Moxietalk With Kirt Jacobs

As far back as she can remember, Joyce has had a passion for chemistry. She earned a Master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Louisville’s Speed Scientific School, and for 15 years worked as a process engineer in industrial-scale distillation. She then spent a decade teaching high school chemistry and physics before her husband Bruce’s dream of opening a distillery reignited her passion for the distillation process—and the rest, as they say, is history. Her deep love for farm life, as well as her many years working her family’s land, have given her invaluable insight into growing the wide variety of crops used in Jeptha Creed’s products. It has also inspired the distillery’s distinct ground-to-glass maxim. In addition to being a Master Distiller and owner of Jeptha Creed, Joyce is a devoted mother of two who has a passion for all things Kentucky. She couldn’t be prouder to carry on the state’s long history of distilling the finest spirits in the world.

At a time when most people feel constantly distracted by technology and barraged by the news, authenticity and straightforward honesty are paramount. There’s something about the music of The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys that cuts right through the noise of the world and speaks plainly to the soul. Formed in the Smoky Mountains, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys are at once exactly what you would expect and not at all what you would expect from a tattooed East Tennessee Bluegrass outfit. No strangers to hard work, the boys are as much at home riding in their 1965 GM Tour bus as they are crawling underneath to fix it when it needs maintenance. But they take pride in being ambassadors of their genre, and the group has brought their music from rural bluegrass festival stages to the rock clubs of Europe, with stunning results. “I think to a certain extent everyone is just craving music that they can feel, and any music that feels real will reach any audience,” says CJ Lewandowski, the group’s founder, “We want to put bluegrass right whe

Born in Chattanooga and now based in Johnson City, Amythyst Kiah’s commanding stage presence is matched by her raw and powerful vocals—a deeply moving, hypnotic sound that stirs echoes of a distant and restless past. Accompanied interchangeably with banjo, acoustic guitar, or a full band, her eclectic influences span decades, finding inspiration in old-time music, alternative rock, folk, country, and blues. Our Native Daughters, her recent collaboration with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell (Birds of Chicago), has delivered a full-length album produced by Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell, Songs of Our Native Daughters (out now on Smithsonian Folkways). NPR described the opening track, Black Myself, written by Amythyst, as “the simmering defiance of self-respect in the face of racism.” The supergroup will hit the road in July with a series of special dates that include performances at Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian Museum of African American History & Culture as well as the Newport Folk

Matt is the chef/partner of the critically-acclaimed barbecue restaurant Pig Beach located in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Matt first earned his BBQ chops during his time working on America’s highly competitive barbecue teams, Salty Rinse, receiving 2nd place medal for Whole Hog in 2015 and 1st Place for Best Sauce at the annual Memphis in May World Championship. Prior to opening his own restaurants, Matt was the Chef de Cuisine of Del Posto and during is tenure, the restaurant received a coveted four-star review from the New York Times, and the Relais & Chateaux distinction. Raised in the small upstate New York town of New Hartford in an extremely tight-knit Italian-American-Lebanese family where he began his culinary training at a very young age by rolling meatballs and house-made pasta with his nona. Today, Matt is a frequent guest chef on The Today Show and has appeared on NBC’s The Chew and DirecTV’s Fantasty Zone.

Chef Jose Salazar was born in Colombia South America and was raised in Queens NY. Chef Salazar got his start in restaurants as a bartender and waiter at some of New York’s hottest establishments- among them, Donatella Arpia’s Bellini restaurant. Although the front of the house is where he started, it was the kitchen that really caught his eye. This prompted him to enroll in the culinary program at the New York Restaurant School. Upon graduating in 2001 he landed an internship with famed Chef Jean George Vongerichten at his namesake restaurant; Jean George. After completing the internship, he went on to work with some of New York’s most celebrated chefs and restaurateurs, including Geoffrey Zacharian of Town, Josh De’ Chellis of Sumile, and Eric and Bruce Bromberg of Blue Ribbon. However, it was Jose’s four years working with Chef Thomas Keller that made the most palpable impression on his cooking philosophies. In 2003 Jose was hired as chef de partie to be a part of the opening staff of the highly acclaimed P

Los Angeles, based Michael Voltaggio is the chef of the former ink.well concept, as well as Sack Sandwiches at LAX’s Tom Bradley International. Beginning his career at the age of 15, Michael earned the prestigious Greenbrier apprenticeship at age 19 and went on to helm the kitchens at Dry Creek Kitchen and The Bazaar by José Andrés. Celebrated for having reinterpreted a new class of finer dining at ink. – which received the title of GQ’s “Best New Restaurant in America” 2011 – Michael has been recognized as one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs 2013, winner of Bravo’s Top Chef, and hosted the Travel Channel series.

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