Liner Notes

A two-year recovery process following a fall from a cliff led Nashville’s Nate Fredrick to, in his words, start actually making music instead of just playing music. The native Missourian’s debut album, Different Shade of Blue is out today. Fredrick started playing guitar when he was 12, after his father brought one home that he never played. But it wasn’t until about a decade later when he started to write songs.

I had to read the press release twice, thinking, “did I read that right?” A new song from Nashville singer and songwriter Mike Younger, featuring Jim Dickinson and Levon Helm?? Yes, it’s true and I had to know the story behind this song, “Lord of The Fleas”. The song began in 2001 and is finally seeing the light of day in 2021. Like the artists that inspired him, it’s a socially relevant, mid-tempo blend of blues, rock and country. The timeliness of this song and video are partly why Younger decided to release them now; a full length is coming this year.

You’ve likely heard me talking about how WMOT is a great place for music discovery. Today’s Liner Notes is a perfect example of that. I received an email a few months ago from Molly Murphy, an artist I hadn’t heard of and was pleasantly surprised when I listened to her song, “Wildflower Girl”, the first single from her debut EP, What You’re Living For, out today. It’s exciting to see a young artist embarking on their career, releasing music for the first time and trying to find their way in a town full of people releasing music constantly.

It’s been about ten years since Andrew Leahey landed in Nashville. The Richmond, Virginia native spent time in New York City and Ann Arbor working on his music and his career as a music journalist; you’ve likely seen his byline in Rolling Stone or American Songwriter. He’s a gifted wordsmith and melody maker, and an ace guitarist. In 2013 he underwent a twelve hour surgery to remove a tumor in his brain near or on his hearing nerve. It took some time, but he’s fully recovered now and giving us some great original music!