Charlie welcomes Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Craig Wiseman, a fellow Mississippian whose story starts in Hattiesburg and led to a career that includes numerous No. 1 hits and a 2015 induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Craig looks back on the radio station, church camps, and bar bands that formed his early musical education, experiences that helped shape his knack for writing honest, crowd-ready songs.

Along the way, Craig and Charlie trade music industry war stories, from VFW Sunday-night gigs and “five-piece jukebox” setlists to the hard-earned lesson that if you want to get called back, you write what people will sing. Craig shares an early formative interaction with an AM radio deejay, then takes us inside the leap to Nashville, the early grind, and his “tempo song” reputation that opened doors to partnerships with Roy Orbison, Tim McGraw, and Kenny Chesney. It’s Part 1 of a conversation full of craft, characters, and the Mississippi sensibility that informs Craig’s work to this day.

Mississippi Places Mentioned: Hattiesburg (including Midtown), Jackson, Waynesboro, Vicksburg, Hattiesburg VFW, WFOR

People and Groups Mentioned: Jim Wood, Waylon Jennings, Ferlin Husky, Frank Sinatra, George Jones, Andy Williams, Marty Stuart, Rex Bob Lowenstein, Kenny Chesney, Charlie Daniels, Barry Beckett, Ronnie Dunn, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hank Snow, Hank Williams Jr. (song referenced), David Allen Coe (song referenced), Alabama, Roy Orbison, Confederate Railroad, Tim McGraw, Tracy Lawrence, Ken Levitan, Paul Harvey, David Conrad, Chet Atkins, Steve Wariner, Emmylou Harris, Paul Overstreet, Troy Seals, Mike Reid, Kent Robbins, Joe Galante, Jim Collins, Steve McEwan.

Charlie welcomes two friends from the Grand Ole Opry, which celebrated its 100th year in 2025. Jordan Pettit, a fellow Mississippian, traces his path from Olive Branch and family trips through north Mississippi to a career that took him from Vanderbilt to record labels and eventually to the Opry. Dan Rogers shares what it meant to grow up in rural Illinois with the Opry as a Saturday-night lighthouse, guiding the imagination far beyond the fence line.

Along the way, they swap stories about Opryland, cassette-tape road trips, bluegrass competitions, and the kind of backstage camaraderie that makes the Opry feel like a small town with a global microphone. The conversation hits peak “pinch-me” with a fresh recap of Ringo Starr’s recent Opry appearance and the moment he performed the Johnny Russell-penned “Act Naturally.” From Rod Brasfield and Minnie Pearl to Charley Pride’s magnetic presence, the episode becomes a love letter to an institution that keeps evolving without losing its soul, and to Mississippi’s steady current running through it all.

Mississippi Places Mentioned: Olive Branch, Como, Grenada, Tallahatchie County, Smithville, Liberty, Sledge, Philadelphia, Oxford, Amite County.

People and Groups Mentioned:

Grand Ole Opry, Ringo Starr, The Beatles, Johnny Russell, Buck Owens, Riders in the Sky, Minnie Pearl, Rod Brasfield, Jerry Clower, Robbie Caldwell, Show Dog, Charley Pride, Dion Pride, Mike Snider, Marty Robbins, Ernest Tubb, Bill Monroe, Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Marty Stuart, Connie Smith, Les Leverett, Tom T. Hall, Porter Wagoner, The Louvin Brothers, The Everly Brothers, Roxanne Russell, Robert Johnson, Jimmie Rodgers, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Randy Houser, Britney Spears, HARDY, R.L. Burnside, Conway Twitty, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Sam Cooke, William Faulkner, John Grisham, Donna Tartt, Willie Morris.

What do the Bristol Sessions, a blue yodel, a preserved shotgun house in Tupelo, and a guitar once held by Jimmie Rodgers all have in common? They’re all threads in Mississippi’s country-music DNA. Host Charlie Worsham sits down with Paul Kingsbury of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum for a wide-ranging conversation that traces Mississippi’s influence from Jimmie Rodgers (and his genre-bending “blue yodels”) to Elvis Presley’s country beginnings, Tammy Wynette’s drive, Charley Pride’s legacy, and the creative liberation of the outlaw era. Along the way, they swap behind-the-scenes stories from the Hall of Fame, spotlight Marty Stuart’s astonishing collection, and explore the beautiful, complicated history of American music and Mississippi's role in that legacy.

Mississippi Places Mentioned: Grenada, Tupelo, Starkville, the Mississippi Delta, Bentonia, Amite County, Tallahatchie Bridge, Oxford (Ole Miss), North Mississippi, the Natchez Trace.

