Howdy Friends, Tomorrow morning from 9am-noon (CST) I'll be back on the airwaves hosting Back to the Country. It recently occurred to me that I have previously created BTTC shows about RCA Victor, Capitol Records, Columbia Records, and even Mercury Records, but I have yet to do a show that focuses on the fifth major label of the '50s--Decca Records--and all of their amazing country music contributions. UNTIL NOW!
Starday, Hodags, Classic Cars, Necco Wafers, WORT-FM, Root Beer, Dogs, Record Collecting, an Mosrite
Nathan D. Gibson, PhD Musician, Ethnomusicologist, Folklorist, and Audio-Visual Preservation Archivist, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Decca Delights with Nate Gibson on Back to the Country WORT 89.9FM 7/13/22
Friday, June 24, 2022
Nate Gibson & the Stars of Starday in More Record Stores
I recently returned from a trip to Nashville and I'm happy to report that the Nate Gibson & the Stars of Starday double LP is now available at the following fantastic record store locations:
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
Back to the Country: Country Music Pet Sounds
Howdy Friends, I'm sure most of y'all are familiar with the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" and Pink Floyd's "Several Species of Small Furry Animals...," but I'm here to remind you that country musicians have also been incorporating animal sound effects into their recordings for nearly 100 years.
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Back to the Country: The Trumpet In Country Music
Tomorrow's theme is the history of the trumpet in country music and I'll be covering a chronological retrospective of amazing trumpet playing from 1930-present. For sure, there'll be some western swing, some spaghetti western, some Tex-Mex, some rockabilly, some cowboy songs, some country soul, and a whole lot more.
As a trumpet player myself, I consider this show to be my manifesto for the trumpet as the quintessential country music instrument. I'm guessing Hank Penny, Al Dexter, Merle Travis, Tom T. Hall, and Danny Davis already agree with me, but if you need further convincing, please tune in! 89.9 FM in Southern Wisconsin or www.wortfm.org to stream!
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
FinnFest USA Presentation this Saturday on Fin-A-Billy: American Roots Music and Rebellion in Finland
Howdy Friends, I will be giving a virtual talk about my research in Finland for FinnFest USA's Folk Arts Series this Saturday and I welcome any and all interested friends to attend. The title of the presentation is "Fin-A-Billy: American Roots Music and Rebellion in Finland."
During the 1970s, there was an enormous American roots music boom in Finland, spawning hundreds of Fin-A-Billy (Finnish rockabilly, country, bluegrass, blues, and related genres) bands with thousands of fans. Folklorist and ethnomusicologist Nathan Gibson will share his research and musical samples of the ways many Finns have connected with American culture through American roots music over the last 60 years.
Please register for this free virtual event here.
Co-sponsored by Finn Fest USA and the Nordic Folklife project at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the folk arts series features artists, community members, culture workers, and scholars—all experts in various forms of Finnish folk arts. Links to the virtual program will be sent to your registered email address one day in advance of the event.
Although this event is free and open to anyone who can and wants to take part, we do hope you will consider donating to the Finn Fest USA organization, whose hard work and dedication makes events like this possible. If you have the ability to donate any amount of money to Finn Fest to support future programming, please visit their donation page here. Thank you for your generosity.
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Capitol for Capital: The WORT Winter Pledge Drive Show
Howdy Friends, I'll be back on the air tomorrow morning from 9-noon CST hosting Back to the Country on WORT 89.9fm. This week is the final week of our Winter Pledge Drive, so I'll be laying down some serious Capitol in hopes of raising some serious capital for WORT.
Monday, February 7, 2022
The Starday Studio Is Being Demolished. My Response...
There was a recent article in the Madisonian about the Starday Studio getting demolished soon and many of my friends have been messaging me about it. This is my response: