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America has seen its fair share of outlaws throughout history. Musicians have sung their tales, immortalizing them in song from coast to coast and contributing to this country’s folklore. North Carolina has a page in outlaw history with the bootlegger Otto Wood. Listen to learn more about Wood and others and the songs they inspired.

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

This year's Tiny Desk Contest was truly like no other. Our winner stood out from the over 6,000 entries with a song about slowing down and enjoying life that captivated our judges.

Kei Nishikori put a buzz into the U.S. Open crowd in New York and put himself into the history books, becoming the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam tennis final.

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.

GRAMMY-winning guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela have shared “OurHome,” the title track from their forthcoming album of the same name – recorded in Japan -- due September 18th via ATO Records. More than any other song on the record, “OurHome” embodies the album’s central idea: that home is less a place than a state of being rooted in purpose, presence, and inner peace. A tender piece that opens the album, it brings an exquisite subtlety to the kinetic exchange between Rodrigo Sánchez’s lightning-quick lead guitar lines and Gabriela Quintero’s hypnotic, hard-hitting rhythms. Eddie 9V announces a new album called Down Here coming out on November 6, on Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sounds label. This first single, “Blowin’ Up”, is described as “a swaggering blast of country-fried funk, greasy slide guitar, and deep-pocket grooves which captures Eddie 9V doing what he does best — locking into a feel and letting the personality fly.” Finally, Eli “Paperboy” Reed announces a new album called Getting There, coming out September 11th via Yep Roc Records. The single “Love You More” features up-and-coming country/R&B singer Zaniah, as well as the pedal steel work of Jonny Lam, which was inspired by players in the sacred steel tradition like Calvin Cooke and Aubrey Ghent. The album was produced by Swamp Dogg.

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.