#ARSC2026 in Memphis Was A Great One!

 I just returned from a week in Memphis and as one might expect, a wonderful time was had. I figure now is as good a time as any to share some pics and gratitudes.

My primary reason for going was the annual Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) conference–a unique gathering of a-v archivists, audio preservation engineers, meticulous record collectors, and some of the world’s best music researchers–and spent my week studying up on the latest copyright and fair use legalese, enjoying Robert Gordon’s thoughtful plenary on Memphis music, listening to Frank Bruno and Trey Brown’s Memphis small-label history, Craig Maki’s deep dive into Vic Gallon (w/ Starday connections!), David Evan’s and Kip Lornell’s insightful presentations on university-based record labels, Richard and Meaghan’s Archeophone collaboration with the Library of Congress, Patrick Feaster’s hilarious and fascinating research on the earliest phonograph, the history and scope of the National Recording Preservation Act with Matthew Barton, Patrick Midtlyng, David Seubert, and others, as well as papers and advice on moving archival collections, advocating for audio preservation to university admin, exploring audio survey and assessment tools, the roles of AI within some archives, and so much more. I also particularly enjoyed the collector’s roundtable on Friday night with Mark Atnip and Martin Fisher’s brilliant cylinder recording demonstration on Saturday afternoon. It was an honor to get to sing and play “Sea of Heartbreak” along with my pals Craig Maki and Frank Youngwerth as Martin cut a 2-minute wax cylinder of our performance. It was also a blast to hear and clap along to Filip Sir’s Czech-language, anti-Nazi protest version of “Deep In the Heart of Texas”--Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

As with every good academic conference, there was a lot of great discussion and camaraderie, a lot of communal meals, as well as the usual sharing of pet and recently-found record photos between presentations. There were far too many friends present to mention everyone by name, but it was truly great to see so many colleagues and pals in Memphis and to meet so many new folks as well. I loved chatting about record label obsessions with Jay Bruder, Cary Ginnell, Christian Stanfield, Lance and April of Dust-to-Digital, and so many others. I particularly enjoyed rooming with my old pal Patrick Feaster, former ARSC president, brilliant scholar, and all-around good dude. It was also a thrill to spend so much time exploring local barbeque haunts and talking music with my musical pals Craig Maki and Deke Dickerson. I will forever remember this conference as the one where Deke zipped away one night and came back the next morning to ask, ‘Hey, wanna play Grady Martin’s six-string bass?’ What?!?! The one that was played on the first ever fuzz record (Marty Robbins), and Johnny Horton’s best rockers, and just about every Patsy Cline recording? Of course, I do!! Many thanks again, Deke!

It was also the ARSC where I got to reconnect with my former high school bandmate, Matt Timberlake. What a joy to eat bbq and jam with the legend who invited me to join my first ever rock band–the Fuzzbuckets. Not only did we get to jam through several of the Fuzz’s greatest hits, I particularly enjoyed hearing him sing some Merle Haggard! I also appreciated him setting up a gig for me on Saturday night at The Cove with Big Barton, a 5-piece Memphis honky-tonk treasure! A grand time was had by all! There were several dogs in the audience. I was asked to play a 2nd solo set after my first one. I sold out of merch. And a kind couple at the bar even bought me a pizza.

And of course, Memphis was a great host city! I arrived early to check out Goner and Shangri-La–both awesome record stores (I even found an undocumented Starday custom 45 at Shangri-La)! I went to a Memphis Redbirds game and the first basement of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (AAA of the Florida Marlins) even pointed me out and threw me an inning-ending baseball! I randomly ran into some rockabilly lookin’ musicians outside the Sun Records studio and they invited me to their show at the HiTone Cafe that night–turns out, the Hotrod Hillbillies r-o-c-k and are coming to WI for Symco soon! Thanks again, Xavier and Angel! I toured the Sun Records studio again and appreciated seeing Dewey Phillips’ recreated studio, went to the Stax museum for the first time and dug Isaac Hayes’ Cadillac and the Hall of Records, went to Beale Street with Patrick and Craig and drank a milkshake, ate some incredible BBQ on Deke’s recommendations, and explored some of the historic sites including the Lorraine Motel (now home to the Civil Rights Museum), the Arcade (oldest diner in Memphis), and the site of Johnny Cash’s first gig to name a few. I also went to a garage sale and scored some great and local rock’n’roll records from Theo Dasbach!

Not quite sure how to top that for a conference, but Matthew Barton, ARSC and Memphis, y’all done well! #arscAnd many thanks to Memphis pals Matt Timberlake, Jeremy Shrader, Jesse Williams, Zac Ives, Christian Stanfield, Rockey the Rockin’ Redbird, and everyone else for the warm welcome and southern hospitality!

