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Born in Michigan, this singer/songwriter had been living in Austin honing his craft well, until recently relocating to Asheville. His latest album, “Honky-Tonk MacBeth”, is his 3rd, but it was our introduction to his fine songwriting and singing. He’s a top-notch harmonica player, too! Ben’s got shows in Asheville on the 1st and 2nd, and in Charlotte on the 21st.

We’re blessed to have some of the world’s best bluegrass bands right here in Western NC, and one of them is Unspoken Tradition, with a new album called “Imaginary Lines”. Their latest single from it, “California”, just reached #1 on the Bluegrass Today chart. The band is comprised of Sav Sankaran (bass), Audie McGinnis (guitar), brother Zane McGinnis (banjo), Ty Gilpin (mandolin), and Tim Gardner (fiddle). They just got booked to play Tryon’s Summer Tracks series this Friday the 1st (Rogers Amphitheatre, downtown Tryon), and we’re able to get them into Studio B beforehand to celebrate!

A timeless tale of amorous yearning gets a summertime spin.

Ahead of The Jayhawks' performance at Pisgah Brewing Company in Black Mountain, NC on June 26th, WNCW's Joe Kendrick talked with founding member Gary Louris. In this wide-ranging conversation, Gary touches on everything from his love of the outdoors to his memories of the heyday of the Minneapolis music scene in the 1980s. Gary gets to play DJ as well, picking out one of his favorite Jayhawks songs to close out the interview.

Sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith are Rising Appalachia. They will be on This Old Porch at 4 pm Sunday, June 26, 2022.

We are blessed to have so many extremely talented musicians from our area, aren’t we? One of them is “Mr. Americana” himself, Jim Lauderdale. Born in Troutman, NC and raised in Due West, SC, Jim still visits the area regularly, and we look forward to welcoming him back to his home radio station on Thursday for a visit with Roland. There’s always so much to talk about – his new album “Hope” covers everything from Covid frontline workers, to memories of Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, to Tai Chi and mushrooms. “He’s my favorite part of Americana music!” (Ketch Secor, Old Crow Medicine Show)

She may be known to most for her time spent touring and busking with beloved New Orleans jazz band Tuba Skinny, but prolific songwriter and singer Erika Lewis (who lives in Asheville) has been churning out American originals all her own for the past several years. From classic country to cosmic Americana to dreamy indie folk, Lewis continues to dip her toes more deeply into an ever-expanding pool of roots music styles. These styles are showcased well in her album A Walk Around the Sun, which we at WNCW have enjoyed playing this Spring. She celebrates a vinyl release of the album on Wednesday at The Double Crown in Asheville.

Despite the addition of a dulcimer, the supergroup's new song leaves behind the old-world feel that defined its debut.

A conversation with Dori Freeman as well as songs from her performance the Albino Skunk Music Festival in May of 2022. Sloane Spencer joins in this conversation that touches on Dori’s deep Appalachian roots, recording her family album in Nick’s newly constructed studio in their backyard, how she draws inspiration and ideas from listening to rap artists, and even her love of Topo Chico brand seltzer.

The Montreat, NC singer/songwriter has a new album, available Saturday, June 18th! It features Chris Rosser as producer and multi-instrumentalist, as well as various favorite regional guests: River Guergarian, Jeff Sipe, Amanda Anne Platt, Christine Kane, Doug Pettibone, Michael Hynes & Zack Page to name a few. LaMotte is bringing Rosser and Guergarian with him for our Studio B session, and we’ll see who all joins him on stage for the release show for "Still" at White Horse Black Mountain on the 18th!