About this episode
The Wailin' Jennys have been singing together for more than two decades - recording albums, touring the world, and filling venues large and small. After all these years, the trio—Ruth Moody, Heather Masse, and Nicky Mehta—have reached both a plateau and an inflection point. What's it like for a musical group that's been together for that long; for singers who've found such perfect vocal harmony for one another? How do they each think of songwriting, and of creative work in general? On their recent west coast tour, they stopped by the studio for a chat about those things and more. THE WAILIN' JENNYS ARE: Ruth Moody - Banjo, Guitar, Vocals Nicky Mehta - Guitar, Drums, Vocals Heather Masse - Bass, Vocals Featuring excerpts from the Jennys' albums Bright Morning Stars , iTunes Session - EP , 40 Days , and Firecracker FEATURED/DISCUSSED: "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Jim Steinman, sung by Bonnie Tyler and Rory Dodd "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)," "Objects in the Rearview Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are" - by Jim Steinman sung by Meat Loaf "Closer To Fine" and "Love's Recovery" by Indigo Girls from Indigo Girls, 1989 Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert, 2016 Kirk's essay on creativity, " Follow The Spark " Jeff Tweedy talking songwriting on The Ezra Klein Show "What Am I Here For" by Jade Bird MUSIC PICKS: Heather: Bonny Light Horseman, Keep Me On Your Mind/Set You Free , 2024 Ruth: Aaron Neville, "Louisiana 1927" Nicky: Afghan Whigs, Black Love ----LINKS----- 💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! Patreon | Paypal 🏠 HOMEPAGE strongsongspodcast.com 👚 MERCH strongsongspodcast.com/store 📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER newsletter.kirkhamilton.com 📷 SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: @Kirk_Hamilton Bluesky: @kirkhamilton.com 💬 STRONG SONGS DISCORD SERVER strongsongspodcast.com/discord 🎧 STRONG SONGS PLAYLISTS Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music 🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS kirkhamilton.com/gear 🎶 KIRK'S MUSIC kirkhamilton.com/music 🎨 SHOW ART Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics -------------------- AUGUST 2025 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS Melissa Lucas Thomas McIlheran Andy Lisa Crotty Rick Keeler Elizabeth Culver Meryl Allison Robyn Metcalfe Cesar Corpus Frisky Ben Barron Catherine Warner Damon White Jay Swartz Rush Daniel Hannon-Barry Christopher Miller Jamie White Christopher McConnell David Mascetti Joe Laska Ken Hirsh Melanie Andrich Jenness Gardner Nathaniel Bauernfeind Paul Delaney Sami Samhuri Jeremy Dawson AccessViolation Dave Florey AUGUST 2025 HALF-NOTE PATRONS Mathias Schmidt Erik Freddy Freeman Adam Clark STEPHEN Brendan McLeod Zach Putnam Ian Karmel Steve B WorcesterJim Jez Alex Miller Lottie Aron RsP Michael Wisnosky Brian Rinckenberger Dan Elias HiddenJester Betsy Barre Ian Steding Margaret McReynolds Alison Dugan Princess of Whales Dave Douglass Suzanne Crawford PhantomMare Kym Griffith Rachel Aruni Jayatilleke TB Daniel Kaberon Wiggy Hash Whit Sidener Julie Kellman Simon Hellman Bea Claudia Carty Dani Glenn Jackson Christopher Selby Spink Philip Kelly Daniel Nervo Kevin Stafford Lawrence Sy Jacobs irritable Ian Pidd Andrew Hofer Jordan Gatenby Melissa Kuhns Ashley Seattle Trans And Nonbinary Choral Ensemble Kevin Marcelo James Michael Jeff Dan Cutter Joseph Romero Ol Parker John Berry Danielle Kriz Clint McElroy Mordok’s Vape Pen Inmar Givoni Michael Singer Merv Adrian Joe Gallo Michael York Lauren Knotts Dave Kolas Henry Mindlin Monica St. Angelo Stephen Wolkwitz Rand LeShay Max eric sp Matthew Jones Thomas Anthony Mentz James McMurry Ethan Laser Brian John Peter Chris Remo Aaron Wilson Dent Earl Carlos Lerner Misty Haisfield Abraham Benrubi Lee R. Dick Morgan Ben Stein Grettir Asmundarson Sean Murphy Randal Vegter Kellen Steffen Kaya Woodall Robert Granat dave malloy Alan Maass Douglas H Frazer john halpin Peter Harding David Kayla Russell John Bauman Martín Salías Stu Baker Steve Martino Dr Arthur A Gray Gary Pierce Matt Baxter Luigi Boccia E Margaret Warton Tim Sheehan Charles McGee Catherine Clause Ethan Bauman KenIsWearingAHat Aaron Wade Jeff Ulm David Futter Jamie Deebs Portland Eye Care Richard Sneddon Christian Hessmann Janice Berry Doreen Carlson Wendy Gilchrist Lisa Turner Paul Wayper Miles Forman Bruno Gaeta Kenneth Jung Adam Stofsky Zak Remer Rishi Sahay Jeffrey Bean JRRJ Ailie Fraser Rob Tsuk Josh Singer Adam W Kelli Brockington mino capossela Steve Paquin Donald Mackie David Joske Bernard Khoo Robert Heuer David Noah Geraldine Butler Jason Pratt Abbie Berg Doug Belew Dermot Crowley Achint Srivastava Ryan Rairigh Michael Berman Linda Duffy Bonnie Prinsen Eoin de Burca Kevin Potter M Shane Borders Dallas Hockley Jason Gerry Nell Morse Nathan Gouwens Lauren Reay Eric Prestemon cbalmain Angela Livingstone Diane Hughes Michael Casner Lowell Meyer Stephen Tsoneff Joshua Hill Pascal Rueger Randy Souza Clare Holberton Diane Turner Tom Coleman Dhu Wik Melmaniac Eric Helm Jonathan Daniels Caro Field Dave Sharpe Naomi Watson David Alexander Jeff Patterson Chris K Gavin Doig Tanner Morton AJ Schuster Jennifer Bush David Stroud Brad Callahan Amanda Furlotti Andrew Baker Andrew Fair Bill Thornton Brian Amoebas Brett Douville Jeffrey Olson Matt Betzel Melanie Stivers Richard Toller Alexander Polson Justin McElroy Arjun Sharma James Johnson Kevin Morrell Colin Hodo ----LINKS----- 💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! Patreon | One-Time Donation 🏠 HOMEPAGE 👚 MERCH 💬 DISCORD SERVER 📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER 🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS 🎶 KIRK'S MUSIC 📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram | Bluesky 🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music 🎨 SHOW ART: Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics