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WNCW's Joe Kendrick Talks To J.S. Ondara at Cold Mountain Music Fest

Two men standing in the lush green mountains of western North Carolina
J.S. Ondara and Joe Kendrick at Cold Mountain Festival

In early June this year, our Program Director Joe Kendrick attended the Cold Mountain Music Festival at the Lake Logan Conference Center in beautiful Canton, NC. He had the opportunity to chat a bit with J.S. Ondara about music and the meaning of Ondara's song “Master O’Connor.” They also talk about the importance of writing one's own music and why the Kenyan/American musician rarely plays covers.  Finally... you'll hear Ondara's observations on American culture.

Joe Kendrick grew up far off in the woods in rural Stanfield, NC, where he acquired his first Sony Walkman, listened to both AM and FM radio from Charlotte, went to Nascar races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, attended a small Baptist church, read Rolling Stone, subscribed to cassette clubs, and played one very forgettable season of high school football. From there, Joe studied Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was able to fulfill his dream of being a disc jockey at WXYC. He volunteered at WNCW soon after graduation.