Wired In is a monthly series produced by WMOT 89.5, a listener-supported, 100,000-watt public radio station. Each episode of Wired In features a performance from a high-profile Americana artists or bands. Recent Wired lineups include Allison Russell, Sam Bush, Dan Tyminski, American Aquarium, The Steel Wheels, Yola, Parker Millsap, Lilly Hiatt, Todd Snider, Lukas Nelson & POTR, Maggie Rose, Margo Price, and Mike Farris.

You can join the WMOT Wired In Sessions when you support WMOT with a minimum donation of $20 per month (or a one-time donation of $240.) As a Wired In Member, you’ll receive monthly e-mails with the first opportunity to reserve seats for you and a guest.

Thunder and Rain is a newgrass band based in Nashville. They weave together bluegrass instrumentation with award winning songwriting inspired by pop, country, classic rock and old time. Three part harmony and sing-along choruses support image-rich lyricism and thunderous banjo / fiddle drive. In their decade-long career, the band has shared the stage with Billy Strings, Krueger Brothers, Peter Rowan, AJ Lee and Blue Summit and Brothers Comatose. “Run With You”, a single released in 2020, was selected for the IBMA Songwriter Showcase 2023. Founding member and band leader Erinn Peet Lukes pursued her songwriting and performing career through major music hubs until she landed in Colorado in 2013, where Thunder and Rain formed from the Denver bluegrass scene. They’ve recorded three studio albums and toured the US, Canada, Ireland and the UK.  The band’s bluegrass take on popular songs on YouTube have amassed hundreds of thousands of views. After the pandemic thwarted tour plans and band momentum in 2020, Lukes’ moved to Nashville where she met Amelia Ransom (fiddle) and Laura Ray (banjo). They hit it off right away and decided to reform the band with an emphasis on their strong three-part harmony and more traditional feel. They are rounded out on tour by upright bassist Andrew Tyler Brown. The band is releasing their fourth studio album, Storybook Sessions, on October 11th, 2024.

www.thunderandrainmusic.com

Wired In is a monthly series produced by WMOT 89.5, a listener-supported, 100,000-watt public radio station. Each episode of Wired In features a performance from a high-profile Americana artists or bands. Recent Wired lineups include Allison Russell, Sam Bush, Dan Tyminski, American Aquarium, The Steel Wheels, Yola, Parker Millsap, Lilly Hiatt, Todd Snider, Lukas Nelson & POTR, Maggie Rose, Margo Price, and Mike Farris.

Randall Bramblett is a lifer. For decades, he's explored the deep corners and outer orbits of American roots music, creating a southern sound that's every bit as eclectic as its maker. He is a highly accomplished musician, singer, songwriter and bandleader known for his genre-blending style and creative song imagery. Bramblett first became known as a skilled touring sideman, his talent earned him the respect of rock’s finest. Highlights – he toured in the Gregg Allman Band, joined Sea Level with Chuck Leavell, recorded/toured with Cowboy, spent 16 years in Steve Winwood’s band, including the Traffic Reunion Tour. His songs were covered by Bonnie Raitt, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Delbert McClinton, and more. He’s been the horn leader for Widespread Panic, and also tours in Marc Cohn’s band.

It’s a huge tribute to his songwriting to have soul/blues icon Bettye LaVette release an entire album of his songs in 2023, and have that album nominated for a Grammy this February.  Super-producer Steve Jordan brought in Steve Winwood, John Mayer, Jon Batiste, Larry Campbell and more to play on it!

   Life Literacy Education, a Kentucky-based non-profit, is dedicated to empowering at-risk youth through financial literacy and career development classes. On October 3rd, a lineup of passionate individuals, including J Dewveall, Austin Mayse, John M, Tom Hampton, Emily Lehr, Julia Cannon, Jessey DeSilva, Suzie Chism, and Van Plating, will come together to raise funds. Your support will enable LLE to continue providing vital life skills courses to those who need them the most.

