Meeting Lucinda Williams

Meeting Lucinda Williams

Author: The Bluegrass Situation September 22, 2025 Duration: 52:46

For the finale of their road trip, Ismay finally gets to meet the center of this entire narrative – Lucinda Williams. Their goal is seeking guidance about what to do with their self doubt. Ismay discovers that Lucinda had one major difference in her origin story that is the key to understanding why she never gave up herself. Ismay and Lucinda also discuss items from the archives that Ismay has gathered along their route to Nashville. Ismay performs the song, "Spin," from the archives for her and is surprised by Lucinda's reaction.

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Finding Lucinda is out now! Watch on Apple TV:

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Interested in sponsoring us? Contact BGS: https://bit.ly/sponsorbgspods

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credits:

Finding Lucinda is Distributed by The Bluegrass Situation

Produced and mixed by Avery Hellman for Neanderthal Records LLC

Music by ISMAY

Nashville Recording —

Recorded at The Room & Board Studio

Sound Recordist: Rodrigo Nino

Producer: Liz McBee

Director: Joel Fendelman

Co-Director & Cinematographer: Rose Bush

Special thanks to: Siobhan Maher Kennedy, Ray Kennedy, Mick Hellman, Chuck Prophet, Jonathan McHugh, Sydney Lane, Don Fierro, Rebecca Jordan Williams, Jacqueline Sabec, Rosemary Carroll, Lucinda Williams & Tom Overby


references:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69003/the-long-goodbye

Making a Poem by Miller Williams


There’s a particular magic in the music of Lucinda Williams-raw, honest, and deeply rooted in place. Finding Lucinda, produced by The Bluegrass Situation, isn’t a typical biography. Instead, it’s a parallel journey. We follow singer-songwriter ISMAY, who leaves a family ranch in Northern California feeling full of self-doubt, and drives toward the source: the landscapes of Texas, Louisiana, and Tennessee that shaped Lucinda’s iconic sound. This podcast becomes a moving conversation between a fan’s search for meaning and an artist’s hard-won legacy. As ISMAY travels, listeners are right there in the passenger seat for intimate talks with Lucinda’s early collaborators, dusty archive discoveries, and quiet moments in the very studios and dive bars where that timeless music first took shape. It’s about more than fandom; it’s about finding your own voice by tracing the path of another. Through field recordings, personal reflection, and uncovered stories, each episode feels like peeling back a layer of American music history while on a deeply personal road trip. You’ll hear the hum of the highway, the crackle of old tapes, and the connections that make a musical hero feel vividly, inspiringly human.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 15

Finding Lucinda
Podcast Episodes
Presenting American Songcatcher: Bob Wills [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:34
In the feed today, we wanted to share a podcast that we think you’re going to love. It’s called American Songcatcher, an educational documentary-style podcast that preserves and connects the cultural heritage of American…
Director of Finding Lucinda Joel Fendelman Discusses His Process [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:10
In this episode of the podcast, Ismay sits down with 'Finding Lucinda' director Joel Fendelman. They discuss how Joel approached the making of the documentary and concepts like developing the language of a film to build…
Chuck Prophet & ISMAY on Producing Finding Lucinda [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:33
After the conclusion of their journey, Ismay tours the nation with screenings of 'Finding Lucinda,' inviting local artists to play Lucinda Williams songs in the round. Following a show at Chico Women's Club in California…
Visiting Ray Kennedy at the Room and Board [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:28
Ismay wakes up the day after interviewing Mary Gauthier, to attend a live performance by Lucinda Williams at the Ryman Auditorium. In order to finish out their journey, Ismay hopes to interview Lucinda right before her s…
Mary Gauthier's "Mercy Now" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:05
Ismay travels across Nashville to the Station Inn to meet with legendary folk singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier. This episode of Finding Lucinda is different from those in the past – rather than interviewing a character fr…
Buddy Miller talks Car Wheels on a Gravel Road [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:56
Ismay drives to Nashville to share the incredible never-before-heard tape they found during their road trip journey with friend Buddy Miller. He has been known to have contributed essential parts to Lucinda's breakthroug…
Treasures from the Tape Vault [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:41
In the most exciting moment of the road trip thus far, Ismay hears from interviewee Wolf Stephenson that there's some archival material he wants to share from the concrete tape vault. After sitting on the shelf for 40 ye…
Visiting Malaco Studios [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:52
Ismay travels from Texas to Mississippi, to visit the studio where Lucinda Williams made her first record. There, Ismay interviews Wolf Stephenson, who was the engineer that day in 1978, to learn about what happened duri…
Lucinda's First Guitarist [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:22
Ismay travels to Anderson Fair in Houston, Texas, a famed music venue with a unique history that includes legends like Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith. Ismay tracked down a special character from Lucinda's early career, w…
Early & Unexpected Musical Influences [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:20
Ismay uncovers a fascinating seldom heard recording of Lucinda from a radio show in 1981, leading them down a path to discover the musical influences in Lucinda's early Life. Meeting with members of the Grammy Award Winn…