.N.E-z, the younger brother of early hip-hop legends Special K and T-LaRoc.
The result was “Long Hard Times to Come,” the song that opened every episode of six seasons of the hit series. “Long Hard Times to Come” was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2010, contending for best theme song after critical praise and massive fan response.
The same live-bluegrass-band approach was used to make Lightning On The Strings, Thunder On The Mic, a full-length album with T.O.N.E-z, the MC featured on the Justified theme song. Two years later the Gangstagrass sound expanded with the release of Rappalachia, a 15-song album featuring a variety of rappers, including Kool Keith, Dead Prez, Nitty Scott MC, T.O.N.E-z, BROOKLYN35, R-SON the Voice of Reason, and Dolio the Sleuth. Country singers Brandi Hart and Jen Larson contributed gritty harmonies to Rench’s choruses. Broken Hearts and Stolen Money -– featuring performances by legendary rap team Smif-N-Wessun, Juno award-winning rapper Liquid (of BranVan 3000), Brandi Hart of the Dixie Bee-Liners and Alexa Dirks of Chic Gamine, in addition to the now regular crew of MCs and pickers – was released in 2014 to critical acclaim, with the Boston Globe labeling raucous single Two Yards “Essential.” A fourth official album, titled American Music, was released in April 2015, debuting at #5 on the Billboard bluegrass charts. With American Music’s collection of standout original cuts and traditional folk anthems the band once again broke new ground, while also paying tribute to their cast of American songwriting heroes. The 2019 live album Pocket Full of Fire spent 20 weeks in the top 10 Billboard bluegrass charts, making it to the #2 spot.
Gangstagrass has toured internationally, blowing minds on main stages from SXSW to Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, with a live act taking full advantage of the improvisational aspects of both hip-hop and bluegrass. With MCs R-SON and Dolio the Sleuth trading verses, Dan Whitener on banjo, Brian Farrow on fiddle, Rench on guitar and beats, and frequent three-part harmonies, the Gangstagrass stage show has garnered a reputation among fans for its dynamism and spontaneity. Through touring across the United States and abroad, Gangstagrass uses live performances to organically develop new material to further explode the boundaries between genres generally thought to be incompatible.
Their 2020 offering, No Time for Enemies – which features “Nickel and Dime Blues,” the inspirational “Freedom,” the jump-starting “Aint No Crime,” and the hugely popular “Ride With You” – has more than a million streams/views so far. It quickly hit #1 on the Billboard bluegrass charts. No Time for Enemies takes you for a ride through the hoods and hollers while having a sweat of a good time.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 6/8 - Cassidy Dickens / Dear Darling
2023-06-08 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Cassidy Dickens is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter originally from the mountains of southern West Virginia. Surrounded by Appalachia’s colorful storytelling, front porch picking, and rich vocal harmonies from day one, Cassidy has always been enamored by the singular power of music to capture fleeting memories and raw emotion. This lifelong enchantment has inspired a musical catalog overflowing with love, heartbreak, home, and other universal-yet-intensely-personal themes.

More than a blissful salutation, Sacramento string trio Dear Darling have been dazzling local and national audiences with angelic three-part harmonies and their unique folk/jazz/neo-classical vibe. Modern-day messaging of empowerment and inner strength
have allowed Hannah Jane Kile, Natalie Hagwood and Casey Lipka to put their distinctively feminine spin on the Americana music form. Currently in the studio recording the follow-up to their debut release, Believe, Dear Darling will embark on West Coast and Midwest tours in summer 2023.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 6/7 - Cigar Box Serenaders
2023-06-07 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
The Cigar Box Serenaders are an upcycled musical instrument band from New Orleans, LA. Their instruments can’t be found in a music store: you’ll see and hear cigar box guitars, tin can banjos, dresser drawer basses, found sound trash kits, electrical pipe vibraphones, and more! The band plays an eclectic mix of funk, swing, and blues, performing songs by The Meters, Thelonious Monk, as well as original compositions. The band currently has two albums out: “Cigar Box Serenaders” and “Sounds Like Garbage Live!”. The band is a featured artist at the annual Samantha Fish Cigar Box Guitar Fest in New Orleans.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 6/6 - Kris Schultz / Jim Bowman
2023-06-06 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
After spending much of her life on the road in one form or another, it’s no surprise that Kris Schultz likes to take the scenic route. And that is exactly how she made her way to writing, playing and singing songs.
Growing up in Topeka, Kansas, she was obsessed at an early age with the songs on the jukebox at a bar she visited regularly with her parents. The blend of classic country and 70s and early 80s singer/songwriter tunes gave her a deep love for sad songs about heartbreak and loss.
At an early age, she showed promise in several sports, and by mid-childhood it was obvious Track & Field (specifically the “field”part) was her niche. Soon, she was criss-crossing the country in a tiny car with her mother and twin sister, competing in track meets, adopting accents and falling in love with the cities, towns, highways and roadside stops she would daydream about when back in Topeka.
Accepting a scholarship to throw Javelin at Kansas State University, she officially majored in Radio/Television Journalism. But she likes to think her daily visits to the local record store could be considered a double major in Music Appreciation. It was there she dove further into the music of singer-songwriters, new and old.
While competing in the Texas Relays during her college career, she had fallen in love with the city of Austin, TX. Soon, she had moved there with only a box of books & CDs, a small stereo, and a bag of clothes. She walked into the city-ran Austin Music Network TV channel, asked for an internship, and soon she was spending her days proof-checking videos of local music and taking in every note. But she still hadn’t thought of playing music herself.
The next few years were spent assisting musicians on the road and at home in Austin. She did whatever was needed – selling merch, driving, road managing, lugging gear. She traveled throughout Texas, the Midwest, the Northeast and Canada with the likes of Kacy Crowley, Future Clouds and Radar, Davíd Garza, and Guy Forsyth, and worked for Jon Dee Graham and others back home in Austin. Through it all, she absorbed the live performances of these talented artists, but it still never crossed her mind to give it a try herself.
After a years-long break from her non-musical role in the Austin music world to start a pet care business with her sister, in the spring of 2017 she acquired a guitar, and, on a whim, called on her longtime friend Kacy Crowley to help find out if she could sing. Armed with 3 chords she had learned 16 years before, but had never had the chance to practice, she played her first attempt at a song for Kacy. Surprised when told she was not tone deaf, as she had assumed, she quickly became hooked on writing songs. Within a month, she played her first open mic at the legendary Cactus Cafe. Within six months, she was playing her first hour-long set of original songs.
She has toured the Midwest twice with fellow songwriter Andrew Savage, and has toured solo in the Southwest.

