Oliver Wood: Always Smilin’My first concert of 2021 was in June, seeing The Wood Brothers and Ryan Montbleau at an outdoor show at Shakori Hills. Right after that, I got to chat with Oliver Wood about his wonderful solo record, Always Smilin’. I love this record because it captures what I love most about Oliver’s musicianship: his generous, collaborative spirit. When you see Oliver in concert, he often comments on the role of the audience in creating a space for music to happen: the energy, the attentiveness, the response to musicians all contribute to the music itself. It was fun to talk with Oliver about how he opened up to more collaboration and connection during the pandemic, when many of us experienced isolation. One of the things that sticks with me from this chat is the idea of playfulness and how important it is for creativity. I hope you enjoy this latest episode of the podcast with Oliver Wood!Interview by Ken Templetonphoto credit Joshua Black Wilkins

Red Line Roots

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 22: Oliver Wood

It is truly amazing when an artist can use the same tools for decades and continue to create vibrant, urgent, singular work. If there’s any musician that I know who fits this description, it’s Charlie Parr. He gets miles out of a few different guitars and his voice. On his new album, Last of the The Better Days Ahead, he took a new approach to songwriting, focusing on the lyrics before he picked up a guitar. The result is a record that really slows you down, helps you listen, and brings the worlds and stories that Charlie creates into focus. It was such a pleasure to talk with Charlie for the podcast. Please forgive some of the background noise on my end. I was traveling this summer when we talked, and I could only get phone service outside. So you might hear a leaf blower and some birds in the background. Enjoy the conversation and check out Charlie’s new record and tour dates at his website. Podcast interview by Ken TempletonEdited by Brian Carroll

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 21: Charlie Parr

Hearing Yasmin Williams’s compositions is immediately transfixing--and then you see her play, and it’s like you’re seeing someone invent how to play guitar. Yasmin’s most recent record, Urban Driftwood, is a masterpiece. It evokes a wide range of emotions and mirrors experiences that are somber, joyful, angry, and hopeful. We had the great pleasure of chatting with Yasmin for the RLR podcast. In this reflective conversation, Yasmin takes stock of where she is now, after a year in which she put out Urban Driftwood and is now bringing it out in the world. She talks about processing protests for racial justice through her music and how she moves from unconscious playing to conscious crafting. We hope you enjoy this podcast episode and thanks to Yasmin for taking time!By Ken Templeton

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 20: Yasmin Williams

You ever hear that David Foster Wallace graduation speech, “This is Water?” It follows from that joke where two fish are swimming along and one says something like, “The water’s great today,” and the other swims a little further and then halts and says, “Wait. What the hell is water?” And then Foster Wallace implores the graduates to be attentive to the metaphorical water they swim in. This is water, he repeats to himself, reminding himself that standing in line at the grocery store is, in fact, life. We can all take for granted the things around us, but if there is anyone I have ever met who embodies this idea of attentiveness and curiosity, it is Ben Cosgrove. On his new record, The Trouble with Wilderness, Ben engages with the spaces that people have designed in and around our wild world. Gardens, highways, sidewalks--these spaces all seem so defined and established, but they are really quite precarious. Ben creates really compelling and engaging compositions to process his reflections on these spaces, and my favorite tracks on this album feature a felted piano--a sound that is transfixing and new.  I had the great pleasure of chatting with Ben for our podcast and hope you will listen, share, and check out Ben’s incredible new record!Photo credit: Max García Conover

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 19: Ben Cosgrove

Allison Russell has written a beautiful album. “Outside Child,” was largely written while on tour with Native Daughters--Allison’s collaboration with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Amythyst Kiah--and it is a record at once about the abuse that Russell experienced at the hands of her adopted father and about the resilience and fortitude to name trauma, to face truth, and to reclaim oneself. In this podcast episode, Allison explores her role in stopping intergenerational trauma, both personally and as a musician. She reflects on the power of community and the importance of both accountability and empathy. We feel so lucky to have had this conversation and hope you will share it and listen to Allison’s record. It is out everywhere May 21. Interview by Ken Templetonediting by Brian Carroll

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 18 - Allison Russell

Episode 17 sees Brian in conversation with Christian Sedelmyer. This episode was recorded nearly a year ago, but is just seeing the light of day now. We talk Christian&apos;s 2020 release "Ravine Palace", community and more.2019’s listing, for me personally, was heavy on the instrumental albums and 2020 was no different in providing some heavy hitters in the “records without words” realm (or very few words). Sedelmyer could be described in much the same way, a heavy hitter performing with everyone from Jerry Douglas to Molly Tuttle. Christian only further displays his stunning ability to emote place and feeling within his gorgeous arrangements here on RP. A testament to one of the best players of our current generation of roots musicians.https://www.christiansedelmyermusic.com/

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 17 - Christian Sedelmyer

Well, it has certainly been a while since our last episode dropped, but Ken is back with a very special discussion with Cary Morin.The last concert I saw out in the world before this pandemic closed venues was Cary Morin at North Star Church of the Arts. I had a prior commitment, so I was running a bit late and I slid into the back pew. Cary was playing an entrancing instrumental melody, with a wide-brimmed hat pulled down low, shadows over his face. It was what music is supposed to do: after a harried day, I was taken out of my world, and given the gift of sounds and silence, of rhythm and solace, and I could take a good, deep breath. It was so enjoyable to get to talk with Cary about his latest record, Dockside Saints. The record is amazing: some of the best musicians in Louisiana back Cary, and they explore all the heights and subtleties of blues, cajun, folk, and country music, while making a sound all their own. In the conversation, it is amazing to hear Cary talk about some of the origins of these songs, like “Valley of the Chiefs,” which comes from a story Cary’s great-grandmother told him. It is also great to get insight from him on some of the ways he thinks about using streaming services to attract new listeners, and his thoughts on bringing songs to other musicians and making space for their contributions. Hope you enjoy the episode!  

