Like a carrot dangling from the end of a stick in those old cartoons, Friday beckons us through the week and keeps us hopping forward. And there’s no carrot more tasty than Americana music, performed by sincere and excellent artists. This week’s root vegetable medley features progressive bluegrass from We Banjo 3 and vulnerable neo-country music from Jessica Willis Fisher.
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There haven’t been more than a handful of repeat guests on The String in these six years, but with Mary Gauthier it’s a no-brainer. She’s one of the most interesting figures in Nashville - a philosopher of song and a gifted teacher and speaker. A 2021 memoir allowed her to lay her remarkable story out end to end, mingling memoir with songwriting insights and laying bare her vulnerabilities and struggles. A new album ruminates on new love and the loss of friends with radical empathy.
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On a recent morning, the atmosphere at Monique Ross’s East Nashville home is high energy. She and her sister Chauntee are here for a day between tour dates, having just arrived from the Newport Folk Festival where they played to thousands with Brandi Carlile and sat on stage during Joni Mitchell’s historic performance there. Monique’s 10-year-old daughter is heading out the door for the afternoon. Two small dogs, including a Chihuahua named Cello, scamper around the Victorian house. But things quiet down. The dogs curl up to sleep, and between gales of sisterly laughter Chauntee and Monique talk about what it’s been like to be on some of folk music’s biggest stages supporting Carlile and Allison Russell in the past whirlwind year.
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It’s true that for many people Friday is the end of the work week and the weekend is a chance for rest and personal pursuits. Of course that’s not true for everyone so let’s remember the servers and drivers and cops and so forth who work weekends for the good of everyone. But hopefully what we all have in common is that we can take an hour at lunch time on Friday to enjoy killer music over our video feeds, phones, radios and smart speakers. Because we’re back at it on Aug. 5 with honest songwriting from Nashville’s Mabilene and midwestern folk rock band The Damn Quails.
LINER NOTES
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Nashville's Mabilene and Oklahoma's The Damn Quails share songs from their respective new albums on Finally Friday from Home.
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Recorded in New Orleans, Sara Syms explores the sounds of the Crescent City through themes of survival, love and hope on her new album, The Darkest Light, out today.
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Bassist, singer and songwriter Nicole Boggs and her band The Reel have released a new full length, quite fitting for the times... Dystopian Book Club is out now.
WMOT VIDEO: LIVE SESSIONS ON NPR MUSIC
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Nick Nace and Andrew Duhon perform music from their new albums this week for Finally Friday from Home. Stream the performance videos on WMOT.org.
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Watch live sets from Beau Jennings and Brennen Leigh from this week's episode of Finally Friday from Home.
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Watch our Wired In with Joshua Ray Walker and Kelsey Waldon Live at 7 PM Tonight
News from WMOT
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Tennessee is the only state in the U.S. where its Supreme Court appoints the attorney general. Skrmetti’s term starts on Sept. 1.
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The number of mid-state homes sold in July dropped 20 percent year over year and 18 percent month over month.
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Johnson City resident James Brooks will plead guilty to a single federal count of Remaining in a Restricted Building. In exchange, three additional charges against him will be dropped.
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FBI testimony alleged Woodbury resident Matthew Baggott was one of the first to enter the capitol and scuffled with police as he entered the building and as he left.
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Eligible families will be allowed to use up to approximately $8,100 in public tax dollars on private schooling tuition.
NPR Top Stories
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Each county's plan must include input from law enforcement, mental health and school professionals.
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Businesses were closed and people skipped prayer services after the shooting deaths of four Muslim men, three of them in the past two weeks. Now, the fear has given way to confusion over a motive.
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Vanessa Bryant's invasion of privacy lawsuit says a deputy showed photos of her husband's remains to bar patrons and a firefighter showed them to off-duty colleagues.
Win a pair of tickets to see Steve Earle & The Dukes with special guests The Kentucky Headhunters at Ryman Auditorium on September 21, 2022. The Concert for Cumberland Heights is an annual fundraiser that began in 1996 to raise much-needed funding for adolescent and young adult programs.
Win a pair of tickets to see The Shootouts with India Ramey in the Lounge at City Winery on Friday, August 19, 2022 at 7:30 p.m.
Win a pair of tickets to see Fabulous Thunderbirds with Gina Sicilia on Sunday, August 21, 2022, at City Winery.
Win a pair of tickets to see Chris Isaak and Lyle Lovett and His Large Band live at the Opry House on August 17, 2022
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