A life long singer/ songwriter Jim Bowman has some impressive credentials. He wrote a chart record for Mel Tillis that became a music video for Mel. Jim also wrote a song for Roy Rogers that was used in the autobiography video of the King of the Cowboys. As a performer Jim has opened shows and shared stages with many giants of the entertainment industry including Kenny Rodgers, Reba McEntire, the Oak Ridge Boy the Gatlins, and Micky Gilley just to name a few.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 6/5 - Merrill Miller / Johnny Burgin
2023-06-05 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Johnny Burgin grew up in the South and went to University of Chicago with the intention of becoming a writer. When a fellow DJ at the college radio station took him out to a West Side ghetto club to hear the blues singer Tail Dragger, it was a conversion moment. The blues came to life for Johnny and he fell headfirst into the vibrant Chicago blues scene. Choosing the blues clubs over the library, Johnny eagerly absorbed the lessons from the blues masters who practiced their craft nightly. By persistence and practice, Johnny gained a spot in Tail Dragger’s band, and started gigging and recording with traditional blues veterans like Sam Lay, Billy Boy Arnold, and Pinetop Perkins. By the late 90s, Johnny was working regularly in Chicagoland blues clubs under his own name. Johnny started a Monday night residency at The Smoke Daddy in Wicker Park, featuring vocalist Jimmy Burns. The band featured other future blues notables who were also at beginning of their careers, such as Kenny Smith on drums and Martin Lang on harp, and they created quite a buzz. They packed the club every Monday with a younger, hip crowd, as well as blues veterans stopping by to sit in such as Dave Meyers, Jesse Fortune, Barkin’ Bill, etc. Their success led to a record deal with Delmark and the first of several European tours.
The shangri-la of being “King of Division Street” eventually ran its course. In the early aughts, Johnny dropped off the scene entirely to raise a daughter. When the music eventually called Johnny back, his comeback was noted by The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Blues Guide, and the Dutch blues magazine BLOCK. As noted blues producer Dick Shurman wrote, “Johnny’s skills, passion and committment were undiminished.” His move to the Bay Area in 2016 led to a creative burst and his most notable recordings. In a few short years, Johnny cranked out the Cali/Chicago blues mashups Greetings from Greaseland, Neoprene Fedora, the Howlin’ Wolf tribute Howlin’ at Greaseland (nominated for a BMA for Best Traditional Blues Recording) and Johnny Burgin Live, which featured Charlie Musselwhite and was nominated for a Blues Blast Best Live Recording Award for 2019. Throughout, Johnny managed to play 250 dates a year since 2014 in Europe, Japan and coast to coast in the States, right up until the pandemic. By 2022, he’d ramped back up to the same demanding schedule.
Johnny’s produced ten CDs as a leader to his credit and dozens more as a sideman, from veterans like Johnny Sansone, Paul DeLay, Bob Corritore to up and comers like Aki Kumar and Ben Levin. Johnny’s developed from a young guitar slinger and local blues hero to a matured bluesman, fully fledged singer and the confident and engaging bandleader. In recent years, he has been a resident instructor at the Pinetop Perkins Foundation and the Chicago Blues Network and has developed a loyal following on Youtube for his weekly looks at the blues guitar greats. Johnny’s recordings have evolved from being very Chicago-centric, to a fusion of West Coast and Chicago styles, and finally,to a more inclusive, international approach. His latest CD, No Border Blues Japan, is the first American compilation of the underground Japanese blues scene. The success of this collaboration led Johnny and his partner, producer Stephanie Tice, to create and host the podcast No Border Blues, which focuses on the international blues scene.

A fan of all things music raised in the Mississippi Delta, Merrill Miller has been enchanting Midwestern audiences with his unique blend of classic country, punk, and blues for years. Merrill’s introspective songs about love, loss, addiction, and life on the open road provide listeners with refreshing vulnerability delivered through upbeat riffs, Merrill’s smoky voice, and his matter-of-fact humor. Fans say Merrill Miller is like discovering “a thirst you didn’t know you had until it’s been quenched.”

