Jerry Douglas is never not entertaining. On stage, on record, or in conversation, Flux, as Bela Fleck famously dubbed him, is full of wit, joy and inventiveness. His talents have garnered him 16 Grammy Awards, 28 IBMA Awards, 3 Country Music Association Awards, 3 Americana Music Association Awards, an NEA National Heritage Fellowship, and an artist residency at the Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum. I heard once that his style playing Dobro was so popular that practically every other player emulated it, to the point that he had to reinvent his own style to distinguish himself from the rest of the pack. This story could very well be apocryphal, but it points to the fact that his influence is everywhere in bluegrass and bluegrass-adjacent acoustic music. And Jerry Douglas has stories. Ask him about anyone in bluegrass, or even a ton of artists outside the genre, and chances are that he knows them and can spin a yarn or two about playing with them or being in their orbit. Get him going, and he may even tell you about his ancestor David Douglas, of Douglas fir fame, and the spectacular and mysterious way he met his end in Hawaii.Here, we bring Jerry Douglas back to Southern Songs and Stories for a second time, following his 2021 episode “It’s Always Roots Music 12 O’Clock With Jerry Douglas”. Since then, Jerry has been inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Fame; he has served as festival host and solo performer as well as in his tribute band The Earls Of Leicester for the Earl Scruggs Music Festival, with frequent guest appearances for a number of other artists and bands there; he also fell right back in with Alison Krauss & Union Station for their first album since 2011, Arcadia. Jerry Douglas will be the host once again at the Earl Scruggs Music Festival in late August 2025, where he will perform with the Earls of Leicester as well as Alison Krauss & Union Station, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and who knows how many artists as their on stage guest. Recently, he spoke with me on a video call while on tour with AKUS, where he gives us a preview of Scruggs Fest, plus he details a lot of what went into Arcadia. We also find out what he believes is the best key for playing bluegrass music, and learn how he approaches his instrument in Union Station differently than on his own. Jerry Douglas plays at the Earl Scruggs Music Festival 09-01-24 (photo: Jess Maples) Songs heard in this episode: “When You Say Nothing At All” by Alison Krauss & Union Station, from Alison Krauss & Union Station Live“Nashville Blues” by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, from Will the Circle Be Unbroken, excerpt“The Hangman” by Alison Krauss & Union Station, from Arcadia, excerpt“One Ray Of Shine” by Alison Krauss & Union Station, from ArcadiaThank you for visiting! We hope you can help spread awareness of what we are doing. It is as easy as telling a friend and following this podcast on your platform of choice. You can find us on Apple here, Spotify here and YouTube here — hundreds more episodes await, filled with artists you may know by name, or musicians and bands that are ready to become your next favorites.This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. You can follow us on social media: @southstories on Instagram, at Southern Songs and Stories on Facebook, and now on Substack here, where you can read the scripts of these podcasts, and get updates on what we are doing and planning in our quest to explore and celebrate the unfolding history and culture of music rooted in the American South, and going beyond to the styles and artists that it inspired and informed. Thanks to Jaclyn Anthony for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs. - Joe Kendrick

What do Paul McCartney, up-and-coming singer songwriter Ken Pomeroy, and a guy I passed on the street tugging along a French bulldog have in common? They all support my theory that pets inevitably resemble their owners–sometimes in looks, sometimes in spirit, but always in energy. When Ken Pomeroy introduced her song “Wrango” opening for I’m with Her and Iron & Wine at Asheville Yards on July 12, 2025, she described how the song was inspired by the liability her new dog had become from its quick temper. After WNCW’s Joe Kendrick and I spent some time with her, we slowly got to see where the pup’s feistiness came from. We talked about what it means to carry songs from childhood into adulthood, the tension between writing for yourself and performing for others, and the unexpected ways public commentary can rattle even the most grounded artists. As Ken says, “I never thought I’d care about online comments. But wow. I didn’t know how sensitive I’d be.”And then there’s “Flannel Cowboy”, Ken Pomeroy’s closing track at her show, that isn’t a love song, despite what you might assume. It's a quietly devastating reflection on friendship, ego, and the confusing wreckage of emotional fallout. It’s a song about looking in the mirror and realizing that, sometimes, the thing biting at you isn’t your dog, or your critics—it’s you.Her vulnerability isn’t just evident in the lyrics of her 2025 album, Cruel Joke, but in the way she speaks about songwriting as a spiritual act—one that gives form to feelings too big to hold alone. As a writer, I can relate to the need to shed some weight onto the page. Sometimes things get a little too loud and the only way to bring back the quiet is to release. Ken also told us about her connection to Cherokee heritage, her experience contributing to the language revitalization album ᎠᏅᏛᏁᎵᏍᎩ (Anvdvnelisgi), and what it meant to contribute to a project to empower young people to connect with their heritage. Whether she's reflecting on faith, feeling everything