Music artist interviews, songs, history, culture and commentary

Southern Songs and Stories is a documentary series about the music of the South and the artists who make it. Hear their performances and discover the stories behind their songs with a look at their lives on stage, in the studio and at home as well as the family, friends, fans and music professionals around them.

The series is based in western North Carolina and the surrounding Appalachian and foothill regions, covering an incredible array of musicians and bands. Podcast episodes are produced in partnership with public radio station WNCW as well as Osiris Media, and are also carried on Bluegrass Planet Radio. Host Joe Kendrick produces Southern Songs and Stories, documenting the current music of the South and the story of how it came to be, from styles that are centuries old to genres that are just emerging. Episodes typically spotlight individual artists and bands, and occasionally focus on historical topics, issues surrounding musicians and the music industry, and even a song itself, like in the podcast on “Wagon Wheel”. It is a show for everyone who loves music and for anyone who wants to explore the South.
 

Southern Songs and Stories began as a video documentary series in 2014 before eventually becoming a podcast in 2017, both focusing on music artists. The transition came when I went to the Albino Skunk Music Festival in spring 2017 in order to film the Jon Stickley Trio, and after getting a lot of audio from other folks at the fest, the idea for a podcast took root. Within a couple months I had my first episode ready, and in early 2018 I was picked up on both internet station Bluegrass Planet Radio and Osiris Media.

At first, I hoped to make the series a source of income, but over time realized that there was much more reward in simply talking with so many different people, working creatively and knowing that others enjoy hearing these shows. I have enjoyed listening to other people's podcasts along the way, and pick up ideas and inspiration from series like Craig Havighurst's The String and fellow Osiris Media podcasts like The Road To Now, among many others.
 

I make at least one episode a month, typically two, although I will take a brief sabbatical every year or so. Producing each episode takes a lot of time, probably several days worth of work from start to finish. It may not seem like it when you listen to an episode that lasts a half hour or so, but there is a lot of preparation, writing and editing that goes into each podcast. I am lucky in that as program director at public radio station WNCW, I can work on the series as part of my job (however for the first several years it was an independent project that I did in my spare time). I spend no money myself on the series now, however I have put money into it over the years like I have with previous media projects.
 

I can take sponsors although I have not had a sponsor in a while. My download numbers are currently in the 1000 listens/month range, so that is not enough for most sponsors to take notice.
 

I seek out guests myself, sometimes aiming high and landing a multiple Grammy winner like Jason Isbell. Many times I seek out artists that I am interested in musically, and others I have pitched to me by the artist themselves, or their label or publicist. I also venture off into subjects like road stories, artists' side hustles, the history of music and culture in the South, festivals and so on.

In preparation I do a lot of research, and come up with questions for the artists and guests on the show. I prefer in person interviews, although I have done many phone interviews and now video interviews too.
 

The podcast gets sent out to all major podcast platforms, and that is where the vast majority of people listen. Also, I have new episodes playing on Bluegrass Planet Radio, and capsule versions of the podcasts broadcast on public radio station WNCW. As far as marketing goes, my Osiris Media network does a great job in spreading awareness as well as the media platforms mentioned previously, and my social media presence does fairly well in garnering attention.
 

My best advice is to do this because you love it or at least aspects of it rather than to make podcasts for profit or fame.
A couple good industry resources I keep tabs on are Hot Pod and Steve Goldstein's Blogstein.
 

Catch up with me by email at southernsongsandstories@gmail.com and on social media: Twitter @SouthScenes Instagram @southstories LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/joe-kendrick-9a012918
And there are articles and more to go along with my podcasts here: https://www.southernsongsandstories.com/