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 6/3 - Macho Planet / Kit Lindsey
2023-06-03 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Inspired by mountain music of all shapes and varieties, Kit Lindsey brings an eclectic sound to her velvety storytelling. She channels a bluesy spunk in her vocals that wins the heart of every listener and crafts stories that harken back to an era gone by – speaking youthfulness into traditions older than the hills. Distinctly gritty and undeniably robust, both her voice and her tales make you feel fuzzy, warm and right at home.​
Kit got her start in her white steeple, small town childhood church in the Blue Ridge foothills. Her parents frequently played and sang in the church and around their home, instilling in her a strong love of gospel, classic rock, and folk music. After the disbandment of her first group that centered around blues and alt-country, West of Caroline, Kit recorded and released two debut singles in 2022 produced by Zach McCord at McCord House Recording that reflected Kit’s goal of delivering her personal stories through the Americana and country music that played an immeasurable role in making her a musician. To date, Kit has performed all over the southeast, whether it be an acoustic solo set in a dive bar or alongside a full outfit of musicians on an ampitheatre stage. She aims to bring her music to a wider audience in 2023 through more frequent and farther-reaching live shows.

Macho Planet is a Nashville based Indie Alternative Project lead by songwriter Austin Mathis and accompanied by Alex Mathis and Bynum.
With literary and often unorthodox lyrics, Macho Planet has been described as “direct and compelling… point[ing] a finger floating lightly above the creeping anxiety of modernity.”

Taps & Tunes - 6/2 - Zack Miles
2023-06-02 18:00 - 19:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
An eastern Tennessee native, Zack Miles blends a unique, intricate finger-picking style with modern folk. Miles delivers these songs with a melodic, agile, and proficient guitar style. “It makes for intricate, ethereal compositions when he composes parts around his own lyrics, and his voice resonates with the deep ache of a man who seeks redemption and salvation on the summit of a distant peak.” -Steve Wildsmith, Maryville Daily Times. At a live show, you can expect an engaging, intimate experience that will take the listener to the places Miles has been and the people he’s met along the way.
Miles’ first full length album was released in the spring of 2015. Northern Camp is a more traditional folk album compared to later releases. The album maintains a calm, tranquil vocal style paired with aggressive, yet precise guitar compositions. Recorded alone with an acoustic guitar over the course of two days in a friend’s home that was currently under construction, the finished product represents the quiet, cold, surroundings that the songs were recorded in. Songs such as Raised by Wolves and Relocation represent the general theme of the album. It doesn’t matter how long you are away from the place you call home, your friends will always pick up where you left off, and the places you love aren’t the same without the people you love. The most recent release, Sights We Rarely See, introduces an ethereal, sweeping electric guitar, synths, and subtle electronic percussion. The album’s style can be compared to more modern indie folk, and is often contrasted by his signature, more traditional finger-picking acoustic guitar style. “I was trying to progress as a guitar player to start out with, and I didn’t want to make another ‘listen-to-how-fast-this-guy-can-fingerpick’ album,” says Miles. Sights We Rarely Seecatalogs his time spent on Catoosa, a Wildlife Management Area located in the Cumberland and Morgan counties of Tennessee. From long, humid summer days spent on a mountain bike, to summer and fall evenings spent putting hay up into the barns, to the winter nights spent huddled around a campfire, the album is a representation of a truly unique east Tennessee experience.

The WDVX Big Plate - 6/2 - Irene Kelley
2023-06-02 12:00 - 13:00 | Barley’s, 200 East Jackson Avenue, Knoxville, TN, 37915, United States
A professional singer-songwriter for more than 20 years, Irene Kelley‘s unique mix of Bluegrass, Country and Americana appeals to music lovers across all genres.
Irene Kelley is a graduate of the Leadership Bluegrass Class Of 2017. She has been seen and heard at the IBMA, SPBGMA, Grand Ole Opry, the CMA Music Festival, Folk Alliance International, the Americana Music Festival, COUNTRYfestival (Belgium), Disneyland Paris, the Equi Blues Music Fest (France), Avila Beach Music Fest (CA), BayFest (AL) and many other venues. Syndicated on-air appearances include Sirius/XM, Acoustic Café, NPR’s Live at Mountain Stage, CMT, and GAC as well as airplay on Country, Bluegrass, Folk and Americana radio stations worldwide. Her songs have been recorded by Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Loretta Lynn, Little Big Town, Rhonda Vincent, Claire Lynch, Darrell Scott, The Whites, the Osborne Brothers, and Bill Anderson.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 6/1 - Arlan Feiles / The Barn Swallows
2023-06-01 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
The Barn Swallows is a band based in Bisbee Az, formed in 2022. With an EP available at live shows and a brand new Live in studio album released May 13th 2023, recorded with Max Harms at The Garage. Though only together for a short time, they have a national tour Kicking off May 19th this summer they will be playing from Texas to Virginia, through the midwest and on the west coast. Some highlights include performing At the Camel in Richmond VA, The Dahl Arts Center in Rapid City SD, Matthews Opera House in Spearfish SD, at The Britt Festival in Jacksonville OR and The Cotati Accordion Fest in Cotati CA.
With a full schedule and new songs The BarnSwallows are on a roll. Their instrumentation is comprised of guitars, mandolin, clarinet, tenor banjo, violin, accordion and upright bass. Featuring original compositions and vocal harmonies, the sound ranges from American folk to traditional jazz. Committed to authentic expression and having a good time while lamenting the tragic world, The Barn Swallows deliver a healthy helping of heart-full honesty with a contagious melodic sensibility and soaring harmonies.
For booking inquiries email: thebarnswallowsband@gmail.com

Arlan Feiles is an Americana singer and songwriter.

