Watchhouse is this week's guest on Words & Music, where we invite artists to discuss and perform stripped-down versions of their latest projects. The duo performed the title track of their latest record 'Rituals', along with "Shape" and "All Around You".
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To hear Mike Farris sing - an experience a bit like being pinned to the seat of an accelerating Porsche Taycan - is to believe that he was born to the stage, motivated from childhood, and destined for soul/gospel glory. Yet in Episode 327 of The String, we learn that A) Mike is lucky to be here at all and B) that a singing career was not remotely on his own radar until he was approaching his 20th birthday. And the two are related. In his teens, Farris almost died from drug abuse. Music was part of his rescue. And I’ve never heard him go as deep on these subjects as he does in this hour. His newest album is a powerful, secular record recorded at FAME Studios called The Sound Of Muscle Shoals.
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Andrea Zonn and John Cowan have a few years under their belts as co-lead vocalists in the Nashville supergroup The HercuLeons, and now they have a debut album to complement their regular shows at 3rd & Lindsley. Given that they have significant touring commitments with superstar bands The Doobie Brothers (Cowan) and James Taylor (Zonn), they’ve done well to corral this assembly of musicians and songs. They’re both Music City veterans with rich stories to tell, so we’ve given them each their own episode of The String.
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Lance Cowan came to Nashville from his native Kentucky in the 1980s to build his career as a newspaper reporter, but he had the songwriting bug from the beginning. He made the scene at the Bluebird Café and made musical friendships. But with a family to raise, he wasn’t up for the sacrifices of the touring life. So he turned to music PR and he’s been one of the most trusted and easy-going pros in the roots music field for three decades. Now though, he’s turned back to music, releasing two albums in two years. Craig catches up with his old friend and colleague about his new direction.
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.
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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.
WMOT VIDEO: LIVE SESSIONS ON NPR MUSIC
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Ahead of her main stage performance at last week's Wired In at Riverside Revival, Kristina Murray, one of Nashville's most respected country songwriters, stopped by WMOT's backstage studio. She and her guys played stripped-down versions of "Watchin’ the World Pass Me By," "Just A Little While Longer," and "Get Down To It" from Little Blue, her latest album and her first for New West Records' Normaltown imprint.
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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."
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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.
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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.
NPR Top Stories
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Earlier this month, the government websites that hosted the authoritative, peer-reviewed national climate assessments went dark. Officials say they're only obligated to give the reports to Congress.
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Abrams isn't running for office — but she's not ruling it out, either. "Politics is a tool ... for getting good done, but it's not the only one." Her new thriller is Coded Justice.
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New York, North Carolina, New Mexico and Texas have all suffered serious flooding this month. Climate change is causing even more rain to fall during the heaviest storms.
Win a pair of tickets to Margo Price at Ryman Auditorium on November 20, 2025
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