It would be hard to name any songwriter in Nashville’s long history whose work has been recorded by more stars across more genres of music than Gary Nicholson. The Texas native came to Nashville in 1980 after stints in Ft. Worth and Los Angeles, and not only did he amass an impressive string of country music hits with Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, and more, he became Music City’s go-to soul and R&B man, conjuring songs for Bonnie Raitt, Etta James, BB King, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and even Ringo Starr. Now at 74 he’s turned his own performing/recording life to songs of conscience and social protest, as on his new album Common Sense.
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I was raised on instrumental music before I fell in love with songs and songwriters, so I keep my radar scanning for contemporary instrumental records in the roots music space. For years, such albums came predominantly from the bluegrass universe, but through 2024 and on into this year, I kept latching on to sonic excursions encompassing rock, blues, guitar folk and twangy jazz. Here’s a roundup of recent recordings that will set your head bobbing while requiring no verbal skills.
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Sierra Ferrell, fresh off her Artist and Album Of The Year wins at last Fall’s Americana Honors & Awards, went four-for-four in her first-ever nominations on Sunday at the 67th Grammy Awards. She shared American Roots Song honors with Nashville’s Melody Walker. Songwriter Ruthie Foster secured a first-ever Grammy for herself and her new label Sun Records. Billy Strings and the duo of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings won awards as well. While on the prime time broadcast, roots music didn’t get its turn.
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Sam Grisman, the 35-year-old son of mandolin icon David “Dawg” Grisman, grew up in a unique and supercharged musical environment, to put it mildly. Jerry Garcia was coming over all the time to the family home to pick and record old-time folk music with the elder Grisman. Bluegrass legends came and went, rehearsing and recording, and giving Sam something to aspire to when he picked up the bass as a little kid. After a decade working and touring as sideman, he’s now based in Nashville leading his own collective, the Sam Grisman Project, which is nurturing the repertoire of the Grisman/Garcia partnership, with selected tunes from the Grateful Dead repertoire as well. With a remarkable concert at the Ryman Auditorium in January 2025, Sam stepped into a new phase of his musical life.
LINER NOTES
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Listen to Jessie Scott as she sits down with William Prince for a Words & Music session.
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The gang from Fruition sat down with Jessie Scott for a special Words & Music set Monday, November 18th.
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A new original song for SAFPAW from Nashville songwriter, Tim Easton. See the video and find out more about SAFPAW and Tim's support of their mission for the past ten years.
WMOT VIDEO: LIVE SESSIONS ON NPR MUSIC
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Tiny Desk winner Alisa Amador performed "Extraño" and "Milonga Accidental" at the 2024 AmericanaFest Day Stage. Watch the songs here.
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Last week, James McMurtry and BettySoo stopped by the WMOT studio to discuss performing in drag across the South and life on the road during their current tour. The duo also performed "Henry & Me", "Broken Freedom Song", and "Gulf Road". Listen to the full episode here.
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Watch Cris Jacobs perform "Queen of the Avenue" and "Poor Davey" from his latest bluegrass inspired record 'One of These Days' live from the 2024 AmericanaFest Day Stage.
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Mindy Smith and Ray Benson rang in the new year with music from their latest projects at our January Wired In show. Watch their live studio performances here.
NPR Top Stories
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Staffers at the U.S. cybersecurity agency working on countering foreign disinformation and on election security have been put on leave, according to sources who spoke anonymously for fear of reprisal.
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The Associated Press says the White House blocked it from covering an official event on Tuesday because it did not refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
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Trump and Musk spoke as the president signed a new executive order calling on the heads of federal agencies to "promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force."
Win a pair of tickets to Mary Chapin Carpenter/Brandy Clark at Ryman Auditorium on October 2, 2025
Win a pair of tickets to Rhiannon Giddens and the Old Time Revue at Ryman Auditorium on May 7, 2025
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