The WDVX Big Plate - 3/22 – Mr Sun / Son Rompe Pera
2024-03-22 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Barley’s, 200 East Jackson Avenue, Knoxville, TN, 37915, United States
Part of Big Ears Festival:
Mr Sun comprises some of the most original musicians to apply themselves to the American String Band.
Legendary fiddler Darol Anger is at home in a number of musical genres, some of which he helped to invent, and is a member of the original “nuclear” generation of pickers who extended Bluegrass, Jazz, and Classical music to find their common ground; Mr Sun is the latest iteration in that legacy. Joe K. Walsh is one of the foremost contemporary mandolinists, with 4 award-winning years in the Gibson Brothers, 3 solo recordings, and a Berklee professorship. Grant Gordy is a standout in the crowded field of Acoustic Guitar Wunderkinds. Grant’s work was quickly recognized for its kaleidoscopic excellence and startling emotion, fusing Jazz, R&B, and Bluegrass concepts to an unprecedented degree. The group recently added the masterful bassist Aidan O’Donnell, a Brooklyn, New York (by way of Scotland) jazz veteran.
The 4 musical personalities of Mr Sun are so strong that one might imagine the group could explode if not for the palpable love and humor that emanate from every note they play together. The group means to take a relaxed approach to writing its own chapter in the American Music Saga with their new Compass Records release “extrovert”, on CD & bright yellow vinyl.

Son Rompe Pera joins us this day all the way from Naucalpan de Juárez, Mexico.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 3/23 - Joe Henry / Eric Mingus
2024-03-23 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Part of Big Ears Festival:
Joe Henry is a Songwriter, musician, producer, poet and essayist.

Vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and poet Eric Mingus has been steeped in the jazz tradition since birth. Born in New York City, son of Charles and Judy Mingus, as a child Eric played underneath the piano while his father improvised and composed, accompanied his father to innumerable rehearsals and performances, and studied cello and music theory with his father, and drums with Dannie Richmond. Like his father, Eric exchanged the cello for the double bass in his teens, and he studied voice throughout his school years, winning medals in NY State competitions for his performances.
After studying voice and bass through his teens with various luminaries of the music world and a brief semester at Berklee college of music, Eric sought the education of the road, touring as a vocalist with, among others, Carla Bley and Karen Mantler, and having the opportunity to perform with Percy Heath, Jimmy Heath, Bobby McFerrin, George Adams and Don Pullen. Later on, Eric worked included performances with Wolfgang Puschnig, Steven Bernstein and his Millennial Territory Orchestra, and David Amram, among many others. Eric has performed at numerous major Jazz Festivals, including Saalfelden (Austria), Orvieto Winter Jazz and Ah Um Festival (Italy), Jazz a la Villette and Banlieues Bleues (France), the Berlin Jazz Festival (Germany), Montreal Jazz Festival (Canada), as well as other festivals such as the Adelaide Festival of the Arts (Australia), Bonnaroo Festival TN, Wall to Wall at Symphony Space NYC, and several performances at NYC’s Summerstage and Celebrate Brooklyn.
Eric was part of a commission celebrating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s 1964 speech in Berlin Germany for the Berlin Jazz Festival, tasked to write poems that would intertwine with music written by Elliott Sharp. He has been commissioned to compose a piece for Yo Yo Ma’s new initiative, Our Common Ground, and was commissioned to contribute a recorded piece to the Centre Culture Irlandais in Paris, for a sound installation during covid lockdown. Eric was awarded a recording residency at Looking Glass Arts in summer 2022. He has recorded extensively as a leader as well as a collaborator.
Eric’s passion for poetry, and specifically the spoken word/ jazz tradition, led him to start a duo project with Howard Johnson; this work has continued through the years in duo and larger groups, with various collaborators, including a notable recording of Langston Hughes poetry, with pianist David Amram, which was released on Mode/Avant Records. Eric has worked very selectively with his father’s music, singing on the Mingus Dynasty album “Blues and Politics”, and more recently writing lyrics for his vocal performance on “Work Song (Break The Chains)” with the Mingus Big Band on their latest release, The Charles Mingus Centennial Sessions.
Eric works extensively in education; he is a judge and educator at the annual Charles Mingus High School competition, and has presented masterclasses and leadership ectures at Berklee, Harvard, UC Irvine, as well as at the Banlieues Blues Jazz festival (Paris, France) and the In Situ Arts Society (Bonn, Germany). He taught vocal improvisation classes and a Charles Mingus workshop at London’s Community Music House.
At this time, Eric has just completed a new solo recording for Ouch! Records (France), and is busy performing and writing new works.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 3/25 - Redd & The Paper Flowers
2024-03-25 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Redd Daugherty began as a solo artist during the 2020 pandemic, while teaching high school English at L&N STEM Academy in Knoxville, TN. During this time, she appeared on Season 19 of American Idol; released her first, solo album Monsters & Mothers; quit teaching to pursue music full time; and began working alongside her mentor and close friend, Adam Ivy.​
Redd met members Gavin Gregg, Katie Adams, and Colleen d’Alelio through friends and at open mics. The group quickly realized they had similar goals and began making and playing music together almost immediately. Founding members of the band Redd and Gavin, recognize and owe initial success to former bassist Will Ross.​
The group landed on the band name Redd & the Paper Flowers as Redd still releases solo music. The group is extremely excited to release their first collaborative album in 2023.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 3/26 - Fox and Bones / Coyote Motel
2024-03-26 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Scott Gilmore and Sarah Vitort are Fox and Bones—energetic offbeat folksters with a retro pop-rock bent who have been setting the world alight with a handclapping, foot-stomping good time since 2016. The indomitable duo has brought their optimistic Americana polish to international stages shared with the likes of Rayland Baxter, The Dead South, ZZ Ward, The Talbott Brothers and Horse Feathers among others.
At Fox and Bones’ core is an unrelenting backbone that represents honest-to-goodness folklore dreams, wrapped in the delectable shine of a duo with a combined 25+ years of songwriting experience. They’re akin to Lake Street Dive, Nathaniel Rateliff, and Shovels & Rope as a relatable, soul-stirring, retro-tinged folk-rock outfit that knows how to shatter a crowd’s hearts and put them back together all in the same utterance. Scott’s powerhouse grit and Sarah’s resonant tone combine with A-grade songwriting chops to create accessible, relatable, and often heart-rending folk-rock music.
Their hardworking artistic output has earned them first place at the 2023 Tucson Folk Festival songwriting contest and second place in the International Acoustic Music Awards, amongst other accolades. The duo also founded Portland’s Folk Festival: an annual, three-night celebration of folk and roots music at the iconic Crystal Ballroom.

