Mac Wiseman tribute on Music City Roots

The Music City Roots program, which airs live online from Nashville each Wednesday evening, is most commonly given over to alt-country and Americana acts. But this week a special bluegrass showcase is scheduled in honor of Mac Wiseman, and the I Sang The Song album which features new songs co-written by Mac with Peter Cooper and Thomm Jutz.

The live segment on the June 21 show will include Sierra Hull, Justin Moses, Jim Lauderdale, Shawn Camp, Peter Cooper, Thomm Jutz, and Mark Fain, all of whom appear on the album as well.

I Sang The Song came about when Cooper and Jutz, both successful Nashville songwriters, put the idea to Mac of telling his life story in song, working together to write an entire album worth of autobiographical material. So they spent several Sunday’s at Wiseman’s home near Nashville, putting songs together. Mountain Fever Records jumped at the chance to release the project, which has seen multiple songs move up the charts since its January release.

Other artists who appear on the album, many of them dear friends of Mac’s, are John Prine, Junior Sisk, Ronnie Bowman, Andrea Zonn, Jim Lauderdale, Milan Miller, Buddy Melton, and Sonya and Becky Isaacs. Perhaps the track with the greatest impact is the record’s sole non-original song, a sparse duet between Wiseman and Alison Krauss on his biggest hit, ‘Tis Sweet To Be Remembered, recorded at his home as he is unable to travel anymore.

Tune in to Livestream.com on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. eastern time for Music City Roots. Other guests include banjo man Danny Barnes, blues man Delbert McClinton, and the folk duo Quiles and Cloud.

Folks in the Nashville are can get tickets to watch the show go down live at The Factory in Franklin.

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.