WDVX Summer Nights - 5/31 - Dom Flemons & Matt Morelock
2023-05-31 19:00 | Yee Haw Brewing Co, 745 N Broadway, Knoxville, TN, 37917, United States
Support for WDVX comes from the new Yee Haw Brewing Company at 745 North Broadway in Knoxville. Yee Haw presents the WDVX Summer Nights, live free music series beginning on May 31st
with special guests Dom Flemons and Matt Morelock with your host Alex Leach. The shows begin at 7pm with the first hour broadcast on WDVX.
GRAMMY Award Winner, Two-Time EMMY Nominee, 2020 U.S. Artists Fellow. Dom Flemons is originally from Phoenix, Arizona and currently lives in the Chicago area with his family. He has branded the moniker The American Songster® since his repertoire of music covers over 100 years of early American popular music. Flemons is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, actor, slam poet, music scholar, historian, and record collector. He is considered an expert player on the banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, fife and rhythm bones. Flemons was selected for the prestigious 2020 United States Artists Fellowship Award for the Traditional Arts category which was generously supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
In 2020, Dom Flemons re-issued his album titled Prospect Hill: “The American Songster Omnibus on Omnivore Recordings. The two CD album features three parts: the original Prospect Hill album, the 2015 EP What Got Over, and The Drum Major Instinct which includes twelve previously unissued instrumental tracks. His original song “I Can’t Do It Anymore” was released on a limited edition wax cylinder recording. Recently, he released a cover of the Elmore James classic “Shake Your Money Maker”, recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, alongside Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band and featured guest, legendary guitarist Steve Cropper. He played his six-string banjo (Big Head Joe), Quills, and Bones on Tyler Childers groundbreaking album Long Violent History and played jug alongside Brandford Marsalis on the soundtrack to Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom on Netflix.
Flemons currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Steve Martin Banjo Prize, Music Maker Relief Foundation and is a Governor on the Board of Directors for the Washington, D.C Chapter of the Recording Academy.

Knoxville native, former WDVX DJ, and banjo-wielding musical chameleon, Matt Morelock always shows up with a few surprises up his sleeves…if he’s even wearing a shirt with sleeves…and it’s probably gonna be hot outside on May 31, so there’s no telling what the heck’ll happen. Matt and Dom have been pals and collaborators for almost 20 years! Brace yourselves for a fun fun show.

More Summer Nights to come!
6/21 – Jim Lauderdale Band
7/19 – Blue Moon Rising
8/23 – The Alex Leach Band with Special Guests

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 5/31 - The Arcadian Wild
2023-05-31 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Led by songwriters Isaac Horn and Lincoln Mick and with Bailey Warren on fiddle, The Arcadian Wild confidently inhabits and explores an intersection of genre, blending the traditional with the contemporary in order to create a unique acoustic sound that is simultaneously unified and diverse. With roots in formal vocal music and influences from progressive bluegrass and folk, The Arcadian Wild offer up songs of invitation; calls to come and see, to find refuge and rest, or to journey and wonder. Over the course of 2020, The Arcadian Wild released Principium, a four-movement song-cycle that explores human relationship, flourishing, degradation, and redemption, culminating in the release Principium EP in February 2021, which debuted at #3 on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart. Resumed touring found the band playing to increasingly large and enthusiastic audiences in 2021 and 2022, with shows often morphing into impromptu sing-alongs, a true collaboration and connection between artist and audience. The release of two new singles in Fall 2022 gave their followers just a taste of a newfound well of creativity, with more to come in 2023!
Stay tuned and come along to journey and wander.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 5/30 - Kimayo / Senie Hunt
2023-05-30 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Kimayo is a folk-pop artist, performing in New England since 2019. Her authentic and personal songs are relatable and vulnerable.
Coming out as queer in Spring of 2021, Kimayo seeks to cultivate connection, solidarity, and hope for each of her listeners through her honest lyrics and adult contemporary sound.
I’d like to share a story with you…
…about a girl. The youngest of six children, “the baby”, she spent summers barefoot and picking raspberries. During the winter she listened to the crackling fireplace while warming cold fingers after hours in the snow. She learned delight and appreciation.
This girl was spritely and filled with joy. She was loving and always wanted to please those around her. She trusted quickly and forgave easily.
Childhood was abundant. It also came with hardships. Life brought sickness, hurt, struggle, and great loss. She was fifteen when her dad lost his battle to cancer. She didn’t know then, but these experiences taught her the gift of resilience, the value of hope, the beauty of love, and the friendship of music.
Through the years this “Energizer Bunny” mastered the art of wearing masks to cover up her sorrow and fear.
“Put a smile on your face, don’t be a burden, and push through.”
Externally she was thriving. Internally she was numb, so she wrote. Songs, poems, and journaling were her haven for raw, unfiltered honesty.
At the University of New Hampshire she began writing songs on her dad’s old guitar. It was a balm. Sophomore year brought a reckoning with her faith, a belief in a force of love and restoration. She had a sense of belonging just as she was.
This also lead to self-reflection, opening wounds that had never really healed. Afraid, an eating disorder became her escape. There was sickness, hurt, struggle, and loss…
…and then there was resilience, hope, love, and music.
Post undergrad, this now adult knew she wanted to help people, see them thrive. She also knew music filled her veins with an energy unmatched, meeting her wherever she was with exactly what she needed. Music was her confidant, dance partner, comforter, her mood lifter. Through the years, personal growth, therapy, amazing friends, and creating, all brought more clarity:
She would cultivate Connection, Solidarity, and Hope through Love and Creative Expression.
That little girl is now in her thirties. She is still spritely, loving, and filled with joy. She is also authentic and vulnerable. This woman has traveled. She has loved and lost. She cares for the environment and is passionate about ending injustice. She is an aunt to five incredible young humans and a mom to her feline Mowgli. She lives her vision. This woman is learning daily to trust her knowing and believe her worth.

