WNXP Podcasts

When in Nashville for a special performance at Grimey's record store, Boston trio Vundabar stopped by WNXP to talk about their new full-length, 'Surgery and Pleasure,' as well as learnings from their 10+ years playing together.

This Saturday is the 12th annual Independent Bookstore Day, celebrating indie bookstores across the country with everything from exclusive books to literary items. Participating stores in Middle Tennessee include Parnassus, Fairytales, The Bookshop, The Grumpy Bookpeddler, and more. But today, we talk with the owners of Novelette, located in East Nashville. 

Josh Tillman is the person behind the persona of the musician Father John Misty. Or, is it the other way around? Tillman's reputation as a provocateur and chimera reached a fever pitch about seven years ago and the songwriter stopped talking to the press and public all together, only performing. In a rare interview, Tillman talked to Music Reporter Justin Barney, about his latest album, Mahashmashana and his disappearance from the spotlight.

Nestled in the heart of 5 Points, Duke's has become a mainstay for the local music community. I've fallen in love in this bar, had my heart broken, made business deals, commiserated and celebrated everything along the way. With a decade under their belt, many Nashvillians can say the same. Duke's is celebrating their 10 year anniversary with a parking lot blowout this Saturday featuring music from some of old Nashville's finest including William Tyler, Be Your Own Pet and Heavy Cream. Ahead of the celebration, I sat down with co-owner Sara Nelson to talk about the bar's impact on the city. 

WNXP got Rhian Teasdale -- one-fifth of the Isle of Wight band Wet Leg -- on the record about their forthcoming sophomore release, moisturizer, out on June 11. This buzzy group played WNXP's 2nd birthday show in 2022 and won two Grammys for their first record in 2023. The first single from moisturizer is "Catch These Fists."

The forlorn falsetto of Justin Vernon's voice has propelled Bon Iver into indie stardom. But fame only seemed to make Vernon retreat into his sadness more.Now, with the new album called “SABLE, fABLE,” out today, Vernon appears to be in bloom. He granted a rare interview to Music Reporter Justin Barney where they talked all about how Vernon changed his tune.Learn more at WNXP.org.

This Sunday (April 13), Eastside Bowl will turn into a underground disco with the third annual Disco Ball. This event is a benefit for Kindling Arts Festival, their annual summer festival that uplifts local artists. Daniel Jones, Producing Artistic Director of Kindling Arts, describes the event as a fun party with a cocktail hour and immersive performances, with a stage program that features local artists working in dance, theater, music and drag. 

Now in theaters, "The Ballad of Wallis Island" is a feature film based on the 2007 award-winning short film created by the comic actors Tim Key and Tom Basden. With the addition of a new character, a former bandmate and lover played by Carey Mulligan, the expanded story set in a fictional remote place in the UK explores new dimensions of artist-fan relationships, creative integrity and nostalgia. The film's soundtrack includes 14 original songs written by Basden.

Episode 3 of Music Citizens tells the story of Brent Arledge who is the most prolific piano tuner in Nashville, and possibly the world. He tunes the Ryman, the Schermerhorn and the Grand Ole Opry. He services dozens of studios and is trusted in the homes of countless Nashville musicians. Arledge's craft can be heard on every song coming out of Music Row that features piano.But elite piano tuning is grueling work. It's taxing on the body, it strains relationships, and it never leads to fame or glory. How does someone become the top piano tuner in Nashville? And why would they want to?Voices in the episode include: Jason Moon Wilkins — Host Justin Barney — Reporter, Producer Brent Arledge — Piano Technician James Arledge — Piano Technician T Bone Burnett— Producer, musician Ian Fitchuk — Producer, musician Georgia Middleman— Singer/songwriter This episode was produced by Justin Barney, Emily Siner and Jason Moon Wilkins. Mixing and Mastering by Michael Pollard. Special thanks to Tony Gonzalez, Jewly Hight, Rachel Iacovone, Char Daston, Tasha A.F. Lemley, Meribah Knight, Jesse Strauss, Carly Butler, Stephanie O'Byrne, and everyone who helped.Institutional support from Tennessee Arts Commission, Metro Arts Thrive and First Horizon Foundation. Follow WNXP on social platforms as @WNXPNashville

