It is a joy talking with guests on this podcast, but I have to say that my interview with these gentlemen was especially rewarding. They are some of the most genuine, forthright and dedicated artists you will ever meet, and this holds for whenever they are in a studio, on stage or simply talking with anyone who wants to take a few minutes of their time. They put all of themselves into what they do, and it shows.

This is the second of three episodes to originate from one of my all-time favorite festivals, The Albino Skunk Music Festival in Greer, South Carolina. The podcast on Sierra Ferrell preceded this one and still to come is our episode on Amanda Anne Platt and the Honeycutters, who also played at the Skunk Farm in May 2021. Here, I spoke with brothers Audie and Zane McGinnis, Ty Gilpin, Tim Gardner and Sav Sankaran of Unspoken Tradition just ahead of their performance, and we had a lively and far ranging conversation about their musical philosophies, how they got their start in bluegrass (and in the case of fiddle player Tim Gardner, old time music), what silver linings they discovered from not getting to tour due to COVID-19, and much more. And as always, there is music, from a sampling of their live performance at Skunk to excerpts of several of their newest songs which will be part of their forthcoming album, their fourth since their 2013 debut.

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(l to r) Zane McGinnis, Ty Gilpin, Sav Sankaran, Audie McGinnis and Tim Gardner of Unspoken Tradition perform at Albino Skunk Music Festival on May 14, 2021

Songs heard in this episode:

“Monroe’s Hornpipe” by Unspoken Tradition, live at Albino Skunk Festival 05-14-21

“California” by Unspoken Tradition, excerpt

“Irons In the Fire” by Unspoken Tradition, excerpt

“At the Bottom Again” by Unspoken Tradition

I hope you enjoyed the podcast, and might tell someone you know about it. You can follow the series on podcast platforms everywhere. And once you do that, could you help by giving us a top rating, and a review? In just moments, you will help make all of the topics and artists covered on this series more likely to be found by more people just like you. Southern Songs and Stories is a part of the podcast lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes of this podcast on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. Thanks to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs. I’m your host and producer Joe Kendrick, and this is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists that make it.