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 16 - Cary Morin

I think the only kind of conversations Kamara Thomas has are wide-ranging. She is a musician, artist, activist, and community builder, and she brings all of those roles to our conversation for this edition of the Red Line Roots podcast. Kamara released Folklore: Live at Cassilhaus in September. It’s a really striking collection of songs. The sound is both rich and spare and these are the types of songs that shift and breathe with you the more times you listen. But that’s not all Kamara’s up to. Later this week, she will bring the Country Soul Songbook Summit to the world. Country Soul Songbook was the first event during the pandemic that I watched on a stream. It was switched to a virtual event one or two days before its date and I can honestly say that witnessing the joy and possibility of those folks that day gave me a lot of hope. Kamara has been curating iterations of CSSB for years, as we talk about in the podcast. But the Summit takes this work even further: Kamara, in partnership with Heather Cook and Kym Register, has brought together a diverse group of artists to reimagine what a vibrant, and just, arts community could look like. 

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 15 - Kamara Thomas

It’s hard to think of a band that has come out of New England recently that has shapeshifted and evolved more than Twisted Pine. The group has seen some personnel changes recently but, from its founding, seemed dedicated to pursuing new sonic territory, pulling more and more listeners in with each note.The group releases their latest record, “Right Now” on August 14 and it is a phenomenal piece of art. The instrumentation is nothing short of virtuosic...but not the sort of virtuosity that you have to pretend to enjoy!It was really fun to get to chat with Dan, Ahn, Chris, and Kathleen over zoom about a month ago. And it’s been just as much fun to spin “Right Now.” I’m so excited for you all to hear it. I hope you enjoy this edition of the Red Line Roots podcast! Photo Credit: Joanna Chattman

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 14 - Twisted Pine

For episode 13 of the podcast, Ken catches up with Libby Rodenbough. While many may know her from her excellent band Mipso, today she is here to dig into her into her fantastic solo record, “Spectacle of Love.” The album is most certainly not a collection of Libby-penned Mipso songs; this is a different artistic expression. On the first song, “How Come You Call Me,” it feels like Libby is drawing on Aimee Mann more than Guy Clark or Emmylou Harris. And the songs that follow represent a wide range of sensibilities, from synth-driven songs to the entrancing instrumental, “Under the U-Bahn.” The album brings different sonic explorations together through lyrics that explore the distances between ourselves and others and how we reconcile the fact that our relationships are always in flux. Enjoy.https://www.sleepycatrec.com/libby-rodenboughPhoto by Chris Frisina

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 13 - Libby Rodenbough

Ken talks with Dave Wilson and John Teer from the North Carolina mainstay Chatham County Line about digging up old songs and seeking new territory as a creative group. https://www.chathamcountyline.com/

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 12 - Chatham County Line (Dave & John)

We have a great conversation to distract you from the coronavirus news. Ken recorded this episode with Vance Gilbert back in February, around the release of his fantastic new record, Good Good Man. I have long been a fan of Vance’s work, and if you haven’t checked out his stuff before, the best place to start is with the song “Old White Men.” It is funny, it’ll make you cry, it is right there with the best John Prine songs. And while I readily make that comparison to the late, great John Prine, Vance is also someone very hard to pin down in a musical genre. His work draws on so many different traditions and he is irreverent enough to break all of those traditions’ rules and mores and make up his own way of communicating. And it’s special. The new record has so many gems on it and it was a great pleasure to chat with Vance. https://vancegilbert.com/

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 11 - Vance Gilbert

Today on the podcast, Brian talks with singer-songwriter Avi Jacob. A relentlessly honest songwriter, his songs been lauded as &apos;beautifully crafted&apos; and &apos;sublime&apos;.He is currently on the front end of a new EP release titled Preservation. A collection of songs that dig deep into the human condition and candor of relationships. A beautiful, occasionally sparse, EP that puts Jacob&apos;s endearing, humble and open book natured voice and words on full display.https://www.avijacobfolk.com/

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 10 - Avi Jacob

For episode 9, Ken takes a slightly different scope on the music community and talks with concert photographer, Anthony Mulcahy. You may have seen a variety of Mulcahy&apos;s work ranging from some highly shared images from Newport Folk, as a house photographer at Levon&apos;s Barn or his beautiful long exposure night photos from all over the world.Check out Anthony&apos;s work, buy a print and listen on in to hear more about his story.http://mulography.com/

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 9 - Anthony Mulcahy

Singer-songwriter Mark Erelli releases a new album (Blindsided) this Friday, March 27th.In anticipation, Ken caught up with Erelli to talk about the record, about co-writing, about all things songs and music.https://www.markerelli.com/

Red Line Roots Podcast Episode 8 - Mark Erelli

Conversations with songwriters, musicians and people from the music community in New England and beyond.

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