Singer/Songwriter

Independent country music recording artist Rissi Palmer is not surprised by the feedback she has received about her new Apple Music radio show “Color Me Country Radio,” which explores Black, Latinx and Indigenous voices in country music. She has heard everything from, “Is this a limited series? You’re going to run out of people to talk to!” to “Why does everything have to be about race?” 

Justin Ravary Ellis is no stranger around the Triangle music scene. The multi-instrumentalist has played bass in — and fronted — multiple bands and often has a number of collaborative projects on the go. But in 2015 he made the explicit decision to carve out more space and time for something a little more intimate.

Singer and guitarist Dave Ray Cecil began writing music when he was six years old. As a child, he strung notes together on the piano and secretly used his brother’s guitar to write songs.

Singer-songwriter Abigail Dowd’s latest album reflects her years-long process of coming home. In 2009 the folk artist moved to Florence, Italy and then to Maine in search of herself. She swore she would never come back.

Music is in Faith Jones’ blood. Her father plays piano; her mother sings, and the two met in a band in the 1980s. Growing up, Jones and her family listened to a wide range of music around the house, from jazz to classic rock. 

Note: This is a Rebroadcast. This program originally aired July 15, 2016.

Singer-songwriter Rissi Palmer exploded onto the country music scene in 2007 with a self-titled album. She sang alongside Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum, and her single "Country Girl" was the first song by an African-American woman artist to make the country Billboard charts in almost two decades.

Durham-based singer-songwriter Brett Harris didn't grow up in a musical family, but he has found one in the Triangle.

Harris is a touring member of The dB's and a core member of Big Star’s Third, a group that recreated '70s rock group Big Star’s album “Third” with live on-stage performances. In his new solo album, “Up in the Air,” Harris lets his strengths as a songwriter and storyteller shine on an original set of indie-pop songs.

Jamie Anderson and Dianne Davidson have been touring for more than 30 years as leading singer/songwriters in the women's music scene.

In the 1970s, a collective group of women came out of labels like Olivia Records and empowered and promoted women musicians across the country.

Host Frank Stasio talks with Anderson and Davidson about the legacy of this music scene and how it has shaped their songwriting. They also perform live in the studio with Anderson on vocals, guitar and mandolin and Davidson on vocals and guitar.

Note: This is a rebroadcast from earlier this year.

Singer-songwriter Matt Phillips has been involved with many musical groups in his life, from the North Carolina Boy's Choir to a high school band to his church band.

David Holt, David LaMotte and David Wilcox all knew each other as members of the Asheville music scene, but they'd never played together.

Holt and LaMotte ended up at the same airport in the summer of 2014, and some small talk led to the idea of the three of them linking up as one musical collaboration. Soon enough, The Three Davids was born.

Singer-songwriter Matt Phillips has been involved with many musical groups in his life, from the North Carolina Boy's Choir to a high school band to his church band.

He started street performing after high school, alone, for some money and found a lot of fans. Phillips' music combines the singer-songwriter genre with pop, funk, blues and jazz.

Host Frank Stasio talks with Phillips about his solo career and upcoming album.

Musician Jill Andrews began her music career in the early 2000’s as the cofounder of the alt-country group, the everybodyfields. After releasing three albums and touring the country with the everybodyfields, she decided to make a go of it on her own. 

She has been releasing music as a solo artist since 2009. Her music has been showcased on the TV shows Grey's Anatomy, Nashville, Hart of Dixie and American Idol. 

Darren Hanlon grew up in a small town in Queensland, Australia with American legends like Kenny Rogers playing on the turntable.

His early musical education, a month in the Australian desert, and an Amtrak trip through the American South informed the kind of artist he is today; a roots music singer-songwriter with a passion for lyrical and narrative tracks. 

Legendary singer-songwriter John Prine is best known for writing "Angel from Montgomery," "Sam Stone," and "Paradise." 

His musical career began humbly in the late 1960s while he was still working as a mailman in Illinois. Five decades later, Prine is a Nashville icon who has won a litany of awards, including two Grammys and a lifetime achievement award for songwriting from the Americana Music Association.