Southern Songs and Stories

06/04/2026

Taking you back in time to the music scene in Charlotte and western NC on our new podcast episode, with interviews of former WTVI PBS Charlotte staffers, Daniel Coston, members of The Spongetones and Sugarcreek, plus a lot of music from the After Dark television series. Available at the link below, and wherever you follow podcasts.

This is the conclusion of my two-part documentary series on After Dark, and is my last Southern Songs and Stories produced at WNCW. I have more interviews slated for future episodes, however, so the podcast series will continue with artists like Tift Merritt, Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, Maggie Rose, Jontavious Willis, and the band Scythian.

www.southernsongsandstories.com/blog/2026/6/4/bringing-after-dark-and-charlottes-music-past-back-to-light-part-two

05/17/2026

Glad to be a guest on NPR Music's podcast New Music Friday once again. Jobi Riccio is someone you'll be hearing a lot about I believe. Also, Tank and the Bangas are awesome once again. And KEVIN MORBY was my pick to add to the conversation, he's turned in a stellar new record.

Check it our here and wherever you follow podcasts

Jobi Riccio. Dua Saleh. Tank and the Bangas. Plus, others not named Drake! NPR Music's Stephen Thompson chats with Joe Kendrick of WNCW in North Carolina about their favorite albums out Friday, May 15. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round...

05/15/2026

at casa Kendrick

05/09/2026

at with a salute to Zig and their original song “Wherever I Go”

05/08/2026

What fun 🤘
at covering

05/08/2026

A few highlights from day 1 of the last spring Albino Skunk Music Festival. Darren Nicholson and gave us a standout set amongst many others. The audience fell in love with newcomer Amelia Day.

WNCW's benefit book sale went so much better than forecast that almost all the books sold by late afternoon (!). Come by the WNCW tent and say hello, we still have lots of free goodies to share even if we don't have music books.

The weather has been gorgeous after a rainy Wednesday. Music has started up today with Candi Jenkins and I am psyched to see Aaron Lee Tasjan among others.

05/06/2026

A regular newsletter with updates on what's going on here along with scripts and transcripts of podcast episodes, enjoy! You can sign up to get emails and/or follow on Substack for free

A fresh gaze at an old-time, outcast religion and its music from Abe Partridge and Ferrill Gibbs

04/28/2026

Starting to work on an episode (or episodes) on the 1980s public TV series After Dark from WTVI in Charlotte. Daniel Coston is at the center of this, which all stems from his acquisition of audio from the many live concerts in Charlotte and elsewhere in NC that the After Dark show chronicled.

I have interviewed Daniel along with many former WTVI staffers who produced the series as well as members of The Spongetones and Sugar Creek in conversations which recount a halcyon time.

Just these conversations add up to 195 pages of transcripts. That's without collapsing the text into more manageable paragraphs, but in the end once I do that it may be 120 pages or so. And then to go through the audio, which is even more voluminous.

It's all great fun and I look forward to being able to tell this story. As they say, stay tuned!

04/26/2026

My my it's Sunday morning already and MerleFest is quickly rolling towards its finish. Yesterday was action packed with an interview of festival newcomer Maggie Rose and then emceeing Kruger Brothers and buzz band The Creekers and fellow freshmen Downriver Collective. Lots of new artists in my Saturday. Capped off the day with a great set from Sam Bush and Maggie Rose before catching some late night dance tent hoots and hollers with Scythian. Today, more emceeing at Creekside, and then a bit more music to take in before heading home.