Life Literacy Education

Fans have loved Carrie Welling’s music from the inception and it’s clear to see why. Her bold, sultry voice, reminiscent of Sheryl Crow’s grit, Tom Petty’s pen, and Stevie Nicks’ heart, is upstaged only by the genuine love and connection this performer has with her fans both on and off stage. Welling’s latest album, A Crack in the Chaos, invites listeners on a journey to search for the joy in the turmoil - the glimmer of light that always guides us. Melodies rich in Americana pop blend seamlessly with her singer-songwriter roots and empowered, honest lyrics. But while this new collection of songs maintains Welling’s signature raw vulnerability and authenticity - qualities that are essential to her creative process - fans will certainly take note of a more mature and evolved sound. Produced by Bobby Holland at Pentavrit Studio, A Crack in the Chaos features collaborations with Nashville’s top-tier musicians, including co-writers Brad Sample, Craig Wilson, Eric Erdman, Donny Brewer, and the vocals Eric Holljes of Delta Rae. Imbued with a sense of power and sophistication, the album found its own light in the support of a successful Kickstarter campaign and Welling’s loyal Patreon community of emotional anchors, which she fondly calls her “Wellos.” 

www.carriewelling.com

“We are soldiers/in the army/we have to fight/we also have to cry'', says one of the Civil Rights lyrics (performed by vocalist Fay Victor on the Ribot-directed, multi-artist album "Songs Of Resistance” [2018, Anti-]). We also have to...laugh, rant, party...and improvise.  Songs of Resistance in duo (Marc Ribot, joined by multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily) use radical rearrangements of some of the material from the 2018 Anti- release as a jumping off point plus new material, improvisation and…whatever else reaps urgency.  Songs of Resistance Duo are in it for the long haul…not “protest song” per se…but an approach to the history of resistance songs that resists the cliched dysfunction of our present, and performs the freedom we demand from the future.

Songs of Resistance — marc ribot

Bug has a way of writing and producing songs that make you think, smile, laugh, and every now and then, cry. He writes stories, that become songs. His words are well thought and clever, with tunes that keep you repeating the chorus over and over when you should be thinking about something else. We love that he is a real person, who is on the other side of the world from us, who feels more like a mate, than the music icon he is fast becoming. Take It Back was one out of the box, a totally different story to his usual, and like all of his songs, it made you think, and when you’re in the right mood, cry. TAMMY WILSON, ON "TAKE IT BACK"

“Throw folk storytelling, five-rounds-rapid punk monologues and some sloppy rap into a blender, hit ‘liquify’ and forget about it until you come back half an hour later to find it dripping from the kitchen walls, seeping into the gap between the oven and the sideboard, your cat lapping apathetically at a congealing pool next to the fridge, your cockatiel in a flap around the ceiling lamp panicking lumps out of its tailfeathers and into your morning coffee.

MEET & GREET BEGINS AT 5PM!!!!!

Bug Hunter - Merch, Tickets, Lyrics and Albums (bughunterbug.com)

An all star group of Nashville’s best funk players. Members include Seth Fox, Ben Classon, Jake Blumberg of LadyCouch, With members of more than 20 different Nashville bands collectively You won’t be disappointed.

Bronwyn Keith-Hynes has long been renowned as a prolific instrumentalist, earning two IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year awards as well as a Grammy for her work with Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway. But on her latest album I Built a World, the Charlottesville native unlocks an impressive new sound: her voice.

www.bronwynkeithhynes.com

It's not always easy to sum up a career - let alone a life's ambition - so succinctly, but those five words from Robert Earl Keen's calling-card anthem do just that. You can complete the lyric with the next five words - the ones routinely shouted back at Keen by thousands of fans a night "and the party never ends!" - just to punctuate the point with a flourish, but it's the part about the journey that gets right to the heart of Keen’s legacy. From the get-go, Keen wanted to write and sing his own songs, and to keep writing and singing them for as long as possible.

Robert Earl Keen | Official Website

Kiely Connell Music .com

Big Shoes members have played and recorded with Bonnie Raitt, Van  Morrison, Delbert McClinton, Taj Mahal, Etta James, Bobby Blue Bland  and many other great artists. Keyboardist, Mark T. Jordan was band member on the Van Morrison classic album “Tupelo Honey”, Bonnie Raitt’s “Road Tested” live and scores of other albums that can only be classified as “music history.’ Guitarist Will McFarlane has contributed to albums by Levon Helm, Joss Stone, Bonnie Raitt and Bobby “Blue” Bland. 