Carl Broemel, guitarist for My Morning Jacket, spoke with us about the band's 10th LP called Is ahead of its March release and a couple weeks in advance of their curated and hosted One Big Holiday Festival in Florida. Broemel, who lives in Nashville, also highlighted collaboration with the band Futurebirds, finding new music via different methods and expanding his collection of gear.

Music Citizens Episode 3: The Tuner ready for launch on Sunday, April 6th.Episode 3 of Music Citizens tracks down Brent Arledge, Nashville's, and possibly the world's most prolific piano tuner. Arledge has played an uncredited part of every top ten hit featuring piano to come out of Music Row for the past 25 years. He tunes The Ryman, The Schermerhorn and The Grand Ole Opry. He is trusted in the homes of so many Nashville musicians. In a city that is often so good at recognizing the key players on a song, service workers like Arledge are often forgotten. This episode gives credit where credit is due.

WNXP Nashville Artist of the Month Annie DiRusso pretty rapidly went from fan to friend and collaborator of fellow Music City artist Ruston Kelly. This month both DiRusso and Kelly released albums featuring the other one, and hosted hometown shows where they were special guests. Here's the tale of two songs, more or less, stories straight from their mouths and sound from each of their concerts.

Our Record of the Week on WNXP is an album ten years in the making. Michigander's self titled debut. We sat down with him in his home here in Nashville to talk about being a frontman, finally feeling ready to release his debut and watching videos of U2 at his local library when he was in grade school.

WNXP's Nashville Artist of the Month Annie DiRusso released her first full-length album Super Pedestrian this month. Having first moved to Nashville to find the indie scene male-dominated, she's grown in influence and confidence as a songwriter and guitarist. Like it or not, and Annie quite likes it, this is no longer the boys' club of yesteryear.

Benjamin Booker has been relatively quiet since releasing his 2017 album Witness. He released a song called “Black Disco” in 2020 and has collaborated with Armand Hammer as well as Billy Woods & Kenny Segal back in 2023. Almost eight years since his last project, during that down time he has been working towards his new album Lower, this week's WNXP Record of the Week. 

Match Records is a multi-genre, student-led record label service company out of Middle Tennessee State University. It gives students hands-on experience within the music industry and assists student-artists with distributing and promoting their music. The label will be doing their first showcase at The Basement on Sunday, March 23. 

Billboard Heart is the fourth album from Deep Sea Diver, a Seattle band fronted by guitarist Jessica Dobson, who shared insight with WNXP about tapping into her childlike spirit to make the record, enlisting Madison Cunningham, stage presence inspiration from Karen O and more.

LA LOM stands for Los Angeles League of Musicians, paying homage to the trio's hometown. But with the release of their self-titled debut, LA LOM stands in a league of their own. Drawing inspiration from the diversity of the Los Angeles sound, the instrumental group blends everything from surf rock and rockabilly to cumbia and boleros. Bottom line, it's groovy. It's also unique — while it feels nostalgic of the '50s and '60s, the sound (consisting solely of guitar, drums and bass) somehow feels contemporary and exciting. Perhaps because few artists in dance music are bold enough to take such a simple and direct approach to music making. No fancy production or special effects needed for LA LOM to get you on your feet.Watch LA LOM perform “Danza de LA LOM,” “La Tijera” and “Alacrán” live at WNXP's Sonic Cathedral here.

