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Celebrate Southern identity through the eyes of contemporary creators of literature, music, film and TV, among them authors Angie Thomas, Jesmyn Ward and David Joy; poet Jericho Brown; songwriters Lyle Lovett, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, Jason Isbell and Justin Moore; songwriter/actor Mary Steenburgen; songwriter/screenwriter/actor Billy Bob Thornton; and screenwriters Qui Nguyen and Michael Waldron.
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Valerie June | Southern Sounds
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Valerie June emerges from Tennessee, mixing Appalachian folk with ethereal storytelling. (10m 11s)
Tank and The Bangas | Southern Sounds
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A visit to the studio and band hangout brings poetry, writing, and a backyard performance. (10m 46s)
S.G. Goodman | Southern Sounds
Kentucky songwriter S.G. Goodman’s music at sunset brings thoughts on life and local feuds (10m 29s)
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Join Marlowe: beat-maker L'Orange and MC Solemn Brigham in a set for family and friends. (11m)
Inspired by Prine and Dylan, Gabe Lee gives us a front-row seat on Nashville’s Music Row. (10m 34s)
Carrie Rodriguez | Southern Sounds
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We hang with Carrie Rodriguez and see a fiddle performance at Austin's Paramount Theatre. (10m 44s)
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Southern Sounds
Southern Sounds explores the intersection of song lyrics and place with a Southern slant.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipHow to Watch Southern Storytellers
Southern Storytellers is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
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About the Show
Celebrate Southern identity through the eyes of contemporary creators of literature, music, film and television, including authors Jesmyn Ward, Michael Twitty, Angie Thomas and David Joy; poets Jericho Brown and Natasha Trethewey; songwriters Jason Isbell, Lyle Lovett, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, Adia Victoria, Amanda Shires, Thao Nguyen and Justin Moore; songwriter/screenwriter/actor Billy Bob Thornton and songwriter/actress Mary Steenburgen; and screenwriters Qui Nguyen and Michael Waldron.
About the Episodes
Episode 1
In the first of a three-part series, Southern creators of literature, music and film explore deep ties to their native South: Billy Bob Thornton reflects on a life of writing songs and screenplays; Adia Victoria celebrates her music and marriage near Nashville; David Joy laments the disappearance of the Appalachian culture he loves; Jericho Brown reveals the South is essential to his creativity; and Mary Steenburgen remembers her Arkansas childhood in song.
Episode 2
Six of the South’s most influential creators take us home to the places that define them: Mississippi’s Angie Thomas writes to change young lives; Jason Isbell remembers his roots in Muscle Shoals while Amanda Shires invites us home to the Tennessee farm the couple shares; Michael Twitty uncovers his roots in Alabama; Lyle Lovett traces his love of stories back to his childhood; Qui Nguyen reveals the small town that showed him the power of personal stories.
Episode 3
In this third and final episode, some of the South’s most compelling and influential contemporary creators take us home to the places that fertilize the stories they tell in books, songs, poems and on screens large and small: Mississippi author Jesmyn Ward and poet Natasha Trethewey, Georgia screenwriter and series creator Michael Waldron, Arkansas songwriter Justin Moore, songwriter Tarriona “Tank” Ball from New Orleans, and Virginia songwriter Thao Nguyen.
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