VISIONARY COSMIC ROOTS MUSIC BAND COYOTE MOTEL’S DEBUT FEATURE FILM AND SOUNDTRACK ALBUM — THE RIVER: A SONGWRITER’S STORIES OF THE SOUTH … IS COMING SOON!
A deeply rooted psychedelic musical exploration of the lives, lore, and locales along three great rivers of the American South—embracing musical performances, storytelling, light art, aerial dance, and cultural history. The crowdfunded film includes the work of more than 15 Nashville-based independent artists. Soundtrack arrives on March 19, 2024—same date as Nashville premiere.
NASHVILLE, TN — The visionary new film The River: A Songwriter’s Stories of the South is unlike anything you’ve seen. Starring Nashville-based cosmic roots band Coyote Motel, it’s a music and performance movie, but it’s also a cultural history, a memoir, and a psychedelic experience. In 10 songs and stories, The River explores the lives, lore, and locales along three great rivers of the American South—the Mississippi, the Cumberland, and the Tallahatchie.
Conceived and written by Coyote Motel bandleader Ted Drozdowski and directed by Richie Owens of Parlor Films, the crowdfunded feature film is also a collaboration of more than 15 Nashville independent artists, including light art creators Darling Lucifer Productions and the aerialists of Suspended Gravity Circus. The River: A Songwriter’s Stories of the South is currently in festival competition and was recently awarded Best Original Feature Soundtrack and Best Experimental Feature laurels by Cincinnati’s Queen City Film Festival. The film is also a finalist at the Warsaw International Film Festival.
“My entire life has been a rehearsal for The River,” says Drozdowski, a noted guitarist, songwriter, journalist, music historian, and the editorial director of Premier Guitar magazine. “I’ve spent decades exploring the obscure corners where great American music heralds from, and I’ve aways embraced the connections between the bedrock of Son House and Muddy Waters, the aether of Pink Floyd, the freedom of Sonny Sharrock and John Coltrane, and the mythical sense of time and place in the songs of the Band and Creedence Clearwater Revival. I’ve woven all of that into both Coyote Motel, which I founded in 2018, and this film.”
The River: A Songwriter’s Stories of the South was originally scripted as a stage performance, but Covid arrived and the opportunity to recast it as a film crystallized. These songs and the narratives connecting them are a journey along these beautiful rivers, and the river of life, with the music, visuals, and aerial dance adding a kaleidoscopic palette that broadens the film’s emotional landscape to something beyond what words and music alone can convey.
Starting at Nashville’s Cumberland and weaving south along the Mississippi and Tallahatchie, The River introduces viewers to muleskinners, coal miners (Drozdowski’s immigrant grandparents), riverboat gamblers, freedom fighters, and the late musical giants of North Mississippi blues. It also essays the omnipotent, timeless magic of the rivers themselves, and the cities and rural outposts along their endless waters. Coyote Motel—Drozdowski on vocals, guitar and diddley bow; Sean Zywick on bass; Kyra Lachelle Curenton on drums; Luella on vocals, guitar, and percussion; and Laurie Hoffma on Theremin and glockenspiel—cast a sonic spell that’s both otherworldly and deeply rooted.
In “Tupelo,” the tale of flooding that opens the film and soundtrack, an archaic banjo tuning on guitar is the springboard for a swirl of melody and rhythm that captures the power of nature’s wrath. “Keep Me In Your Mind” is a stomping powerhouse about levee camp life, with Drozdowski and Luella trading vocals. “Long Distance Runner,” with its echoes of Pink Floyd and Philip Glass, is a trip from the Mississippi to the demimonde. And in the lead single, “The River Runs Forever,” Luella’s distinctive voice angelically spins the saga of Ernest Willis, who lived for decades beneath the Memphis-Arkansas bridge, gleaning his living from the river.
Along the way, Darling Lucifer’s projections, which recall the legendary Filmore light shows of the ’60s, and Suspended Gravity’s aerial flights in five performances, add transcendent notes of beauty, grace, and surprise—until the film and soundtrack culminates in the title song, which brings its world of ghosts, heroes, villains, and their watery loci to peace, in a soaring, melodic crescendo of guitar, ambient bass, Theremin, and Luella’s voice, resonating like a call from beyond.
“It’s an amazing package,” Grammy-winning music journalist Anthony DeCurtis writes in the film’s notes. “But the impact of The River is so much greater than even the sum of those extraordinary parts. The film is a visionary autobiography grounded in the telling details of Drozdowski’s own personal history, ‘the river of my own life experience,’ as he puts it, but ultimately it becomes a dream journey that teases out why and how music means so much to so many of us.”
To raise funds for the film, Drozdowski and co-producer Hoffma drew on the international fanbase Ted built touring the world with his earlier Mississippi-hill-country-informed band Scissormen and from his lifetime in music. The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville also lent support as a fiscal agent, providing an opportunity for tax-deductible contributions. And the film was shot on a Nashville-area soundstage and at various locations where its stories take place. It also draws on still images and historic footage licensed and loaned from various sources.
Drozdowski and co-producer Hoffma drew on the international fanbase Ted built touring with world with his earlier Mississippi-hill-country-informed band Scissormen and from his lifetime in music. The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville also lent support as a fiscal agent, providing an opportunity for tax-deductible contributions. And the film was shot on a Nashville-area soundstage and at various locations where its stories take place. It also draws on still images and historic footage licensed and loaned from various sources.
“Making The River: A Songwriter’s Stories of the South has been an amazing creative experience—full of learning and challenges I hadn’t imaged,” Drozdowski says. “I’m truly grateful to all of our supremely talented collaborators, and especially to our director, Richie Owens, who brought so much insight and dedication to bringing the film as I’d envisioned it to life. His work and the performances of Coyote Motel, Darling Lucifer, and Suspended Gravity are as much as part of the heart and soul of The River and as the people and places in its stories.”

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 3/27 - The Empty Pockets
2024-03-27 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Light flickers in even the darkest of spaces and smallest cracks. Similarly, The Empty Pockets ignite a bright flame of their own by harnessing a joyful friction between Americana, folk, and rock ‘n’ roll spiked with roots soul. The Chicago quartet—Josh Solomon [guitar, vocals], Erika Brett [keyboards, vocals], Nate Bellon [bass, vocals], and Adam Balasco [drums]—lean on an unspoken, yet airtight musical dialogue honed by countless miles on the road, performances alongside the likes of Kenny Loggins, a procession of fan favorite releases (including a #1 debut), and a wealth of memories together.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 3/28 - Roger Wallace
2024-03-28 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Knoxville Tennessee’s Own Roger Wallace joins us today! Roger Wallace has something rare in country music today: honesty, creativity, and more than enough talent to back it all up. You could say it’s all in the voice — and not just the powerful, rangy singing voice that has gained acclaim in roots-country circles for well over a decade. That voice attempts to speak not only in notes and words, but in a distinct musical vision, as well as unique views on the world around him. His latest CD, aptly titled It’s About Time, includes 12 of the 13 songs written or co-written by Wallace, as well as a more stripped-down musical approach from his previous three CD’s (Hillbilly Heights-1999, That Kind Of Lonely-2001, The Lowdown-2002) that exposes the most basic elements of country music, from its purest tones to its barest bones. In the summer of 1994, Roger Wallace left his hometown and musical roots of Knoxville, TN at the age of 22 to pursue music as a way of life in Austin, TX. Unknowingly, he became part of a mass migration of alt-and-roots country artists to move to Austin in the early ’90’s, in his case literally passing right by Nashville to come to Austin — because, as he put it, “that’s where the music is.” Around 1997, musical karma and music lovers’ own good fortune brought Wallace together with guitar legend Jim Stringer, whose Music Room label and studio, along with his own AM Band, has since housed, honed and brought together many of Austin’s best real-country artists. Wallace and Stringer, along with Wallace’s steady ensemble of some of the world’s finest and most respected, prolific, and sought-after roots musicians — including Stringer, drummer Lisa Pankratz, bassists Brad Fordham and Kevin Smith, pianist T Jarrod Bonta, fiddlers Erik Hokkanen, Elana James, and Eamon McLoughlin, and Marty Muse on steel, as well as guests such as Toni Price, Derek O’Brien, and Dave Biller — have produced four highly acclaimed CD’s since 1999. “Hillbilly Heights” in 1999, “That Kind Of Lonely” in 2001, “The Lowdown” in 2002, and his new 2007 release “It’s About Time” continue to solidify the slightly-older and ever-wiser Roger Wallace as one of the premier real-country artists of the modern roots music explosion, and audiences look forward to hearing much more of the same for years to come.

The WDVX Big Plate - 3/29 - Jeff Barbara & Sarah Pirkle
2024-03-29 12:00 - 13:00 | Barley’s, 200 East Jackson Avenue, Knoxville, TN, 37915, United States
Jeff Barbra and Sarah Pirkle have been married (to each other!) for for 25 years, and make their home in Walland, TN in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains national park. They make music.
Jeff and Sarah are 1st PLACE WINNERS of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at MERLEFEST. They performed their winning song, “When I Come Home” at Merlefest for a crowd of 50,000+. Their duo album, “The Barb Hollow Sessions” was released on January 1, 2004 and received rave reviews around the country… The album debuted at # 6 on the Roots Music Report National Bluegrass Airplay Charts. The single, “Bury Me In The Red Clay” peaked at # 12 on the Bluegrass Unlimited National Bluegrass Chart for November 2004. It was on the charts for 8 months. Jeff and Sarah released a gospel album, “Family Singing” in 2012.
They produce and host two radio programs for WFIV Knoxvilles Independent Radio. “Behind the Barn” is broadcast in front of a live audience every Thursday from Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria in Maryville TN. “In the Spirit with Jeff & Sarah” is an eclectic spiritual Sunday morning program, with uplifting songs from across all musical genres.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 3/30 - Anthony Ray Wright / Jonathan Knight
2024-03-30 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Without a doubt, Anthony Ray Wright is a player’s kind of musician. He left high school after only one week to gig full time playing lead guitar, drums and bass – and he stayed busy. Still a teenager, Anthony Ray jammed with Funk Bass legend Bootsy Collins and he recorded an unreleased single at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. In Seattle, Washington, he supported an upcoming act live on KEXP, a nationally respected Indie music tastemaker station. He knew he wasn’t just a side guy. It was in the remote West Texas desert town of Alpine that Anthony poured his focus into fronting his own act. Locally the show was an instant hit.
After recording his first album, he relocated to Austin, Texas, “Live Music Capitol of the World”. He truly found his people there. On tour across the states and Canada, he grabbed the attention of some big names. Anthony Ray Wright has opened for Ray Wylie Hubbard, Dale Watson, and the legendary Billie Joe Shaver, just to name a few. In 2022, Wright honored the legacy of Johnny Cash by playing in a tribute at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.
Anthony Ray Wright has released two full length albums: The Foolish Anthony Ray Wright (2021) and A Country Music Album (2023). In addition, he has many popular single releases including “Foolish Minded” and “Parking Lot Whiskey”.