People and Groups Mentioned: Jimmie Rodgers, The Carter Family, The Tennessee Ramblers, Ralph Peer, James Burton, Keith Richards, Ernest Tubb, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Bobby Bare, Tom T. Hall, Will Campbell, Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, Connie Smith, Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline, Billy Sherrill, Lyle Lovett, Marty Stuart, Chris Stapleton, George Jones, Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt, Sammy Smith, Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster, Charley Pride, Lloyd Green, Cowboy Jack Clement, Chet Atkins, Sam Phillips, Marion Keisker, Bill Monroe, Hank Snow, Red Sovine, Red Foley, Ernest Withers, Jimmy Martin, Larry Wallace, Tom Piazza, Bobbie Gentry, Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Johnny Russell, LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill, Paul Overstreet, Craig Wiseman, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Son House, B.B. King, Charlie Patton, Bo Diddley, Elmore James, Jimmy Reed, The Mississippi Sheiks, Mississippi John Hurt, Doc Watson, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

In this episode of Mississippi on the Map, Charlie Worsham journeys into the heart of the Mississippi Delta for an intimate, revealing conversation at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, where he meets members of the newly revived Parchman Band, a group of incarcerated musicians whose work is quietly transforming both their own lives and the culture around them. Through stories of childhood, church, family, and first encounters with music, Houston and LJ trace their paths from the Gulf Coast and Greenville to Parchman, where a historic prison band tradition has been reborn with new purpose, new voices, and a renewed sense of mission. As the conversation unfolds, Charlie explores how songwriting, rehearsal, and live performance have become tools for growth, connection, and healing inside the Mississippi prison farm, and how the band’s music now travels to audiences across the state, carrying with it a message of dignity, hope, and the belief that the future can be shaped not by the past, but by what comes next.

Mississippi Places Mentioned: Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm), Mississippi Delta, Greenville, Clarksdale, Delta Blues Museum, Walnut Street Blues Bar (Greenville), Ocean Springs, Oxford, Grenada, Pascagoula, Moss Point, Jackson County.

People and Groups Mentioned: The Parchman Band, Alan Lomax, Son House, Bukka White, R.L. Burnside, Elvis Presley, Bobby Rush, B.B. King, Jimbo Mathus, Morgan Freeman, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Wendell Cannon.

Charlie Worsham sits down with ESPN’s Wright Thompson at the Lyceum on the University of Mississippi campus for a wide-ranging conversation about why Mississippi history, music, literature, and more. They trace lines from Delta juke joints to Chicago clubs, from cotton pickers to electric guitars, and from Emmett Till to James Meredith. The two swap stories about Dockery Farms, Doe’s Eat Place, and the last true jukes. It’s a heartfelt, unsparing, and hopeful tour of Mississippi from the sharecropping era into the present day.

Mississippi places mentioned: Univesity of Mississippi Lyceum (Oxford), Clarksdale, Bolivar County, Shelby, Bentonia, Blue Front Café (Bentonia), Grenada, Dockery Farms (near Cleveland), Vicksburg, Drew, Marigold, Tutwiler, Ruleville, Indianola, Hopson Plantation (Clarksdale), Delta Blues Museum (Clarksdale), Greenville, Doe’s Eat Place (Greenville), Bellazar’s (Boyle), Crawdad’s (Cleveland), Lillo’s (Leland), Raymond’s (Clarksdale), Airport Grocery (Cleveland), Fratesi’s (Leland), Po’ Monkey’s Lounge (Merigold), Red’s Lounge (Clarksdale), Club Ebony (Indianola), Harlem Inn (Leland), Mississippi Civil Rights Museum (Jackson), Yazoo City.

People mentioned: Willie Morris, David Ray Morris, Wesley Jefferson, Big Jack Johnson, Muddy Waters, Jimmie Rodgers, Ken Burns, the Carter Family, Taylor Swift, John Marascalco, Little Richard, Magic Sam, Magic Slim, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Super Chikan, Charlie Patton, Willie Brown, Pop Staples, Robert Johnson, Son House, Buddy Guy, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Henry Sloan, Howlin’ Wolf, Mavis Staples, Emmett Till, Fowler McCormick, Pinetop Perkins, Alan Lomax, Chess brothers, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Bob Margolin, Michael Houser, Eudora Welty, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Robert Earl Keen, Jimmy Buffett, Hayley Williams, Bo Diddley, Public Enemy, Eric Clapton, Will Dockery, Sam Cooke, Dr. Dre, Nate Dogg, Eazy-E, J. W. Milam, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Manson, Thomas Merton, Ross Barnett, William Winter, Ray Mabus, Haley Barbour, Tate Reeves, Bruce Springsteen, James Meredith, Buck Randall, Jim Weatherly, Gladys Knight, Myrlie Evers, Medgar Evers, Archie Manning, Steve Vaught, Donna Tartt, John Grisham, Jerry Garcia, Kiese Laymon, Jesmyn Ward, and Natasha Trethewey.

Mississippi on the Map welcomes Michael Hardy, a.k.a. HARDY, a multi-platinum artist and songwriter whose roots run deep in Neshoba County. From cabins at the Neshoba County Fairgrounds to arrowheads found along hunting camp creek beds, Hardy’s childhood memories fuel his songwriting and his love of place. In this episode, he joins host Charlie Worsham to talk about the powerful ways Mississippi continues to shape his life and music.