The SEC Basketball Tournament has bounced from one host city to another, depending on the year, but now Nashville will be the host for the next decade. As mostly everyone will be filling out their bracket, there's a chance that more than 10 teams from the conference could potentially compete in the NCAA Tournament, making this tourney as close as we can get to a Final Four in Nashville.On this week's What Where When-sday, WPLN's Rachel Iacovone and WNXP's Marquis Munson talk about why the SEC chose Nashville as its host city and options for those trying to watch the games this week, including events at Acme Feed & Seed, Skydeck on Broadway and Music City Walk of Fame Park.

LA based artist Mereba dug into her Ethiopian roots and preserved some sage wisdom from her late father on her beautiful new album, "The Breeze Grew a Fire" which is our Record of the Week on WNXP.

In honor of David Lynch's passing, Nashville's Belcourt Theatre presents David Lynch: A Retrospective throughout the month of March, featuring showings of his work (Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet, Eraserhead and more) along with two seminars on his work. On this week's What Where When-sday, we talk with the theater's program director, Toby Leonard, about Lynch's legacy and impact on the film industry. 

Jasmine.4.t's album, “You Are The Morning” is so much more than a debut album and our Record of the Week. Behind the record, is a story that includes getting ripped off by a promoter in Bristol, a happenstance booking, journeying through self-actualization, being embraced by Boygenius, and making a historic recording in one of the United State's most famous studios.

This week for What Where When-sday we discuss Nashville's newest venue, The Pinnacle, opening Thursday night with Kacey Musgraves. We discuss different elements of the space — including parking. 

After songs like “Mirage” and “Dirty Dancer” saw huge streaming numbers, Orion Sun landed herself on countless “artists to watch” lists, and her debut was one of the most highly anticipated releases of 2024. The 14-song collection exceeded expectations and garnered the LA-based R&B artist fans across the globe. With her sensual delivery of vulnerable topics like heartbreak and self-discovery, Orion's modern take on the genre draws likeness from contemporaries like Frank Ocean and SZA.Watch Orion Sun perform “Already Gone” and “These Days” live at WNXP's Sonic Cathedral here. 

"The things that were so scary in life just become a part of it." Finding peace in every day's horrors is the theme of Bartees Strange's wonderful new album, Horror which is our Record of the Week on WNXP.

It's not just because the late Ted Lucas shared a hometown with Third Man Records co-founder and co-owner Ben Blackwell that the Detroit native became obsessed with reviving Lucas' music. But that surely sweetened the pot. The one and only solo LP by Lucas, self-titled and from 1975, is re-released on vinyl and with digital extra tracks on February 21. We learned more about the artist and these songs from Blackwell inside Third Man's Nashville HQ.

Liberia-born, Tennessee-based artist Mon Rovîa began his career making music more adjacent to alternative R&B. But it was after he stripped his songs back to a simple, binary presentation of voice and ukulele, that his music began connecting deeply via livestreams on TikTok. Fans and big time influencers were drawn to his meditative melodies and spiritually inquisitive, often uplifting lyrics. That led to millions of plays and a sold out tour, including a late January show at the Basement East celebrating his new EP, Act 4 – Atonement. Right Before that show Mon Rovia stopped by WNXP's Sonic Cathedral for a performance and an interview about his incredible journey.

This week for What Where When-sday, we discuss Requiem for Colour, a musical, literary and visual journey happening at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Belmont University this Tuesday. 

The synth-tastic indie rock quintet called New Translations (formerly known as Jive Talk) formed in Nashville by way of the chemical reaction of old friends combined with new acquaintances and a heavy dose of eastside bar magic, tale as old as time. They've since signed with local label War Buddha (led by two members of country rock trio The Cadillac Three) and recorded the majority of these new tracks at Polychrome Ranch in rural Hartsville, Tennessee with producer Jared Corder, one half of the celebrated regional band *repeat repeat. Before the release of New Translations' official debut full-length on Valentine's Day, bandmates Oliver Pierce (singer) and Andrés Ahogado (multi-instrumentalist) joined me at WNXP to talk about the making of Vacation.

