Roots Music Rambler
by Francesca Folinazzo & Jason Falls
From a Cumberland Gap shed to Nashville, Oliver Sayani finds 9 Kinds…
About this podcast
Where there are people, there is music. In our celebration of melodies and lyrics, harmonies and riffs, we typically focus on the songs or the people who wrote them. We often overlook the where.
Join Francesca and Falls for Roots Music Rambler, a podcast exploration of the where as much as the who or what. We’ll interview emerging and established artists, fans and others in Americana, Outlaw Country, Bluegrass, Blues, Roots, Soul, World and beyond. But we will always get to the stories of where they’re from and how that impacted the music we know and love.
It’s more than just their influences. It’s their families. Communities. Cultures. This show is a fun combination of music, travel, history and more. We dig into the stories from artists, musicians, songwriters, producers, fans and beyond, that don’t just expose their musical influences, but their life influences.
Music follows the path of human movement. We trace the steps to bring better understanding to what we hear today and why we love it.
Join us for the exploration of the real roots of music on Roots Music Rambler.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 100 episodes
- From a Cumberland Gap shed to Nashville, Oliver Sayani finds 9 Kinds of Blue · 1 h 26 min · Episode 99Oliver Sayani joins Frank and Falls to talk about 9 Kinds of Blue, growing up around Cumberland Gap, his unlikely introduction to John Prine and the Nashville session that…
- An album release, a surprise guest and an invitation to Nashville: Randon Neeley on Roots Music Rambler · 28 min · Episode 98Owsley County songwriter Randon Neeley talks Hungry Dogs, a surprise visit from Tyler Childers at his album release party, and the invitation to open at Nashville’s Pinnacle.
- A pair of secondhand pants, a curious dog and a songwriter who keeps listening: Aaron Kelly on Roots Music Rambler · 58 min · Episode 97A good song can start just about anywhere. For Aaron Kelly, that includes a trip to Goodwill, a dog sniffing his pants and a biology final that needed something better than a…
- British singer-songwriter Jack Browning brings country songs and a painter’s eye to Painted Skies · 1 h 3 min · Episode 96Jack Browning doesn’t think country music needs a particular zip code. The British singer-songwriter grew up on his dad’s records, climbed the furniture to borrow a Johnny Cash…
- Singer-Songwriter David LaMotte talks songs that stay with you and the small steps that change the world · 1 h 8 min · Episode 95Falls first heard David LaMotte in a Birmingham bookstore café more than 20 years ago. He was working in college sports public relations, spending much of his life on the road…
- GIVEAWAY!!!! Dustin Kennedy talks North Springs Music Festival; Rambler giving away 2 weekend passes! · 17 minIn a Bonus Episode of Roots Music Rambler, North Springs Music Festival organizer Dustin Kennedy joins the show to talk about the upcoming festival, October 8-10 in Whitleyville…
- Raised in Mississippi, living in Texas and loving the Tulsa Sound, Jason Eady makes real roots music · 1 h 7 min · Episode 94Ask Jason Eady to put a label on his music and he’ll take you to the back porch. If it works without electricity, it fits. The Mississippi-raised, Texas-based singer-songwriter…
- Well-travelled and settled, Erinn Peet Lukes is leading Thunder and Rain to bluegrass stardom · 1 h 18 min · Episode 93If you’ve heard much thunder around the bluegrass space of late, it’s likely due to the growing presence of Thunder & Rain. Erinn Peet Lukes’s new grass band has been around for…
- Cincinnati-based folk rock band Barnweaver guitarist Brandon Scott Coleman talks band, album and more · 38 min · Episode 92Welcome to another in our Backstage episode of Roots Music Rambler. These are short interviews Frank and Falls are able to grab backstage (or just somewhere in person rather than…
- GIVEAWAY! We've got a 2-day pass to Evanston Folk Festival for one lucky listener! · 16 minPardon the interruption on the podcast feed with a special announcement, but we think you're going to love this! To start the celebration of Roots Music Rambler's 100th episode…
- Independent folk artist Julia Sanders offers deep introspection in cross-continent creative process · 56 min · Episode 91Long-time listeners to Roots Music Rambler know we love to focus on the sense of place and how it impacts the songwriting and music influences of our artists. Every now and then…
- Sam Morrow returns to Texas, Rock & Roll with Southern Boogie · 54 min · Episode 90The music business has had ups and downs for Houston native Sam Morrow. He’s bounced around geographically and within his own sound through a decade or more and a half dozen…
- We’re witnessing the rocket ship that is Hunter Flynn · 25 min · Episode 89Welcome to another in our Backstage episode of Roots Music Rambler. These are short interviews Frank and Falls are able to grab backstage (or just somewhere in person rather than…
- Blake Christiana chats about 20-plus years of Yarn, new album and more · 1 h 8 min · Episode 88Rock, rhythm and blues band Yarn made a triumphant return to the Americana charts this spring with their new album Saturday Night Sermons. The lead single, “Good Things,” spent…
- Roots Music Rambler Backstage with West Virginia Singer-Songwriter William Matheny · 20 min · Episode 87Welcome to another in our Backstage episode of Roots Music Rambler. These are short interviews Frank and Falls are able to grab backstage (or just somewhere in person rather than…
- Logan Mac Pours His Heart Into Debut Album Til the Ground · 1 h 7 min · Episode 86It normally only takes a song or two for anyone to get sentimental or teary-eyed at a Logan Mac show. Frank and Falls saw it first-hand at this year’s Crossroads Acoustic Fest in…
- Roots Music Rambler Backstage with Robby Chadwell from Flood With Love · 18 min · Episode 85Welcome to another in our Backstage episode of Roots Music Rambler. These are short interviews Frank and Falls are able to grab backstage (or just somewhere in person rather than…
- Adam Chaffins doubles down on Trailer Trash with Doublewide · 58 min · Episode 84Adam Chaffins has spent more than a decade and a half in Nashville, playing in bands, picking up tours with other artists, writing, producing and occasionally releasing an album…
- Roots Music Rambler Backstage with Shelby Lore · 14 min · Episode 83Welcome to another in our Backstage episode of Roots Music Rambler. These are short interviews Frank and Falls are able to grab backstage (or just somewhere in person rather than…
- Noah Guthrie’s new album Oddly Flexible is Heavy in more ways than one · 1 h 10 min · Episode 82Noah Guthrie first made a name for himself and his music when his YouTube cover songs were noticed by producers for the Ellen DeGeneres Show. He “won” a contract with Degeneres’s…