Jonathan Knight works for a New York City ad agency. A member of the band DFONTE. Takes photos of things. Studied film scoring at NYU with David Spear (orchestrator for Elmer Bernstein).
Released a solo album in Jan 2024: FRAGMENTS OF A LIFE.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/1 - Josh Bearden / Cullen Wade
2024-04-01 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Josh Bearden has went down many Roads as a Musician and an Artist. As from playing Guitar and Bass in Regional Christian Bands to Fronting Postive Rock Band Burning Alter.
Josh says the hardest thing he ever done musically is writing Country Songs about Life, Love, and Family.
Walk this road With Josh as he takes you on a “Trip Around Home” and tells how he’s “Not Looking Back” on this Journey that this “Six String Storyteller” is going.
Josh’s First Album TRIP AROUND HOME was Nominated for The 2022 Josie Awards
His Second Album won 2022 Silver Album Of the Year at the International Singer Songwriter Association Awards.
Hope you enjoy the music that pours from his Heart out to you..

Born and Raised in Louisiana, now based out of Nashville, TN, Cullen Wade is a traveling songwriter who has spent the last ten years sharing his music with audiences all around the southeast. With influences from John Prine, Merle haggard, and Tom Petty he brings His unique songwriting style to his audience night after night making for a night to remember.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/2 - 18strings / The HawtThorns
2024-04-02 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Envision and believe in your own universe, and it will eventually form around you. The HawtThorns are reimagining their universe in their latest recording adventures. The sun-kissed songwriting, deft guitar work, and lush vocal harmonies that have been at the core of their sound are exponentially magnified through the lens of their upcoming record, Zero Gravity. This 3rd album from the Nashville-based duo includes 11 songs recorded at The Studio Nashville owned by The Wood Brothers and was performed by some of Nashville’s most accomplished musicians.
Zero Gravity is a sonic trip into deeply felt personal experiences, abstract storytelling, and
adventurous, genre-bending productions. The HawtThorns love for guitars is apparent on this
record, as the layers of variously toned and textured electric and acoustic instruments are as
much a part of the songwriting as are the lyrics. The interplay between far-out keyboard tracks and Johnny Hawthorn’s syncopated guitar hooks and riffs deliberately creates a unique appeal for each of the tracks. The music beds enhance KP’s fearless, wistfully honeyed lead vocals – recorded live, with the band directly to 2-inch tape.
Musical director and bass player Ted Pecchio (Doyle Bramhall II, Oliver Wood) assembled the band for the sessions, which included Jano Rix (Wood Brothers) on all keys and Nick Buda (Kenny Chesney) on drums. Lastly, singer-songwriter Alice Wallace also contributed harmonies on The Everly Brothers song, “When Will I Be Loved”.
The title track, “Zero Gravity”, embodies the venturesome spirit of the record. A “power ballad”, the song begins with a stripped-down production that includes spacey keyboard sounds and acoustic guitar with a demure, wispy vocal. It continues to build in intensity and volume, with the peak being the guitar solo, akin to a Ziggy Stardust-era Mick Ronson performance. The entire song is played over a salsa clave beat that never quits, while lyrically, it is a story of coming to terms with losing a soul mate.
“Nothing But A Shadow” and “Hands On A Clock” nod to Americana and Alt-country in format but have a pop flair and convivial daringness throughout. Other tracks, “Trouble” and “Faking It”, lean into indie-pop and convey an amount of sarcasm in theme while still possessing the chime and sparkle expected in a HawtThorns production. Overall, the band has offered an eclectic group of tunes on Zero Gravity that stylistically span the musical solar system. With new recordings come inspired live performances and fresh, brave style. The HawtThorns are exploring every aspect of expression with the new release, out in April 2024 via Red Parlor Records.
KP and Johnny Hawthorn, have had celebrated careers that started in LA’s singer-songwriter and Alt-Country scenes. Between the two, they have hundreds of recordings heard on network and cable TV, and film. KP co-founded LA’s CALICO the band while Johnny fronted his own band and played in legacy acts, Toad the Wet Sprocket and Everclear. Their common ground has been the starting point for a sum greater than it’s parts, an inspired combination of songwriting, vocals and guitar work.
There has been no shortage of praise. PopMatters declared, “Dynamite duo who aim to pull up their roots, stick by their guns and bring back the sounds of the Laurel Canyon in the 1960’s, the British invaders of the ’70’s and the cosmic cowboys still twirling through time and space” The Alternate Root stated “a perfect blend of melody and magic, one that incorporates the sunny sounds of classic California Rock blended with the rich resonant sounds of today’s Americana musical environs” and Americana Highways effused “The HawtThorns make songwriting look easy.”
An interstellar superhighway through the constellations of Americana, Alt-Country, and Rock ‘n Roll will leave The HawtThorns floating in Zero Gravity this Spring.

