Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

Singer/songwriter, virtuoso guitarist, and multiple Grammy winner Molly Tuttle chats about her wide-ranging musical personality that encompasses bluegrass, folk, Americana, and rock.

PART ONE:

Paul and Scott wade into the controversy to share their opinions about the New York Times' recent list of the 30 Best Living American Songwriters. Listen at your own risk!

PART TWO:

Our in-depth conversation with Molly Tuttle

ABOUT MOLLY TUTTLE:

In 2017, California-born Molly Tuttle became the first female winner of the International Bluegrass Music Awards’ Guitar Player of the Year, an honor she won again in 2018, the same year she was named Instrumentalist of the Year by the Americana Music Awards. Though an accomplished musician, Tuttle won the IBMA’s Female Vocalist of the Year award in 2023. Her 2022 album Crooked Tree earned her a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album and a nomination for Best New Artist across all categories. It was also named Album of the Year by both the IBMA, which again awarded her as Female Vocalist of the Year, and the IFMA. Molly’s follow up album, City of Gold, won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, while her most recent release, So Long Little Miss Sunshine, was nominated for the Best Americana Album Grammy. Spanning various genres, Molly Tuttle’s wide-ranging roots music explorations always bear the stamp of her unique imprint. Today she chats with us about her creative process, the evolution of her songwriting, and much more. 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Grammy nominated songwriter Pynk Beard (aka Sebastian Kole) chats about his extensive work as a behind-the-scenes pop creator and gives us insight into his latest country-flavored album project. 

PART ONE

Scott and Paul chat about their recent travels and how they find ways to make music tourism a part of any trip.

PART TWO

Our in-depth conversation with Pynk Beard

ABOUT PYNK BEARD:

Pynk Beard is the artistic persona of Alabama-born Coleridge Tillman, who has already made a splash as a successful songwriter under the name Sebastian Kole. Growing up as a preacher’s son in Birmingham Alabama, Pynk Beard’s big break came when he contributed to “Goin’ In,” which was recorded by Jennifer Lopez, featuring Flo Rida. He then signed with Motown Records as an artist and began collaborating as a writer and producer with Alessia Cara. He worked on most every track on her debut album Know-It-All, including the top 10 and multi-platinum pop hits “Here” and “Scars to Your Beautiful.” Soon after, he released his debut album as Sebastian Kole, a gospel and R&B influenced project called Soup. He continued working as a behind-the-scenes writer on songs such as “Bridges” by Fifth Harmony, “Freedom Rings” by Brandy, “Actions” by John Legend, “Time Machine” by Alicia Keys, and “Angel” by Halle Bailey, which found him collaborating with producer Neff-U and earning a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Song. His debut EP as Pynk Beard is Red Dirt Diaries, which was released in October of 2025 on Red Bull Records. A country project that embraces elements of gospel, R&B and hip hop, it’s a bold new artistic direction that has quickly gained attention from fans of multiple genres. 

 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and Songwriters Hall of Famer Lou Gramm shares stories about his career, from his pre-Foreigner days all the way to his latest album, Released. 

PART ONE

Scott and Paul chat about Scott's solemn vow to Lou Gramm, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and how multi-national bands just might be a model for social healing. 

PART TWO

Our in-depth conversation with Lou Gramm

ABOUT LOU GRAMM

Lou Gramm is best known as the powerhouse vocalist for the band Foreigner, which hit the scene in 1977 with the now-classic hit “Feels Like the First Time.” Working with partner Mick Jones, Gramm co-wrote many of the band’s hits, including “Cold as Ice,” “Long, Long Way From Home,” “Hot Blooded,” “Double Vision,” “Dirty White Boy,” “Head Games,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” and “Juke Box Hero.” The late 1970s superstars successfully navigated a transition into the 1980s with synth-driven hit power ballads such as “I Want to Know What Love Is,” “Say You Will,” and “I Don’t Want to Live Without You.” Gramm went on to pursue a solo career, finding success with singles such as “Midnight Blue” and “Just Between You and Me.” After a nearly 40 year break as a solo artist, Lou has recently issued his third studio album, entitled Released. Featuring 10 songs originally written in the 1980s during his era, the recordings have been completed and updated for today. Lou was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013 and, as a member of Foreigner, into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024. 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

GRAMMY-nominated songwriting and production team Jenna Andrews and Stephen Kirk chat about their contributions to the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack, their success with the huge BTS hit "Butter," and balancing their professional and personal lives as partners. 

PART ONE

Lest you think it a dead subgenre, Paul and Scott revisit their examination of the "stutter rock" phenomenon with a modern day twist. 

PART TWO

Our in-depth conversation with Jenna Andrews and Stephen Kirk

ABOUT JENNA & STEPHEN

Both professional and life partners, the Grammy-nominated songwriting and production team of Jenna Andrews and Stephen Kirk made a major splash with their contributions to the wildly successful soundtrack for the Netflix animated hit KPop Demon Hunters. Their contributions, “Free” and “What It Sounds Like,” came on the heels of their success with the BTS songs “Proof,” “Permission to Dance,” and “Butter,” which spent ten weeks at the top of the Billboard pop chart in 2021. The pair’s combined credits include work with Drake, Little Mix, Nelly Furtado, Ed Sheeran, Jennifer Lopez, Pharrell, Rita Ora, K. Michelle, and others. Both Jenna and Stephen appeared on the Netflix series Hitmakers, which spotlights the lives and careers of modern-day pop songwriters. 

 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Two-time GRAMMY and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee Rich Robinson joins us to chat about his songwriting with The Black Crowes. 

PART ONE

Paul and Scott talk about their deep Black Crowes history that goes all the way back to high school. Then they revert to their high school selves and try to make each other laugh by proposing ridiculous imaginary partnerships between artists and restaurant chains (think Michael McDonald's or Ice-T.G.I. Fridays).

PART TWO

Our in-depth conversation with Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes

ABOUT RICH ROBINSON

Rich Robinson is best known as the founding guitarist and one of the two primary songwriters of The Black Crowes alongside his brother Chris. Formed in Atlanta, the band’s 1990 debut album $hake Your Money Maker produced the successful singles “Jealous Again,” “She Talks to Angels,” “Seeing Things,” and a wildly popular cover of Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle.” The album earned the band a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and was eventually certified five-times platinum. The multi-platinum follow-up, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, debuted at number one on the Billboard album chart and yielded four consecutive chart-topping rock singles with “Remedy,” “Sting Me,” “Thorn in My Pride,” “and “Hotel Illness.” Subsequent releases such as Amorica, By Your Side, Lions, and Warpaint explored new sonic territory while remaining rooted in the quintessential Black Crowes aesthetic. In total, the band has released eleven studio albums, with 2024’s Happiness Bastards, breaking a more than decade-long recording hiatus and earning the band another Grammy nomination. Over more than three decades of volatility, breakups, lineup shifts, and offstage drama, the Black Crowes are still making pure rock & roll at the highest level. Their latest album, A Pound of Feathers, was recently released, and they are among the nominees for potential induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for the class of 2026. 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.