Hardy shares stories of growing up in Philadelphia, discovering rock ’n’ roll on cassette tapes in his dad’s truck, and finding success in the music industry. He recalls the unique culture of the Neshoba County Fair, his passion for Native American history, and an unforgettable visit to the Lynyrd Skynyrd crash site near McComb. He also reflects on the pride of returning home to perform at Mississippi State’s Dudy Noble Field, connecting his music career to his lifelong love of MS athletics.

Whether he’s writing about “Bottomland” or reflecting on his Mississippi roots, Hardy embodies the storytelling spirit at the heart of America’s music.

Learn more about Hardy’s charitable foundation at: thehardyfund.com.

Mississippi Places Mentioned: Neshoba County Fair; Dudy Noble Field; Davis Wade Stadium; Dockery Farms; Natchez Trace Parkway; Philadelphia, Mississippi; Pearl River bottomlands; Starkville; Mississippi State University; McComb; Liberty; Lynyrd Skynyrd crash site; Mississippi Delta, Clarksdale, Nanih Waiya; Natchez.

People and Groups Mentioned: Ashley Gorley, Bad Company, Boston, Brent Cobb, Brett Favre, Charlie Patton, CJ Solar, Chuck Etheridge, Craig Wiseman, Derek George, Eminem, Florida Georgia Line, Ike Turner, Jeff Stewart, Jerry Clower, Jimmie Rodgers, John Mellencamp, Joey Moi, Ketch Secor, Kid Rock, Lainey Wilson, Led Zeppelin, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Marty Stuart, Morgan Freeman, Morgan Wallen, Oprah Winfrey, Pearl Jam, Pearl River (band), Pops Staples, Robert Johnson, Robert Plant, Son House, The Eagles, William Faulkner, Wright Thompson, Zac Selmon.

Academy Award–winning actor Morgan Freeman joins host Charlie Worsham for a rare podcast interview at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale. Alongside Ground Zero Blues Club co-owner Eric Meier, Freeman discusses his Mississippi roots, his journey through music, military service, and film, and the creation of the Symphonic Blues Experience — a touring production that blends orchestral arrangements, cinematic narration, and Mississippi blues. The conversation also explores the state’s cultural legacy, its contributions to American music, and the evolving future of the blues.

Following the interview, Worsham joined Freeman, Meier, and Howard Stovall on stage in New York City’s Central Park for a live Q&A and performance as part of the Symphonic Blues Experience tour. A short highlight from that event appears at the end of this episode.

Mississippi Places Mentioned: Ground Zero Blues Club, Alligator, Biloxi, Charleston, Clarksdale, Drew, Greenwood, Meridian, Mississippi Delta, North Mississippi

People and Groups Mentioned: Al Green, Anthony “Big A” Sherrod, B.B. King, Bill Haley, Bobby Rush, Cedric Burnside, Castro “Mr. Sipp” Coleman, Elvis Presley, Emmett Till, Eric Clapton, Howard Stovall, Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats, Jaxx Nassar, Jimmie Rodgers, Little Walter, Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters, North Mississippi Allstars, Robert Johnson, Rosa Parks

In this episode of Mississippi on the Map, host Charlie Worsham sits down with former Governor Haley Barbour for a far-ranging conversation about music, memory, and Mississippi. From his upbringing in Yazoo City to the civil rights era and navigating the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Governor Barbour reflects on the moments and people who shaped his life — including Willie Morris, Jerry Clower, Johnny Cash, and Ronald Reagan. He shares how Mississippi earned the title Birthplace of America’s Music and why he believes the state’s greatest progress lies ahead.

Mississippi places referenced in this episode:

Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Museum of Mississippi History, Tougaloo College, Mississippi Country Music Trail, Mississippi Blues Trail, Johnny Cash and Starkville City Jail (trail marker), The Westin Jackson, Glenwood Cemetery, Yazoo City, Liberty, Mississippi State University, Jackson, University of Mississippi, Grenada, Mississippi Delta, Mississippi Chemical Corporation, Tad Smith Coliseum, Biloxi, Coastal Mississippi, Natchez, Meridian, Tupelo, Indianola.

People and groups mentioned in this episode: Leland Speed, Dorsey Brothers, Glenn Miller, Lawrence Welk, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Duke Bardwell, the Greek Fountains, Marsha Barbour, Marty Stuart, Michael Henderson, Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis, Fletcher Cox, Willie Brown, Stella Stevens, Zig Ziglar, Willie Morris, George W. Bush, Jerry Clower, "Gentle Ben" Williams, Owen Cooper, William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Governor Phil Bryant, Governor William Winter, Ruben Anderson, Hezekiah Watkins, Jim Weatherly, James Meredith, Millsaps College, Verna Lee Bailey, James Brown, Johnny Mathis, Dionne Warwick, the Mamas and the Papas, Jimmie Rodgers, B.B. King, John Grisham, June Cash, Jim Barksdale, Burt Case, Senator Thad Cochran, Representative Barney Frank, Mac McAnally, Ketch Secor, Chris Stapleton, Charley Pride, President Bill Clinton, Jim Free, President Jimmy Carter, Charlie Daniels, President Ronald Reagan, Lester Flatt.