18strings is a bluegrass band who call the Great Smoky Mountains home. Julia on bass. David on guitar. Brian on mandolin.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/3 - Alex Jordan
2024-04-03 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Alex Jordan‘s Queen Kerosene is a melting pot of American roots music, stacked high with sharply-written songs that blur the boundaries between genre and generation. Helmed by four-time Grammy Awards winning producer (and longtime Los Lobos member) Steve Berlin, it’s a colorful, kaleidoscopic record whose songs make room for soul, Tex-Mex, groove-driven R&B, Americana, jazz, honky-tonk, and heartland rock & roll.
“I love different tempos, different styles of music, different eras, and different artists,” says Jordan, a Bay Area native whose eclectic career reflects his wide-ranging influences. “As a songwriter, there’s where I’m coming from. I’m coming from a background that spans decades and genres, and Steve helped me boil that down into something specific.”
Queen Kerosene was recorded at The Finishing School in Austin, Texas. The studio was a gear-head’s paradise, filled with vintage instruments and tube pre-amps. Working with a band of Austin-based musicians — including harmony singer Carrie Rodriguez and accordion player Josh Baca (the protege of Norteño icon Flaco Jiménez) — Jordan and Berlin captured the album’s songs in a series of live takes, emphasizing the chemistry of the players in the room. After the instrumental parts were tracked, the two reworked each song tirelessly, with Jordan scrapping more than 50% of the record’s original lyrics in favor of tighter, tauter lines.
The result is a mix of barn burners, piano ballads, Americana anthems, and adventurous explorations of organic roots music. Jordan rides a funky groove during “Tidefall” — a song whose horn arrangement nods to his longtime appreciation for jazz music — and channels Little Feat on the album’s closing track, “Saving Grace.” The title track, “Queen Kerosene,” is heartland rocker for highway drives and unbroken horizons, while “Blue” is a soulful update on The Jayhawks’ original, laced with Hammond organ, a horn section, and sonic swagger inspired by JJ Cale.
Before Jordan released his own music, he earned his stripes as a multi-instrumentalist, playing with bands on the West Coast for the better part of a decade. He was a musical Swiss Army knife — a road warrior whose ability to play guitar, piano, and Hammond B3 organ had already landed him onstage with icons like Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Peter Rowan. Raised by a high school music teacher in San Mateo County, he first began playing music as a child, picking up the jazz trombone in middle school before transitioning to electric guitar as a teenager. The discovery of his great-grandfather’s swing-era songbook introduced him to a broader style of American music, as did the community of friends he met at Phil Lesh’s local music venue, Terrapin Crossroads. Jordan began studying the great American songwriters — not just the jazz composers he’d discovered as a child, but rootsy acts like Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and Crosby, Stills & Nash, too. Years later, while playing an opening set at Levon Helm’s barn in upstate New York, Jordan found himself blown away by the evening’s headliner: Hayes Carll.
“Hayes’ songs were so well-crafted,” Jordan remembers. “I’d been spending a lot of time in the jam world, and that style of music requires a lot of improvisation. I’ve always been a bigger fan of songwriting, though. I’m a fan of craft. That’s why I like the Grateful Dead; they’re songwriters.”
Jordan was a songwriter, too, even though his work as a sideman didn’t allow him the opportunity to showcase those skills. Inspired to create music of his own, he found a partner in Steve Berlin, who both championed and challenged Jordan’s musical instincts. The process of making Queen Kerosene was equal parts gratifying and grueling, with Berlin pushing Jordan to reach a new edge by sharpening his songwriting. “He was really tough on me,” Jordan says of his collaborator. “Steve pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me work hard on my lyrics. He said, ‘You’re a good singer, but you need to become a better storyteller, too.’ We went through every song on the album, line by line, to make sure everything was clear, concise, specific, and relatable at the same time. The experience changed me as a writer. It made me fearless.”
That fearlessness is on full display through Queen Kerosene. Many of the album’s songs find their narrator in some sort of transit, searching for the next destination amidst life’s trials and triumphs. Queen Kerosene explores the connections we all make during those journeys. “My goal as a writer is to say, ‘Hey, you’re not alone; someone else besides you went through this very same thing,'” says Jordan. “Other people can share the journey with you.”
For Alex Jordan, that journey has led him to a solo album that’s every bit as incendiary as title suggests. After playing other artists’ music for years, he’s taking a step forward as a frontman and songwriter, shining his light on a signature sound that pays tribute to timeless American music. It’s a sound influenced by the best parts of the past, yet still firmly rooted in the present. Perhaps most importantly, it’s a sound of his very own.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/4 - The Honey Badgers / Thomas Hinds
2024-04-04 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
“Weaving their voices together over driving guitar, wistful violin, and punchy harmonica, The Honey Badgers spin stories and songs about finding yourself, finding each other, and finding your way in the world.”
When Michael Natrin asked Erin Magnin to dust off her fiddle and join him for a couple songs at a local songwriter showcase, the two never imagined they were creating a musical partnership that would continue far into the future. Playfully calling themselves The Honey Badgers, more to make themselves chuckle than to make any sort of a statement, the two discovered a chemistry between their voices that demanded to be heard. Thus, the duo was born.
The Honey Badgers’ folk/Americana sound has been likened to that of The Civil Wars and The Swell Season. They are known for their intense, unique harmonies, their sincere lyrics and melodies, and their undeniable and captivating onstage charm. Weaving their voices together over driving guitar, wistful violin, and punchy harmonica, The Honey Badgers spin stories and songs about finding yourself, finding each other, and finding your way in the world.
The Honey Badgers have been creating music together since the summer of 2011. In their first several years working together they released their debut EP, “Booth Bay”, a thoughtfully crafted second EP, “Soul”, as well as a collection of live recordings entitled “Mad Season”. In the years following the duo’s conception, they played all over their home state of Delaware and the surrounding area, from the Delmarva Folk Festival in Hartly to the World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington. They opened for nationally touring act The Lone Bellow, as well as local Delaware favorite New Sweden.
In 2019 they committed to diving further into their music in many ways. Their first full length album, “Meet Me” was released in March 2019. “Meet Me” is a colorful story that has been unfolding since Michael and Erin met. The songs are new, but the feelings within them are familiar – from the blooming of new love to the comfort of seasoned love, losing yourself and finding yourself, from feeling alone in a fast moving world to finding connection in a room full of strangers. “Meet Me” was mostly conceived in an old self-converted Sprinter van on a 2017 road trip around the USA. In the spring of 2019, The Honey Badgers quit their stable jobs and hit the road again, traveling up and down the East Coast singing songs, telling stories and building community on the road.
As full time musicians and travelers, Michael and Erin look forward now to creating music that has roots growing through every place they go. They are currently working on a second full length album set to be released in early 2024, centered around grief, healing, and growth in a pandemic-changed world.

Thomas Hinds, a troubadour from northern Georgia, has spent most of the last four years playing an impressive mix of original songs that share the struggles of life, love, and finding oneself within these melodies all over the southeastern part of the U.S. The covers he chooses fit nicely with his voice and onstage demeanor, always tinged with a silvery hue and inspiring to never give up, no matter how the world around us appears. Thomas is currently releasing singles for his upcoming album set to release on June 30th of this year.
Thomas spent most of 2019 on the road criss-crossing the U.S. with his catalog of originals and ever-increasing covers, which has welcomed him back to venues time and again. His first release, Ghosts and Lamentations, was in 2015, and in late 2017, he released an EP titled Barbwire Bouquet, which included two songs recorded with Jono. The EP featured Keep On and a reworked version of Favorite Hello, originally on Ghosts and Lamentations, which, according to Jeffrey Foucault, “showed a lot of growth in the songwriting.”
With Resurrection Road, Thomas takes a step towards solidifying his writing ability, with a touch of Ray Lamontagne and Steve Earl in the fabric of the songs stretching out in this collection. After relocating from New Mexico to his current home in northern Georgia, Thomas has found fertile ground for growing and solidifying his voice among some amazing talented musicians and songwriters. He started 2021 playing regionally throughout the southeastern U.S. and finished the year strong with almost 150 shows and nearly 60,000 miles driven.
In 2022, Thomas continued to build momentum with the release of the new EP Heart Attacks & Sweet Dreams at the end of September, and a new book Ghost of a River released in October. The year shaped up to be one of the most productive yet, with Thomas recording a full-length album titled Where Do We Go From Here at the Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. In 2023, he’s been filling up with shows as he builds momentum for an album release show with a full band at Shoals Theater in Florence, AL on June 30th. Thomas is always looking for new places to play and people to meet. He has the ability to play solo sets as well as duo, trio, or full bands depending on the need. The best way to contact him is via his website or email at thomashindsschedule@gmail.com.
If he’s in your area, be sure to catch a show and let your family and friends know to make a point of seeing him and saying hello. If you’re interested in hosting a house concert or have a venue looking for an original artist to play along his route, feel free to contact him. For more information, you can find all things Thomas at www.thomashindsmedia.com.

The WDVX Big Plate - 4/5 - Jason Lee Wilson & James County
2024-04-05 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Raised in the legend-filled, limestone land of Tennessee, Jason Lee Wilson naturally blends the spirit of the old west with a little southern “branch” for a refined mixture of rockabilly, traditional country, and gospel music. With the talented James County, he celebrates stories of the legends and the land that shaped them along the Way.

First Friday Live - 4/5 Trisha Gene Brady
2024-04-05 18:00 - 19:00 | TN
With her former band TGB followed a rigorous road schedule and had many adventures!! Trisha Gene Brady is a roots musician from Knoxville, TN known best for her seven year run as the female vocalist (guitar, mandolin, percussion) of the nationally touring act, The Black Lillies. Her split from the well known Americana outfit seems to be an open door to the next step in her career.
She has been featured in publications including Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Billboard, Wall Street Journal, Consequence of Sound, Garden & Gun, Huffington Post, Relix Magazine, USA Today, PASTE Magazine, No Depression & Country Weekly, NPR’s Mountain Stage (twice) and five separate PBS concert specials, a GAC featurette, Texas Music Scene and a CMT television episode airing nationally.
Trisha Gene is one of the only independent artists invited to play the Grand Ole Opry more than thirty times (debuted June, 2011).
She has performed at festivals including Bonnaroo Music + Arts, SXSW, Americana Music Association’s Americana Fest, 30-A Songwriter’s Festival, Country Music Association’s CMA Festival & Fan Fair, Rochester International Jazz Festival, Pickathon, Strawberry Music Festival, Four Corners Folk Festival, MerleFest, Old Settler’s Festival, The Luck Reunion, and more.