The Americana Roots SuperGroup (bigshoesband.com)

The sensational and uproarious East Nashville Facebook Page: The Musical is back and bigger than ever -- and this time, it's happening in the heart of East Nashville on the high holy days of Tomato Arts Fest! Following it's buzzworthy premiere at last year's Kindling Art's Festival, Emma Supica and her band of merry misfits at Cherry Bomb have expanded their musical revue of the social media group you simply can’t look away from: The East Nashville Facebook Page. This whirlwind, partially-improvised theatrical delight takes on the city’s most revered and despised news source, celebrated with full fanfare and catchy songs. Whether it’s a very naughty piece of furniture, a missed connection waiting to happen at the Eastland Kroger, or getting obnoxiously day-drunk in the name of celebrating a red fruit, this hilarious romp will remind you of all the reasons you love living in Music City – and maybe even a few reasons why you hate it, too! You won't want to miss this new edition of the cult classic, featuring new songs by Cherry Bomb and some extra special tomato surprises. 

Kenny Sharp is an emerging singer/songwriter/producer from the Washington D.C. area. Discovered and developed by Lunch money Lewis, Kenny has worked the past several years between Los Angeles, Miami, and Nashville.

Kenny Sharp Official Website (brownliquormusic.live)

“How the f**k are we going to turn this into a song?” That’s the question Lou Barlow and John Davis have asked themselves since co-founding the Folk Implosion in the early 1990s. Beginning with improvised jams featuring Barlow on bass and Davis on drums, the duo develop their beat-driven pop collages from the ground up. It’s the process they used on their debut cassette, Walk Through This World with the Folk Implosion, and one they’ve returned to 30 years later on their spellbinding, self-referencing reunion, Walk Thru Me. Separated from their homes in Massachusetts and North Carolina, Barlow and Davis collaborated remotely, flashing back to their early friendship as penpals. A sweaty bass and drums session went down in Barlow’s attic, before they booked studio time with producer Scott Salter (St. Vincent, Spoon, The Mountain Goats). Contrasts and comparisons are the keys to unlocking Walk Thru Me, and the Folk Implosion as a whole. Beyond the audible differences between Barlow’s soft voice and Davis’s urgent, reedy proclamations, their approaches to songwriting are strikingly distinct. While Barlow approached his lyrics from a protective paternal perspective (“My Little Lamb”), Davis paid tribute to his late father, shining a light on their complicated relationship (“The Day You Died”).

Music | The Folk Implosion 

Charles Walker was born in Nashville, Tennessee on July 12, 1940. Charles or “Wigg,” as he is known by his friends (his mother nicknamed him when he was born with a full head of hair), began singing at an early age in church and school. He cut his first record in 1959 for Ted Jarrett’s legendary Champion label. One cut, “Slave To Love,” was credited to Charles Walker and the Daffodils. In fact, there was no such group as the Daffodils. The backup singers on the record were label mates the Kinglets and Larry Birdsong.

In 1960, Charles moved to New York City where studios and nightclub work were plentiful. 1962 found Charles recording with Chess Records out of Chicago, and soon he signed on as lead singer with the J.C. Davis Band. This band began touring the country opening for the greats of the era including James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Etta James, Wilson Pickett, Little Willie John, Otis Redding, and Sam Cooke. The J.C. Davis Band recorded some real barnstormers for Chess like “Sweet Sweet Love” and “The Chicken Scratch.”

Legendary soul singer, Charles 'Wigg' Walker, official site (charleswiggwalker.com)

Riverside Frish Fry

Wired In is a monthly series produced by WMOT 89.5, a listener-supported, 100,000-watt public radio station. Each episode of Wired In features a performance from a high-profile Americana artists or bands. Recent Wired lineups include Allison Russell, Sam Bush, Dan Tyminski, American Aquarium, The Steel Wheels, Yola, Parker Millsap, Lilly Hiatt, Todd Snider, Lukas Nelson & POTR, Maggie Rose, Margo Price, and Mike Farris.

