Music Makers and Soul Shakers with Steve Dawson

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 198 - Season 9 Wrap-up Mar 25, 2026

Show notes

Season 9 comes to a close and I wanted to wrap it up with a short episode and what’s to come, and take care of our incredible end-of-season giveaways.

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, FabFilter, and Chase Bliss.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep. 197 - Andy Reiss | Nashville Guitar, Session Work & The Time Jumpers Mar 18, 2026

Show notes

Guitarist Andy Reiss joins me on the show today, the last full episode of Season 9! When I first moved to Nashville, I started going to see the Time Jumpers. They are an incredible band that plays western swing and classic country every Monday at 3rd & Lindsley. For quite a few years there, the band included Vince Gill, Paul Franklin, Ranger Doug, 3 incredible fiddle players, Dawn Sears on vocals, and Andy Reiss was always there, just calmly tackling every song, no matter how fast and crazy or slow and soulful. Usually playing elegant jazz/blues/bop licks on a Les Paul, or sometimes a 335. And while it was mind-bending to see everyone doing what they do, Andy was always a high point of any show for me. He’s still doing that gig, as he has for over 20 years now. Andy started out in San Francisco, and made his way to Nashville around 1980, where he got to watch and work with a number of the original Nashville A-Team. Folks like Pete Drake, Harold Bradley, Bob Moore, Ray Edenton, and Pig Robbins. People that I know of as legends - Andy was around them from day 1 after moving here. He spent a good deal of time on the road with artists like Reba McIntyre and Slim Whitman, and has played on hundreds of records for artists like Miranda Lambert, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers and Leon Russell. He is truly one of the great guitar players in town, and has a deep knowledge of music, guitars and history. I also get to enjoy him up close and personal, since he now plays in my band The Volcano Brothers as well! Be sure to go and see Andy any time you’re in Nashville.

Enjoy my conversation with Andy Reiss.

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, FabFilter, and Chase Bliss.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep. 196 - John Hammond Remembered | From the Archive: Blues Guitar, Stories & Meeting Bo Diddley Mar 06, 2026

Show notes

Following the passing of blues legend John Hammond, we’re revisiting this conversation with him from the first season of Music Makers and Soul Shakers, with the addition of a later conversation in which John recounts meeting Bo Diddley.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep. 195 - BJ Cole | Pedal Steel Guitar, Recording Sessions & 50 Years of Studio Work Mar 04, 2026

Show notes

British pedal steel guitar legend BJ Cole joins me on the show today. BJ is a masterful steel player - very inventive and textural but with incredible chops and skills as well. He’s amassed an incredible body of solo work over the years, but has also been the top call steel session player in the UK for decades. He had a very solitary musical start, but got into country bands in England and eventually started gigging and playing sessions. Things changed for BJ when he got called to play steel on Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” in 1971. He laid down some very tasty and memorable steel parts on that hit, and the phone started ringing big time. BJ has played on records and toured with an incredible array of artists like Joan Armatrading, Marc Bolan, KD Lang, Beck, Bjork, Sting, John Cale, Brian Eno and many more.

He’s also always written and recorded his own music and collaborations, which have been all over the place musically and are a great way to delve into his musical brain. There’s a new collab with cellist Emily Burridge - cello and steel duets that’s really cool, and his solo albums like Transparent Music, The New Hovering Dog, Trouble in Paradise - all great albums well worth checking out.

We get into all it, plus some seriously nerdy pedal steel talk.

You can keep up to date on BJ’s latest projects and tours at bjcole.co.uk

Enjoy my conversation with BJ Cole!

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, FabFilter, and Chase Bliss.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep. 194 - Brent Maher (Pt. 2) | Producing Nashville Records & Studio Stories Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

This is Part 2 of my conversation with Brent Maher - have a listen to Part 1 from last week first and then dig in!

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, FabFilter, and Chase Bliss.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep. 193 - Brent Maher (Pt. 1) | Nashville Producer, Songwriting & Recording Hits Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

Brent Maher joins me on the show today to talk about his incredible career as a producer, engineer and songwriter. This is Part 1 of our conversation, and part 2 will come out a week from today.

Brent is one of the few 1st generation of Nashville recording studio icons still active and working in town. Some of his extensive credits including recording “Proud Mary” for Ike & Tina Turner, “Dance to the Music” by Sly & The Family Stone and “Age of Aquarius” by the 5th dimension, not to mention producing every Judds record. His career began at Fred Foster Sound, which was the studio built by Sam Phillips. He learned and worked for years as an assistant to Bill Porter, one of the greatest engineers of all time. From the early 60’s, they were working on albums for Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, Chet Atkins and many more. Brent followed Porter to Las Vegas, where they set up shop and that’s where Brent started his producing and songwriting career, with the first song he ever wrote being recorded by Ike & Tina. Brent eventually moved back to Nashville, where he found the Judds, produced all of their huge records and redefined country music in the 80’s. He was instrumental in bringing the recording scene to Berry Hill, where he helped design and build Creative Workshop and what eventually became Blackbird Studios. Brent continues to work at his studio in Berry Hill today with artists like Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, Taj Mahal, as well as his latest project “Night of the Orphan Train” - which is a musical novel. We get into all of these facets of his stunning career in this 2-part episode.

Enjoy my conversation with Brent Maher!