The Secret City Radio Show - 4/5 - Dom Flemons and Kelle Jolly
2024-04-05 19:00 - 22:00 | Grove Theater, 123 Randolph Rd., Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, United States
East Tennessee’s Own WDVX and Oak Ridge Periodic Tables present the Secret City Radio Show at the historic Grove Theatre on Friday Night April Fifth at seven with host Chad Beauchaine. This show features special musical guests Dom Flemons and Kelle Jolly. The Secret City radio show is uniquely Oak Ridge featuring science, history and music.
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS
Dom Flemons “The American Songster”is a GRAMMY Award Winner, Two-Time EMMY Nominee, 2020 U.S. Artists Fellow
Dr. Dom Flemons, is a musician based in the Chicago area and he is famously known as The American Songster® since his repertoire covers over one hundred years of American roots music. Flemons is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music scholar, actor, slam poet, record collector, and the creator, host, producer of American Songster Radio Show on WSM in Nashville, TN. He is considered an expert player on the banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, fife and rhythm bones. In 2022, he received a degree as a Doctor of Humane Letters from his alma mater Northern Arizona University and was the commencement speaker at the graduation ceremony for the Class of 2022. In 2020, Flemons was selected for the prestigious United States Artists Fellowship Award for the Traditional Arts category which was generously supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. In March 2023, Flemons released his highly anticipated solo album “Traveling Wildfire” on Smithsonian Folkways label which included original songs along with a 50 page liner notes booklet designed with custom artwork, tin type photos, and images taken by world renowned photographers. In June 2023, Dom Flemons premiered his new four part documentary series “The Real Wild West” on CuriosityStream. As the Narrator and a commentator on the series, Flemons guides viewers through this definitive story of the American west, where a diverse group of pioneers shaped a country and built the foundation for modern America. “The Real Wild West” was created by Roller Coaster Road Productions and the opening theme song for the entire series is Flemons’ original song “Traveling Wildfire”.
Solo Career Highlights
In the spring of 2022, Flemons made his debut as a creator, host, and producer on Nashville’s country music radio station WSM, where he released season three of American Songster Radio Show. Throughout this brand new season, Flemons’ curates a special hour-long monthly program that presents exclusive music selections from his personal record collection along with conversations with musical guests who are prominent in the American roots music genres; including, Bobby Rush, Mickey Guyton, Billy Strings, Steve Martin, Branford Marsalis, and Eric Andersen. Season Four of American Songster Radio Show features brand new episodes dedicated to Dom Flemons new solo album “Traveling Wildfire” on Smithsonian Folkways. Flemons and his co-host Vania Kinard present curated themed episodes that explore more music from their record collection along with additional commentary about the making of “Traveling Wildfire”.
In 2020, Dom Flemons released his two CD solo reissue album titled Prospect Hill: “The American Songster Omnibus on Omnivore Recordings. He was also invited to collaborate with Tyler Childers and performed on his entire album titled, Long Violent History, which received a GRAMMY Nomination at the 2022 GRAMMY Awards. In addition, he collaborated with the legendary guitarist Steve Cropper and Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band and together they released a single of the Elmore James classic blues song titled “Shake Your Money Maker”, which they recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, TN. Another collaboration he did in 2020 was performing on a track titled “Skip, Skat, Doodle-do” which was produced by Branford Marsalis for the soundtrack to Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom on Netflix starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. In 2019, Flemons was chosen to be a “Spotlight Artist” at the Soundtrack of America event curated by the World Renowned Quincy Jones and EMMY Award Winning Director Steve McQueen. He was then featured on the Bank of America and Ken Burns ‘Country Music’ commercial that airs regularly on PBS.
In 2018, Flemons released a solo album on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings titled Dom Flemons Presents Black Cowboys which is part of the African American Legacy Recordings series, co-produced with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. The album sparked a worldwide phenomenon and his interview with AJ+ went viral on twitter and Facebook reaching over 2.5 million views, bringing the black contributions to country music and western history to the forefront of popular culture. His album Black Cowboys received a GRAMMY Nomination and went on to win a Wammie Award for “Best Folk Album”, a Living Blues Award for “New Recordings/ Traditional & Acoustic album”, the ASCAP Foundation Paul Williams “Loved the Liner Notes” Award, and he was selected for a 2020 Maryland State Arts Council’s Independent Artist Award. The Black Cowboys album peaked at #4 and spent over 55 weeks on the BILLBOARD Bluegrass Charts and Flemons was nominated for “Artist of The Year” at the International Folk Music Awards, “Best Acoustic Album” at the Blues Music Awards, and “Best Folk Album” at the Liberia Awards.
In May 2018, Flemons had his solo debut on the Grand Ole Opry, during a night with Carrie Underwood and Old Crow Medicine Show. He was included in the American Currents Class of 2018 exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame Exhibit alongside Reba McEntire, Jeannie Seely, Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Kane Brown, Dan Auerbach, Dan + Shay, John Prine and more. At the 2018 National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Mid-America Awards, Flemons was nominated for TWO EMMY’s for PBS Episode: Songcraft Presents Dom Flemons and for the co-written song “Good Old Days” with Songwriter Ben Arthur. He was the first Artist-in-Residence at the “Making American Music Internship Program” at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in the summer of 2018. In 2017, Flemons was featured on David Holt’s State of Music on PBS and performed as bluesman Joe Hill Louis on CMT’s original television show “Sun Records”. In 2016, Flemons released a DUO album with British musician Martin Simpson titled “Ever Popular Favourites” on Fledg’ling Records. He launched a podcast, American Songster Radio, with two seasons on WUNC Public Radio and filmed two instructional DVD’s through Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop.
Flemons has been invited to be a speaker at virtual programs and at prestigious institutions, including; Harvard University, Stanford University, Vanderbilt University, Princeton University, Library of Congress, Blue Ridge Music Center, Berklee School of Music, and served as a co-convener speaker for the Cultural Equity Council at Folk Alliance International. In 2022, he was the Keynote Speaker at the Folk Alliance Region Midwest conference in Lisle, IL. He has served on the Board of Directors at the Steve Martin Banjo Prize, Folk Alliance International, Music Maker Relief Foundation, and was elected as a Governor on the Board of Directors for the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Recording Academy.
As a solo artist, he has toured over a million miles all across America and has had a successful tour throughout Canada, Ireland, the U.K., Spain, France, Germany, Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, and Malaysia. He has represented America at internationally acclaimed venues and festivals, like the Rainforest World Music Festival in Malaysia, the YodelFest in Germany, and the Cecil Sharp House in England. Flemons has performed at historic venues throughout the U.S. including the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman, the Kennedy Center, Abraham Lincoln’s Cottage, Appomattox Courthouse, National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and the opening ceremony for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Flemons has performed with hundreds of artists from around the world and has been featured on albums by Tyler Childers, Dropkick Murphys, Fantastic Negrito, Paula Boggs, Eric Andersen, Martin Simpson, and Bassekou Kouyate. He has performed with Yo Yo Ma, Kathy Mattea, Branford Marsalis, Steve Cropper, Rev. Payton’s Big Damn Band, Old Crow Medicine Show, Molly Tuttly, Billy Strings, Jerry Douglas, Andy Hedges, Tony Trischka, Ranky Tanky, Amysthyt Kiah, Leyla McCalla, Valerie June, Allison Russell (w/ Birds of Chicago), David Holt, Guy Davis, Taj Mahal, and Vince Gil, Jimbo Mathus, and Alvin Youngblood Hart, to name a few. Throughout his career he has met iconic figures including Quincy Jones, Steve McQueen, the Honorable Congressman John Lewis, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Denzel Washington, Ken Burns, and more.
Carolina Chocolate Drops
In 2005, Dom Flemons created the Carolina Chocolate Drops with Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson. The group honored the legacy of Joe Thompson who was their mentor and the traditional string band music of North Carolina. In 2007, Flemons had an acting role as a Juke Joint Musician along with recording songs with the Carolina Chocolate Drops for the Golden Globe nominated, Oprah Winfrey executive produced, Denzel Washington directed feature film The Great Debaters, starring Denzel and Forest Whitaker. In 2010, they won a GRAMMY for their album Genuine Negro Jig and then received a 2012 GRAMMY nomination for their album Leaving Eden which were both released on Nonesuch Records. Flemons toured with the group from 2005 to 2013 and officially left the band to pursue his solo career in 2014. In 2016, the Carolina Chocolate Drops were inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame and they no longer exist as a band. The CCDs are featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and at the National Museum of African American Music. Flemons currently has a personal collection at the Southern Folklife Center at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC.
Educational Background
From 2000 to 2005, Dom Flemons attended college at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ where he graduated with a degree in English. As a student he took courses on Latin, Greco-Roman Literature and Philosophy, Shakespeare, Chaucer, creative writing, poetry, and the history of photography. He began his music journey busking on the streets of downtown Flagstaff and studying music at the Cline Library on campus. Flemons also became a slam poet and went on to represent Northern Arizona on the National level in 2002 and 2003. In 2005, he attended the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, NC at Appalachian State University and after graduation he left Arizona and relocated to North Carolina to pursue a professional career in music.
Family Background
Dom Flemons was born on August 30th, 1982 and he is a 5th generation Black and Mexican native of Phoenix, AZ. His parents Charles Henry Flemons and Dorina Dickey Flemons have deep roots in Arizona and both are connected to prominent black leaders in the southwest. His father Charles Henry was born in Flagstaff, AZ and became a successful college basketball player at Northern Arizona University. Dom’s paternal grandfather Reverend Raymond Flemons migrated to Arizona from Texas after serving in WWII and he became a sawmill worker. He also built churches throughout Northern Arizona and became an influential preacher in the African American community of Holbrook and Flagstaff, AZ. Dom’s mother was a flamenco dancer and the daughter of Bill Dickey, the Founder of the National Minority Junior Golf Scholarship. Dom’s grandfather Bill Dickey was inducted into the Western States Golf Association Hall of Fame (1985); the National Black Golf Hall of Fame (1989); the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame (2000); and the African American Golfers Hall of Fame. His maternal Great Uncle Dr. Lincoln Ragsdale, Sr. was a Tuskegee Airman and an influential leader in the african american community of Phoenix. Flemons family legacy not only includes Tuskegee Airmen but also military veterans, western pioneers, and prominent civil rights leaders in Arizona.