Senie Hunt is a self-taught, singer-songwriter and percussive guitarist adopted from Sierra Leone. He brought with him an inherent passion for West African rhythms and percussion. Senie used djembe drumming as a creative outlet to process the traumas of his early childhood during Sierra Leone’s Diamond wars.​
Senie’s US family owned a world-instrument import business and shared his love of music. With the help of his adoptive father, an amateur guitarist, Senie began to play the instrument at the age of 7. He learned most of what he knows through watching footage of live concerts of early influencers, like Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, and The Allman Brothers. As he learned guitar, Senie’s rhythmic instincts led him to experiment with drumming on the guitar as a way to capture the sound and rhythms of his West African roots. His experimentation lead him to his later influences such as Tommy Emmanuel, Michael Hedges and Andy Mckee.​
As a teen, Senie attended Berklee’s summer music camp in Boston, and local music camps in New Hampshire. During college he enrolled in several music programs to understand music beyond its performance aspects. Senie quickly found that his work does not fit a traditional approach or style. After struggling to conform to the music school curriculum he left college to pursue music in his own way.​
Senie’s playing is eclectic, powerful and artfully unique. This original approach and performance style, especially his unique percussion and live looping, sets Senie apart from other acoustic guitarists. Senie composes continuously and has a large body of work for one so young. In 2020, he was awarded the Innovators award at the GSM Music Awards for his guitar mastery, and was nominated for best male act of the year by the New England Music Awards in 2021. He has featured as the opening act and shared the stage with several well established artists such as the legendary Richard Thompson, The Wailers, The Levin Brothers, Robert Randolph, The Brooks Young Band, Daby Touré and Recycled Percussions.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 5/27 - Dani-Rae Clark / Dean Batten
2023-05-27 12:00 - 13:00 | Knoxville, TN, United States
Dean Batten is a master in the making. He’s been writing songs since age thirteen and recording himself in some form or another since 2013. After the breakup of the last band he was in, Dean set out in 2015 on his own to discover and fulfill the fullness of his artistic calling. This has led to three EP’s, three albums and a string of singles; and he isn’t stopping there.
Combining his singular wit with the nuance, care and insight of a much older poet, Dean balances the two extremes of feet-on-the-ground and head-in-the-clouds to produce a music all his own.
https://youtu.be/HY1dvi-4MtU
Notes on a Crisis from Dani-Rae Clark is a small collection of songs about loss, mourning, fear and prayer in the ongoing fentanyl crisis. It is an offering to anyone wrapped up or touched by this collective trauma. It is for everyone we have lost. May you be heard. It is for anyone who has lost. May you be held.

