Max Gomez and I have only crossed paths in person one time when he opened for James McMurtry; I have been a fan of his work for some time and was very disappointed I had to miss his recent show in Kansas City. We were able to have an on air radio conversation before that show and it was a real treat to hear stories of John Prine, Jack Barksdale, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and others. Also, how could you grow up in a magical place like Taos, New Mexico an not be inspiredto pursue art in some form?

In the Land of Enchantment, he fell under the influence of country blues early on and developed a songwriting style that is uniquely his. He received critical acclaim upon the release of his debut album Rule The World (2013, New West Records); and his subsequent EP, Me and Joe (2017, Brigadoon Records),contained a freshly minted classic, “Make It Me,” which has gained million of listeners on Spotify alone.

As a budding performer, Max apprenticed in the rarefied musical micro-climate of northern New Mexico, where troubadours like Michael Martin Murphey and Ray Wylie Hubbard helped foster a Western folk sound both cosmic and country. He has shared billing on hundreds of stages with stalwarts of the Americana/Roots genre like the aforementioned James McMurtry, Buddy Miller, John Hiatt, Patty Griffin, and Jeff Beck, and Johnny Depp. His latest record, Memory Mountain, is a must listen! Enjoy this conversation with Max Gomez.

Photo Credit: Blue Gabor

Kansas City based songwriter Amy Ward responded to a call to action to submit a proposed theme song to celebrate the 15th anniversary for my Tasty Brew Music Radio Show. Although, like Tica Felise from our last Tasty Brew Music Podcast episode, I did not ultimately choose Amy’s submission, I thought her offering compelling enough to want to know more about her music.

I brought her into the radio station one Saturday Morning asI hosted the women-centric program “Siren Song.” As you will learn in this conversation, Ward often prepares songs for Sync Licensing, achieving hundreds of song placements on prime TV, Day Time TV, Major Motion Pictures and Independent Films. She has performed at renowned venues like Madison Square Garden, Kauffman Stadium and T-Mobile Center, as well as recognition on Fox 25 Boston and ABC’s KMBC KansasCity. In films and television, she contributes as a songwriter, singer, and producer, including placement on Netflix progamming, and tv programs like Say Yes to the Dress, NCIS, General Hospital, Young & the Restless, toname a few.

On the horizon, Amy lands two songs in the upcoming film,Viral - directed by Blair Underwood and her first song in an animated film , A Tooth Fairy Tale-in theaters and streaming now.

Enjoy this conversation with music samplings from the AmyWard catalogue!

Photo Credit: Hilary Fuller

To commemorate and celebrate 15 years of the Tasty BrewMusic Radio Show on KKFI, I partnered with the Heartland Song Network in the summer of 2025 to seek submissions for a theme song for the show. Although I did not ultimately choose the entry submitted by Kansas City based songwriter Tica Felise, I was enchanted by her story and musical journey and invited her to spend some time with me on air so my listeners and I could get to know her better.

Tica was born in Costa Rica and has found a home in KansasCity by way of Denver and Omaha. A very early interest in music led to lessons and performance eventually morphing into writing her own songs and performing and recording as a solo artist in Kansas City. Enjoy this conversation with an unapologetic ukulele goddess as we share some of the stories behind the recordings of Tica Felise!

My friend Beau Bledsoe, Artistic Director of the amazing nonprofit Ensemble Iberica, recently messaged me that Max and Josh Baca of Los Texmaniacs were coming to Kansas City for a show and wanted to come on the radio to honor the recently departed music icon, accordionist Flaco Jimenez. I, of course, said yes! They were delayed in getting to the station before I had to sign off but we were able to squeeze in the conversation and performance you are about to hear.

Los Texmaniacs are the Past, Present, And Future of ConjuntoMusic. Conjunto music may be a familiar sound to residents of Texas, but its worldwide appeal can be surprising. Conjunto is a uniquely American musical genre, originating in South and Central Texas, that blends European accordion music with Mexican rhythms and instruments like the bajo sexto. Combine a hefty helping of Tex-Mex conjunto, simmer with several parts Texas rock, and add a daring dash of well-cured blues and R&B riffs, and you’ve cooked up the tasty Grammy-winning Los Texmaniacs groove. Max Baca is a legend on thebajo sexto, a twelve-string guitar-like instrument, and his nephew, Josh Baca, is fast attaining legendary status on the accordion, with those two instruments creating the core of the lively conjunto sound.

I’ve been privileged to see this amazing group play inKansas City, Montreal and early next year in New Orleans alongside some of my wonderful friends in Ensemble Iberica and Making Movies. They are committed to their craft whilepreserving and protecting the music they so dearly love. Icing on the cake - Max co-wrote a song with my number onepretend boyfriend Joy Ely.

Enjoy this musical performance by and conversation with Max and Josh Baca of Los Texmaniacs!

I have known songwriter Kristin Hamilton for 8 years now….Beginning with her membership in an amazing Americana band called Under the Big Oak Tree and continuing with her work with her daughter Lucy Gray, members of Cowtown Country Club and now as a solo artist.

