Music Makers and Soul Shakers with Steve Dawson

Pat Bergeson joins me on the show this week. Pat is one of those musicians who makes you stop and rethink what’s actually possible on a guitar. And on a harmonica.

Pat Bergeson is a true master of touch, tone, and taste, and one of the most deeply musical players you’ll ever hear.
Pat’s guitar playing is rooted in the blues, jazz, and country traditions, but it’s always personal, always expressive, and always unmistakably his own. He’s been here in Nashville for a number of decades now, and has amassed an impressive list of credits, playing on records for artists like Dolly Parton, John Paul White, Suzy Bogguss, Blake Shelton, Alison Krauss and Lyle Lovett. But Pat has never been one to devote himself to session work, so he’s led a much more rounded life, with tons of live playing and touring, including his current touring gig in Peter Frampton’s band. When I first saw him, it was with the band Les Brers, which was Butch Trucks’ band playing mostly Allman Brothers music, and seeing Pat teamed up with the band’s other guitarist Jack Pearson, was a one-two punch of two of my absolute favorite guitarists in music city!

One of the most meaningful chapters in Pat’s career was his close association with the legendary Chet Atkins. Chet didn’t just admire Pat’s playing - he brought him to Nashville. Pat recorded and performed with Chet, and you can really hear that shared philosophy: musical elegance, deep respect for melody, and an understanding that less can truly be more. Pat played with Chet for years, both on records but also as part of his band that used to have a weekly gig here in Nashville at a little Italian joint downtown.

And then there’s the harmonica.

Pat isn’t just a great guitarist — he’s one of the finest diatonic harmonica players you’ll ever hear. So whether you know him from his work with Chet Atkins, his collaborations with Peter Frampton, his session work, his solo recordings, or his unforgettable harmonica playing, you’re in for a great conversation today.
Enjoy my conversation with Pat Bergeson!

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, FabFilter, and Chase Bliss.
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This is Part 2 of my conversation with Dave Jacques - have a listen to Part 1 from last week first and then dig in!

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, FabFilter, and Chase Bliss.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bassist Dave Jacques is on the show today. Dave was John Prine’s bass player for nearly thirty years. That’s not just a gig - that’s a musical marriage! That’s knowing when to play, when not to play, when to push a lyric forward, and when to just lay the hell out of the way and let the song do its thing. This will be a 2-part conversation and Part 2 will come out one week from today.

If you know John Prine’s music, you know that the bass is doing a lot of quiet heavy lifting. Those songs don’t survive flashiness. They survive feel, restraint, and humor, and Dave understood that instinctively. He helped build the foundation under some of the most beloved songs in the American songbook, and he did it without ever getting in the way.

What’s remarkable is that Dave brought that same sensibility everywhere else he went. Whether it was Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Townes Van Zandt, or countless other sessions and tours, he always sounded like himself — but somehow also exactly right for the artist.

In this conversation, we talk a lot about his years with John Prine — what he learned from standing next to and playing with night after night, one of the greatest songwriters ever, not to mention endless hours in a car with him.

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and playing with Dave on quite a few sessions here in Nashville, and he was also crazy enough to join my band The Volcano Brothers, so if you find yourslef in Nahsville, come see us! You can also find Dave playing with a host of great musicians around town, my favorite being Kenny Vaughan’s Imperial Blues Hour.
You can get the latest on Dave and his projects over at davejacquesonbass.com

Enjoy my conversation with Dave Jacques!

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, FabFilter, and Chase Bliss.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ruthie Foster joins me on the show this week. I first met Ruthie about 20 years ago, when we were both playing at a Canadian folk festival. We had a few workshops together and really hit it off. She’s one of the most incredible singers I’ve ever heard - so powerful and soulful, but also totally open to jamming and opening things up in a cool way. We re-connected this summer at the Vancouver Folk Festival and had a blast playing together again after all those years.

Ruthie is a Grammy Award- winning recording artist (among many other awards!) who has an incredible new album out on Sun Records that she made here in Nashville with Tyler Bryant called “Mileage” - be sure to check it out! Ruthie came up singing in the church, performing all over Texas, and then had a stint in New York when she got signed to Atlantic Records. That didn’t really pan out and Ruthie stepped back from music for a while, joined the Navy, which led to joining the Navy band, which sort of got her back into performing music. After her time in the Navy, Ruthie re-committed to music and started releasing her first solo albums, of which she now has 11 or 12 out since about 1997. They’re all excellent, and Ruthie has always stayed true to her roots of blues, soul, gospel, folk and rock & roll. I got a chance to spend a bit of time with her here in Nashville during the Americanafest this year, and it was so great to hear her tell her story about her ineteresting path in the music world.

You can get all Ruthie’s current info and her busy tour schedule over at www.ruthiefoster.com

Please enjoy my conversation with Ruthie Foster!

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, FabFilter, and Chase Bliss.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Drummer Gary Craig joins me on this show this week. Gary is an incredible musician who has gained the reputation as one of Canada’s finest studio and live drummers working today. He’s been at it for a long time and has maintained a number of long-term associations with artists like Bruce Cockburn, Anne Murray, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings and Jann Arden. Gary’s attention to detail, combined with a unique sense of groove makes him one of the more creative forces in modern roots drumming. Coming up in Toronto in the 70’s and 80's, Gary learned from some of the city’s great jazz drummers, but shifted his focus to roots, blues and rock bands that appealed to his taste more than jazz did. Landing the gig with Anne Murray, which he got at a young age, Gary stayed with her until she retired about 25 years later. His ability to hold on to gigs and manage juggling several of them at once is no small feat, but when you hear him play, you understand why artists will do what they need to to keep him on board. Gary’s also a great hang too, which I can attest to first-hand, and while that might not be the most important thing in keeping a gig, it’s probably the second most important! Gary and I get into his history, influences, his work with many of the artists that he is known for, and what he’s up to these days both on the road and around Toronto as a live player and studio musician.

Enjoy my conversation with Gary Craig!

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, FabFilter, and Chase Bliss.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.