Upcoming Solo Set at The Cove w/ Big Barton in Memphis, TN Saturday 5/16

Howdy Memphis Friends--I'm excited to share that I'll be doing a rare solo set at The Cove's Honky-Tonk Night along with Big Barton next Saturday, 5/16. 7:30 showtime. It's where rock and roll began!

Specifically, Memphis is where my friend Matt Timberlake now lives and he's the dude who first taught me about how to rock and roll. While we were in high school, Matt invited me to join his band, The Fuzzbuckets. It was my first time in a band and we had some pretty memorable gigs. We even won a HS Battle of the Bands. Matt introduced me to the Flaming Lips. And to Man Or Astro-Man? And to the New York Dolls. He also wrote some killer originals, rocked a sweet Gibson Les Paul, and even though I was just playing trumpet and keys and occasionally shouting along, it forever changed my life goals and trajectory.

Next Saturday he'll join me and we'll sing some Merle Haggard tunes for you! It will be epic. Hope to see y'all there!

Rock'n'Roll Banjo on Back to the Country (WORT 89.9FM) on 5/5

There are lots of different things you can do with a banjo. You could frail or clawhammer a banjo. You could put some picks on your fingers and pluck it in the ol’ three-fingered Scruggs-style. You could flatpick some big band and dixieland chords on it. You could strum it in a folk circle. You could write a dissertation about jazz banjo players or even use one as firewood. You could also play Elvis Presley songs on one for your friends’ wedding in the Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg, VA (though I’m still ashamed that NOT ONE PERSON told me that I wasn’t supposed to wear all-white to a wedding! Live and learn, I suppose.).

But if I’m being honest, my favorite use for the banjo is that flatpicking banjo twang heard on early '50s honky-tonk and rockabilly music. Before rock and roll was a fully-defined thing separate from country music, lots of western swing, honky-tonk, and rockin-adjacent bands featured the banjo. It’s a great compliment to thumb-picked electric guitar and even steel guitar. A few years later, lots of bluegrass groups began covering rock’n’roll songs–I’m thinking here of Jim & Jesse, the Stanley Brothers, Jim Eanes, Flatt & Scruggs, and many more, and that's always fun to hear.

And in the 1950s and early ‘60s, flatpickers like Joe Maphis, Arthur ‘Guitar Boogie’ Smith, Grandpa Jones, Grady Martin, Cousin Arnold, Frank Evans, Ronnie Dawson, and so many more were setting their five banjo strings ablaze with a pick. In recent years, the flatpicking rockabilly banjo torch has been passed on to players like Brian Setzer, Mitch Polzak , and Carter Logan to name a few. It’s a beautiful thing and worth celebrating. So that’s what we’ll do tomorrow (5/5) on Back to the Country. Rock’n’Roll Banjo! Tune in via 89.9FM in southern Wisconsin or stream via wortfm.org from 9am-noon (cst).

Air Travel on Back to the Country 4/8/26 9am-noon (CST) via WORT-FM 89.9

Howdy Friends. This Wednesday morning I will again be hosting Back to the Country on WORT FM and this week's theme is Air Travel. Recent headlines have been dominated by unpaid TSA agents, overworked traffic controllers, planes being shot down, and long lines at the airport, so I decided to go back and listen to air travel representation in classic country music over the last 100 years to determine how the times have changed or stayed the same.

Of course, classic country music is known for its thousands of travel songs about trucks, trains, and the endless black ribbon, but there are a surprising number of great songs about air travel as well--high speed jets, tragic plane crashes, lucky cross-Atlantic flights, lonely airports, broken guitars, and numerous other airline-specific complaints. There were also several successful classic country musicians licensed as pilots (including Rex Trailer, the Calhoun Twins, Kris Kristofferson, Randy Hughes, Jimmy Kish, and more) and we'll hear from them as well. As usual, we'll be mostly looking at tunes from the 1920s-70s, but I'll throw in a few recent faves as well. The problem now is just halving the 100+ air travel tunes I've already picked out.

Get your seatbelts securely fastened, your belongings stowed, and your tray tables and seats in full upright position! Show airs live on Wednesday 4/8 from 9am-noon (CST) and heard via 89.9FM in southern WI or streaming via wortfm.org.

