Gillian Welch and David Rawlings live and work in Nashville, and their knowledge of the city shines through in the new song, “Empty Trainload of Sky.
Out, About: How to dry January in a drinking city
Let’s be real about this for a moment: Nashville is a drinking city. So what do you do when you’d like to take a pause — for a month, for the year, forever — in a place like this?
The key question that caused chaos at Metro Arts in 2024
The debate can be summed up like this: should Metro Arts focus its grantmaking on individual artists or arts nonprofits? The issue has divided Nashville’s arts community.
Crossover made the boundaries of country and roots music a little less clear in 2024
Linda Martell — the too-long-overlooked, first Black woman to reach the country charts in the early 1970s — reemerged on Cowboy Carter to drop some wisdom on us this year: “Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? Yes, they are.”
A legend weighs in on a Christmas classic
Brenda Lee, now 80, recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” when she was 13. The living legend talked to NPR last year when her song — finally — hit number one. We revisit that conversation.
24 stories that brought us joy in 2024, from the WPLN newsroom
From roadside attractions to marching bands, budding scientists to sports bars, these stories delivered pops of humanity and joy this year.
How Cookeville united over a parade that never happened
For the first time in its history, the official Cookeville Christmas Parade approved an LGBTQ float in its lineup. The decision came after months of controversy with this year’s parade.
How Nashville’s ex-evangelicals are making their own Christmas traditions
For the growing number of women leaving the church, Christmas can be a particularly difficult time. So, some are making their own traditions.
Woodland Studios: What have Gillian Welch and David Rawlings been doing in there?
When Gillian Welch and Rawlings released an album named for their studio earlier this year and gave interviews about it, the primary narrative was how they’d weathered the devastation of the 2020 tornado and what major repairs the building required. But that wasn’t the studio’s first brush with a tornado.
Out, About: Christmas celebrations for elves of all ages
While our annual list is still on the way (patience, people!), it did get me thinking about how much the Christmas cheer is devoted to drinking with your 20-and-30-something friends in this city. So, here’s some options for the whole fam.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM