Moxietalk With Kirt Jacobs

Pearl Aday is a Honey-throated and soulful, and possessing a compelling growl full of grit and strut when she lets loose. Pearl follows up her critically acclaimed 2010 debut with her new release “Heartbreak and Canyon Revelry,” ushering in a new dawn of California Country Rock. Joining forces with the venerable Jim Wilson, (longtime bassist for Daniel Lanois, Emmylou Harris, and leader of Motor Sister and Mother Superior), Pearl once again proves how she is every inch a rock chanteuse who seamlessly moves from vulnerable to guttural in one measure. “Heartbreak and Canyon Revelry,” produced by Jay Ruston, is the natural evolution from 2010’s “Little Immaculate White Fox,” which was cited as not only “a noble debut” but tapped as leaving “a huge impact on the music scene” with “new female rock icon” Pearl likened to Ann Wilson, KT Tunstall, and Shania Twain. The album takes its title from two central events in Pearl’s life: her move to Topanga Canyon with her husband Scott and the birth of their son, Revel, Yo

***DISCLAIMER*** *Due to the live nature of our Hometown Rising music festival coverage, & external circumstances beyond our control, the audio production in the following MoxieTalk is unable to be brought to our normal MoxieTalk listening and viewing standards. We apologize for any inconvenience.* As Rolling Stone so cleverly put it, Hannah Ellis is an artist for fans of “spontaneous declarations of love.” This Kentucky native is creating forward-thinking pop country music with a lyric that pulls from real-life experiences. This approach has garnered Hannah a great deal of attention in the last year as she was named to CMT’s Next Women of Country, as well as one of Rolling Stone’s “Artists to Watch.” Her single, “Home and a Hometown”, premiered on CMT last summer and has since been featured on Sirius XM’s “On the Horizon,” and even charted in the Top 100 on Mediabase Country, despite being an independent release. Growing up in her small hometown of Campbellsville, Kentucky, Hannah sang in every local com

***DISCLAIMER*** *Due to the live nature of our Hometown Rising music festival coverage, & external circumstances beyond our control, the audio production in the following MoxieTalk is unable to be brought to our normal MoxieTalk listening and viewing standards. We apologize for any inconvenience.* “At an after-party one night we watched a video of The Band’s “The Last Waltz” over a bottle of Knob Creek. It sounded like the dirt I grew up from. That moment musically changed my life.” ~ Brent Rupard of Everette Like the great American bands that came before them – new Broken Bow Records duo Everette doesn’t follow trends. Instead, the guys of Everette write what they live, weaving gritty tales of struggle and heartbreak alongside fun-loving stories of escapism and mischief. Often their songs are written while touring – sometimes during sleepless nights as an odometer tracks the miles or on a day off in a dingy motel room off the beaten path – but always organically and always from the heart. Hailing from h

As an emerging female country artist in Nashville, history suggests that the quickest path to success is somehow aligning oneself with one of the major publishers, producers, songwriters, labels, or managers that are the heart of Music Row. So what do you do if you are an emerging female country artist in Nashville, and also happen to be the granddaughter of musical icon, Willie Nelson? You hook up with an independent producer and veteran of the rock/punk scene, write some songs that are part Loretta Lynn, part Cheap Trick, and form the Raelyn Nelson Band. Raelyn Nelson has been singing since she can remember. Having been raised on a steady diet of traditional country and gospel music, a gift from her grandpa in the form of a guitar during her teenage years was the inspiration she needed to begin writing her own country and folk songs. Looking for a place to record these songs, a mutual friend suggested JB (Jonathan Bright), a veteran of the underground rock scene and independent producer. After recording som

