The Working Songwriter

Our guest this week is Erin McAnally, the daughter of legendary songwriter and guitarist Mac McAnally. Born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and raised in Nashville, Erin grew up surrounded by the music business. Over the years, she has worked in A&R, music publishing, and film and television scoring. Alongside her husband and frequent collaborator Mick Utley, she co-wrote songs with Jimmy Buffett, including “Audience of One” and “Nobody Works on Friday,” both of which appeared on Buffett's final album, Equal Strain on All Parts, released posthumously in 2023. She is also a founding member of Floating Collective, a musical project with Utley and Brendan Mayer, all three of whom are children of members of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band. The group released its debut album in 2024. Today, Erin serves as Executive Director of Songwriters of North America, advocating for the rights of working songwriters. Her work has taken her to SXSW, Americanafest, and Folk Alliance.I got a chance to catch up with Erin McAnally to hear about her musical journey so far. Interested in sponsoring us? Contact BGS: https://bit.ly/sponsorBGSpods

Recorded live at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Joe Pug interviews beloved songwriter John Moreland. TWS Forum is an annual event that the podcast hosts in June. Listeners take in concerts by the headlining artists and then attend workshops from them during the day. This was the 2nd annual event. The headliners and dates for next year's Forum will be announced this month.

Our guest this week is one of Louisville, Kentucky’s favorite sons. Jim James is a native Kentuckian who rose to prominence as the vocalist and creative force behind the celebrated rock group My Morning Jacket. “The Jacket,” as they are affectionately called by their fans, released their debut album The Tennessee Fire in 1999 and took the country by storm with their legendary live show. Since then they’ve released a slew of critically acclaimed albums, including 2008's Evil Urges and 2011's Circuital, which both charted in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200. The group has recorded for Capitol, RCA, ATO, and V2, and toured with Bob Dylan, Wilco, Guided by Voices, and the Foo Fighters. In addition, the hard-charging band has appeared at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Coachella, Newport Folk Festival, New Orleans Jazz Fest, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Glastonbury, the Bridge School Benefit, and pretty much any festival of note. They’ve also been frequent guests on late night TV including Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night With Conan O'Brien, and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. In more recent years, Jim has been part of the group Monsters of Folk, along with M. Ward, Conor Oberst, and Mike Mogis, and he’s also released a string of solo albums including this year’s title, Wowed Out. Pitchfork has called the Jacket’s sound “huge, ghostly, terrifying rock ‘n’ roll.” The Guardian has dubbed the band’s output as “seven albums of resplendent melodies.” And NPR has said that his music has “the sound of a lost soul in search of something bigger than himself.” I got a chance to catch up with Jim a few weeks ago to hear about his musical journey so far. Interested in sponsoring us? Contact BGS: https://bit.ly/sponsorBGSpods