301. Interview with Adam Faucett, Little Rock, Arkansas (05:45)

Date:
2020-09-14
Main contributors:
Adam Faucett
Summary:
Adam Faucett (Little Rock, Arkansas) Adam Faucett is a singer-songwriter born in Benton, Arkansas, and based out of Little Rock. Faucett was originally a member of the Russellville, Arkansas-based band, Taught the Rabbits, and has been performing solo since 2006. After the breakup of that band, Faucett relocated to Chicago, where he focused on folk music, writing his first album, The Great Basking Shark. Upon the release of a second album in 2008, Show Me Magic, Show Me Out, he toured the U.S. and Europe with acts including Lucero, Calexico, The Legendary Shack Shakers, Vetiver, and Damien Jurado. Faucett’s music has been described as “southern soul swamp opera,” blending experimental rock, psychedelic rock, and noise rock into his framework of singer-songwriter country music. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/14/2020.

302. Interview with Ashley Sankey, Birmingham, Alabama (04:37)

Date:
2020-09-23
Main contributors:
Ashley Sankey
Summary:
Ashley Sankey (Birmingham, Alabama) Birmingham, Alabama-based musician Ashley Sankey, a classically trained keyboardist and percussionist and a formally trained jazz and opera vocalist, has been performing in the Birmingham area for many years. She taught herself guitar, and although she works in multiple genres, she considers herself a soul musician. Sankey has her own in-home studio, where she also produces music and engineers studio sessions for other up-and-coming Alabama artists. Ashley has a long history in the church and started singing background for traveling gospel acts at the age of thirteen. She released her first studio album, Ashley Sankey Presents “Birmingham’s Here,” in 2013. She also performs as a percussionist at Grant Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Birmingham. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/23/2020.

303. Interview with Amy Garland, Fox, Arkansas (05:55)

Date:
2020-09-18
Main contributors:
Amy Garland
Summary:
Amy Garland (Fox, Arkansas) Fox, Arkansas-based musician and artist, Amy Garland, has spent many years serving as a mentor figure to other artists throughout the region. She also has her own show on the local public radio station, KABF, called “Backroads,” where she plays a variety of independent country/old-time/bluegrass/singer-songwriter musics to her local fanbase. Her all-girl group, The Wildflowers, performs regional shows, while she continues writing and performing her own compositions. Amy Garland is also a social worker and a guitar strap maker. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/18/2020.

304. Interview with Andrae Ambrose, Chicago, Illinois (05:32)

Date:
2020-10-01
Main contributors:
Andrae Ambrose
Summary:
Andrae Ambrose (Chicago, Illinois) As the President and Lead Producer of Jambrose Music Group, gospel musician Andrae Ambrose is known for his professional overseeing of live recording sessions. Andrae has worked with a number of major recording artists, including Grammy Award-winning producers Kevin Randolph, Donald Lawrence, Kirk Franklin, and Aaron Lindsey, as well as work with artists such as Leslie Ruiz, Brandon Roberson, Atmosphere of Heaven, San Franklin, One 4 Christ, and Reggie Royal & Judah. Andrae has served on the Chicago Board of Governors of the National Association of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) and was the co-chair for the Gospel Task Force of the Chicago Chapter. He is the composer of the SoundMind Collection, a series of therapeutic instrumental music. As a member of a pastoral family, his perspective on music ministry includes training of worship leaders and choirs around the world. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/01/2020.

305. Interview with Andrea Colburn, Atlanta, Georgia (05:51)

Date:
2020-09-24
Main contributors:
Andrea Colburn
Summary:
Andrea Colburn (Atlanta, Georgia) Singer-songwriter Andrea Colburn is one-half of the musical duo Andrea and Mud, who categorize themselves as “surf western music.” Based in Atlanta, they spent many years operating a very demanding touring schedule. Growing up in St. Louis, Andrea Colburn says she wanted to learn guitar from a young age, but never particularly excelled at the instrument. When she moved to Georgia in 2012, however, a shift happened, and she found herself performing on a new level. When she connected with Kyle “Mud” Moseley, they found the right match. The duo released their album Bad News Darlin’ in 2020. In addition to guitar, Andrea Colburn also plays the musical saw. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/24/2020.

306. Interview with Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes, New Orleans, Louisiana (05:59)

Date:
2020-09-14
Main contributors:
Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes
Summary:
Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes (New Orleans, Louisiana) Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes is a musician, author, and ethnographic photographer. Sunpie is the Big Chief of the Northside Skull and Bone Gang, one the oldest Afro-Creole carnival groups in the United States, which began its traditions in 1819. He is a member of the Black Men of Labor Social Aid and Pleasure Club and the band leader of Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots. His joint book and album project, Le Kèr Creole, was co-authored with Rachel Breunlin and Leroy Etienne. Sunpie is a former National Park Service Ranger, former high school biology teacher, former college football All-American, and former NFL football player for the Kansas City Chiefs. He performs his own style of Afro-Louisiana music, incorporating blues, zydeco, creole jazz, gospel, work songs, and Caribbean and African-influenced rhythms and melodies and is a multi-instrumentalist who plays accordion, harmonica, and piano along with rubboard, talking drum, and dejembe. He is a former member of the Paul Simon Band, and his acting work has appeared in the Hollywood films Point of No Return, Deja Vu, Under Cover Blues, Jonah Hex, Tremé, The Big Easy, Skeleton Key, and many more. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/14/2020.

307. Interview with Beau Bledsoe, Kansas City, Missouri (05:23)

Date:
2020-09-09
Main contributors:
Beau Bledsoe
Summary:
Beau Bledsoe (Kansas City, Missouri) Beau Bledsoe studied classical guitar at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music under Douglas Niedt, where he received a Master of Music. There he continued his professional career in the Kansas City music scene playing with jazz musicians, classical chamber musicians, and also participating in the burgeoning Latin music scene. His interest in exploring new repertoire, cultures, and programming ideas led to the creation of a large body of arrangements, transcriptions and compositions for the solo guitar and guitar chamber music. He also founded Ensemble Ibérica, a group that performs the music of Ibéria (Spain and Portugal) and the colonial Americas while educating the public about Iberian cultural influence. His music is regularly programmed on Radio 1 BBC and All Songs Considered on NPR. His recording Yalnız by Alaturka received 4.5 stars and Best Albums of 2013 from Downbeat Magazine. He serves on the music faculty at the UMKC Conservatory of Music. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/09/2020.

308. Interview with Bonnie Montgomery, Wimberley, Texas (05:57)

Date:
2020-09-16
Main contributors:
Bonnie Montgomery
Summary:
Bonnie Montgomery (Wimberley, Texas) Austin-based artist Bonnie Montgomery works in a multitude of genres, including outlaw country, classical, and opera. With her roots in White County, Arkansas, Montgomery is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who has performed and toured with a number of artists, securing the title of 2020 Entertainer of the Year from the Arkansas Country Music Awards, the ACMA 2019 Americana/Roots Artist of the Year, and the titles of Best Americana Artist and Best Female Vocalist. She has produced singles with rockabilly legend Rosie Flores, toured with Texas troubadour Ray Wylie Hubbard, and composed a 2016 short-length opera about Bill Clinton’s youth in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which earned her accolades from The New Yorker and Huffington Post. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/16/2020.

309. Interview with Brian Coleman, Summerville, South Carolina (04:24)

Date:
2020-10-09
Main contributors:
Brian Coleman
Summary:
Brian Coleman (Summerville, South Carolina) First Nation drummer Brian Coleman was born in Summerville, South Carolina, where he resides with his wife Shantrice and their daughter, Alijah. Brian is a Tribal member of the Edisto Natchez-Kusso Tribe of South Carolina. He serves as Chairman and Treasurer of the Board for the Tribal Council and the Edisto Indian Free Clinic. As a musician, he is a member of the Edisto River Singers Drum group, with whom he regularly performs at pow wows and other functions. He received his degree in electrical engineering from South Carolina State University and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Charleston Southern University, and continues to work as an electrical engineer. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/09/2020.

310. Interview with Casey Wayne McCallister, Charlottesville, Virginia (05:49)

Date:
2020-09-08
Main contributors:
Casey Wayne McCallister
Summary:
Casey Wayne McCallister (Charlottesville, Virginia) Originally from Baton Rouge, multi-instrumentalist Casey Wayne McCallister spent years in New Orleans playing with multiple bands in the nuevo roots/country scene, including Hurray for the Riff Raff, before relocating to Charlottesville, Virginia. Over the years, he slowly began to do increasing amounts of composition for film, and now he has multiple feature film scores under his name, including the independent films Ghostbox Cowboy (2018), Western (2015), the Ross Brothers’ Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (2020), and Socks on Fire (2020. He is also a skilled refurbisher of vintage organs. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/08/2020.