This week for What Where When-sday, we discuss a panel discussion and musical performance celebrating Nashville soul singer Johnny Bragg happening at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Saturday. 

Our Record of the Week is from Freak Slug, which is the musical identity of Xenya Genovese. Her album, "I Blow Out Big Candles" is effortless, catchy and honestly, just a really fun time. She will be in Nashville playing at The Blue Room on March 18th.

This week for What Where When-sday, we discuss the National Museum of African American Music's Black History Month programming happening throughout the month of February. 

Recording artist Neko Case -- with more than a quarter-century as a solo artist and as a member of The New Pornographers -- has just published her memoir, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You. Hear Case in conversation with Celia Gregory about the book. A new full-length album is expected later this year.

British funk group Cymande's journey to Renascence has multiple different layers. From a successful debut album in 1972. Going on an extended hiatus only a couple of years later and a rediscovery of their music thanks to the early stages of hip hop with breakbeats and samples. Cymande returned with their first album in 41 years back in 2015 and now they've returned with a new album Renascence, this week's WNXP Record of the Week. 

English Teacher's highly anticipated LP This Could Be Texas is a perfect debut, even earning the esteemed Mercury Prize. The Leeds quartet held little to nothing back across the 13 song collection. With piano refrains, guitar riffs and poetic lyrics, the album defies genre, toeing the lines of post-punk and indie-prog and everything in between. It's expansive and sonically spacious without feeling too unapproachable.Frontwoman Lily Fontaine explains, “I want this album to feel like you've gone to space, and it turns out it's almost identical to Doncaster. It's about in-betweens, it's about home, and it's about Desire Paths.”Watch English Teacher perform “Broken Biscuits” and “Albatross” live at WNXP's Sonic Cathedral here. 

This week for What Where When-sday, we discuss 615 Indie Live happening this Saturday at various independent music venues across Nashville with Chris Cobb, the president of Music Venue Alliance Nashville. 

Dublin four-piece SPRINTS lives up to their band name with their frenetic, garage-punk sound. The fast-paced energy of their music is equally matched by frontwoman Karla Chubb's intense lyricism. The band's debut full length Letter To Self “transforms pain into truth, passion into purpose and perseverance into strength.” Chubb tackles issues like bodily autonomy, mental health and social injustice. The quartet channels this “negative energy” into a cathartic 40 minutes with moments of thrashing anger and melodic meltdowns. Similar to contemporary post-punk counterparts IDLES, SPRINTS aims to bring about change in the world, or at the very least, within ourselves. Chubb explains, “No matter what you're born into, or have experienced, there's a way to emerge from this and be happy within yourself.”Watch SPRINTS perform “Adore Adore Adore,” “Feast” and “Up and Comer” live at WNXP's Sonic Cathedral here.

The core members of NYC band Rubblebucket, Alex Toth and Kal Traver, joined us to talk about their seventh LP, 'Year of the Banana,' which is WNXP's Record of the Week the same week the group returns to Nashville on tour.

This week for What Where When-sday, we discuss the Echo Chamber Music Series at the Parthenon. It's happening this Sunday with Sista Strings, followed by two more shows in February and March. 

British singer-songwriter and guitarist Nilüfer Yanya released her third LP, My Method Actor, in September of 2024 and it made loads of reputed Best of the Year lists come December. We caught up with the artist on tour in October and discussed the record's symbolism, her continued collaboration with producer Will Archer, her fandom of PJ Harvey and more. Now it's WNXP's Record of the Week.

The British-born, Nashville-based artist Yola has a new EP called My Way. That's a fitting title for the work of a singer and songwriter who's resisted labels that others have put on her throughout her career. WNXP's Marquis Munson talked with the Nashville Artist of the Month about showing another side of herself musically. 

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day — with celebrations happening at Schermerhorn Symphony Center this weekend and the National Museum of African American Music on Monday. But this week for What Where When-sday, we discuss Nashville MLK Day with different events happening today through Monday. Cheryl Mayes is part of the planning committee.

