William Christenberry at his home in Washington D.C in 2007, program 1

This program is a rebroadcast of Joey Brackner, Director of the Alabama Center for Traditional Culture, interviewing Alabama native, and renowned artist, William Christenberry at his home in Washington D.C in 2007.  William Christenberry died Monday, November 28, 2016 in Washington, DC at the age of 80. This is the first of two interviews with Christenberry discussing his life's work as an artist that includes drawing and painting as well as his unique dream house sculptures and acclaimed photographic documentation of rural Alabama. This special radio series will air every Tuesday at 8:00 to 8:30 P.M. central, on the Troy Public Radio Network at:   WTSU 89.9 (Montgomery and Troy) WRWA 88.7 (Dothan) WTJB 91.7 (Columbus and Phenix   City)  This radio series may not be broadcast in your area, but it can be accessed via the Internet at: http://www.arts.alabama.gov/actc/radioserieslist.aspx If you have been listening to, and enjoying this radio series, please send your comments to: barbara.reed@arts.alabama.gov Listen first hand using the link below. MP3 Download/Stream

John Davis

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This program is a rebroadcast of pianist John Davis talking with Community Arts program manager Deborah Boykin about his interest in the music of Blind Tom, a 19th Century composer who was born a slave in Columbus, Georgia and who went on to tour the country playing his compositions in opera houses, concert halls, and other performance venues. In 2015 Mr. Davis visited Alabama on a tour arranged by the Southern Literary Trail in partnership with the Mobile Arts Council. He played from Blind Tom’s repertoire in Mobile, Tuskegee, and Demopolis and gave a multi-media presentation about Blind Tom’s life. This special radio series will air every Tuesday at 8:00 to 8:30 P.M., on the Troy University Public Radio Network at:   WTSU 89.9 (Montgomery and Troy) WRWA 88.7 (Dothan) WTJB 91.7 (Columbus and Phenix   City)  This radio series may not be broadcast in your area, but it can be accessed via the Internet at: http://www.arts.alabama.gov/actc/radioserieslist.aspx If you have been listening to, and enjoying this radio series, please send your comments to: barbara.reed@arts.alabama.gov Listen first hand using the link below. MP3 Download/Stream

Buddy Palmer, President and CEO of Create Birmingham

This program is a repeat from 2015 of  Buddy Palmer, President and CEO of Create Birmingham, talking to Community Arts Program Manager Deb Boykin about the ways in which his organization has become more responsive to opportunities presented by the city’s growing creative economy. This special radio series will air every Tuesday at 8 P.M. Central, on the Troy Public Radio Network at:   WTSU 89.9 (Montgomery and Troy) WRWA 88.7 (Dothan) WTJB 91.7 (Columbus and Phenix   City)  This radio series may not be broadcast in your area, but it can be accessed via the Internet at: http://www.arts.alabama.gov/actc/radioserieslist.aspx If you have been listening to, and enjoying this radio series, please send your comments to: barbara.reed@arts.alabama.gov Listen first hand using the link below. MP3 Download/Stream

Steve Grauberger interviewing Kevin Nutt of CaseQuarter Records

Photo by Steve Grauberger This week's program is a rebroadcast of Steve Grauberger interviewing Kevin Nutt of CaseQuarter Records talking about his research on early blues recording artist Ed Bell from Greenville, Alabama. His Tributaries article on the subject can be obtained at Alabamafolklife.org Kevin can be heard weekly, online, at WFMU with his radio program Sinners Crossroads. This special radio series will air every Tuesday at 8:30 to 9:00 P.M., on the Troy University Public Radio Network at: WTSU 89.9 (Montgomery and Troy) WRWA 88.7 (Dothan) WTJB 91.7 (Columbus and Phenix   City)  This radio series may not be broadcast in your area, but it can be accessed via the Internet at: http://www.arts.alabama.gov/actc/radioserieslist.aspx If you have been listening to, and enjoying this radio series, please send your comments to: barbara.reed@arts.alabama.gov Listen first hand using the link below. MP3 Download/Stream

Deborah Boykin interviews Andrew Freear, director of The Rural Studio

Picture from an article that appeared in the February 2014 issue of Fast Company magazine This Program is a repeat from 2009 of Deborah Boykin interviewing Andrew Freear, director of The Rural Studio, a project of Auburn University's School of Architecture.  He discusses how this community-based program enables students to learn through projects that ultimately provide affordable homes and public spaces in rural West Alabama. (watch a video here) This year, Andrew Freear received the 2016 American Arts and Letters Award in Architecture. This special radio series will air every Tuesday at 9:00 to 9:30 P.M., on the Troy University Public Radio Network at:   WTSU 89.9 (Montgomery and Troy) WRWA 88.7 (Dothan) WTJB 91.7 (Columbus and Phenix   City)  This radio series may not be broadcast in your area, but it can be accessed via the Internet at: http://www.arts.alabama.gov/actc/radioserieslist.aspx If you have been listening to, and enjoying this radio series, please send your comments to: barbara.reed@arts.alabama.gov Listen first hand using the link below. MP3 Download/Stream

