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After announcing his departure from the Steep Canyon Rangers a couple years ago to spend less time on the road and more time with family, Woody is now ready to release his first debut! "I was ready for a break from the road, but not necessarily from music....Naturally, on my first record, I returned to my roots for a straight-ahead bluegrass project." He’s got some other familiar Brevard/Western NC musicians joining him on these tracks, like Bennett Sullivan on banjo, Daren Shumaker on mandolin, and Casey Driessen on fiddle. The bassist is Alison Krauss & Union Station’s Barry Bales. Then there are other great guests here, like Del McCoury, Tim O’Brien, and Woody’s wife Shannon Whitworth. Their Oct. 11th album release show, by the way, was turned into a relief effort fundraiser for “Rescue Carolina”; details here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/rescue-carolina?fbclid=IwY2xjawF2MX5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHd9pHr0r8RwayjwAvV3a9T8wrKcqcuxGTR8lL1XLjsP-Qv0wF_PSBI3lMA_aem_IlKK_HDRLMafaMOFTh6OYg

Michael "Badhair" Williams is from the North Carolina Mountains, the heart of Appalachia. He has been telling Appalachian folk tales on stage since 1975. Television, radio, and rock videos have pushed storytelling into the corners with the cobwebs. "Badhair" sweeps it back out, pulling from his Appalachian heritage the tales that delighted our grandparents, and now delight our children and ourselves.

Kyle Perrotti of Smoky Mountain News joined the broadcast to talk about his story on how various fire departments in the North Carolina Mountains are using drones to fight fires. This technology is making a difference. Haywood County was one of the first to implement it.

In this Down the Road episode, host Laura Boosinger interviews Brandon Johnson, the Executive Director of the Madison County Arts Council and the director of The Bluff Mountain Festival. Johnson explains how the annual festival began, when he became involved, and the importance of the music and community.

Donna Ray Norton and Melanie Rice are eight-generation ballad singers. Along with noted musician Sheila Kay Adams and other local singers, they host a monthly ballad swap at the Old Marshall Jail in downtown Marshall, NC. The event has gained notoriety as the only recurring ballad swap in the area, bringing awareness of the traditional music genre to a broader audience.

Marc Pruett is known for his spectacular three-finger banjo playing and his winning smile! He’s also one of the founding members of the bluegrass band Balsam Range. Marc sat down to share some stories, discussing his life in Haywood County and his musical career, which has taken him to different areas of the world.

In the 80% of Ukraine that remains in Kyiv's hands, two years of full-scale war with Russia have brought grief, destruction and, despite all, optimism.

This 6th album of Lilly Hiatt’s, produced and engineered by her husband Coley Hinson, explores some of her inner thoughts about intimacy and expectations, with at times a pretty raucous rock foundation. On the making of this new one, Lilly says, “After scrapping about 20 songs or so I had written the last few years, I wanted to get to the heart of things. I had a great talk with a friend on the phone and she mentioned she just wasn’t sure where I’d been. I realized I wasn’t really certain of that either. It’d been a foggy few years after 2020, and the pieces seemed to just be starting to be picked up. …For a bit, I felt like an outsider watching myself stumble though everything, and was constantly critiquing myself, to the point where I could hardly leave the house for a bit. But then I realized my life was passing me by, and the love I was living in required presence to accept.” “Time is flying, and I want to be here for it all rather than lost in my thoughts all the time. My love is forever. When I was a kid I used to say to my mom and dad “I love you forever and always” then neurotically changed it to “I love you forever and always and it’s true and I mean it”…because I wanted to make sure they knew how much I wasn’t messing around! I still feel that way when I say “I love you” to anyone and hope it comes across on this record.”

This 6th album of Lilly Hiatt’s, produced and engineered by her husband Coley Hinson, explores some of her inner thoughts about intimacy and expectations, with at times a pretty raucous rock foundation. On the making of this new one, Lilly says, “After scrapping about 20 songs or so I had written the last few years, I wanted to get to the heart of things. I had a great talk with a friend on the phone and she mentioned she just wasn’t sure where I’d been. I realized I wasn’t really certain of that either. It’d been a foggy few years after 2020, and the pieces seemed to just be starting to be picked up. …For a bit, I felt like an outsider watching myself stumble though everything, and was constantly critiquing myself, to the point where I could hardly leave the house for a bit. But then I realized my life was passing me by, and the love I was living in required presence to accept.” “Time is flying, and I want to be here for it all rather than lost in my thoughts all the time. My love is forever. When I was a kid I used to say to my mom and dad “I love you forever and always” then neurotically changed it to “I love you forever and always and it’s true and I mean it”…because I wanted to make sure they knew how much I wasn’t messing around! I still feel that way when I say “I love you” to anyone and hope it comes across on this record.” Join us as we wrap up Women’s History Month with this one.

Part two of this special podcast delves into the evolution of the Folk School’s programming with Bethany Chaney, the school’s executive director. She explains the significance of its gradual shift in focus, encompassing music, dance, and craft.