The WDVX Big Plate - 5/26 - Eldon Huff
2023-05-26 12:00 - 13:00 | Barley’s, 200 East Jackson Avenue, Knoxville, TN, 37915, United States
Eldon Huff is an American singer-songwriter making music that means something.
Pairing tough-to-match guitar skills with downhome lyrics about life and love, Eldon performs soulful songs that unite us all under the human condition. Like so many of us, he has searched for himself at the bottom of a bottle and down on his knees before God.
Somewhere between chasing the dream and putting in an honest day’s work, Eldon made a name for himself in Nashville doing Southern Roots Rock.
Known in Nashville as a triple threat, Eldon steps onto the stage with a steady and soulful voice, songs that speak volumes, and a legendary ability to wield a Les Paul guitar. Eldon’s catalog of music is grounded in straightforward themes that stand the test of time and lyrics that just don’t expire.
As a songwriter, he draws on his own life to tell stories about standing for something, refusing to back down, putting in a hard day’s work, relying on a higher power, falling in love, and remembering where you came from. Narratives rooted in nostalgia and relevant today are paired with unshakeable chords and performed with the kind of conviction that only comes from living.
Born and raised in rural Kentucky, Eldon grew up on timeless greats like Bob Seger, Travis Tritt, and Keith Whitley. Drawn in by music at an early age, he got on stage every chance he could get.
At eight years old, he was playing drums in his dad’s body shop, and by 11, he talked a local band into hiring him. By 12, he started teaching himself guitar and, at 15, became the lead guitarist in another band. By 17, Eldon had played every bar, club, and honkytonk in Virginia, West Virginia, East Kentucky, North Carolina, and East Tennessee. At 18, he broke his mama’s heart when he dropped out of high school to follow the dream full time.
The rest was not history. It was hard work, dedication, and a winding road that finally led Eldon home.
With pit stops along the way, Eldon made the pilgrimage to Nashville to pursue music. It was here he learned that talent alone won’t get you there. It also takes an unrelenting will to succeed, a love for making music no matter how many people are listening, and the support of those who will stick by your side.
Working in manufacturing and construction, he crisscrossed the southeast, playing music on nights and weekends. Running on empty, Eldon moved back to Kentucky to play in a local band, where he was lucky enough to meet and marry his wife. Before long, Huff was recruited to the road, touring with country music artist Eric Church before publishing his own hit album.
Eldon has walked a mile in everyone’s shoes, and he’s finally found his way home. Soon after signing with High West Records, he holed up with Grammy Award-winning producer Ben Fowler to breathe life into his latest album, “Drifter.”
From here on out, Eldon Huff will continue to do what he’s always done by making music that means something. And he’s just getting started.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 5/25 - Sugarcane Jane
2023-05-25 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Sugarcane Jane, formed and lead by Anthony Crawford and Savana Lee from Loxley, Alabama — have been America’s sweethearts from Alabama’s Gulf Coast for over a decade. Between them, they have amassed a rich musical heritage working with such notables as Neil Young, Steve Winwood, and Dwight Yoakam. The music they make together is simple and direct, rooted in country and rock, and anchored by their sweet and soulful harmonies.
To know the couple’s roots is important in understanding the foundation of their incredible story. Anthony’s musical career has lead him all over the world beginning at Opryland at the age of eighteen to performing at the Grand Ole Opry with Roy Acuff, to being on tour with Sonny James, Neil Young (The Shocking Pinks, The International Harvesters, The Electric Band), then Steve Winwood (Roll With It Tour), Vince Gill, and Dwight Yoakam. He’s had appearances on Hee Haw, Austin City Limits, Live Aid, Farm Aid, Showtime, the Late Show with David Letterman, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Today Show, Grammy Awards Show, made music videos (Wonderin’-Neil Young, Gone-Dwight Yoakam), been in movies (Heart of Gold-Neil Young, Neil Young Trunk Show, Blackhawk DVD). He’s played on stage with Paul McCartney with Neil Young at Hyde Park. He took the cover photo for Neil Young’s Chrome Dreams II album. His songs have been recorded by Steve Winwood, Dwight Yoakam, Kenny Rogers, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Oak Ridge Boys, Lorrie Morgan, Billy Burnett, Sawyer Brown, and others.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 5/24 - Mary Kate & Angel Chantel / Ally Venable
2023-05-24 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Beautiful roots harmonies, the low hum of an upright, and rhythm. What more could you ask for out of a Duo? Mary Kate and Angel Chantel will bring you tunes ranging in genre and energy from the Classic Country hits of Loretta Lynn, Pasty Cline, a new spin on the Carter Family, to the modern outlaw country stylings of Tyler Childers. They are teaming up for an early summer tour across the south east, that includes Mrs. Loretta Lynn’s Festival at her ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN.