Known mononymously as IMAJ, the artist fans everywhere call their “Country Darling” is a multi-talented Country singer-songwriter, visual artist, novelist, actress and humanitarian. Born in Miami Beach, FL to a model mother and actor father, 80’s TV icon Philip Michael Thomas (Tubbs of Miami Vice), IMAJ grew up in a “utopian environment where creativity was encouraged.” IMAJ has been a special guest performer/toured with multi-platinum and major Country artists such as Collin Raye, Kip Moore, Gretchen Wilson, Billy Dean, Neal McCoy, Hunter Hayes, and LeAnn Rimes. IMAJ has also been a special guest performer for renowned brands such as PepsiCo, Frito-Lay, an honored singer/songwriter at Nashville’s famous Bluebird Cafe and a headliner for the State Fair of Texas, the “I Am Ali” Festival and Awards ceremony for the Muhammad Ali Center, Nancy Lieberman’s Dream Ball Gala with Ice Cube and Julius Irving, the Festival of Faiths, WE Day, for Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee’s Toys for Kids charity event, Forbes Maga

With a pair of critically acclaimed Woods Music/Thirty Tigers releases under their belts in Straw in the Wind(2017) and Old News(2019), Nashville-based The Steel Woods have lived up to their name as a hybrid musical force both in the studio, but especially live. The band’s two original members are native sons of the south who both hale from small-town backgrounds. The Alabama-born Wes Bayliss played harmonica from the age of eight in his family’s gospel band, eventually teaching himself piano, bass, and drums. Jason “Rowdy” Cope turned his love of Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix into a career as a session guitarist/songwriter and producer, moving to Los Angeles, then playing in Jamey Johnson’s band for nine years. The two met in Nashville playing for the same cover band in some out-of-town dive, and immediately discovered an affinity for each other. Part hard-edged Southern rock, part Americana roots country folk, man-made, yet organic, rock but also bluegrass, R&B, blues, gospel, soul and heavy metal, The St

“It’s a song about taking the risk to do what you love,” Alice Wallace says of the soaring track, “The Blue,” which yields a lyric entitling her spellbinding new album. With Into the Blue, the California-country singer-songwriter conjures the atmospheric sound of the Golden State’s canyons and deserts, mountains and crashing waves, its crowning beauty and its tragic losses. At the same time, the supple-voiced Wallace tells her own and others’ stories, weaving tales that resonate as we grapple with so many disturbing national issues. Into the Blue is Wallace’s fourth album but marks her debut on the brand-new Rebelle Road label, an imprint founded by a trio of women dedicated to strengthening the California Country music community and expanding visibility for female artists in the Americana/roots genre. “They care so deeply about giving women a stronger voice in the music industry,” Wallace attests. Having spent the past six years writing songs and touring the nation – from AMERICANAFEST® to county fairs, barr

A tractor cab might not seem like the ideal place for an aspiring artist to nurture her musical dreams, but it sure did the trick for Clare Dunn. Growing up in tiny Two Buttes, Colorado (population: 43), she spent days at a time helping plow and plant the family farm, sharpening her ears with uninterrupted music-listening in the driver’s seat, even as she strengthened her work ethic. “That’s where a lot of my creativity came from and where a lot of my vision was forged, was just having nothing else to do other than listen to music and dream all day long in the vast wide open of those plains,” she reflects. By the time the genial, grounded Great Plains native got the chance to record for MCA Nashville, she had fine-tuned her creative vision and was ready to do what it would take to make it a reality, which landed her in a truly unique position: she is the only female country artist in recent memory to have a hand in all of the writing, arranging and producing for her debut release, the Clare Dunn EP. “I rememb

***DISCLAIMER*** *Due to the live nature of our Hometown Rising music festival coverage, & external circumstances beyond our control, the audio production in the following MoxieTalk is unable to be brought to our normal MoxieTalk listening and viewing standards. We apologize for any inconvenience.* Noah rose to fame covering chart-topping hits on YouTube. He received national attention with his blues-filled version of LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It,” which to date has received over 26-million views, with his YouTube channel, only1noah, racking up over 78 million total views. Noah released his first independent, original album, Among The Wildest Things, in 2013. His new album, The Valley, has established him as an artist on the rise in the world of Americana/Country music. His songwriting and soulful vocal delivery are truly unique. His growing presence on YouTube eventually led to his being cast as Roderick Meeks, a pivotal character on FOX’s hit TV show Glee, on it’s the sixth and final season. Noah was fea