Tommy Prine's debut album This Far South (June 2023) was not only a long-awaited introduction but a testimony to Prine's 20s and the loss, love, and growth that has defined them. Co-produced by a close friend and kindred musical spirit, Ruston Kelly, and beloved Nashville engineer and producer, Gena Johnson, the album is rich and dynamic from cathartic jams to nostalgic storytelling. Celebrating the album’s first year, Tommy is releasing a deluxe version of the record on June 21, 2024 - featuring reimagined versions, a special guest and a brand new song.

TOMMY PRINE

LONESOME JOY

NASHVILLE! K-pop girl group VIVIZ are coming to the USA for the first time ever on their 2024 VIVIZ WORLD TOUR [V.hind : Love and Tears]. The girls are ready to meet and perform for their fans on July 28, 2024 at Riverside Revival 

VIVIZ are prepared to do a full musical takeover of the city. The VIVIZ discography is filled with unforgettable hits and concepts that take listeners on a journey of mesmerizing vocals and incredible dance moves. The wait is finally over - VIVIZ are bringing the energy stateside.



The Hi-Jivers are a 4 piece Rock n' Roll/ Rhythm and Blues band that play music inspired by the 50's and 60's but modernize with their passionate and wild originals. The vocalist, Dawna Zahn is a powerhouse soulful singer who has the dynamic ability to resurrect her favorite blues artists like Howlin' Wolf and Big Mama Thornton with ease. She is accompanied by her husband, Austin John whose guitar arsenal has the maturity of a well seasoned blues guitarist, but with the sting of an explosive rock n' roller.

THE HI-JIVERS | ROCK N' ROLL | U.S. (thehijivers.com)

Riverside Fish Fry

All his life, Eddie 9V (9-volt) has acted on instinct. Aged just 15, this old-soul artist turned away from the path of college and jobs to burst all guns blazing onto the roots and blues club circuit of his native Atlanta, Georgia. Flash forward to 2019, and for his debut album, Left My Soul In Memphis, the prodigious multi-instrumentalist simply powered up the amps in his mobile trailer and with his brother/co-writer/producer, Lane Kelly, laid down one of the year’s breakout releases, acclaimed as “fresh and life-affirming” by Rock & Blues Muse. “Memphis was a total side project,” shrugs Eddie, “that ended up taking off.”  

Eddie 9 Volt

Riverside Fish Fry

From the alluring southern city of Macon, Georgia and a family steeped in oral tradition, JB Strauss meshes music with storytelling in effortless fashion. Influenced by the heavy, electric style of bands like The Allman Brothers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Lynyrd Skynyrd along with poetic and witty writers like John Prine, Gram Parsons, and Jim Croce, it is fitting JB borrows from the notion that ‘everything that rises must converge.’ Also noteworthy are the years JB spent with family and friends on Georgia’s Golden Isles. His music is redolent of the intricacies and depth of life in the marshes and intracoastal waterways and leans on their life-giving elements to feed the soul when the rivers of home run murky.

As JB followed in both of his grandfathers’ footsteps, achieving a law degree all his own, he learned the stories hidden beneath the surface of life in the South. The musical result is an ability to deftly balance the human qualities of contradiction with spiritual redemption. “These songs are part of the foundation of who I am as a person and now as an artist,” JB says.

JB’s first full length studio album, Saints of the South, is set for release May 9, 2024 and features the moody redemption song, “Ocmulgee Moon,” good time boot stomper “Worth a Whiskey,” and “Abilene,” a catchy country song with a class rock feel.

JB STRAUSS

Ford Cooper born and raised in Clarksville, Tennessee, is an emerging musical talent whose soulful melodies and introspective lyrics resonate with audiences worldwide. From the gritty sounds of 90’s grunge to the smooth rhythms of neo-soul, Ford’s musical journey is a testament to thetransformative power of music and the boundless possibilities of artistic expression. As his musical horizons expanded, Ford’s journey took a pivotal turn when he discovered the groundbreaking work of Jimi Hendrix. Entranced by Hendrix’s virtuoso guitar playing and innovative approach to blending blues, rock, and R&B. Ford delved deeper into the rich tapestry of musical genres exploring the soulful soulful sounds of artists like Marvin Gaye, D’Angelo and Erykah Badu. From this he began crafting his own unique sound, a fusion of smooth grooves, heartfelt lyrics, and infectious melodies. Ford Cooper is releasing his first EP with the single “All I Ever Say” about his personal issues with mental health. He hopes those who are experiencing the same relate to the song.