Vocalist Kelle Jolly is known as “The Tennessee Ukulele Lady”.
Kelle expresses herself through folk traditions of the South. Her first ukulele was a shiny green Kala with a dolphin on the bridge. She had her first ukulele lessons on Youtube fifteen years ago. She is the founder of Ukesphere of Knoxville, a ukulele group for all ages. As an ambassador of jazz, she has traveled to Muroran, Japan as Knoxville’s Sister City representative at various jazz festivals and events. Kelle Jolly is the host of Jazz Jam with Kelle Jolly, an hour-long show that celebrates great local, national and international singers of jazz on WUOT 91.9FM. She is also the founder of the Women in Jazz Jam Festival. Kelle is a teaching artist on the Tennessee Arts Commission Roster. Kelle is a member of the Jonesborough Storytelling Guild. She is a National Association of Black Storytellers 2023 Black Appalachian Storyteller Fellow. Kelle plays Octopus brand ukuleles.

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/6 - Jason Hoss Hicks / Dark Hollow Band
2024-04-06 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Dark Hollow Band began performing music in Knoxville and surrounding areas in September of 1999. Since then the band has played hundreds of venues throughout east TN and the surrounding region, they have headlined three shows at the Knoxville Bijou Theater and appeared more than 40 times on the WDVX Blue Plate Special.
Dark Hollow Band has a unique, soulful sound reminiscent of groups like The Band and The Grateful Dead. Their music is appreciated and enjoyed by people of all ages and musical tastes.
Also this day Jason Hoss Hicks joins us.

Jason Hoss Hicks also joins us this day!

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/8 - Maryville College Theatre Dept – The Musical Oliver!
2024-04-08 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
The theatre program stresses the intrinsic value of a broad study of theatre within the liberal arts tradition, affording the student a sound basis in the art, history, and literature of theatre. The Major in Theatre Studies serves the aspiring theatre professional and future graduate student, providing a wide-ranging curricular experience, while the Major in Theatre Studies: Performance Track and the Major in Theatre Studies: Design and Technology Track allow students to specialize in a particular field of theatre while still exploring the larger context of theatre studies. The Major in Theatre for Teacher Licensure specifically prepares students to enter the teaching field.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/9 - Abel Carrico of Mountain People Worship / Johnny Dotson
2024-04-09 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Mountain People Worship. We are a group of missionaries that moved from all over to serve Jesus in Appalachia. We believe God called us to worship in deed and song as we serve in Youth Homes, Jails, Addiction Centers and other part of our communities. In short, we are a group of Ex: Orphans, addicts, incarcerated folks, and other notorious sinners that have been transformed by the love of Jesus. And these are our songs.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/10 - Shawn Taylor / Nathan Morgan
2024-04-10 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Wandering roots troubadour Shawn Taylor, weaves music from many colored threads of Americana. His fourth original CD “Balance,” wanders from Appalachian to island groves, rock to pop, sparse folk ballads to finger-style time twisters and gut busting blues. “Shawn Taylor is one of the finest traveling troubadours performing on the circuit these days. Boasting world-class guitar chops, soul enriched vocals and an uncanny knack for capturing life in a song,” wrote Brian Owens, of Metronome Magazine – Boston in June 2018. “His lyrics dabble in a wonderful gritty naturalism that’s uncommon around here,” wrote Dan Barry of the New Haven Advocate. “Shawn Taylor has a mellowness to his voice that works well against the frenetic flash of finger-picking that is the foundation of his songs. The songs crackle with the guitar work,” declared TheAlternateRoot.com
Taylor has won and placed in, performing songwriter competitions up and down the east coast, including the Towne Crier in New York and Infinity Hall in Connecticut, and has also been awarded internationally for his short fiction. He’s played some of America’s most treasured listening rooms such as the Blue Bird Café in Nashville, Tennessee and Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, Georgia, and has shared the stage with legends and notables including Maria Muldaur, Peter Mulvey, Vance Gilbert, Pat Wictor, Scott Ainslie, Spuyten Duyvil, Garnet Rodgers and Sarah Potenza. He’s released four solo CD’s and in 2017 produced a ‘pay it forward’ charity compilation CD ‘Songs For Hope,” in honor of the innocent lives lost at Sandy Hook School, where his wife Amy taught until recently.
His wandering roots grow deep. He was born in Ohio and raised mostly in Massachusettes, but lived in five different states before turning one. He’s been an oysterman, a custom cabinet maker and has thru-hiked (end to end), the Appalachian Trail (GA-ME), the John Muir Trail (CA) and The Long Trail (VT). He’s spent the past decade relentlessly performing (267 shows in 2017), travelling, exploring and developing his wandering roots sound and philosophy. Summer 2017, Amy and their two children (seven and nine) joined him on the road for the first time. Their six-week tour touched down in eight states, included wild ponies and their car getting caught in a flash flood, and ended with Taylor’s appearance as a 2017 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival “Emerging artist.” The family will join him again on the road in 2018 for 6,ooo miles, growing their roots wider and deeper, and planting and harvesting future seeds of wandering roots.

Nathan Morgan is carrying on the American music tradition of hard driving, cranked up country rock music, with some heartfelt country ballads in the mix!
Performing as a solo act and with his four-piece band, Nathan has played around the southeast for 20+ years. He has shared the stage and/or opened for artists such as ZZ Top, Marty Stuart, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Travis Tritt, Collective Soul, Drivin N Cryin, Blackberry Smoke, and more.
Nathan just relocated from Atlanta, Georgia to northeast Tennessee in 2023. The exciting move followed the release of his most recent original music, “The Memphis Sessions”. This EP was recorded at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis, TN and is available on all major streaming services!

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/11 - BEYOND the STARS / Scott Levi Jones
2024-04-11 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
BEYOND the STARS is a singer-songwriter duo embarked upon an exploration of the many states of the Union, metaphorical and otherwise. Drawn together by a mutual desire to deeply contemplate the world in which we live, and the times in which we find ourselves, Author TM Shaw and Christina Forever share original songs of some subtlety and depth. Their 2024 debut album, ONE PLANET, demonstrates their range across a variety of musical styles.

IN AN ERA STARVING FOR AUTHENTICITY AND STORYTELLING, SCOTT LEVI JONES IS DISHING OUT A SIGNATURE “FOLK & ROLL” SOUND. EMERGING FROM NASHVILLE BY STEALING EARS WITH A BEAMING VOICE OF GRIT AND HONESTY WHILE PROVIDING A MUSICAL ESCAPE WITH COMICAL REMARKS BETWEEN TUNES. WITH HIS TEETH CUT ALL ACROSS THE DIRTY SOUTH IN HONKY-TONKS AND CLUBS THE ARTIST HAS HONED HIS CRAFT. FROM OBSCURE TALL TALES TO EVERYDAY LIVING, SCOTT HAS BECOME KNOWN FOR HIS ABILITY TO WRITE UNIQUE SONGS.
BORN IN THE RURAL TOWN OF ALLOWAY IN SOUTH JERSEY, SCOTT WAS INFLUENCED BY LOCAL STATE LEGENDS SPRINGSTEEN AND JIM CROCE. HIS LIVE PERFORMANCES REFLECTS HIS LOVE OF ICONIC BANDS LIKE LITTLE FEAT, THE BAND, AND DR.HOOK. THE YOUNG MAN COMMITTED TO NASHVILLE IN 2017 WHEN HE SCRAPED TOGETHER THE RENT FOR A SINGLE WIDE TRAILER ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN. TODAY HE RESIDES IN A SMALL CABIN IN CHEATHAM COUNTY. SCOTT HAS JUGGLED CONSTRUCTION WORK AND REGULAR GIGGING WHILE HE CONNECTS WITH AUDIENCES ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES. MAY 25TH OF 2023 THE ARTIST RELEASES HIS DEBUT ALBUM “THE ODDS OF YOU AND ME” RECORDED LIVE AT ‘THE HOUSE OF DAVID’ ON MUSIC ROW. JONES IS CURRENTLY TOURING WITH SOME OF THE FINEST UP AND COMING NASHVILLE MUSICIANS USUALLY TAKING THE FORM OF A SOUTHERN ROCK POWER HOUSE YET OCCASIONALLY A FOLK/ROOTS ACOUSTIC TRIO. HE IS A TRUE JOURNEYMAN OF SONGWRITING AND A FOREMAN AT PERFORMING – SOME MAY SAY YEARS TOO LATE! OTHERS WILL SAY JUST IN TIME. CERTAINLY NOT TO BE MISSED THE NARRATIVES AND MELODIES BY SCOTT LEVI JONES.

