Val Hoeppner

Jesse Dayton performed a stripped down duo set for WMOT's Wired In session from City Winery in Nashville Feb. 17, 2020. Dayton and his bass player performed songs from his most recent albums, including On Fire In Nashville, a seven-song EP featuring "May Have To Do It". The EP was recorded live at the Filming Station during AmericanaFest 2018. 

Kelsey Waldon’s country comes from northwest Kentucky with an esthetic born in Nashville’s studios in the 1970s. Her acoustic guitar was bolstered by Telecaster and pedal steel, the ideal cocktail for her stories of growing up (“Kentucky 1988”), the road (“White Noise / White Lines”) and tobacco farming (“Black Patch”). “Sunday’s Children” is possibly the bravest song on her Oh Boy Records album of last year, given that its warnings about church brainwashing would certainly not be taken to heart in her native terrain.

A tornado ripped through Nashville and Middle Tennessee early March 3, claiming the lives of 24, destroying homes and businesses, including The Basement East, a beloved music venue in the heart of East Nashville.

A growing list of fundraisers will raise money for tornado victims and relief funds throughout the city.  If you know of a tornado relief fundraiser please email details to wmot@mtsu.edu and we'll add it to our list.

All Hands On Deck! A Benefit for our Hometown Benefiting The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee  

Watch Bonnie Bishop's video session from our 895 Sessions during SXSW from The Backstage at El Mercado in Austin, Texas. Bishop performed songs from her 2019 album, The Walk and her 2016 album, Ain't Who I Was.

Logan Ledger opened the show with the backing of only Luke Reynolds on electric guitar. Bay area native Ledger’s recorded sound is luxurious with groove and texture, but his voice is so outstanding that he can convey his dark Roy Orbison kind of vibe without drums or bass or keys, as on the Bakersfield noir number “Invisible Blue.” The song “River of Fools” had more swing and boogie, with some scat lyrics that called Roger Miller to mind. Leger’s voice fit the classic Jim Reeves ballad “He’ll Have To Go” like a well-worn boot.

Kendell Marvel wrapped up our January 21, 2020 Wired In session "with the full-force honky tonk rock and roll of veteran Kendell Marvel. With a baritone bazooka of a voice, his sound splits the difference between Hank Williams Jr. and Gregg Allman. Heads were banged during the opening number “Good For Me,” but that wasn’t the only tone, with the barroom swing of “Untangle My Mind” (co-written with Chris Stapelton) following close behind. And “Cadillac’n’” is a cruiser’s delight saturated with the electric blues.