Traler Park, featuring Dallas Davidson, Jamey Johnson, Jerrod Niemann, Lee Brice, Randy Houser, and Rob Hatch, is coming together to perform in the Round for a night of music, song and stories benefitting the Nikki Mitchell Foundation. The Nikki Mitchell Foundation is dedicated to providing comfort and relief for those affected by pancreatic cancer, while raising awareness and searching for the cure.

 Nmf Foundation 

Join us for an unforgettable evening of music and charity! The Songwriters' Round and Silent Auction is your opportunity to support Life Literacy Education, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing career development and financial literacy education to those from disadvantaged backgrounds. At LLE, our goal is to provide you with the tools to become what you want to be, not tell you what you should be. This event will feature Willie Carver, former Kentucky Teacher of the Year and an advocate for LGBTQ+ and diversity.

The night will also showcase talented artists such as Rachael Sage, Veronica Stanton, Sarah Rudy, Will Payne Harrison, and J. Dewveall, Mark Robert Cash, and Austin Mayse. Your attendance at the Songwriters' Round and Silent Auction will help us achieve our mission of empowering individuals through education. Don't miss this opportunity to make a difference!

College Application Assistance | Life Literacy Education

The Band left behind a timeless legacy of unforgettable music and a vast catalog of fabled songs. Band members Garth Hudson, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko and Robbie Robertson embodied a musical alchemy that has been firmly cemented in myth and legend. Their impact on rock music and culture is permanently etched in the hallowed halls of American history.

Officially approved by Robbie Robertson, Chest Fever is comprised of keyboardist Jody Bagley, guitarist Dan Cervantes, and bassist Blake Dean of the San Diego Music Award winning rock band Mrs. Henry, rounded out with organist/saxophonist Ben Pinnola, and drummer Allan Ritter.

“We set out from the get-go to interpret these songs rather than recreate or pay tribute” explains Bagley. Dean continues, “Like Leonard Bernstein, the goal is to bring to life compositions from one of the great catalogs in the history of music. We like to say at every show: “We are a band playing the Band’s music.” Our band is Mrs. Henry, performing as Chest Fever. It’s like Bruce Wayne by day and Batman by night.”

Chest Fever - The Official Revival of The Band 

A young Josiah Queen, only 9 years old, attended a young adults’ conference with tens of thousands of believers in Kansas City, accompanied by his parents. Amidst the buzz of the event, he encountered God for the first time, and his life was completely changed. After this event, Josiah recalls having the desire to write his own worship songs.

Guided by the verses of Psalms from the Bible, Josiah translated his newfound spiritual connection into melodies on his piano. The words of the scriptures became the building blocks of his compositions, infusing his music with a depth that resonates with the human experience.

Josiah Queen

Jimmy Hall first gained popularity as the lead vocalist, saxophonist, and harmonica player for the band Wet Willie, emerging from Mobile, Alabama. His unique brand of R&B-infused rock and roll and onstage swagger propelled the group’s signature song Keep on Smilin’ to the Top 10 on the Billboard singles chart in 1974.  After seven albums with Capricorn Records, Wet Willie moved forward to Epic Records releasing the singles Street Corner Serenade and Weekend. Both singles hit the US Top 40 and five other songs were placed in the Billboard Top 100. 

His songs have been recorded by Gregg Allman, Jason Isbell, The Marshall Tucker Band, Blackberry Smoke, The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Johnny Russell, and many others. Additionally, Jimmy has been a vocalist and bandleader for Hank Williams, Jr. since 1992. Over the years, Jimmy has been involved in other musical endeavors including The Nighthawks, BHLT (Betts, Hall Leavell, and Trucks), the Gregg Allman Band, and has appeared as a featured guest artist with multiple groups. 