The WDVX Big Plate - 4/12 - The Dirty Gospel
2024-04-12 12:00 - 13:00 | Barley’s, 200 East Jackson Avenue, Knoxville, TN, 37915, United States
From the Foothills of Tennessee, the boys of The Dirty Gospel know how to keep Southern rock alive. The Dirty Gospel is an American rock band made up of 5 members based out of Maryville, Tennessee.
In 2022, The Dirty Gospel began working with award winning producer Travis Wyrick at Lakeside Studios. “Say My Name”, the band’s first single, was released in the Summer of 2022 with the full-length album Higher Ground following later that Fall.
The Dirty Gospel have established a loyal and rapidly growing grass-roots following. From their original, melodic, country rock to their energetic live performances; they leave fans remembering the greats of the past while being transfixed in the present. Next time you get that bone-deep craving for live music, join The Dirty Gospel at their next rock n’ roll revival.

Kidstuff Live - 4/13 - Ajeet Khalsa (Yoga for Families) with Alex Pulsipher
2024-04-13 10:00 - 11:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Ajeet has been happily entertaining children for over 20 years with yoga, creativity, and raucous frivolity.
Alex Pulsipher is an entertainer, author, accordion player and music teacher working to expand awareness of helpful moments in mythology, history, and contemporary events. He also plays in the Spooky Ooo’s.
Together, they will present of program full of movement and singa-longs.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/13 - Jeremiah / Ashley Virginia
2024-04-13 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Jeremiah Sammartano, Flagstaff based, Emmy nominated singer/songwriter who fronts the bluesy/Americana and sometimes one-man band, Jeremiah and the Red Eyes, has covered many miles over the past several years – taking the various roads spreading music influenced by the raw blues of Charley Patton, the lyrical and often raucous sounds of The Pogues, the twang of Willie Nelson, and some vintage rock and roll – “Delta Blues and Twangy Grooves” – from Los Angeles outward through the western states to St. Louis, Nashville (where he relocated for a spell in 2008-2009), Chicago – and overseas to the UK. In the past, Jeremiah has shared the stage with Willie Nelson, Southern Culture On The Skids, David Olney, and has performed on the radio shows: WDVX Blue Plate Special out of Knoxville, TN., The Live@Lunch show on KRFC out of Fort Collins, CO., and ResonanceFM out of London, UK. In Spring 2011 Jeremiah received an Emmy nomination for writing music for the documentary, Prison Through Tomorrow’s Eyes. Three albums have been released – 2004’s Red Eyed And Restless and 2010’s Under Your Spell and in December 2012, a 10 song album called HOME. Since 2015 Jeremiah has been busy with trips through the Southwest, a tour through the UK, and lots more shows from the West, to the North, to the South, and to the East. A new album, These Motel Days, was released on March 31,2018.

From Greensboro, North Carolina, Ashley Virginia is an artist who has gained attention for her unique songwriting style of introspective poetry and interesting harmonic structure. Her sound has been described as “raw, contemporary angst” by Americana Highways.
Like the spiritual daughter of Stevie Nicks and Gram Parsons, her style falls somewhere between ’70s Country cool, West Coast cosmic Americana, and ‘60s Rock ‘n’ Roll. While attending a private masterclass in Greensboro, 14-Grammy award winning songwriter, Emmylou Harris, categorized Ashley Virginia’s writing as “unique and unusual”. Ashley is currently in Tennessee for the month of April for a recording retreat/residency. During this residency she is living alone in a treehouse cabin to self record and produce her songs. Her next single, “nowhere left to hide” will be released on April 11 to streaming services.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/15 - Chuck Melchin
2024-04-15 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Chuck Melchin is a New Hampshire singer songwriter.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/16 - Kuf Knotz & Christine Elise / Mason Marcus Turner
2024-04-16 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Christine Gallagher, MA, MT-BC, LMT, LPC “Christine Elise” is classically trained harpist, pianist, and vocalist who has been consecutively touring across North America for the past four years. Studying music therapy at a masters level led her to find a passion for community music therapy. Christine has facilitated group sessions and workshops for professionals and clients in the USA, South Africa, Peru and Jamaica. She has presented at national, regional, and world music therapy conferences and written scholarly articles published by Music Therapy Perspectives. She has provided clinical supervision for undergraduate and graduate students at MusicWorks, Jamaica Field Service Project, Women’s & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, NY, Warren Wilson College, and Immaculata University.
Kuf Knotz Blends hiphop poetry with deep grooves of soul and beats sun kissed with the spirit of Lo-Fi & 90’s era vibes , Kuf’s inimitable style focuses on unsubtle spirituality, that, like his music, focus on unity, positivity and creativity.
In 2008, the same year he opened for Bruce Springsteen, Kuf sang lead vocals on “Unstoppable,” a song created to mark the Philadelphia Phillies winning the World Series. In 2010, Kuf recorded “Boombox Logic,” which was named the year’s best hip hop song by the Independent Music Awards.
Theirs is music with a mission; Kuf and Christine lead Higher Grounds music therapy workshops.

Mason Marcus Turner is a pacific northwest native songwriter, folk musician, and storyteller whose music is rooted in the folk traditions of the pacific northwest. He uses this history to empower his listeners and guide them to their own heritage while telling stories of his own.
Music was all around Mason when he was growing up, and for a kid with a stutter music was a gateway to speech fluency. While his parents didn’t play music, little did he know that his family history was chalked with musicians from choir boys, to piano teachers, to opera singers.
At age 8, Mason found his father’s guitar in the closet one day and pulled it out of the case. His dad showed him three chords and he was off to the races. Mason wrote 10 songs within a week and it was easy to see that he had found his place in the family lineage of musicians. Music was deep in his roots and all it took was a little push to discover his interpretation of the art form.
Born and raised in Seattle, WA, Mason grew up being exposed to all sorts of different artists. His father raised him on The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, and John Coltrane whereas his mother introduced him to Thelonious Monk, John Prine, and Bob Dylan. These influences allowed Mason to really find his own sound in the future – (Mason Turner’s sound is a cross between the songwriting of John Prine and Tyler Childers with a strong influence of the Pacific Northwest.
After continuing his music playing and songwriting throughout his teen years, Mason attended the Berklee College of Music finishing his studies and graduating in 2021. His focus was on the Professional Music major including concentrations in The American Roots Program and Music & Society, with a minor in Africana Studies.
The teachers at Berklee pushed Mason to explore not only his love of folk music but also jazz, fusion, classical, and R&B. It was this persistence from his teachers that let Mason progress not only as a songwriter but as a folk musician as well.
Mason has been awarded the Berklee College of Music Merit Scholarship, The Centrum Scholarship, and the Washington Blues Society Scholarship. Turner has been very grateful for the opportunities that he has been given by these organizations and the fact that they have recognized him for his hard work and dedication to his craft and art.
Currently, Mason is working on his next EP, “Mason Marcus Turner,” to be released in the next year to take his career to the next step. The project is a four song EP inspired by his time spent on his father’s farm near Langley, WA. During his Covid-19 quarantine, Turner spent a lot of his time learning about living on the stolen land of the Snohomish first nations people. He also became interested in learning about the loggers who lived on Whidbey island in the 1920s. Soaking up the land’s history Turner sat down and got right to writing.
Mason is very proud of the music on this new EP and can’t wait for you to hear it. You can follow the progress of the album on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, his website, and his email newsletter.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/17 - Domino Lewis
2024-04-17 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Domino Lewis is a folk and country act, living and playing in Paris, France.
https://youtu.be/zzIgCwqHZVg?si=RzhpvhOyCQ5FDZHj

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/18 - Old Sap / Orbital Planes
2024-04-18 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
Old Sap is a Poet from Chicago, rambled out to Montana, cut a banjo from a tamarack, strings across the country, foot like a freight train, voice rushing down over lush Appalachia, sings a thrush tune through the rush hour and into your long-forgotten prairie dreams.
Folk. Folk Rock. Americana.
Having landing in Asheville in 2017, Old Sap released their second album at the end of 2019.
A Yard with Lilacs is an Eclectic Americana album. The full band features honky tonk guitars, a New Orleans-style horn section, thrashing drums, infectious melodies, soul-warming harmonies, and sparkling flourishes from fiddle and piano. Guided by lyrics that are imagistic, funny, and heart-wrenching, listeners are teased back to a less-anxious time and place.