Nate Gibson & the Stardazers and Marty Stuart & his Fabulous Superlatives at the Stoughton Opera House 4/11/26

As many friends know, I've been taking a short break from performing to focus on two separate books projects... BUT, I'm excited to share that Nate Gibson & the Stardazers will once again be opening the Ghost Light Lounge at the Stoughton Opera House for BOTH of the sold-out Marty Stuart shows next Saturday (4/11).

 
Marty's shows with the Fabulous Superlatives are the very best in the world and I sure hope y'all already have your tickets to either the 3pm or 7:30pm show! Our opening set times are 1:25-2:40 and then we'll do it all again from 5:55-7:10. There will be country. There will be rock. And there will be a whole lot of the in-between! There might even be a bunch of baseball songs. Hope to see y'all there! 

https://stoughtonoperahouse.showare.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=788

Photo: Andrew Harrison, myself, Chris Scruggs, and Kenny Vaughan from our 2024 Stoughton Opera House date

Minneapolis Country Music on Back to the Country 2/10/26

The city of Minneapolis has dominated recent news cycles and was just nominated last week for a 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for its solidarity and collective nonviolent resistance to the masked and fascist ICE surges. I'm sure most of you watched as thousands of MN residents stood in the cold singing to ICE agents outside their hotels, that it's OK to change their minds. It was beautiful!

As such, I thought this week's episode of Back to the Country might be a good time to look at the history of Minneapolis country music. From the early days of the Sunset Valley Barn Dance in the 1940s through the Kay Bank/Soma era of the '60s, on through the Prairie Home Companion pickers and singers of the '70s and even Prince's country music exploits as Joey CoCo in the '80s, there have been tons of amazing country musicians from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. I'll certainly share some of my favorite records by my friends in the Twin Cities and thanks to the massive 78 collection of Upper Midwestern recordings at Mills Music Library, I'll also share a whole bunch of rare MLPS gems from '40s and early '50s.

Minneapolis has also been through some particularly tough times in recent years, so I'll also spend some time looking at the country music responses to the tragic murder of George Floyd, as well as the most recent country music songs protesting ICE from Zach Bryan, Jesse Welles, the Boss, and more. It's an awful lot to fit into just three hours, but I'll do my best!

Tune in tomorrow (2/11) via 89.9fm from 9am-noon (CST) or streaming at wortfm.org or via the WORT app.

R.I.P. Steel Guitar Extraordinaire Pete Finney

Really bummed to see my feed flooded with Pete Finney tributes today. Pete was a superb steel guitarist, a really smart historian, super nice guy, and seems to have been loved by just about everyone in Nashville. He and his wife Carol deserve all the love, so I'll add to the tributes.

I met Pete back in 2016 at the International Country Music Conference when he was being awarded the Chet Flippo Award for the excellent book and Country Music Hall of Fame exhibit he co-curated on Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and the Nashville Cats. Before he accepted his award, he came early and listened to several other presentations that day, including my talk on the country music recordings of Hoagy Carmichael. He approached me after my talk, said he was a big Hoagy fan, wanted to hear more, and invited me to the Country Music Hall of Fame later that evening to hear him play, see his exhibit, and talk more country music. I gladly accepted the invitation.

It was only later that night, during his intro at the Hall of Fame gig that I learned he had toured for many years with CMHOFers like Patty Loveless, Vince Gill, Reba, the Judds, as well as the Chicks and spent many years with the Monkees, too. Later I started to see his name on all sorts of recordings by Bobby Bare, Justin Townes Earle, Brennen Leigh, Clem Snide, Robbie Fulks, and more, and he seemed to always be playing with Chris Scruggs and the Stone Fox Five when I was in Nashville. That guy was in demand and everywhere!

At some point he asked me who my favorite pedal steel player was and I said 'Pete Drake.' He got excited and said PD was one of his favorites, too. I told him I was soon to be recording with Betty Amos w/ Judy and Jean in Nashville and asked if he'd be willing to play steel on the session. He said, 'Sure!' And because we both loved Pete Drake, I asked if he'd be willing to cover Pete Drake's Starday recording of "The Spook" with me? Again, 'Absolutely!' That tune ended up being the bonus track on the Bear Family Records release of Nate Gibson & the Stars of Starday and it's one of my faves. Pete nailed the Pete Sound!

It's sad to see this picture today, taken less than a decade ago, and know that since that session we've lost Betty, Judy, Jean, Dave Roe, and Pete. But I'm mighty grateful our paths crossed and particularly for the time, kindness, and sharing of talents. RIP Pete.

Photo by Drew Carroll. L-R: Chris Scruggs, Pete Finney, Cousin Kenny Vaughan, Dave Roe, Betty Amos, Judy Lee, Jean Amos, Nate Gibson, Timon Kaple