Part 2 of our sampling of Kerrville New Folk winners who we've interviewed on NSR.

A different kind of Song of the Soul today, a sampling of our guests who have competed at the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Competition. We're grabbing glimpses of Kerrville alumni who we've interviewed on our show in recent years, giving you a taste of the rich talent and spirit of Kerrville artists.

We're headed to England today for a visit with Simon Mayor. Unlike in the US where mandolin is a common instrument in many areas, it is a less common and less-vaunted source of fine music in England, except in the hands of Simon Mayor and a handful of other Brits.

Celebrating the winter holidays with 6 artists & songs, with very different glimpses & ideas about Christmas. Some are whimsical, some thought-provoking, some passionate.

Part one of a rich assortment of guests & original music of some Winter Holidays, like the Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas, and the New Year.

Flamy Grant and their music is amazing & fun & deep & did I mention wonderful? You see, Flamy is such an unexpected combination of usually adversarial things like a drag queen singing Christian songs. In fact, Flamy's album Bible Belt Baby even made it to #1 on the iTunes Christian & Gospel chart. And in 2023 Flamy was a winner of the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Competition.

Leslie Smith has shined as part of all the great folk locales, the Newport, Kerrville, and South By Southwest music festivals, and her songs have been done by many folk-greats, like Lucy Kaplansky and Dar Williams, although I think they are best out of Leslie's own mouth and guitar. Along the way to now she did a stint as part of a New York bluegrass band called Arabesque, but then she headed back to Pittsburgh, back to her center.

Chris Haddox has played so many instruments, hiked & paddled so many hills & rivers, and worked in so many fields that it's hard to wrap your mind around it. And even though Chris wrote his first song in 2^nd grade and played an astounding variety of instruments all through school and beyond, this past year, at 62, is the first time he's recorded his songs for the world.

Rich Morey grew up immersed in music and performed for years with the Chris Collat Band, yet he has only just begun to release his own music. The death of his mother and the pandemic ended up producing a chrysalis-like transition for Rich, the fruits of which today's listeners will witness. With an artist's hands on his guitar and a poet's tongue to create his lyrics, Rich will deepen and uplift at the same time.

Pat Humphries & Sandy O are the members of Emma's Revolution, an entity with its own soul & mission, beautiful music to call forth the deepest of emotions, both grief and joy, always with the aim of steering the world toward justice & healing. If only we could unite the world like Pat & Sandy blend & weave their voices & instruments, peace and justice would already be the norm.