A few times a year, I sit in for my pal Flap Jones hosting Not Necessarily Nashville on Little Rock Public Radio’s KUAR 89.1. It always reminds me how good it feels to just play my favorite music on the radio. There are no firm rules about what I play, though I do try to keep it along the lines of what Flap’s incredibly loyal listeners expect: country and Americana mixed with whatever else feels good to me at the moment.
A health concern prompted Rosanne Cash to cancel her annual Sunken Lands Songwriting Circle fundraiser last month, which benefits Johnny Cash’s boyhood home in Dyess, Arkansas. She later released a statement on Sept. 24 saying she was doing better.
“I had a health scare a few weeks ago but with some rest and serious downtime I’m happy to report that all is well,” Cash wrote.
At age 80, Neil Young released his latest album last month, Second Song, and it’s quite good. He’s sounding raspy and as holy as ever. It’s great hearing new material from him.
I’ve also recently been listening to a lot of full albums by Tom T. Hall, which led me to a couple from the 1990s that I’d never heard. From Home Grown, his final studio release, I pulled one song to open the show.
AUDIO: Not Necessarily Nashville, Oct. 10, 2026 on Little Rock Public Radio’s KUAR-FM 89.1.
Not Necessarily Nashville playlist, Oct. 10, 2026
Steve Earle with the Fairfield Four — “Telephone Road” (El Corazón)
Rosanne Cash — “Seventh Avenue” (The Wheel)
Neil Young & the Chrome Hearts — “The Foggy Edge of Time” (Second Song)
Billy Strings — “Leaning on a Travelin’ Song” (Highway Prayers)
B.B. King featuring Willie Nelson — “Night Life” (Deuces Wild)
Mary Gauthier — “Mercy Now” (Mercy Now)
Johnny Cash — “The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore” (Unearthed)
Bill Withers — “Grandma’s Hands” (Just as I Am)
Jim Mize — “Delta Land” (Release It to the Sky)
The Band — “Atlantic City” (Jericho)
Veteran reporter, editor and manager at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
