The Castellows are three sisters—Eleanor, Lily, and Powell Balkcom—who started sharing their music on Instagram just a couple of years ago, and now they seem to be everywhere. Their newfound success has led them to a fast-moving career in Nashville and to the recent release of a new EP called A Little Goes a Long Way. With beautiful harmonies and lyrics about a simpler way of life, many of the songs pay tribute to the sisters’ roots in rural Georgia, where they grew up spending weekends on...

Tyler Hubbard was born and raised in Monroe, Georgia, where he grew up working in the garden with his family, competing in motocross races, and playing music at his church. He met his bandmate, Brian Kelley, at Belmont University in Nashville, and by 2012 Florida Georgia Line was one of the hottest acts in country music. These days, he’s entered a new phase in his life and career. He’s a father now, with a wife and three kids, and after taking a break from recording with Kelley, he’s also...

Emmy Russell was born in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, and grew up touring and performing with her grandmother, Loretta Lynn, as well as her mother, Patsy Lynn. She doesn’t sound much like the “Queen of Country,” but Emmy has a beautiful voice and plenty of talent as a songwriter. On an episode of American Idol earlier this spring, she wowed the judges with an intensely personal song that caught the country’s attention—and earned her a ticket to Hollywood. It’s called “Skinny,” and it touches...

Jennifer Nettles was born and raised in rural South Georgia, where she got very involved in 4-H as a kid, a relationship that’s still a big part of her life. She went on to an extraordinary music career, winning a long list of Grammys, CMA Awards, and ACM Awards with Sugarland in the mid 2000s. By 2015, she’d started to work more in film and television, including her roles as Dolly Parton’s mother in Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors and Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors, and now she’s...

Cedric Burnside is the grandson of the famous bluesman R.L. Burnside, and he’s also a Grammy-winning artist who’s taking the genre into new territory. He started playing the drums when he was still in grade school, and by the age of 13 he was playing juke joints and traveling the country with his grandfather, whom he referred to as “Big Daddy.” Cedric talks with Sid about his life growing up on a farm, how he approaches music as a songwriter, and why he’ll never leave Mississippi. Plus, he...

Devon Allman grew up in Texas and Missouri, and didn’t meet his father, Gregg Allman, until he was a teenager. A simple letter brought the two of them together, and before long Devon was going on tour with the Allman Brothers Band—and getting to know his dad. In another twist of fate, he met his longtime collaborator Duane Betts, whose father, Dicky Betts, was also a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band. Now the two are performing, recording, and writing songs together.  Devon joins...

Camila Alves McConaughey may be best known for her connection to her famous husband, Matthew, but she has a career and a fan base of her own. After growing up in Brazil and then traveling the world as a model, she settled down to raise a family in Texas, a place that now feels very much like home. Not only has she co-founded the Just Keep Livin’ foundation with Matthew to support and empower high school kids, but she also launched an online community called Women of Today, with recipes and...

Charles Esten was born in Pennsylvania, but moved to Virginia with his mother and his sister after his parents divorced. After college, he played Buddy Holly in a long-running UK stage production before becoming a member of the casts for both the UK and US versions of Whose Line is it Anyway? Eventually, he landed a role on TV’s Nashville as troubled songwriter Deacon Claybourne, where he got to show off the musical skills he’d been developing since childhood.  Charles joins Sid to discuss...

Nashville-based country star Brittney Spencer talks about her deep respect for The Chicks, her admiration for the trailblazing country artist Mickey Guyton, as well as what she’s learned from performing with Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead. Spencer hails from the city of Baltimore, where her family runs a popular Southern-style restaurant called Granny’s. Her debut album, which is already gathering a lot of critical acclaim, is called “My Stupid Life,” but her journey thus...

José Andrés was born and raised in Spain and has brought his love of Spanish cuisine to successful restaurants in New York City and Washington DC. While he now has dozens of dining establishments in a host of different cities, what really sets him apart is the work he’s done with World Central Kitchen. Founded in 2010 in response to the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti, World Central Kitchen has gone on to feed survivors of hurricanes, tornadoes, and fires all around the world, as well...

Southern Living is excited to announce the launch of Season 5 of Biscuits & Jam on February 20th, 2024 with chef José Andrés. Since 2020, Sid Evans, Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living has been interviewing Southern icons like Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Wynonna Judd, Darius Rucker, and more about their family traditions, meals that remind them of home, and of course, what it means to be Southern. Join him every Tuesday as he continues the conversation with some of the most interesting...

Before he starred in Breaking Away or The Big Easy, Dennis Quaid was a kid from Houston, Texas, who grew up loving Elvis Presley and wanting to play rock and roll. His early success as an actor led him to a legendary career in movies, but he never gave up his musical ambitions. As the longtime frontman of Dennis Quaid & the Sharks, he’s built a reputation as a legitimate, high-energy rock star. Recently, though, he’s settled down in Nashville and produced an album called “Fallen: A Gospel...