Trained at The Australian Ballet School & having enjoyed a thrilling & fulfilling career with The Australian Ballet as a Principal Artist, Robert took his passion & discipline he developed as a dancer & set his sights on diversifying his knowledge, skills & abilities. With education and experience, he continually expanded his ability to move his own body on stage & through this, moving an audience through a wide range of emotions. Beyond his dancing career, he strives to continue to move people towards a satisfying encounter with dance. Robert is motivated by the form that a dancer gains from training in the traditions of classical ballet, where respect & discipline can facilitate breathtaking strength & freedom. He is also inspired by the innovation that forms the function of any artist, that being to bravely & boldly express oneself through art for the greater good of a community. As Artistic Director, Robert continues to contribute to the Global Arts Community, enriching

GE Appliances, a Haier company, is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, where Marcia Brey leads the Lean strategy for the business focusing on delivering winning products and services for customers & consumers while minimizing waste throughout ALL functions. Known as the Lean Enterprise, Marcia is responsible for implementing transformational, cross-functional processes, growing the capability of employees and improving management systems at GE Appliances. Marcia earned her Master’s degrees from both the University of Louisville in Mechanical Engineering & the University of Arizona in Quality & Reliability Engineering. Marcia began her 26-year career at Appliances on GE’s Edison Engineering Program & has worked across multiple product lines in Design Engineering, Customer Service, Sales, Marketing, Distribution, Quality & Manufacturing. She most recently was the plant manager for the Bottom-Freezer Refrigeration factory where she managed a $100M budget and led a team of 1,000 employees m

Alex attends Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky and has served as Lieutenant Governor of the Kentucky Youth Assembly and more recently elected to serve as the KYA President of the Senate. Additionally, he was selected to represent Kentucky at the Conference On National Affairs. Since the age of 11, Alex has been leading a bipartisan effort in the Kentucky legislature to end the use of corporal punishment in schools. Alex has also written opinion pieces for The Courier-Journal. He enjoys running cross country & participating in Saint Xavier High School’s service club & student council. The Saint Xavier faculty awarded Alex the Ryken Underclassman Award for outstanding industry, school spirit, cooperation, and loyalty.

Josh runs IDEAS xLab – an artist-led nonprofit based in Louisville, KY. He is an artist with a background in entrepreneurship, art & business administration, & editorial production – & explores the world through photography (& a lot of running), documenting his journey through joshmiller.ventures. In addition to his outdoor explorations, Josh celebrates the brilliance and strength of marginalized people including LGBTQ+ & Black communities through photography & collaborative storytelling. Josh was selected for Louisville Business First’s Forty under 40 and is a distance runner, a TEDx speaker, an advisor for the Derby Diversity & Business Summit, & founding Board Member of Civitas: Regional LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce headquartered in Louisville, KY. From 2016 – July 2019, he served as the Co-Chair of the Louisville Health Advisory Board’s Communications Committee. In 2019, IDEAS xLab was named Nonprofit of the Year by the Derby Diversity & Business Summit.

Lee Pennington is a graduate of Berea College and the University of Iowa. He holds two Honorary Doctor degrees – A Doctor of Literature from World University & Doctor of Philosophy in Arts from The Academy of Southern Arts & Letters. He taught for nearly 40 years, the last 32 as Professor of English and creative writing at the University of Kentucky’s Jefferson Community College until he retired in 1999. Lee is the author of 22 books including I Knew a Woman (1977) Thigmotropism (1993) & Appalachian Newground (2016)–each nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in poetry. His latest book is Daughters of Leda (2017)—selected as a finalist for “Best Book of Poetry published in 2017” by the American Book Fest. His Songs of Bloody Harlan was reprinted and re-released in 2019. He has had over 1300 poems published in more than 300 magazines in America & abroad. He has had 9 plays produced, wrote the script for The Moonshine War (MGM, 1970, starring Alan Alda, Richard Widmark, etc.), & has published thousa

