WMOT 89.5 | LISTENER-POWERED RADIO INDEPENDENT AMERICAN ROOTS
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
JD Clayton is one of the first emerging artists to release music in an era of new leadership at the historic Rounder Records in Nashville. He’s an open-hearted guy who got the songwriting bug growing up in Fort Smith, AR and who then found his songs and his way on stage led to organic growth. His 2023 album Long Way From Home got him out on the road in a big way and led to some high profile opening shows. He produced his new album Blue Sky Sundays, a fresh and catchy take on country rock, with his brotherly band. He seems to embody the ethos of his feel-good song “High Hopes & Low Expectations.”
  • I’m With Her, the sublime and award-winning trinity of Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, and Sara Watkins is back with their second album, after an eight year interim since their debut See You Around came out to great acclaim. The new Wild And Clear And Blue, written over several years and produced by multi-instrumentalist indie folk guru Josh Kaufman, arrived last Friday, and it’s sure to be one of the most celebrated recordings of 2025. Craig reviews the album and speaks with Sara Watkins about this special relationship, plus her ever-evolving work with Nickel Creek and the Los Angeles Watkins Family Hour collective.
  • Carter Vintage Guitars, a Music City landmark, has settled into a routine after some big changes. Its founding owners sold the business to the North American Guitar company, who moved in 2024 to a larger space just across the street from its original home on Eighth Ave. South. They kept or adapted nearly all of the features of the old shop, including extensive mail order sales and a video series. WMOT intern journalist Shauna Reynolds reports.
  • Toronto’s Jeremie Albino is a powerful roots rock singer and songwriter whose early love of blues and old rock and roll comes through in his self-effacing, easy grooving songs. After releasing three albums and touring hard, a call from Dan Auerbach opened up new avenues for him through the production of his late 2024 album Our Time In The Sun. Craig spoke with Jeremie in Nashville before his recent performance on WMOT’s Wired In.
LINER NOTES
WMOT VIDEO: LIVE SESSIONS ON NPR MUSIC
  • Darrell Scott is this week's guest for our 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. He performed "Long Time Gone", "One Hand Upon the Wheel" and "Kentucky Morning", plus a behind-the-scenes interview with Jessie Scott about about releasing new music through his monthly "New Moon, New Music" series and his latest record The New Modern Hymns.
  • Larkin Poe is this week's guest on Words & Music, where we invite artists to discuss and perform stripped-down versions of their favorite songs. The duo performed "If God Is A Woman", "Little Bit", and "Mockingbird" from their latest record, Bloom, and reflected on their 15-year journey as a band in an interview with Jessie Scott.
  • The Secret Sisters joins us for another 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. The duo performed "Paperweight", "If The World Was a House", and "I've Got Your Back" from their latest record Mind, Man, Medicine. Watch the full performance and behind-the-scenes interview here.
  • Fresh off her Broadway run as Persephone in Hadestown, Allison Russell joins host Jessie Scott for another episode of Words & Music, where we invite artists to discuss and perform stripped-down versions of songs from their catalogs. The three-song set included "Persephone", "Eve Was Black", and a tearful "Superlover". Russell also recaps the hectic moments leading up to her 2024 Grammy win, touring with Hozier, and more.
NPR Top Stories
Win a pair of tickets to Allison Russell at Ryman Auditorium on May 28, 2025
Win a pair of passes to World of Bluegrass 2025 in Chattanooga Tennessee on September 19-20, 2025
Sign up for our weekly newsletter, featuring music news, contests and our concert calendar.