In addition to the Tasty Brew Music Radio Show, I host, in rotation with others, a live performance radio show on KKFI called MidCoast Live! shining a spotlight on local and touring artists from all genres of music. I welcomed the opportunity to showcase Kristin as a solo artist on MidCoast Live!

Her music is folk country tinged with the sweet flavor ofbluegrass touching on topics of family & faith, grief & gratitude. Hamilton grew up singing at spontaneous musicalget-togethers on her family's farm in northwest Missouri. Extended family would gather under a big oak tree on summer nights to sing and play old country and gospel numbers. Being "the shy one" in the group, she was eventually brave enough to accept an invitation to sing at church that led to an additional invitation to perform accompanied by her father and accomplished guitar player, Rocky Cathcart. That show was a great success and eventually led to the formation of Under The Big Oak Tree that included some of the best musicians in the area - Simon Fink, Doug Ward, and Jason Riley. Under The Big Oak Tree released three full length albums including the last release "The Ark" that earned repeated spins on local NPR and community radio stations.

In 2018 Kristin joined forces with the Lost Cowgirl Revue for a special tour of Germany, The Netherlands and France. The Revue included acclaimed singer songwriters and multi-instrumentalists, Julie Bennett Hume, Joy Zimmerman, and Jenna Rae with accompaniment by Chris Hudson, finger styleclassical guitarist all of whom get regular spins on the Tasty Brew Music Radio Show.

Enjoy this conversation and special musical performance byKristin Hamilton!

East Texas Songwriter Stefan Prigmore is another artist thatcame to me from multiple streams of connection as you’ll hear in the Summer 2025 conversation and musical performance. His down home demeanor and Jon Dee Graham meets Skylar Hamilton meets John Prine vocal aesthetic is a wonderful combination.

In Stefan’s own words:

I make music because it helps me to process difficult and complex ideas, in a way that others also understand and can relate to. There’s a catharsis that happens when I see my understanding reflected back in another person when they hear one of my songs, that gives us both some comfort. It alsohelps me to lift up the beauty I see in this world, and has become a lens for seeing and understanding the world and my feelings. It generally all comes down to love, that I have and find when birthing a song, and that is reflected backwhen I share these songs with you.

As you’ll hear in our conversation, Stefan has been creatingand performing music since his teenage years, following his father into the business. If you explore his catalogue,you will learn and understand the joy Stefan finds in the outdoors and the gratitude he shows on the stage are part of the same values reflected in his music. Stefan's sound is an approachable blend of Americana, folk, and roots. Although some of his lyrics can be construed as dark, they are sincere and that soft/tender conversational voice is becomesquite dynamic and distinctive when he sings.

I’ve been around of while. I’ve seen and heard hundreds, if not thousands, of live music performances. Everything from my first concert in 1965 for The Righteous Brothers in St. Louis to Loretta Lynn at the Ryman Auditorium inNashville, Tennessee. I’ve been present in locked fado clubs in Lisbon and Porto, Portugal witnessing some of the most profound and emotional music ever performed. I’ve sat mere steps away from Guy Clark and Verlon Thompson, Rodney Crowell, Bonnie Raitt, John Fullbright, Steve Earle…. On and on. I know myself to have been in the presence of folks at the pinnacle of so-called American Roots Music.

I felt no less inspired and awed on a Monday night in KansasCity with about 50 other folks listening to an 18 year old lyrical master from Ft. Worth Texas and his partner in music for the evening, Abe Partridge of Mobile, Alabama.

Jack started performing original songs at age nine and hasshared the stage with artists like Ray Wylie Hubbard and Wynonna Judd. His mature and heart wrenching lyrics, soulful voice and master guitar skills pay homage to country music and blues influences. Inspired by legends like Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Johnny Cash, yet with a voice and point of view all his own, Jack is on track to have career thatwill only mature and flourish in the coming decades. Do not miss an opportunity to see and support him.

We had a bumpy start trying to make the phone connection for this conversation but we finally got it together. Enjoy my first interview with Jack Barksdale…. I hope to speak to him again someday and wish him nothing but the best.

Danielle Anderson aka Danielle Ate the Sandwich is a very talented artist. She recently filled in as host for the Heartland Song Network’s monthly song salon (The Song Sanctuary)at Kansas City’s PH Coffee. A gentleman named Jesse Jack Sample from Toronto, KS attended and blew everyone, including Danielle, away with his amazing contributions to the afternoon. She immediately contacted me as she thoughtJesse was a great candidate for inclusion on the Tasty Brew Music Radio Show’s rotation. She was right and with some back and forth, we were able to come up with a date for Jesse to come in and share his stories with our KKFI audience.

Sample began his musical journey in the Wichita rock scenebut then paused to raise a family and live a quieter life. In recent years he’s found himself living in Toronto, Kansas a place more in tune with the country sounds heard on his album “King of the Plains.”

For a time he operated a bait shop/music venue in Toronto, adifficult venture to sustain in a small town. Building an audience is difficult within an urban center; super challenging from a place like Toronto, KS.

Enjoy this musical conversation and performance with JesseJack Sample… Dillon Boren on acoustic bass and Jack Riebel on fiddle…. Oh and grab a tissue for Jesse’s original composition “Juliet.”