Shelly is a community leader & an internationally recognized authority on American quilts. Check out www.shellyzegart.com for more information. She collects, curates exhibitions, writes, lectures, and appraises fine quilts. Shelly has curated many exhibits in the U.S. & abroad, and lectures on all aspects of quilt history and aesthetics. She is the President of the not-for-profit Kentucky Quilt Project, Inc., the 1st of the state quilt documentation projects. Shelly is a co-founder of the Quilt Alliance & Executive Producer and Host of “Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics” a nine-part documentary featured on more than 250 member PBS stations and whyquiltsmatter.org & now streaming on Kentucky Educational Television. Her private collection of quilts was acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2013 Shelly was the catalyst for the placement of the International Honor Quilt (see Judy Chicago Through the Flower site) at the University of Louisville Hite Art Institute, & chairs t

Ramez Naam is the co-chair of Energy and Environment at Singularity University. He is a computer scientist who spent 13 years at Microsoft leading teams that worked on email, web browsing, internet search, machine learning, internet-scale systems, and artificial intelligence. The products he built have touched the lives of more than a billion people. Ramez is an inventor with more than 20 patents, many of them co-authored with Bill Gates. He is also a startup investor, focused on disruptive energy startups, and is a board member of E8 Angels. He leads an angel investing syndicate on AngelList, where you can co-invest alongside him. He is on the advisory board of Shell’s New Energies division and has advised numerous Fortune 100 energy, utility, and transportation companies. He and his work have been written about in The New York Times, The Economist, Slate, Business Week, Scientific American, The Atlantic and more. Ramez is also the multi-award-winning author of five books, including “The Nexus Trilogy” scien

Dr. Richard Murphy, who has been the research director at the Alltech European Bioscience Centre in Dunboyne, Ireland, for 17 years, is the recipient of the Alltech Medal of Excellence. Alltech’s highest distinction, it is awarded annually to someone of great character and achievement. Dr. Murphy is being recognized for his pioneering work in the areas of organic trace element assimilation, microbial enzyme technology and the mitigation of antimicrobial resistance in livestock production. This research has provided the basis for a revolution in animal nutrition, including many exciting developments in the industry, such as: the application of organic trace minerals and their potential to positively impact feed quality and decrease feed costs; the optimization of solid-state fermentation systems by utilizing microbial enzyme production, opening opportunities for new supplementation approaches; and a better understanding of the microbial factors that influence gut health, which has been integral to the developm

Amanda Radke is a fifth-generation rancher from Mitchell, South Dakota, who has dedicated her career to serving as a voice for the nation’s beef producers. A 2009 graduate of South Dakota State University (SDSU) with a degree in agricultural communications, education, and leadership, Amanda served internships with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service in Washington, D.C. and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in Denver, Colorado. Her 2008 summer internship with BEEF magazine led to an ongoing blogger position for the BEEF Daily blog, where she provides timely industry news each week, Monday through Thursday. She’s the 2006 National FFA Extemporaneous Speaking champion and the 2006 National Beef Ambassador. In 2012, she was recognized as a Top 10 Beef Industry Leader by Cattle Business Weekly and was included in Media Industry News’ 2012 “Top 15 People To Watch Under 30” list. When she’s not writing or ranching, Amanda is traveling the country speaking to agricultu

Samantha considers herself a Media Specialist, having worked for such organizations as Fairfax Media, Food Miles Magazine, the Daily Telegraph, and the Glen Innes Examiner.  Based in Sydney Australia, Samantha became the Runner-Up 2019 IFAJ Alltech International Award for Leadership.

Deborah Wilson is senior vice president of TrustBIX Inc., which operates Business InfoXchange (BIX) in Canada and Viewtrak Technologies in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and China. BIX is currently expanding into other countries and beyond beef to other species and commodities. Her role includes business development, data management system development, blockchain use, traceability in supply chains, collaborative partnerships, pilot projects, and marketing and communications. She sits on the national council for the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB), was an adviser to the verification committee and serves on the marketing and communications committee. She currently sits on the CRSB business strategy committee as well as the project management team for the Canadian Beef Sustainability Pilot project. This allows her to pursue her passion for sustainability and support cattle producers, creating a future for the next generation. Deborah has served on both the national and provincial boards of the Canadia