Alicia Johnson-Williams founder of Make It Happen Theater Company

Performing Arts Program Manager Yvette Jones-Smedley interviews ASCA fellowship recipient Alicia Johnson-Williams founder of Make It Happen Theater Company with its mission to bridge the gap among the cultures, promote literacy and provide positive, productive performing arts experiences for adults and children in the greater Birmingham area, as one of the Southeastern region's premiere multi-cultural theatre companies. This special radio series will air every Tuesday at 9:00 to 9:30 P.M., on the Troy University Public Radio Network at:   WTSU 89.9 (Montgomery and Troy) WRWA 88.7 (Dothan) WTJB 91.7 (Columbus and Phenix   City)  This radio series may not be broadcast in your area, but it can be accessed via the Internet at: http://www.arts.alabama.gov/actc/radioserieslist.aspx If you have been listening to, and enjoying this radio series, please send your comments to: barbara.reed@arts.alabama.gov Listen first hand using the link below. MP3 Download/Stream

This week on Performing Arts Program Manager Yvette Jones-Smedley interviews Diedra Ruff, The Blues Diva

This week Performing Arts Program Manager Yvette Jones-Smedley interviews Diedra Ruff, The Blues Diva, from Birmingham Alabama about her background and career as a singer and performer. This special radio series will air every Tuesday at 9:00 to 9:30 P.M., on the Troy University Public Radio Network at:   WTSU 89.9 (Montgomery and Troy) WRWA 88.7 (Dothan) WTJB 91.7 (Columbus and Phenix   City)  This radio series may not be broadcast in your area, but it can be accessed via the Internet at: http://www.arts.alabama.gov/actc/radioserieslist.aspx If you have been listening to, and enjoying this radio series, please send your comments to: barbara.reed@arts.alabama.gov Listen first hand using the link below. MP3 Download/Stream

Elliot Knight talks with Mobile Museum of Art Executive Director Deborah Velders

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This week on Alabama Arts Radio, Visual Arts Program Manager Elliot Knight talks with Mobile Museum of Art Executive Director Deborah Velders. They discuss the educational offerings and permanent collection at the museum as well as the 50th anniversary celebration of the museum, which will culminate the weekend of November 8-9 with the opening of a new exhibition highlighting the art and design of Mardi Gras and activities for the whole family in and around the museum. This special radio series will air every Sunday at 2:00 P.M., on the Troy University Public Radio Network at:   WTSU 89.9 (Montgomery and Troy) WRWA 88.7 (Dothan) WTJB 91.7 (Columbus and Phenix   City)  This radio series may not be broadcast in your area, but it can be accessed via the Internet at: http://www.arts.alabama.gov/actc/radioserieslist.aspx If you have been listening to, and enjoying this radio series, please send your comments to: barbara.reed@arts.alabama.gov Listen first hand using the link below. MP3 Download/Stream

Birmingham native Randall Horton talks with Jeanie Thompson, executive director of the Alabama Writers’ Forum

Randall Horton

This week Birmingham native Randall Horton talks with Jeanie Thompson, executive director of the Alabama Writers’ Forum about his week-long residency in Alabama that included visits to schools in Birmingham and Montgomery, and a featured appearance at the Alabama Book Festival in April. Horton’s visit was supported in part by a grant from South Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. An award-winning poet, educator, editor, and organizer of literary events in Connecticut where he teaches at the University of New Haven,  Horton has published three collections of poems, the most recent of which is Pitch Dark Anarchy. He and Thompson discuss the current interest in historical poetry, his appreciation of working with youth in traditional and incarcerated settings such as the Forum’s Writing Our Stories program which he visited during his residency, and matching audiences and poets in successful literary events.  Horton reads two selections from his latest book.

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Alabama Center for Traditional Culture Executive Director Joey Brackner interviews Joe Wilson

Alabama Center for Traditional Culture Executive Director Joey Brackner interviews Joe Wilson.  Wilson, a folklorist and journalist, served as the executive director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) from 1976 to 2004.  In 2001, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Wilson a National Heritage Fellowship for his dedication to the field.  In his career, he has produced 42 large-scale music festivals in 11 states, 21 national tours by musicians and dancers, nine international tours that visited 33 nations, and 131 LP and CD audio recordings of various forms of folk music. In this interview he recollects living in Alabama in the 1960s and some of the interesting people he met along the way.

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Marcus Johnson and the Bay City Brass Band

Marcus Johnson and the Bay City Brass Band

This week's program is a rebroadcast of Anne Kimzey interviewing Marcus Johnson of the Bay City Brass Band of Mobile. They discuss brass band history and music in the Mobile Mardi Gras tradition.

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Artistic Director of the Plantation Heirs, Ernestine Robinson

Artistic Director of the Plantation Heirs, Ernestine Robinson

This show is a repeat of Steve Grauberger interviewing Auburn native Ernestine Hill Robinson about her life as a singer and the artistic director of the a cappella Negro Spiritual singing group, The Plantation Heirs. Musical examples are included in the program.

