How do you light a spark? How do you make something true? How does art happen? What is mumbled on the way in the studio and how can we hear it?
Welcome to The Spark. Based on the series Tift Merritt produced for the acclaimed Marfa, Texas Public Radio, The Spark peels back the polished performance to reveal the elbow grease, risk, fire, and courage behind the art—and artists—we think we know. Tift invites guests to speak about integrity and process — how they really make their work and their lives. The conversations are not about neatly packaged finished products; they are conversations about laughter, teachers, and turning points — the not so neatly hewn insight which comes from having your hands in the dirt.
Our first episode features a conversation with Rhiannon Giddens, we talk motherhood, missions, where folk and opera meet and her important & beautiful work excavating & uplifting the voices of our musical past.
Special thanks to Rhiannon Giddens, Carolina Performing Arts and to our producer, Charlie Shelton-Ormond and North Carolina Public Radio.
The Spark with Tift Merritt