The story of how global banjo explorer Joe Troop (formerly of Che Apalache) met Venezuelan harpist and all-around folk music master is testimony to the magic of global culture and a cautionary tale about the stark turn US policy has taken against working asylum seekers this year. Over three years as the bilingual, genre-fusing, and multi-instrumental duo Larry & Joe, they’ve toured widely and made two albums together to great acclaim among folk music lovers. They’re one of the most charismatic and culture-crossing acts to come out of roots music in the past decade. Here in a special episode of The String, they tell their story in an interview that took place in Knoxville, TN in March.
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That. Was. Fantastic. WMOT’s experienced and passionate (and woman run) team pulled it all together, lined up great music, got a little lucky with the weather, and our people turned out for a truly exceptional Roots On The Rivers. All afternoon and evening on Saturday, the grounds of Two Rivers Mansion rang with authentic music that touched some core genres in the Americana universe - modern folk, rock and roll, bluegrass, newgrass, and the blues. Our members and fans turned out in record numbers. And the artists generously embraced our Roots Radio community with very nice words live on the air for WMOT between their scorchin’ songs.Photographer Kristen Drum was on the scene for us again, and here are some highlights of our day. -
This episode of The String is a field report from the city that raised me in the 1970s and 80s and gave me my foundation in music, from college rock radio, to youth orchestra at Duke University, to jazz tutelage at a Black Muslim community center. It’s an arts-forward city that in the past decade has become something of a magnet for roots music, building on a history of gospel, blues and string band music, while the new festival Biscuits & Banjos, curated by Rhiannon Giddens, has put itself in a position to be a bridge from the past to the future and give Durham the identity it’s lacked as a national music hotspot. -
Saturday’s WMOT festival gives us a fresh reason to pause and think about the fuzzy quantum energy particle that is Aaron Lee Tasjan. He’s a shapeshifter, a rocker and a folkie, a singer and guitar player for the ages, and a mensch beloved by his Nashville community. In the dozen years he’s been in Nashville, he’s released a wildly daring and diverse string of albums. Among them: the jangling alt-country of In The Blazes, the Glamericana of Silver Tears, two different versions of his Beatles-ish rock and rolling Karma For Cheap, and last year, the delicious and sometimes snarky synth-pop opus Stellar Evolution. A bit of all those moods will work their way into ALT’s set on Saturday for Roots On The Rivers. It was time to catch up with our restless friend.
LINER NOTES
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Jessie Scott sat down with Judy Collins for a special Words & Music session at WMOT's Riverside Revival studio in East Nashville. -
Listen to Jessie Scott as she sits down with William Prince for a Words & Music session. -
The gang from Fruition sat down with Jessie Scott for a special Words & Music set Monday, November 18th.
WMOT VIDEO: LIVE SESSIONS ON NPR MUSIC
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Nashville's best kept secret Lilly Winwood rounds out our 2025 30A Songwriters Sessions with songs and stories, in conversation with Jessie Scott. Once again, we've had a great time with our springtime series where we present artists in acoustic settings, taped in our beach house turned studio near Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, during the 30A Songwriters Festival. Here, you'll get Lilly performing new material: "Illusionist," "All Things Uncertain," and "Broken Promise." -
WMOT's own Webb Wilder joins Jessie Scott for Words & Music, where we invite artists to discuss and perform acoustic versions of their latest projects. Webb performed "Kick Me When I'm Down", "Coupla Good Moves", and "Puttin' On A Show" from his new record 'Hillbilly Speedball' and chats with Jessie about his radio career and the making of his latest record. -
Willi Carlisle is this week's guest for 30A Songwriters Sessions, where we invite artists to perform acoustic sets in a beach house turned studio near Santa Rosa Beach, Florida during the 30A Songwriters Festival. Carlisle performed the title track of his upcoming album 'Winged Victory', "I Want No Children", and "The Arrangements". Plus, a behind-the-scenes interview with Jessie Scott about his upcoming tour with Tyler Childers and songwriting process. -
Ohio-based band The Shootouts dropped by the WMOT studio for the latest episode of Words & Music, where we invite artists to discuss and perform acoustic versions of their latest projects. The band performed "Trampoline" and "The Other Side of My Life" from their latest record, Switchback. Plus, a behind-the-scenes interview about recording the new album in Nashville, why they commit to their iconic western stage wear, and why they include covers on their records.
NPR Top Stories
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President Trump's decision to launch airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities without first consulting Congress has drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers who say the move bypasses their constitutional authority to declare war. -
A federal judge had previously said people must get at least 15 days to challenge their deportations to countries they're not originally from. -
A group of Democratic senators and Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller are hosting a Pride celebration at the Kennedy Center Monday evening. But the Kennedy Center has nothing to do with programming it.
The White House sent a proposed rescission package to Congress. This $9.4 billion package includes a $1.1 billion cut in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), clawing back money previously appropriated by Congress. Now Congress has 45 days to consider the proposal, and it only requires a majority vote to pass—a vote which could come quickly. This is a grave threat to federal funding for public media.
Win a pair of tickets to Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country at Ryman Auditorium on August 22, 2025
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