Arts and Entertainment

A decade after her national breakout as a top alt-country visionary, more than two decades after her move to Nashville and her long, grueling apprenticeship in Music City, Margo Price is one of Americana music’s leading stars and cultural voices. She’s sung protest songs at Newport with Joan Baez and joined the board of Farm Aid, where she’s a veteran performer. Now she’s released the first political album of her career. Craig sits down with Margo to talk about her life in Nashville and her new Days Of Unrest.

This Wednesday, Sept. 2, marks the tenth birthday of WMOT's Roots Radio all-Americana music format. This is an account of how a team of music fans and broadcasting veterans built something new in a heritage medium. WMOT invites the public to two gatherings on Wednesday to hang out with the staff and hear some live music: 11:30 pm for lunch hour at Brown's Diner at 2102 Blair Blvd. and 4:30 for happy hour at Robert's Western World on Lower Broadway.

Dolly Parton’s passing on Tuesday at 80 years old marks the end of one of American music’s most important chapters. Her mix of rural Tennessee roots, pop music savvy, songwriting genius and vivacious persona made her an authentic icon. By way of appreciation, Craig Havighurst has pulled a never-published interview from his archives, in which Dolly talks about tuning her voice to the times, taking chances, and staying true to her conception of country music.

Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80. The artist's death was confirmed in a statement from her representatives, as well as in a video posted to social media from her nephew Bryan Seaver. "A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family," reads the statement, which notes that Parton "died peacefully" in Nashville, Tenn., on Aug. 25, 2026.

In his almost 20 years of recording Americana music in Nashville, 39-year-old Sean Sullivan has earned a reputation for impeccable recording and mixing of quality instruments, be they antique acoustic or classic electric. Working since the pandemic out of the Tractor Shed in Goodlettsville, he’s accumulated five Grammy Awards and immense respect in the bluegrass and Americana communities. We talk about the art of capturing great musicians and about working with Sturgill Simpson, Del McCoury, Molly Tuttle and others.

Charlie Worsham is one of Music City’s most respected “multi-hyphenate” music-makers - an artist-singer-songwriter-picker-producer who’s had his hand in scores of hit records while releasing much-admired albums of his own over a 20 year career in town. Craig regards him as a “Music Row whisperer,” a guy with his finger on the pulse of the industry and a well-rooted point of view in the music he makes. He returns to the String with the new album Once Upon A Second Time Around and, though he didn’t know it at the time, a new Grand Ole Opry member trophy.

From her out-of-the-way home town in Michigan, Rachel Brooke has quietly achieved veteran status as a highly acclaimed songwriter and singer. Her latest album This One’s For You investigates honky tonk dreams that won’t die and reminds us that great country songs don’t all pass through a Nashville filter.

This week marks one month until Americanafest 2026, so the wheels have been turning around here. Today we share the lineup for our ninth annual Americanafest Day Stage, presented in partnership with NPR Music, World Cafe, and Nashville PBS. It’s one of the strongest lineups ever, and the event will be broadcast and webcast widely.

One of the stars of Nashville’s recent honky tonk boom first found her muse playing in late night jazz clubs of New York and Paris. That set Sweet Megg apart when she moved here just after the pandemic - a flair for early blues and hot club swing. In Music City, she’s also developed as a songwriter releasing stylish Americana fare, but she continues to mine the catalog for golden nuggets she can make her own, as on her latest Massive Negroni.

In The Hour Of Chaos, Allison Russell’s third solo album, brings the power of harmony and solidarity to a time of division and fear. In an interview days before its release, the songwriter says her “rainbow coalition” of collaborators has grown since her breakout album Outside Child of 2021, and many of them, including Brittney Spencer, Norah Jones, and Kashus Culpepper, sing duets with her. She also gets into her foundations in folk music during her pre-Nashville years.