Texas blues-rock singer/songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire, Ally Venable, entertains wherever she goes. With her signature glitter dresses and black knee-high boots, Venable comes off of the ropes swinging dazzling crowds on tour or throughout the festival circuit. “Venable pulls off a stunner of gritty and/or sultry blues rock tunes embellished with lots of tasty guitar solos.” – Guitar Player Magazine. A Kilgore, Texas native, Ally began singing at church at four and picked up the guitar at age 12. By 13, she started her own band and through her early influence of Stevie Ray Vaughan captured the passion and yearning for more in the blues genre. Early releases No Glass Shoes (2016) and Puppet Show (2018) started her fanbase, charting radio play, and several East Texas Music Awards. It was 2019’s #2 Billboard Blues charting Texas Honey and rocking sets on Ruf’s European Blues Caravan tour that propelled her internationally. “Ally is the future of blues and the crossover music of American roots-rock.” – Mike Zito. In what silenced many musicians during the pandemic, Venable now in her 20’s, released another Blues Billboard charting album, Heart of Fire (2021), which challenged her to write not only about love but the unguarded honesty of feeling pain.”On this album,I really wanted to create a tone of overcoming your struggles and persevering through them,” she explains. Mentor and featured artist on this album, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, lends his guitar skills on XM Bluesville’s charted song, “Bring on the Pain.” In 2022, Guitar World Magazine named Ally #2 on the top 15 Young Guns Making the Gibson Les Paul Cool Again, and she received the Road Warrior award from the Independent Blues Music Awards. Along with Ally’s own tour domestically and in Europe, her band has supported Buddy Guy and Kenny Wayne Shepherd throughout the US, as well as Colin James in Canada. She has performed as a featured artist on the Experience Hendrix Show at the ACL Live at Moody Theater in Austin, Texas. Fans are anticipating Venable’s upcoming spring 2023 release produced by Grammy award winning producer, Tom Hambridge, which includes a duet with the iconic Buddy Guy and a song featuring powerhouse guitarists Joe Bonamassa.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 5/23 - Chris King and the Gutterballs
2023-05-23 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Chris King & The Gutterballs know the secret to creative success; movement is key to progress. Whether by a gust of tornado wind or rubber against the road, pushing forward is all there is in a life, buoyed and scarred by love. The band infuses this propelling urgency in all of its performances into its songs, starting with King’s dynamic, uncorked-fire-hydrant voice.
The band has released three full-length records, Hidin’ Out in 2014, Cocktails in 2016, and Painwaves in 2019. Since their last full-length release, Chris King & The Gutterballs have released the singles Fantasy Island and Weekend Warrior in 2020, Party With You in 2022, and, most recently, City Love on April 14, 2023.
Chris King & The Gutterballs have played at major music festivals, including Treefort (Boise, ID), Off-Beat (Reno, NV), Freakout Festival Seattle, WA), The San Juan County Fair (San Juan Islands, WA), Fisherman’s Village (Everett, WA), Filo Fest (Online), and Capitol Hill Block Party (Seattle, WA).
They’ve had the honor of sharing the stage or live stream with national and local acts, including The Growlers, The Quilters, Bob Weir, David Crosby, The Smokey Brights, Acid Tongue, Shaina Shepherd, Tomo Nakayama, The Moondoggies, Silver Triplets of the Rio Hondo, and more. They’ve performed live in-studio on the acclaimed radio station KEXP. In addition, the band was featured on Seattle Channel’s Art Zone with Nancy Guppy and 107.7 The End’s Locals Only radio show.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 5/22 - Mary Scholz
2023-05-22 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
The stage is dark. The ice in your glass clinks as you take a sip. When the lights come up, and Mary Scholz steps onto the stage, a warmth comes over you that has nothing to do with drink. Barefoot, with dark curls cascading, she is at once whimsical and grounded. Just one woman with an acoustic guitar, but fills the room from the moment the music leaves her lips. The sound seeps into you like honey. You feel seen. You feel human. You feel loved.
For years, Mary’s stunning voice and evocative songwriting have made her a live circuit favorite. The Philadelphia native has toured nationally for over a decade and made several excursions to Europe. Every time Scholz takes the stage, she forges a personal connection with her audience. As the Music Junkie Press put it, “To see Mary Scholz live in concert is to fall in love. It is not just the flashing dark eyes or the crown of black ringlets or the confident, welcoming body language at the microphone. It is the voice and the lyrics — the music that flows from the stage…you know this woman and her music and you want to spend the rest of your life listening to her.”
Growing up, Mary had a deep reverence for music. She was always drawn to the spiritual resonance of dusty church organs and captivated by the lyricism of seventies sweethearts like Joni Mitchell and James Taylor. She grew up dancing, playing both piano and flute, and came to the guitar later, as a teenager. She went on to earn a BFA from the University of the Arts. But just as she would sing, years later, that she “knew about California,” she always knew her voice would be her primary instrument. On the road, she would also deepen her relationship to the guitar and begin a more nuanced level of exploration.
Today, Mary is based in Los Angeles, where her unique brand of gritty folk-charm has helped her make her mark. “I’ve been referred to as a ‘folk explorer with spacey roots and wings.’ I’m a fan of that one,” Mary says. Though she’s quick to follow that her musical genre is always evolving alongside her creative process. “I think it’s it’s important that artists can be exactly who they are, not who they think they should be, and create from that space.” That throughline of authenticity has set Mary’s music apart from the beginning.
Much of Scholz’s material considers how transitions color the human experience, as well as the side effects of love and loss. Her 2014 release, The Girl You Thought You Knew explores the self in relation to the other, and the bittersweetness of separation and self-actualization. In addition to its folk-pop title track, the album includes the HMMA-nominated song, “Bridges We Burn.” In 2017, Mary followed up with another breakout record, California. The album was recorded live in one room, to an Ampex 8-track tape machine. It was also the artist’s first vinyl pressing.
California marked a turning point in Scholz’s work and broadened her fanbase. “I don’t always get chills when I find a new artist, but I absolutely did with Mary Scholz,” wrote a journalist at Ear to the Ground Music. “There’s a purity in her performance that only comes along once in a while. The clarity in the composition is evident, allowing Scholz’s vocal to cut through the sound. It’s romantic and invigorating…[“California”] truly a treat of a pop-folk song.”
A music video for the song “Murder Ballad” followed the album release. The video garnered attention for its stark examination of abusive relationships, and the ways they inform one’s self-image and interactions with the world. With the release of the single “The Mother Song: Wild Womxn,” Scholz pushed her boundaries even further, telling a profound story of womanhood that is at once personal and utterly universal. Beyond their positive reception, “California” and “The Mother Song” also led to Mary’s partnership with Blue Élan records co-founder, Kirk Pasich, and the affiliated company, KZZ Music.
“One of the things I so appreciate about Kirk, and his team, is that they are really interested in cultivating a community, and creating space for artists to do what they do best. That gives me a platform to be myself, which is a beautiful thing,” she says.
Mary’s 2020 single, “LADY LIBERTY,” also touches on the broader aches of our modern world: “The song is written from the perspective of the Statue of Liberty,” she explains. “She is overlooking this country, seeing where we are failing to uphold the beliefs that we say are our foundation, demanding we acknowledge and make change.”
Planting her feet firmly in the Americana family, Scholz released the self produced EP “Lonesome” in 2021, which spent months on the Americana radio charts, both for the record as well as its toe-tapping title track. This led to the much anticipated release of “Begin Again” in 2022, a full length record produced by Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, Margo Price, Angel Olsen, Connor Oberst). The album is a 10 song Americana journey that paints a panoramic, starry landscape, addressing how we process life internally, to how we respond as a community.
To date, Mary has seven studio releases and various singles available on all major platforms and plans to release more this year. Though her music has shape-shifted through the years, she continues to espouse the same message of love, hope, and personal empowerment.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 5/20 - Jay Skaggs / Justin Kaleb
2023-05-20 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Justin Kaleb grew up in the foothills of the Arkansas Ozarks and moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the ripe age of 22. He cut his first record “Homesick Blues” down in the infamous Muscle Shoals, Alabama with the great Jimmy Nutt (Jimmy Buffett, Jason Isbell, American Aquarium) and Gary Nichols (The Steeldrivers), and signed his first publishing deal shortly after. What seemed to be a bright immediate future in Nashville soon became a monotonous grind clouded by homesickness and depression. He packed his bags and headed back home to catch his breath.
After a year of being back home in Arkansas and working the Texas and Oklahoma markets, Nashville came calling again. He found himself back in his old stomping grounds regularly playing shows, writing music, and having more fun than he’d ever had before. He partnered up with his old pal Darren King (Project 86/The Overseer) and the songs they were working on quickly became a record.
Justin Kaleb has seen his fair share of ups and downs. He’s played sold out venues with bands like The Steeldrivers, and felt the rush of cramming into a 15-passenger van with his best friends to share the stage with bands like Drowning Pool in his early years of fronting a metal band. At the same time, he’s felt the calmness and serenity of driving through an Alabama cotton field by himself to play for nobody but the bartender. While this ebb and flow way of life might deter most, he’s learned to find comfort in it.
Don’t be fooled by his laid-back demeanor. Justin knows that talent is worthless without work-ethic, and work-ethic can even overcome a lack of talent if you work hard enough. He sees it every day while working with his hands when he’s not on the road or in the studio, and has experienced first-hand how sometimes just showing up can be the first step toward something great.
In the same vein as artists like the Turnpike Troubadours, Tyler Childers, and Jason Isbell, Justin Kaleb brings an element of truth-telling, blue-collar music that Americana music fans can surely get behind. Jump on board while you can, because the train’s leaving the station.

