Will Hoge "This Grand Charade"

Time flies when you are rocking and rolling. That is for certain, but every once in a while we get to acknowledge a milestone, and today I have a rather large one. My first radio job was at WDVE in Pittsburgh, PA and this weekend we are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of its launch as a rock station in 1969. That is quite a feat, to have remained the same format for 50 years. Oh, and I am coming up on my 50th year in the biz, but I have changed formats so many times that it is dizzying! WDVE ROCKS, yeah, it still does!

Sometimes the time that passes only amplifies that things ain’t right, as it is in today’s tune from Will Hoge. The first time I heard it live was at Christmas two years ago, with Will’s wife in the audience. He made sure to tell her he loves her, and this song wasn’t about their marriage. “This Grand Charade” is an utterly authentic, emotional capture from a man that can deliver a tale with complexity and concern. It was originally released on the Anchors album in 2017. Today, we bring you the Music Fog recording from our private sessions in Nashville at the start of this year.

- Jessie Scott

Chuck Mead "I'm Not the Man for the Job"

So, did'ja watch the cool eight part series, Country Music: A Film By Ken Burns? It is a masterwork about the genre, going back about 100 years. In Part 7 they explored the history of Gram Parsons, who loved country music but was a child of the 60’s as well, so he thought to marry the two. Cosmic American Music was the moniker he used. It was nothing short of the precursor for what would later be called Americana Music. Gram Parsons was one of Americana's progenitors. BTW, I got to narrate the Radio Companion to the series, check that out here.

So there is a really cool rolling party that’s been going on since the summer called The Cosmic Honky Tonk Revue, of course with a nod to Gram. It is all about our buddies Chuck Mead, Jim Lauderdale, and Jason Ringenberg teaming up. They play The Caverns in Pelham, TN on December 7th. How cool is that - Cosmic and Subterranean at the same time! We visit with Chuck today, from the session we did at the start of the year. His new album Close To Home with His Grassy Knoll Boys came out in June. From it, here is a solo electric version of “I’m Not The Man For The Job” filmed by the Music Foggers during a private recording session in Nashville.

- Jessie Scott

Becky Warren "Dabbs Avenue"

Oh boy! Next week is the WMOT membership drive, and we are hoping to bring another 300 listeners into the family to become members. It’s non-profit radio, which gives us all kinds of latitude to be a home for music discovery. When the Music Foggers were all at XM, it laid the groundwork for me for what this initiative is, a direct interaction with the listener. Non-commercial radio is delivering the kind of music that can’t be found elsewhere. I take that very seriously, and our programming reflects that mission. I promise you will not hear the same ol’ stuff that everyone else is playing. If you liked XM 12, X Country back in the day, come on by and spend some time with us at WMOT. We stream worldwide at WMOT.org.

Photo Credit: Anna Haas

For those that become members we do a monthly concert series called Wired In, which are intimate music sessions. This past year we have done shows with Hayes Carll, Donna The Buffalo, I’m With Her, Yola, Steve Poltz, Mary Bragg, John Paul White, Lula Wiles, Birds of Chicago, Seth Walker, Chuck Mead, Ida Mae, Will Kimbrough, Keb’ Mo’, Honey Island Swamp Band, Maggie Rose, Shinyribs, Paul Thorn, Amy Ray, and Becky Warren. Yes, you have seen many of these folks on the pages of Music Fog through the years, too. Today’s video entry comes from Becky Warren, who is a local Nashville songwriting hero. Her last two albums have been made bravely; one digging into the emotions from a soldier returning from war, the other by cultivating relationships with Nashville street folks. Today’s song can be found on the latter, the album Undesirable, which came out in 2018. “Dabbs Avenue” is today’s Music Fog recording, filmed in early 2019, here with guitar accompaniment from Jeff Malinowski.

- Jessie Scott