Over the four days of the 2023 Earl Scruggs Music Festival, held at the Tryon International Equestrian Center over Labor Day weekend, I was alternately emceeing performances, working with WNCW staff, taking in as much music as possible and talking with artists when I had the chance.

Here, I spoke with Michael Daves, the renowned guitarist who has played with folks like Chris Thile, Steve Martin, Aoife O'Donovan, Rosanne Cash and Tony Trischka, in addition to his own recordings; songwriter, author and speaker David Lamotte, who performed with the Fine Tuned showcase; Josh Carter of the old-time renaissance band Pretty Little Goat as well as Dean Jenks, who played extensively with Earl Scruggs’ brother Horace. Each pulled questions from a hat, which resulted in animated conversations that found myself and each artist wandering into a kind of zone of roots music serendipity each time they would dig out one of the twenty questions.

Photo credits: Cora Wagoner (Michael Daves, David Lamotte); Eli Johnson (Pretty Little Goat); Joe Kendrick

Songs heard in this episode:

“Flint Hill Special” by Flatt & Scruggs

“If I Should Wander Back Tonight” by Chris Thile and Michael Daves, from Sleep With One Eye Open, excerpt

“Heavy Traffic Ahead” by Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys, excerpt

“Rock Salt & Nails” by J.D. Crowe and the New South, excerpt

Thank you for visiting us and giving this podcast a listen! This series is a part of the lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs. A big thank you to everyone at the The Earl Scruggs Music Festival, The Earl Scruggs Center, Tryon International Equestrian Center and WNCW for their roles in making this episode possible.

This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Artist stereotypes do not apply

How many times have parents cringed when their children fell in love with a musician? Let's be honest, the world has looked askance at artists of all stripes (with notable exceptions) for most of our history. Musicians tend to be thought of as people who may be great at their art but who are nonetheless pretty bad at life skills like paying bills, getting to work on time, and sticking with the missus.

Aaron turns all those stereotypes on their head; he is not only a fantastic songwriter and musician, but he also runs his own construction business and is a devoted family man living a stone's throw from where he grew up in the western NC mountains. He is as meticulous and intense about his guitar and ballads as he is about his green built homes and raising his two girls.

As you'll see in our pilot episode, Aaron does both life and art exceptionally well. The folks around him are a big part of that.