If Hatred Builds It Up, Surely Love Will Break It Down: Shay Martin Lovette

Shay Martin Lovette lives on Goshen Creek in Boone, in one of the most picturesque regions of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The place every artist calls home has a great bearing on their work, but in Shay’s case, that effect seems more profound than most. As he told me, “The creek flows under the porch behind my home and hearing the constant sound of moving water when writing is something that I’ve grown accustomed to. My music video for the tune, “Never Felt So New” was filmed on Goshen Creek on and around the Mountains to Sea Trail. If you’re not familiar, this is North Carolina’s longest trail and it runs from Clingman’s Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains to Jockey’s Ridge at the Outer Banks. I’ve hiked/backpacked about 400 miles of the 1175 mile trail and hope to eventually get to hiking the rest of this trail segment by segment. I guess you could say that I’m in for the long haul. The same can be said about my songwriting as I remain dedicated to the craft and recently went back into the studio to record a few new songs.”

Shay Martin Lovette in studio at WNCW 05/05/21

Shay’s new album Scatter & Gather is the result of countless hours of meditation and contemplation hiking on the many nearby trails and sitting by Goshen Creek. It is an album that in part answers the question of where the metaphorical Appalachia really is. As he said in our interview, Shay feels most present when playing music, and his hope is for that feeling to transfer into his songs, songs which speak to the beauty and miracle of life without ignoring the pain that comes with it.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Sourwood Honey Rag” by Shay Martin Lovette from Scatter & Gather

“For Rose Marie” by Shay Martin Lovette from Scatter & Gather, excerpt

“Parkway Bound” by Shay Martin Lovette, live in Studio B on WNCW

“Never Felt So New” by Shay Martin Lovette from Scatter & Gather

I hope you enjoy the podcast, and might tell someone you know about it. You can follow the series on podcast platforms everywhere. And once you do that, could you help by giving us a top rating, and a review? In just moments, you will help make all of the topics and artists covered on this series more likely to be found by more people just like you. Southern Songs and Stories is a part of the podcast lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes of this podcast on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick

Tellico: This Is Appalachia

When it comes to hard times, trouble and loss, Appalachian music might as well have the patent. The mountains are often more beautiful than bountiful. There is no second line down in the mines. Poverty and sorrow are ever present, but hardened resolve and hope are there too. The four piece band Tellico captures the spirit of Appalachia again on their second album, Woven Waters, with real life stories of love and loss and of hope and hardship put to song.

Tellico performs at Mountain Song in Brevard, NC 9-8-18

Although they are all not native to the Appalachians, the traditions and world view of the hill country and highlands are foremost in everything this four piece band does, even when they are influenced and informed by music and culture from places as far away as Japan. They are lifelong musicians who have day jobs and families, and all the while they manage to be in top form.

This episode features an interview with band members Anya Hinkle, Stig Stiglets, Aaron Ballance and Jed Willis as well as Ty Gilpin (who helped bring them to their new home, Organic Records), plus Jon Stickley of the Jon Stickley Trio, who produced earlier Tellico recordings, and who has played with Jed as far back as high school. We talk about working with Irish folk artist John Doyle, who produced their new album, how the blues is at the center of so much of Southern music, other artists who have mentored and influenced them, and how important the jam scene is to their music. There is plenty of Tellico’s music here as well, with many new songs excerpted from their performance at this year’s Mountain Song Festival, as well as the studio version of “Courage For The Morning”.

Tellico’s second album, Woven Waters, produced by renowned Celtic artist John Doyle

Thanks for visiting Southern Songs and Stories, and thanks to our supporters on Patreon. Thanks to both the Osiris Podcast Network and to Dawn Mac at Bluegrass Planet Radio for carrying the show, and to Sean Rubin for audio engineering the live music on this episode. Thanks to Tellico for their music and friendship. I encourage you to spread the word about this podcast and consider helping us by subscribing and commenting on our show, and by becoming a patron. - Joe Kendrick