Singer/Songwriter Jenna Greene is taking new heights, altitudes even, with her band Orbital Planes. Despite having a bright and bubbly personality at the forefront, songwriting for Jenna has always been an outlet for her negative thinking. She writes about heartbreak, loss, feeling unsure, and second guessing. For a while, she hid away her talent in fear that her songs would bring down the mood of her listeners. Now, in a comfortable and creative space with her friends, Jacob Bordwine (Bass) and Neal Reid (drums) help her feel inspired to stay in touch with every emotion and idea. The combination of her upbeat, catchy melodies and dark lyrics beautifully reflect the high and low points in life that seemingly happen all at once. The band name embodies that same idea. Whether they are dancing or welling up, every audience will feel a connection to the songs of Orbital Planes.

The WDVX Big Plate - 4/19 - Andrea & Mud
2024-04-19 12:00 - 13:00 | Barley’s, 200 East Jackson Avenue, Knoxville, TN, 37915, United States
ATL cinematic psych-country duo Andrea & Mud (Andrea Colburn and Kyle “Mud” Moseley) found themselves living in a converted barn in the middle-of-nowhere northern Georgia. There they wrote the songs that make up their new album Institutionalized (out Apr. 19). On this record, they dig into their deepest, darkest cores to mine the essence of what made classic country great—putting their relationship and mental health issues front and center.
“I come from a generation where we didn’t take medication,” says Colburn. “We didn’t go to therapy. We were supposed to just smile and get through it. I think a lot of people still live like that. Music is therapy for some people. I know it is for me.”
Their honesty, originality and extraordinary songwriting chops has garnered them coverage at American Songwriter, Glide, Ditty TV, and more. You can hear their music in the Rian Johnson series Poker Face, and the Sean Baker feature film Red Rocket. They’ve been nominated for an Ameripolitan Award, Independent Music Award, and won the Georgia Music Award for Best Americana Band. They’ve shared stages with legends like Ronnie Spector, Marty Stuart, Jimmie Vaughan and The B-52’s, and newer Americana darlings like Sierra Ferrell, Lost Dog Street Band, Pokey Lafarge, and The Red Clay Strays.
The album kicks off with the honky-tonk fun-time title-track, “Institutionalized.” Here, the duo effortlessly mesh the Bakersfield Sound with Stax soul to create their own delirious country shuffle. Its galloping bass line, big horns and rowdy surf guitar makes this song feel like a joy, even though its catalyst was an argument with tempers flaring. “I’m committed / To loving you,” Moseley sings in his charming baritone, “I may have lost my marbles / My screws are loose / The pain inside I can no longer hide / From the things you’ve done to me / I’m Institutionalized / Won’t you set me free.”
“Me and Andrea got into a fight,” says Moseley. “I went outside and came back in with this song written in like 20 minutes. My friend had sent us this playlist called Psycho Country which was a big inspiration on this whole album. Porter Wagoner’s song ‘The Rubber Room’ was on it, and we were listening to it all the time. Between the isolation of the pandemic and living in the barn, I felt like I was losing it.”
“This Time” is a tragic ballad whose lyrical ultimatum of “choose the bottle or me” is carried by Colburn’s mournful vocals and her near-duet with Smoking Brett Resnick’s emotive pedal steel. This song stands toe-to-toe with Neko Case or Loretta Lynn at their most sorrowful. “I had a bad drinking problem in the relationship,” says Colburn.”It sounds like I’m singing it to a lover, but I’m really singing about myself.” Like the Hank Williams III modern classic “Country Heroes,” this song interweaves its own winking homages to the greats who came before them: Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and George Jones.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/20 - The Goldenrods / The Late Shifters
2024-04-20 12:00 - 13:00 | TN
St. Louis, Missouri’s The Goldenrods can be best described as “Country and Midwestern”. They perform charming original material as well as regional classics from across middle America. They play two steps, waltzes and polkas; songs both happy and sad, silly and serious, often sung in harmony.
The Goldenrods are fronted by Ryan Koenig (ex Pokey LaFarge) singing and playing fiddle, octave mandolin, plectrum banjo and guitar. The band is completed with Jess Adkins (So Grand Polka Band) singing and playing accordion and guitar, as well as Kellie Everett (The Hooten Hallers) singing and playing upright bass.

“You Keep Driving Me Home” reflects on the hope, despair and partnership found in growing older. With three guitars and four vocalists, The Late Shifters weave guitar and vocal melody, soaring leads and danceable rhythms with their life experiences to reflect on the good, the hard and the lighthearted moments that are accumulated over the years.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special - 4/22 - Raquel & The Wildflowers / Boogertown Gap
2024-04-22 12:00 - 13:00 | WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902, United States
Weaving tales of life’s adventures through heart pounding rhythms and powerful lyrics, Raquel & The Wildflowers will take you on a journey where the dust settles and the cowboys & cowgirls dance.
Singer/Songwriter Raquel won a ReverbNation contest in 2018 for her first single “Run Towards the Highway”. The song went #32 on DRT Top 50 Country Airplay charts alongside country stars like Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan. Shortly after she performed live on air for several radio stations throughout the USA.
A year later in 2019, Raquel changed her artist name to Raquel & The Wildflowers. Since then, she has toured the USA independently with her band, lighting up stages featuring headliners like Dierks Bentley, Kane Brown, Thomas Rhett, Sara Evans, and others.
Other notable performances include opening for multi-platinum artist Andy Grammer, award winning bands as well as performing at the Ohio State Fair, The Big E Fair, MusikFest, Country Fest, Lando Live, Thursdays Downtown, Northern Appalachian Folk Festival, The Cutting Room, The Geneseo Riviera and more.
Raquel’s “I’m a wildflower” tour in 2023 provided a glimpse of several songs from her first album. On August 1, 2023, she released the album exclusively on a CD, and by December 22, 2023, all the CDs were sold out. The digital version will be accessible worldwide on music platforms starting February 27, 2024. The digital album will feature two bonus tracks known as the “Lavender Version”.
Raquel & The Wildflowers are gearing up for their 4th USA tour in 2024! Stay in touch and be the first to know about updates by subscribing to the email list and follow @Raquelwildflowers on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
https://youtu.be/5rEvzv0d8sI?si=IAXqWVkr4DKN7zDU
Boogertown Gap is Ruth Barber and Keith Watson, a wife/husband duo and sometimes band. They specialize in the music that was played and sung by early pioneers and settlers of the Great Smoky Mountains and vicinity. Ever hear of Juliann Johnson, Pretty Little Widow, Cripple Creek, The Farmer’s Curst Wife, Barbara Allen.. and so on? Well, there’s lots more of these tunes in their repertoire: old Celtic ballads, fiddle tunes, American compositions, Negro spirituals, and those ever present obscure unknown traditional tunes!!
Ruth and Keith currently reside in Pittman Center, TN, where they perform authentic Old-Time Mountain and Celtic Music throughout East Tennessee and the local “Great Smokies” area at a variety of events and functions. Sometimes they even travel to share this old music with other folks.
They share a love of the nature, culture, and history of the Great Smoky Mountains and of the music of their ancestors and descendants who lived here and helped shape this mountain folk music (Keith’s family has been in the Smokies for over 200 years). They get their name from a local community here in Sevier County where the Watson’s settled in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s (see The Place).
Their intention is to provide you enjoyment while listening to this Appalachian folk music and the folklore and stories that have shaped this antique, yet timeless form of music of the mountains.
Of one man’s experience listening to Boogertown Gap’s music on the porch of the Noah “Bud” Ogle cabin, “I left a piece of my soul in the Smokys, but I brought some of the Smokys home with me”. (Rod Tate from Early, Texas)