Intense emotion expressed through slamming guitars is the hallmark of Ok Cowgirl's new album, "Couldn't Save Us From My Gut," our Record of the Week on WNXP. We caught up with lead singer Leah Lavigne on a porch in East Nashville to talk about it.

This week for What Where When-sday, we discuss Woven Nashville: An Evening of Music, Art, and Conversation hosted by Chuck Beard and Jason Eskridge happening tomorrow at the Frist Art Museum with special guest singer-songwriter Shannon LaBrie and host of WPLN's This is Nashville Khalil Ekulona. 

Magdalena Bay is an imaginative duo from LA who released “Imaginal Disk” an album chalked full of wild production and smooth beats that ended up on many End of the Year lists, including ours. Our Record of the Week is "Imaginal Disk" by Magdalena Bay.

Live music this week ranges from R&B with Eric Roberson at City Winery to a collection of artists at the Blue Room for Juanaroo and Mollaplooza. For more events, head over to WNXP.org/events. But this week for What Where When-sday, we discuss Sound Journey featuring Kayce Laine happening at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. 

For a songwriter, the muse can be illusive. But for WNXP's Nashville Artist of the Month, Gillian Welch, it was right in front of her eyes, and ours. In East Nashville, WNXP Music Reporter Justin Barney stumbled upon the inspiration for their new song.

Angélica Garcia is honoring her lineage. Born in Los Angeles by Mexican and El Salvadoran parents, Garcia was surrounded by music her entire life — her mother was a successful Latin pop recording artist — but it wasn't until her latest record Gemelo that she truly embraced her culture. The singer, songwriter (and dancer) fuses hybrid-pop with Hispanic influences, and now on Gemelo, she builds on this foundation by singing primarily in Spanish. The record explores the different stages and types of grief, but with a vibrant instrumentation that still feels fun and light-hearted.Watch Angélica Garcia perform “Juanita,” “Gemini” and “Paloma” from Gemelo live at WNXP's Sonic Cathedral here.

This week for What Where When-sday, we are talking holiday pop-ups with WPLN's own Rachel Iacovone. Listen to our conversation for family-friendly recommendations, and check out the list below for all the holiday takeovers at local bars. (Rachel and I did a Christmas bar crawl last year, which you can check out here.) 

Sven Gamsky doesn't want to be boxed in. The producer and musician who performs under the pseudonym Still Woozy has found comfort in psychedelic bedroom pop but continues to push the boundaries of his sonic approach. His sophomore effort Loveseat showcases this experimentation and vulnerability both lyrically and sonically. The expected synthesizers are still present but paired with sweet, layered vocals and occasional fuzzed-out guitars. The result is an expansive, welcoming 13-song collection that pushes Still Woozy's artistry to new heights.Watch Still Woozy perform stripped-down versions of “Lemon” and “Shotput” from Loveseat as well as the breakout single “Goodie Bag” live at WNXP's Sonic Cathedral here.

On the surface, Pearl & The Oysters (the brainchild of Juliette Pearl Davis [Juju] and Joachim Polack [Jojo]) could be described as a breezy indie pop band. But a closer listen surfaces the complexity and intentionality in their songwriting. From music school in Paris to making records in Los Angeles, Juju and Jojo have stayed loyal to their love of jazz. While it's a bit less obvious on their latest space-aged LP Planet Pearl, the jazz-inspired arrangements can still be heard throughout the synthscapes and bleeps and bloops of the feel-good album. The duo wrote the record from perspective of a space-dwelling castaway exploring Earth, but it touches on very human topics like mental health and the state of the world.There are few bands with as much chemistry as Pearl & The Oysters. It can be heard on every piece of work the duo has released, but becomes even more apparent when watching them live. Watch the band perform “Big Time,” “Side Quest” and “Pacific Ave” live at WNXP's Sonic Cathedral here.