MerleFest- Friday (Blog Post)

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MerleFest 2018 is going great! I have had made many memories, experienced some cool moments, and heard plenty of awesome music!

My Friday picks for best musicians are…

  • Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer with Sam Gleaves
  • The Waybacks
  • Balsam Range and Atlanta Pops Orchestra
  • Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn

When with musicians, you’d up talking a lot about music. It turns into a common theme.

In the press conference with Bela Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Mandolin Orange, and Savannah Smith (and later with Jamey Johnson), we talked about the music that they are listening to in their cars, here were the responses…

  • Bela Fleck- Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer’s Children’s Album (with son Juno)
  • Abigail Washburn- Compilation Album, “Voices of Mississippi”
  • Mandolin Orange- Anna and Elizabeth’s new album, and Hawktail
  • Savannah Smith- John Prine’s new album, Tank and the Band
  • Jamey Johnson- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

What are you listening to in your car?

Thanks for reading what I Had to Ask!

 

Rosie and the Riveters Band Review (Blog Post)

MerleFest, Music, ,

The Canadian band, Rosie and the Riveters, were a huge hit especially with the young women at MerleFest 2018!
Their demeanor and style are both unapologetic and fierce.
They stand as a symbol of independent feminism with their strong stand-up vocals.
Rosie and the Riveters look and sound like the female role models young women in North American need today!
I found it amazing that thy could gracefully, yet powerfully, promote ideals like equal pay for all in song without being too “in your face” about it.
Rosie the Riveters needs to be the next band added to every girl’s playlist!

Nu Blu Review (Blog Post)

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As the threatening rain cloud rolled away from the Watson stage, fans sitting on the field were in for a treat!

Nu-Blu had a wonderful set on the Watson Stage at 1:30 on Friday.

Carolyn’s powerful and animated voice paired with the driving rhythms filled the air. Listeners weren’t hungry for lunch,  they were hungry for more Nu-Blu music!

A few years ago my little sister and I interviewed Carolyn, you can listen to that interview here: http://ihadtoask.com/2015/01/carolynrouth/

I remember how genuine Carolyn was. She still continues to be a genuine beacon of strength and hope to many.

Nu-Blu (Carter Baker, Justin Harrison, and Carolyn and Daniel Routh) recently released a new album, Vagabonds. If you purchase it, you will not be disappointed. You can find it here: https://squareup.com/store/nu-blu-bluegrass-artists

They played some songs off of the album today, and they were wonderful.

If I had a chance to ask them one question following their set, I would’ve Had to Ask this…

Where did you get all of your energy that you have on the stage from?

Episode 68: Interview with David Holt

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I interviewed David Holt, who will be performing (again) at MerleFest! He was happy to talk with me about everything from his music to Doc Watson, to key lime pie. Listen on to see what I Had to Ask!

Episode 67: Interview with Cathy Fink

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I interviewed Cathy Fink of the duo Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer.  We talked about everything from winning Grammy’s, to “Dancing in the Kitchen”, to the mother of children’s folk music, Ella Jenkins.

Listen on to see why I Had to Ask!

Changes to I Had to Ask

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I Had to Ask has had a minor switch in platforms! With the constant change in how our world connects daily online, we have made a few slight changes to how you are able to access the podcasts.

What does this mean for you?

  • You can still find all non-archived interviews here (www.ihadtoask.com)!
  • You can still email ihadtoask@hotmail.com with requests to listen to archived interviews.
  • You can still listen to our podcasts on iTunes. The change here is, only the newest interviews will be available, all others may be archived by iTunes.
  • The same is true with the Pod-o-Matic account.
  • ALL podcasts (with the exception of the complete Adam Hamilton interview) are available on YouTube!!!
    • Our YouTube can be found at… https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu6Kd092Jn7nMoWPTtdNYdA?view_as=subscriber
      • Please be sure to subscribe and give the podcasts a  “thumbs up.”

Please continue to enjoy listening to I Had to Ask, and thank you for understanding!

 

Episode 66: Interview with Zach Smith of Town Mountain

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I talked with the bassist from bluegrass band, Town Mountain. They will be performing at MerleFest in just a few days, and will also be hosting the Midnight Jam. Listen on to see why I Had to Ask about tacos, MerleFest, and music!

I Had to Ask can now be found on YouTube!!!!

Please forgive the fact that all interviews are not available yet, we are working on switching them all over to yet another platform!

You can access our earliest interviews at…

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu6Kd092Jn7nMoWPTtdNYdA?view_as=subscriber

Thanks!

SCDNR Series #2 with Law Enforcement Officer

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I have been asked by South Carolina Wildlife magazine to do a series of podcasts for their digital magazine www.SouthCarolinaWild.org. I will be spotlighting South Carolina Department of Natural Resources staff and the kind of work that they do.

This is an interview with game warden/law enforcement officer, Officer Player Aston.

Listen on to see why I Had to Ask.