The String

Rev. Sekou is an activist, writer, theologian and community organizer with a dense resume stretching back to before the 2000s. He says he found his calling at age 19 when he visited the Highlander Center, the research and education retreat in East TN where legions of civil rights activists have been trained and where the song 'We Shall Overcome' was adapted to the central struggle of the American 20th century. Sekou has been a pastor in New York and Boston. He's worked on the ground in Haiti after its devastating 2010 earthquake, in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and Ferguson, MO in 2014. But only in the last few years, in his mid 40s by the way, did Rev. Sekou step forward as a songwriter and singer, as a soul and blues man. He did grow up around music and attended college on a voice scholarship. He's been in some bands. But it's clear that in going on tour and recording his two albums The Revolution Has Come and In Times Like These, music has become a new way for Rev. Sekou to speak his truth and inspire his cause. This all made for a fascinating conversation. Also, an in-depth talk with John McEuen about why, after its 50th year, he parted ways with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and the process of writing his new autobiography, The Life I've Picked.

This week, two conversations with country music families at their heart. First, up a feature interview with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band co-founder Jeff Hanna and his wife, songwriter Matraca Berg. Matraca's mother wrote songs and had other family in the business. She's had a commanding career with numerous hits including the CMA song of the year 1997, "Strawberry Wine." Berg is also a deeply respected recording artist who makes albums as exceptional as they are rare. Hanna migrated to Music City from California, but he's got this family tradition thing down, evidence his son Jamie joining the newest iteration of the Dirt Band, which is touring with a new lineup after a profound shakeup. There's a lot of news in our talk about the reconfiguration of that important group. Later in the hour, Glen Campbell's daughter Ashley Campbell steps out on her own with a debut solo album. She's been recognized for her talents as a singer, songwriter and banjo player, but she's been through one of the ultimate family challenges. The Lonely One balances roots, country and pop.

In Nashville, the greatest guitar town in the world, Guthrie Trapp is at the top of the mountain. He can range across every style, improvise with endless invention and subtlety. He can shred or twang or drift elegantly. And most of the time, he's a sideman and studio player. A player in demand for being able to serve and enhance a song and do no more than what's called for. But he's also a mind-bending solo artist. And his second LP as a leader and composer came out this spring. It's called Life After Dark. Trapp has worked with Patty Loveless, Dolly Parton, Jerry Douglas, Garth Brooks, Rosanne Cash and many other greats. Currently he tours with John Oates in his solo configuration. But Guthrie's work as a leader ranks up there with the best guitar music being made today. For years he's led his own small group at a variety of Nashville venues, where he can really stretch out, refine his originals, indulge in some favorite old songs. He put out his first solo album in 2012, called Pick Peace, and it's an entirely instrumental project. This new one mingles instrumentals with guest aritists taking star turns on vocals - Jimmy Hall sings the blues. Charlie Worsham and Vince Gill sing country classics. Bekka Bramblett offers a stunning take on "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." It shows how much reverence he has among his peers in music city. I like what acoustic Americana star tim O'Brien says about Guthrie. "He'll blow you away but he'll never wear you out."

Kim Richey launched her career later than most, after her old friend and college band mate Bill Lloyd (of Foster & Lloyd) urged her to move to Music City. And after one of the most powerful executives in the music business introduced himself after a show and our guileless heroine had no idea who he was. Kim's crafty and tuneful mingling of folk, country and jangle pop was well formed when she released her debut album in 1995. Since then she's explored collaborations with diverse producers but maintained a through line to her sound and vibe that's made fans all over the world. She's one of Nashville's finest and she joins Craig to talk about her career and her new album Edgeland. Also, songwriter Tim Easton describes the experience of recording direct to lacquer disc in Bristol, just like the Carter Family did in 1927.

If nothing else was left behind about America in the 20th century but the lyrics to all the country songs written by the famous and the obscure, you'd have a pretty good catalog of what happened and how we worked and how we fought, how we loved each other and judged each other and murdered each other. How we socialized and danced and drank and raised families. That's no small feat for a genre of music. It's a more vivid and truthful diary of American life than the last 100 years of the New York times. And it's this granular sense for the music in all its human revelation that has sparked a rush of interest in the story of country music in the 20th century as told by Tyler Mahan Coe. Another reason it's gotten attention is that it's not a big doorstop of a book. It's a podcast. It's called Cocaine & Rhinestones. Craig sits down to learn the background and vision of this sudden hit.