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Alabama Arts Podcast, Mark Driscoll, Director of Historic Sites for the Alabama Historical Commission

Joey Brackner, director of the Alabama Center for Traditional Culture, interviews Mark Driscoll, director of Historic Sites for the Alabama Historical Commission, about the Freedom Rides Museum in Montgomery Alabama.
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Alabama Arts Radio Podcast, The Thomas Sister Singers from Alexander City

This program is a rebroadcast of a 2006 show of Steve Grauberger interviewing the Thomas Sister Singers from Alexander City, Phyllis, Margie and Bernice. Both Margie and Bernice have since passed but at the time Margie and Bernice Thomas had been singing gospel music for over 60 years in and around Alexander City, performing on radio and TV as early as the 1950s with three other of their sisters all known collectively as the Thomas Sister Singers.   Included in the program are songs sung by Margie and Bernice Thomas, and Margie's daughter Phyllis, recorded at their home in 2005. Watch a video clip of the Thomas Sisters singing "Not Made With Hands", click here.
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Alabama Arts Podcast, Patti Hendrix Lovoy executive director of VSA Alabama

Deputy Director, Barbara Edwards, interviews Patti Hendrix Lovoy, the Council’s 2011 Arts Administration Fellowship recipient.   The Council makes available each year a $5,000 Arts Administration Fellowship award.  This award is given to an arts administrator to improve his/her skills and ability to better serve his/her organization and the community.  Patti is the executive director of VSA Alabama.  In the interview, Patti talks about the impact of the professional opportunities afford her though the Arts Administration Fellowship award. (more)

Folklife Author Jack Solomon

Steve Grauberger interviews, Alabama folklore scholar, teacher and writer Jack Solomon at his home in Tallassee, Alabama. He discusses various books he produced with his late wife Olivia and talks about his life with her and his long career as a teacher and college professor. Their books include Cracklin Bread and Asfidity, Zickary Zan, Ghosts and Goosebumps, Sweet Bunch of Daisies, and Honey in the Rock.

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Alabama Arts Radio, Joe Dan Boy Author of "Judge Jackson and the Colored Sacred Harp"

This program is a repeat of a 2003 interview by Joey Brackner with Joe Dan Boyd about his book on Judge Jackson, the Ozark, Alabama man who published the "Colored Sacred Harp" tunebook in the 1930's. Included in the show are historic musical examples of African American songsters.

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Alabama Arts Radio, Playwright Barry Bradford

This week, Yvette Jones-Smedley interviews  Alabama native Barry Bradford, a Southern playwright who writes often about small towns, racial conflict and the vanishing South. Bradford discusses how he was commissioned to write The Face in The Courthouse Window, a theatrical work produced annually in Carrolton, Alabama detailing the legendary story of Henry Wells whose face was indelibly etched in the Pickens County courthouse window. Bradford is known for his fearless portrayal of delicate subjects - like slavery and racism - and for his ability to bring to light the unique struggles of the human condition. Currently residing in Hammond, LA, he is a graduate of the University of Alabama and has been writing plays for over nineteen years. Some of Barry's  works include Rugs, Chairs, Tables; Conquistadors;  Was; and Hit and Miss.  In 2003 his play Dead Towns of Alabama was work-shopped at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and scenes from it were read as part of ASF's Festival of New Plays. Since that time he has won the Southern Playwrights Competition three times (2005, 2009, and 2011). (more)

Alabama Arts Radio Podcast, John O'Neal

Alabama State Arts Council Director Al Head interviews John O'Neal, actor, playwright, founder and now retired artistic director of Junebug Productions based in New Orleans. As a civil rights activist beginning in the early 1960s he co-founded the Free Southern Theater.  He is probably best know for his widely toured character Junebug Jabbo Jones, a mythic figure who symbolizes the wisdom of common people.  O’Neal has written eighteen plays, a musical comedy,  poetry and several essays.  He is a winner of a Ford Foundation’s Leadership for a Changing World award (2005), the Award of Merit from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (2010) and the United States Artists Award. He was in Alabama demonstrating elements of the Story Circle Project to Arts leaders here.  The Story Circle concept allows individuals to share intimate stories about themselves to help bridge understanding between races. (more)

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Alabama Arts Radio Podcast, Lee Sentell and Grey Brennan Alabama Tourism Dept.

Alabama Center for Traditional Culture Director Joey Brackner interviews Alabama  Tourism Department  Director Lee Sentell about the tourism industry in Alabama and his Department's themed campaigns such as the "Year of Alabama Food" and "Year of Alabama Arts". In the second half Grey Brennan, Marketing and Regional Director for the Alabama Tourism Department, talks about this year's innovative campaign "The Year of Alabama Music" and its importance to the state's local economy.  Also included is a discussion about the Year of Alabama Music Songwriting Contest.

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