Jay Skaggs joins us today as well.

Kidstuff Live - Children’s Festival of Reading - 5/20 - Sean McCollough
2023-05-20 10:00 - 11:00 | World’s Fair Park, 1060 World’s Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN, 37916, United States
Join WDVX at the World’s Fair Park on Saturday Morning May 20th at Ten for a live Kidstuff with your host Sean McCollough from The Music Tent. The Knox County Public Library hosts the Children’s Festival of Reading with storytelling, live music and more. All the fun starts at 10 AM and goes til 3 PM. The Children’s Festival of Reading is a free event!! More info at www.knoxcountylibrary.org/childrens-festival-of-reading.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 5/18 - Higher Education
2023-05-18 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Higher Education crafts a unique blend of psychedelic soaked roots with raw riotous rock n roll. Higher Ed is a three piece power trio from the state of Maryland, consisting of brothers Petey and Danny Devaney on Guitar, Bass, and Vocals, and Bradley Wilson on Drums. Together they have toured the country sharing their extensive original catalog of music and high energy performances. Higher Ed’s music certainly bends genres, but their foundation is rooted in Rockin guitar riffs, groovin’ bass lines, powerful drums, and strong melodies. They are creators of their own unique style of music, ever evolving, while steadily sharpening their sound. If you are a music lover it’s time for you to get educated, you’re about to discover something special. ​
Check out their latest single “Hope and Fear” streaming now!

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 5/17 - Mike Miz
2023-05-17 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Mike Mizwinski, better known simply as Mike Miz is a singer/songwriter/guitarist from Northeast Pennsylvania known for soulful and energetic live performances. Encouraged by both his Mother and Father to pursue a passion for music, Mike began playing guitar at age 7 and started writing songs as early as age 10. Performing over 200 shows a year, he has had the privilege to open for Jason Isbell, Jakob Dylan, Lukas Nelson, Blues Traveler, Derek Trucks, America, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, The Felice Brothers, Shawn Colvin, Leon Russell, Chris Isaak, Peter Wolf, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Jackie Greene, Railroad Earth and many more… Rolling Stone called Mike’s 2021 single Virginia “a monster of a jam rocker.” The new album Only Human is set for release 4/14/23. Mike currently resides in Nashville TN.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 5/16 - East Tennessee Bluegrass Association / Arum Rae
2023-05-16 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Arum Rae is a singer and songwriter based in New York City. Lover of fashion, music, lyrics and art.

Based in Knoxville, TN, the East Tennessee Bluegrass Association is a non-profit organization committed to promoting traditional bluegrass music through education, outreach and community. We organize events featuring local artists, provide music education and host jams around East Tennessee thanks to the support of people like you!
ETNBA jams are acoustic and feature traditional bluegrass instruments: acoustic guitar, upright bass, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, and dobro. Jams are FREE and open to the public. All ages and skill levels are welcome. Those just interested in listening are also welcome!
