Chicagoan Francesca Folinazzo (Frank) founded Roots Music Rambler as a music and travel blog in a pre-pandemic world. COVID killed events and travel plus her desire to play her banjo. Falls texted her in 2023 and said, 'Let's bring it back as a podcast!' He was raised on John Prine, babysat on Waylon Jennings and taught to drink and cuss the proper, mountain way. He hails from Pikeville, Ky., the birthplace of Dwight Yoakum, whose annual festival is Hillbilly Days.

John Prine’s great comeback to people arguing at one of his concerts as told by Jason Falls

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On the latest Roots Music Rambler @jasonfalls and singer-songwriter @william_matheny chat about William’s new album, Morgantown, West Virginia, and all sorts of other topics. They traded @john_prine stories as well with Falls recalling a funny response Prine had to people arguing at one of his shows.

Hear the full episode at on our YouTube channel, at rootsmusicrambler.com or wherever you get podcasts!

#americanamusic #williammatheny #singersongwriter #westvirginia #johnprine #livemusic

Why William Matheny continues to play in other people’s bands (John R. Miller & Paranoid Style)

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On the latest episode of Roots Music Rambler, West Virginia-based singer-songwriter @william_matheny talks about why he continues to play in bands for @jrmillerwv and @paranoid_style despite having a successful solo career (and a new album out called Material Witness).

Hear the full episode and learn more about William, the new record, his common bond with Falls being from Morgantown, W.Va., (where Falls went to grad school) and more. Find it on our YouTube channel, at rootsmusicrambler.com or wherever you get podcasts!

#americanamusic #williammatheny #singersongwriter #westvirginia #johnrmiller #paranoidstyle

William Matheny’s first inkling to be a musician came very early

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EPISODE DROP!!! Singer-songwriter @william_matheny joined us for a Backstage episode of Roots Music Rambler this week. The episode is live now at rootsmusicrambler.com, on our YouTube channel or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Matheny was 3-4 when he first became motivated to play music so he could join his dad and friends in a bluegrass jam circle!

His new album Material Witness is out now. Listen to the full episode to hear more about its production, the comparison to previous albums and hear Matheny and Falls wax poetic about Morgantown, West Virginia.

#americanamusic #williammatheny #singersongwriter #westvirginia #wvu

Roots Music Rambler Backstage with West Virginia-based Singer-Songwriter William Matheny

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Welcome to another in our Backstage episode of Roots Music Rambler. These are short interviews Frank and Falls are able to grab backstage (or just somewhere in person rather than on our virtual, longer-form interview episodes) and catch up briefly.

This week, we share a recent chat Falls had with West Virginia-based singer-songwriter William Matheny. He hails from the Morgantown area of West Virginia where Falls spent time in graduate school. So, the two mucked it up a bit with some casual Morgantown banter, but not before we asked Matheny about his new record.

Material Witness is the name of the LP and it marks a step up in the recording and engineering approach for Matheny and his band. It was recorded at Ronnie’s Place in Nashville with the musicians coming from Matheny’s personal list of favorites. A couple of tracks even feature a fun change of roles as John R. Miller sat in on bass guitar. Matheny is Miller’s regular bass player when Miller is playing live, so turnabout is a fun little tidbit about the record.

Matheny says the album is more focused on mortality and the passing of time than his previous works, but his songwriting is so beautiful and the music brings the right amount of life to the stories. We know you’ll love it, and hearing more about Matheny’s journey to and through music, his approach to songwriting and more.

You can find William Matheny online at williammatheny.com as well as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and all the streaming platforms.

Download the episode and subscribe at rootsmusicrambler.com, watch the full episode on YouTube, or download wherever you get your podcasts.

Also be sure to help spread the love of the show with Roots Music Rambler’s new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available.

Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It’s a new episode of Roots Music Rambler.

Notes and links:
– William Matheny online – https://williammatheny.com
– William Matheny on Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ffXgMSb7TTuOLvb56MxGx?si=SlUDlzliTgOnLDwfaTI_eg
– Material Witness on Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/album/1tHE40kSQrubx13Fj44ADo?si=iYSyB6AHSwqlmZVhZXerLA
– William Matheny on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdiJL1kaXYJ57NwBHftWkog/featured
– William Matheny on TikTok – http://tiktok.com/@williammatheny
– William Matheny on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/william_matheny
– William Matheny on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/thewilliammatheny
– John R. Miller on Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/6VPZjyyur7ltEgkFdMnvz4?si=xOB5kEgfQxmrXMugVpQEcg
– The Roots Music Rambler Store – https://rootsmusicrambler.com/store
– Roots Music Rambler on YouTube – https://youtube.com/@rootsmusicrambler
– Roots Music Rambler on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/rootsmusicrambler/
– Roots Music Rambler on TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@rootsmusicrambleon
– Roots Music Rambler on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/RootsMusicRambler

Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts.

Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum; Copyright 2026 – Falls+Partners. All music on the program is licensed by ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. Roots Music Rambler is a member of the Americana Music Association.