too deeply, or setting boundaries on what parts of her soul she's willing to hand over to strangers, Ken Pomeroy is an artist in full bloom. She's a songwriter first, a performer reluctantly, and a truth-teller always. — Elena Dickson Ken Pomeroy (photo: Kali Spitzer) Songs heard in this episode:John Denver “Leaving On A Jet Plane”“Wrango” by Ken Pomeroy, from Cruel Joke, excerpt“Grey Skies” by Ken Pomeroy, from Cruel Joke, excerpt“Flannel Cowboy” by Ken Pomeroy, from Cruel Joke, excerpt“Galvladi” by Ken Pomeroy, from Anvdvnelisgi Thank you for being here! We hope you enjoy this episode, and can help spread awareness of what we are doing. It is as easy as telling a friend and following this podcast on your platform of choice. You can find us on Apple here, Spotify here and YouTube here — hundreds more episodes await, filled with artists you may know by name, or musicians and bands that are ready to become your next favorites.This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. You can follow us on social media: @southstories on Instagram, at Southern Songs and Stories on Facebook, and now on Substack here, where you can read the scripts of these podcasts, and get updates on what we are doing and planning in our quest to explore and celebrate the unfolding history and culture of music rooted in the American South, and going beyond to the styles and artists that it inspired and informed. The radio adaptation of this episode is part of the programming lineup during Morning Edition on public radio WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs. This episode was written and hosted by WNCW intern Elena Dickson, with myself as editor and Ken Pomeroy’s co-interviewer. - Joe Kendrick

If you can make it as a professional musician in Austin, that is saying something. And if you can make it in Nashville, New Orleans, and also New York, that is saying something in all caps. Seth Walker has made it in all of the above locales. Making it as a professional musician in all of those iconic music scenes is not only impressive, but it also requires playing a variety of styles that sync with each city’s musical tastes. With his 12th album, Why the Worry, Seth Walker shows off what he has learned (and unlearned) from all of those years gigging and recording with a who’s who of roots music luminaries.In recent years, he has called western North Carolina home, which is not terribly far from his childhood home in a Quaker commune, a couple hundred miles to the east in Burlington. That is where his music journey began, and is the place which serves as the backdrop to his forthcoming novella, about a young girl on a tobacco farm. I imagine Seth Walker may even make some paintings to go along with that story, as he is also an accomplished visual artist.Seth is as laid back as he is intriguing, and we enjoyed a relaxed conversation at his home in Fairview, NC, nestled in the Appalachian mountains. Joining us was WNCW intern Elena Dickson, who hosted our recent episode on fellow western NC artist Sally Anne Morgan. We spoke about Seth’s musical past and present, ranging from his love of jump blues to how an inspired take of Al Green’s “Take Me to the River” set the wheels in motion for his latest album, to how Hurricane Helene very nearly left it in a ditch. All that and more, including music from Why the Worry, awaits you in this podcast. Seth Walker with his Waterloo acoustic guitar Songs heard in this episode:“Why the Worry” by Seth Walker, from Why the Worry“Magnolia” by Seth Walker, from Why the Worry, excerpt“Take Me to the River” by Seth Walker, from Why the Worry, excerpt“Strollin’ With Bones” by T-Bone Walker, excerpt“Up on the Mountain” by Seth Walker, from Why the WorryThank you for dropping by! We hope you can help spread awareness of what we are doing. It is as easy as telling a friend and following this podcast on your platform of choice. You can find us on Apple here, Spotify here and YouTube here — hundreds more episodes await, filled with artists you may know by name, or musicians and bands that are ready to become your next favorites.This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. You can follow us on social media: @southstories on Instagram, at Southern Songs and Stories on Facebook, and now on Substack here, where you can read the scripts of these podcasts, and get updates on what we are doing and planning in our quest to explore and celebrate the unfolding history and culture of music rooted in the American South, and going beyond to the styles and artists that it inspired and informed. Thanks to Jaclyn Anthony for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs. This episode features WNCW intern Elena Dickson, who co-produced the episode, and took part in Seth’s interview. - Joe Kendrick

In this episode, we welcome WNCW intern Elena Dickson to the podcast. Elena is a student at the University of Michigan, and here, she takes a turn at the helm for our episode on western North Carolina artist Sally Anne Morgan: My favorite Ralph Waldo Emerson quote reads, “Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit, cannot be severed; for the effect already blooms in the cause, the end preexists in the means, the fruit in the seed.” It makes me think of the interconnectedness that lies beneath all our actions and that everything we do–from deciding what to eat for breakfast to moving across the country–has a deep impact on our lives in areas we don’t even realize. Sally Anne Morgan embodies Emerson’s coda. Even as a visual artist, musician, mother, and brewery owner, she emphasized how circular life feels: we are nothing without where we came from and where we came from wouldn’t have been possible without what we have become. She embodies this through her music