When Jackson Stokes latest solo release, Passengers Volume One, arrived as a contender for Rock’s Top 20 chart in October of 2023, Jackson Stokes posted another notch on his growing list of accolades. Whether as a seasoned bandleader, sought-after ensemble player, or valued collaborator, the rock/soul singer-songwriter from St Louis, Missouri continues to rise as a coveted musical commodity. And with tens of thousands of touring miles logged across four continents- including, in 2023, a World Record achievement; performing 50 shows in 50 U.S. states in 49 days with the Devon Allman Project and Donavon Frankenreiter- Stokes is, as well, the consummate rock-and-roll road dog.

Jimmy Hall

Jackson Stokes

The seventh full-length from four-time Grammy Award-winner Sarah Jarosz, Polaroid Lovers is an album-long meditation on those strangely ephemeral moments that indelibly shape our lives. “What I love about a Polaroid is that it's capturing something so fleeting, but at the same time it makes that moment last forever,” says the Texas-born singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist. “It made sense as a title for a record where all the songs are snapshots of different love stories, and there's a feeling of time being expansive despite that impermanence.” Thanks to the rarefied alchemy that infuses all of Jarosz's output—her finely wrought lyricism, ravishing vocal work, virtuosic yet unfettered musicality—Polaroid Lovers performs the much-needed magic of leading us toward a heightened sense of presence, all while casting a lovely spell with her timelessly powerful songs.

John R Miller is a true hyphenate artist: singer-songwriter-picker. Every song on his thrilling upcoming debut solo album, Depreciated, is lush with intricate wordplay and haunting imagery, as well as being backed by a band that is on fire.  One of his biggest long-time fans is roots music favorite Tyler Childers, who says he’s “a well-travelled wordsmith mapping out the world he’s seen, three chords at a time.” Miller is somehow able to transport us to a shadowy honkytonk and get existential all in the same line with his tightly written compositions. Miller’s own guitar-playing is on fine display here along with vocals that evoke the white-waters of the Potomac River rumbling below the high ridges of his native Shenandoah Valley. 

Doors will open at 6pm. RSVP through your Wired In email invite.

 Sarah Jarosz 

John R. Miller 

WHAT IT IS... CELEBRATING THE QUEEN OF SOUL - is a new concept Heidi Burson has created over the last 5 years to celebrate the music of Aretha Franklin. It encompasses jaw dropping powerhouse vocals and a 11 piece band which truly capture the essence of what Aretha did in her live performances. An unrivaled fantastic show you don't want to miss and you'll never forget! Come celebrate the Queen of Soul on her birthday weekend! HEIDI BURSON is a Nashville staple who has deservedly carved out a spot for herself in the soul music community here performing regularly in a gospel brunch at Hall's Chophouse every Sunday, Eddie V’s and has been featured at Bluebird Cafe, The Listening Room, 3rd & Lindsley and Sunday Night Soul at the 5 Spot. She draws her inspiration from the likes of Aretha Franklin, Jill Scott, Ray Charles and Carole King to name a few.

MATT MARTINO... We begin the night with an opening set from this fantastic songwriter and over all amazing human. Music was the first and is the purest expression of creativity for Matt. As his career began on a traditional path, he found success in Nashville as a songwriter and artist. Music from his debut release “Let it Shine” was featured in multiple network television shows, advertisements, an independent film, was featured on the Grammy ballot in six categories, received scores of positive reviews, and garnered the DISCovery Award from Music Row Magazine. Since then, Martino has forged ahead with a more non-traditional approach, and his music has become a soundtrack for his increasingly diverse, multi-faceted, life.

Music – Matt Martino

Heidi Burson

A southern-rock jam band fronted by Thompson and co-founder Keshia Bailey, LadyCouch brings together a lineup of songwriters, horn players, harmony singers, and first-rate instrumentalists. The result is a larger-than-life sound inspired by the revue bands of the 1970s, bringing a contemporary approach to the timeless influence of Delaney & Bonnie, Little Feat, and Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen. Funky and fiercely loyal, LadyCouch's members are a community unto themselves, writing optimistic songs about the struggles and triumphs that connect us all. 

LADYCOUCH

All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the March 21st show.