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, FabFilter, and Chase Bliss.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep. 192 - Eddie Angel | Los Straitjackets, Surf Guitar & Instrumental Rock Feb 04, 2026

Show notes

Eddie Angel joins me on the show today. Eddie is a guitarist, producer, and one of the founding members of the legendary instrumental surf-rock band Los Straitjackets.

Eddie grew up in upstate New York, steeped in classic rock ’n’ roll, surf music, and vintage guitar tones, and he’s spent decades helping keep that spirit alive while pushing it into new territory. Eddie was a well respected guitarist in the DC rockabilly scene, playing with Tex Rubinowitz and the Bad Boys, and moved to Nashville to work with the Planet Rockers in the 80’s. Sometime in there, he formed a new band that became Los Straitjackets, and put out their first record in 1995. They also donned some luchador masks and have basically never taken them off since. They’ve gone on to record 14 studio albums, and 8 live albums. Their newest album is called “Somos” and is up there with their best work as a band. What started as an instrumental surf outfit quickly became something much bigger, blending rockabilly, garage, country, and cinematic guitar music into a sound that’s unmistakably their own.

Another interesting facet to Eddie’s career is as a collaborator, most notably working with Nick Lowe. The partnership between Lowe and Los Straitjackets has also gone on for years and is something they both continue to explore when the opportunities arise. Collaborations with Deke Dickerson and Eddy Clearwater are also notable projects that are a great example of interesting things coming along when you remain open to ideas.

In this conversation, we talk about Eddie’s early influences, the origins and evolution of Los Straitjackets, and what he’s learned from a lifetime of playing, producing, and collaborating at the highest level.

You can get all the latest info and tour dates for Eddie and Los Straitjackets at: losstraitjackets.com

Enjoy my conversation with Eddie Angel!

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, FabFilter, and Chase Bliss.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep. 191 - Pat Bergeson | Guitar, Harmonica & Nashville Session Playing Jan 21, 2026

Show notes

Pat Bergeson joins me on the show this week. Pat is one of those musicians who makes you stop and rethink what’s actually possible on a guitar. And on a harmonica.

Pat Bergeson is a true master of touch, tone, and taste, and one of the most deeply musical players you’ll ever hear.

Pat’s guitar playing is rooted in the blues, jazz, and country traditions, but it’s always personal, always expressive, and always unmistakably his own. He’s been here in Nashville for a number of decades now, and has amassed an impressive list of credits, playing on records for artists like Dolly Parton, John Paul White, Suzy Bogguss, Blake Shelton, Alison Krauss and Lyle Lovett. But Pat has never been one to devote himself to session work, so he’s led a much more rounded life, with tons of live playing and touring, including his current touring gig in Peter Frampton’s band. When I first saw him, it was with the band Les Brers, which was Butch Trucks’ band playing mostly Allman Brothers music, and seeing Pat teamed up with the band’s other guitarist Jack Pearson, was a one-two punch of two of my absolute favorite guitarists in music city!

One of the most meaningful chapters in Pat’s career was his close association with the legendary Chet Atkins. Chet didn’t just admire Pat’s playing - he brought him to Nashville. Pat recorded and performed with Chet, and you can really hear that shared philosophy: musical elegance, deep respect for melody, and an understanding that less can truly be more. Pat played with Chet for years, both on records but also as part of his band that used to have a weekly gig here in Nashville at a little Italian joint downtown.

And then there’s the harmonica.

Pat isn’t just a great guitarist — he’s one of the finest diatonic harmonica players you’ll ever hear. So whether you know him from his work with Chet Atkins, his collaborations with Peter Frampton, his session work, his solo recordings, or his unforgettable harmonica playing, you’re in for a great conversation today.

Enjoy my conversation with Pat Bergeson!

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, FabFilter, and Chase Bliss.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep. 190 - Dave Jacques (Pt. 2) | Bass with John Prine & Life on the Road Jan 14, 2026

Show notes

This is Part 2 of my conversation with Dave Jacques - have a listen to Part 1 from last week first and then dig in!

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, FabFilter, and Chase Bliss.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep. 189 - Dave Jacques (Pt. 1) | Bassist for John Prine & Studio Work Jan 07, 2026

Show notes

Bassist Dave Jacques is on the show today. Dave was John Prine’s bass player for nearly thirty years. That’s not just a gig - that’s a musical marriage! That’s knowing when to play, when not to play, when to push a lyric forward, and when to just lay the hell out of the way and let the song do its thing. This will be a 2-part conversation and Part 2 will come out one week from today.

If you know John Prine’s music, you know that the bass is doing a lot of quiet heavy lifting. Those songs don’t survive flashiness. They survive feel, restraint, and humor, and Dave understood that instinctively. He helped build the foundation under some of the most beloved songs in the American songbook, and he did it without ever getting in the way.

What’s remarkable is that Dave brought that same sensibility everywhere else he went. Whether it was Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Townes Van Zandt, or countless other sessions and tours, he always sounded like himself — but somehow also exactly right for the artist.

In this conversation, we talk a lot about his years with John Prine — what he learned from standing next to and playing with night after night, one of the greatest songwriters ever, not to mention endless hours in a car with him.

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and playing with Dave on quite a few sessions here in Nashville, and he was also crazy enough to join my band The Volcano Brothers, so if you find yourslef in Nahsville, come see us! You can also find Dave playing with a host of great musicians around town, my favorite being Kenny Vaughan’s Imperial Blues Hour.

You can get the latest on Dave and his projects over at davejacquesonbass.com

Enjoy my conversation with Dave Jacques!

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, FabFilter, and Chase Bliss.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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