Country star Thomas Rhett grew up in Valdosta, Georgia, with a father and grandfather who primed him to be a Bulldogs superfan. Meanwhile, his wife, Lauren Akins, bleeds the orange of the Tennessee Volunteers. Somehow they’ve managed to build a lasting romance and a loving family in spite of rooting for teams on opposite sides of the field. In this episode, they talk about where they grew up, how they came to love their favorite teams, and the one thing they can always agree on - Frito...

On this episode, Sid Evans, Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living Magazine, chats with Hoda Kotb, one of the anchors of ‘The Today Show’ on NBC and an author. She was raised in West Virginia while visiting family in Egypt. Unfortunately, her father passed away while she was in college, which of course took an emotional toll, but the lessons she took from the experience has helped her to move through her life successfully. Before her time covering world events, she spent time as a local news...

On this episode, Sid Evans, Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living Magazine, chats with Ruston Kelly,  a singer-songwriter with a remarkable talent for channeling his life experiences into his music. Born in South Carolina, he moved all over with his family, eventually ending up in Belgium before he moved to Nashville to start his career. But before that, he pursued a figure skating dream that left him feeling alone, but also led him to writing songs. Since then, he’s struggled with addiction and...

On this episode, Sid Evans, Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living Magazine, revisits some of his favorite conversations about the holidays from Season 4. You’ll hear stories from  Jason Isbell, Miranda Lambert, Wynonna Judd, and more! For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam Biscuits & Jam is produced by: Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer/Producer Jeremiah...

Back in 1982, Emeril Lagasse famously took over from Paul Prudhomme as executive chef at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, and after an incredible run there he decided to open his own place, Emeril’s, in 1990. Now, more than three decades on, his son EJ, at age 21, is chef patron, revisiting dishes his father made famous and updating them with his own unique spin. We’ll talk about all that, as well as the magic of New Orleans, their over-the-top holiday food traditions, the ways their...

Brent Cobb grew up in Ellaville, Georgia, where he was encouraged by his parents – especially his songwriting father – to pick up a guitar. Following the advice of Luke Bryan, he moved to Nashville, where he used his talent to write hit songs for everyone from Kenny Chesney to Miranda Lambert, but now he’s known as a Grammy-nominated artist and performer all his own. In 2022, he produced a gospel record based on a lot of the music he grew up with in the Baptist church. And now his latest...

Bethany Joy Lenz was born in Florida and grew up in Texas, which is where she first got involved in the performing arts, carrying on a tradition she inherited from her grandparents. Her family eventually headed to New Jersey, where her Southerness drew the wrong kind of attention from some of the girls in her class, but she made it through the experience and eventually landed on the hit TV show One Tree Hill. Now Joy is living in Nashville, writing and performing music, editing a publication...

In this week’s episode, Sid Evans, Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living Magazine, chats with Miranda Lambert, a woman who’s fearlessly blazed her own path through country music. Growing up in small town Texas, where there were seemingly more churches than people, she encountered every aspect of life thanks to her supportive parents and family. Her loving parents were private investigators and often opened their home to clients and other people in need – especially women who needed a safe place...

Dolly Parton was last on the show back in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, and we talked on the phone about her Christmas traditions, her childhood in East Tennessee, and her incredible work getting millions of kids to read through the Imagination Library. This time I got to sit down with her in person at her studio outside of Nashville, and she hasn’t slowed down one bit. She told me all about her lastest album, “Rockstar,” which features 30 rock and roll classics, from covers like...

Andrew Zimmern grew up in New York City, where he learned his love of food from traveling with his parents and spending weekends with his grandmother. He got his first job in a restaurant on Long Island at age 14, and after some difficult years with substance abuse, he eventually moved to Minnesota, where he got sober and gained attention as a chef, radio host, writer, and television personality. In 2006, he started hosting Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel, which earned him four James...

Wynonna Judd was one half of one of the most famous duos in country music history, and she’s also been plenty successful out on her own. She was last on the show nearly three years ago, back during the height of the pandemic, and a lot has happened since then. On April 30th, 2022, the day before the Judds were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, she lost her mother, Naomi, to suicide, an event that upended her life and shook the world of country to its core. But Wynonna is back on...

Lucinda Williams was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, a place she would memorialize in one her most famous songs. But she didn’t stay there for long, moving with her folks to a string of college towns where her father taught poetry and literature. Her peripatetic life and her mother’s mental illness led to a sometimes difficult childhood, but music gave her an outlet, and her raw, honest lyrics have made her one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters to ever come out of the South. Despite...