through her traditional techniques to create innovative elements. Rooting herself in tradition while employing new age elements, she resists the conformity and neatness that recording software, and certain genres, often demands. While she views old time and other music traditions as a living artform rather than something that belongs in the archives. Her stories have a background and history but they have nothing close to an end. When I decided to apply to WNCW to enhance my senior thesis on Appalachian storytelling, I had to explain why I was doing what I was doing to a few more people than I would have liked. Next time someone asks, I will send them this podcast so they can see the fluidity of storytelling and how deeply enmeshed it is with all other aspects of our lives. Telling a story does not require a defined beginning, middle, and end. Instead, it requires a conversation and a dedication to honoring what the story was and what it is going to become. Sally Anne Morgan creates in a way that makes you want to participate in the conversation and keep the story alive. Sally Anne Morgan (Photo: Charlie Boss, published by KLOF mag) Songs heard in this episode:“Eye Is The First” by Sally Anne Morgan, from Second Circle the Horizon, excerpt“Flowers Of Shandihar” by Sally Anne Morgan, from Second Circle the Horizon, excerpt“I Saw A Heron” by Sally Anne Morgan, from Second Circle the Eye, excerpt“Blind Man’s Lament” by Black Twig Pickers, from Rough Carpenters, excerpt“Dog’s Dream” by Sally Anne Morgan, from Second Circle the Eye, excerpt“Callahan” by Sally Anne Morgan, from Second Circle the Eye, excerpt“Night Mint” by Sally Anne Morgan, from Second Circle the EyeSo glad you visited! We hope you can help spread awareness of what we are doing. It is as easy as telling a friend and following this podcast on your platform of choice. You can find us on Apple here, Spotify here and YouTube here — hundreds more episodes await, filled with artists you may know by name, or musicians and bands that are ready to become your next favorites. This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to Jaclyn Anthony for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs. This episode was written and produced by WNCW intern Elena Dickson, with editorial assistance from myself. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms make their home in the San Juan Islands, in Washington State, and their latest spring tour saw them make a stop at the Albino Skunk Music Festival in May 2025. This was two weeks ahead of their own festival, the inaugural East Sound Music Ramble, and part of an eastern swing that preceded other engagements including Telluride Bluegrass Festival. The duo has been very much on the go lately, which is in keeping with their recent past: sojourns to Louisiana, to celebrate the music of Cajun and country legend Jimmy C Newman; to The Last Frontier state for the Alaska Folk Festival; and to Vermont, where Caleb connected with Noam Pikelny, which led to becoming a guest member of bluegrass supergroup Mighty Poplar, to name a few. I spoke with Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms on a picture perfect spring afternoon in Greer, SC, in between their two sets at Skunk Fest, where we touched on all of these travels, both physical and musical; their own region’s musical “rogue-ness”; the raw simplicity and danceability of their take on country music; and the importance of slowing down and being present. That and more awaits you, including their music, both live and on record, in this episode. (L to R) Caleb Klauder, Mike Bub and Reeb Willms perform at the Albino Skunk Music Festival 05/10/25Photo: John Gillespie Photography & Design This is the second time Caleb Klauder has been on the series: the first was from 2019, when he spoke about producing feature guest Town Mountain’s album New Freedom Blues in the episode Town Mountain: There’s Never a Last Ride in the Van. Songs heard in this episode:“Gold In Your Pocket” by Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms, performed live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05/10/25“You Gotta Roll the Dice To Win” by Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms, performed live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05/10/25, excerpt“Sing Me A Sad Song To Make Me Happy” by Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms, performed live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05/10/25, excerpt“Alligator Man“ by Joel Savoy, Kelli Jones, Reeb Willms and Caleb Klauder, from Farewell Alligator Man, excerpt“Key To Life” by Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms, performed live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05/10/25, excerpt“Church With No Walls” by Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms, performed live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05/10/25, excerpt“He’s Gone” by Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms, performed live at Albino Skunk Music Festival 05/10/25Thanks for dropping by! We hope you can help spread awareness of what we are doing. It is as easy as telling a friend and following this podcast on your platform of choice. You can find us on Apple here, Spotify here and YouTube here — hundreds more episodes await, filled with artists you may know by name, or musicians and bands that are ready to become your next favorites. This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to Jaclyn Anthony for producing the radio adaptations of this series on WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs. This June, we welcomed WNCW intern Elena Dickson to this series as a producer as well, and she will be with us through July. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick