River Jordan is a southerner with a global perspective. She began her writing career as a playwright and spent over ten years with the Loblolly Theatre group, where her original works were produced, including Mama Jewels: Tales from Mullet Creek, Soul, Rhythm and Blues, and Virga.

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Les Standiford guests on BACKSTORY CITY LIMITS live Saturday, December 27

Friday, December 26, 2008



Just in time for the holidays, just in time for the present you haven't bought yet but still need to! . . . acclaimed author Les Standiford drops into BACKSTORY CITY LIMITS to talk about his most recent work of art, The Man Who Invented Christmas.

LES STANDIFORD is the author of the critically acclaimed Last Train to Paradise, Meet You in Hell, and Washington Burning, as well as ten novels. Recipient of the Frank O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, he is director of the Creative Writing Program at Florida International University in Miami.

IN,The Man Who Invented Christmas, the acclaimed popular historian Les Standiford whisks us back to Victorian England, where we find out how a struggling Charles Dickens came to write the small book that would transform a somber, faded holiday into the celebration of charity and good cheer we know today.

Just before Christmas in 1843, a debt-ridden and dispirited Charles Dickens wrote a small book he hoped would keep his creditors at bay. His publisher turned it down, so Dickens used what little money he had to put out A Christmas Carol himself. He worried it might be the end of his career as a novelist.

The book immediately caused a sensation. And it breathed new life into a holiday that had fallen into disfavor, undermined by lingering Puritanism and the cold modernity of the Industrial Revolution. It was a harsh and dreary age, in desperate need of spiritual renewal, ready to embrace a book that ended with blessings for one and all.

With warmth, wit, and an infusion of Christmas cheer, Les Standiford whisks us back to Victorian England, its most beloved storyteller, and the birth of the Christmas we know best. The Man Who Invented Christmas is a rich and satisfying read for Scrooges and sentimentalists alike.

For more stories about Charles Dickens and how Les discovered the man behind the myth, tune in to Backstory City Limits this Saturday 4-6 central on 98.9lpfm Nashville or www.radiofreenashville.org

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Les Kerr Guests on BACKSTORY CITY LIMITS Saturday, 12/20

Friday, December 12, 2008



What is BACKSTORY CITY LIMITS and why is it here? Well - there is BACKSTORY as in according to Wikipedia it is: In narratology, a back-story (also back story or backstory) is the history behind the situation extant at the start of the main story.

Now the way it is used in modern vernacular is that when it comes to news it means the real deal. The story that tells the truth behind the headlines and the packaged product of anything you might hear, read, or see that has been edited for it's content.

Now - what does BACKSTORY CITY LIMITS mean? It means that I get to take you on a radio road trip to discover delightful, intelligent, thought-provoking and funny people to share a story or two with you about the real things at hand, whatever it may be at the moment. It's a slice of life like an author telling their secrets about how their book really made it to print and the tricks they used to get it written. It's old friends and new friends telling us the real story of the things they love to the most about the places we'll visit each week.


It's songwriters giving us an inside glimpse of what inspired them to write a particular song, or how a melody slipped into their dreams, then rock and rolled them awake until they got up and wrote down the entire song. It's artist painting words for us on the radio so that we can see the world through their eyes.
Like this weeks Les Kerr sharing stories of his creative life!

Les Kerr is a songwriter, recording artist and performer who brings blues, Rockabilly, New Orleans music, Zydeco, and bluegrass together to create his “Hillbilly Blues Caribbean Rock & Roll.” Now based in Nashville, Kerr was born in Louisiana and raised in Mississippi in Jackson and the Gulf Coast city of Pascagoula.
Kerr’s concert highlights include headlining annual Mardi Gras concerts at Nashville’s Bluebird Café since 1992.

His New Orleans venues have included the Maple Leaf Bar, Carrollton Stati
on, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Café, and Neutral Grounds. He has also performed at the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Jefferson Street Jazz and Blues Festival and at Nashville’s official Independence Day celebrations in 2000 and 2008. Other venues include the Franklin (TN) Jazz Festival, Huntsville, Alabama’s Panoply Festival and Jackson, Tennessee’s Rockabilly Fest. Kerr’s live performances have pleased audiences from Mississippi to Michigan.New Orleans Set is the latest of Kerr’s six CDs. His previous albums include Crawfish Caravan, Christmas on the Coast, Red Blues, Southern Sound Sessions and Below the Level of the Sea.
A three-time nominee for Music City Blues Society awards, Kerr has been nominated for the society’s Male Vocalist of the Year, CD of the Year and Entertainer of the Year awards. His song Mackinac Blues was included in NPR’s All Songs Considered in 2005. With Bryan Cumming, he has written songs officially adopted as theme songs for the University of Mississippi’s $200 Million “MomentUM” campaign (For the Love of Ole Miss) and the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce $2 million economic and tourism “Highlands of Tennessee” campaign (Highlands of Tennessee).

Also a journalist, Kerr co-authored The All-American Truck Stop Cookbook with Ken Beck and Jim Clark and frequently writes for magazines and newspapers. Tennessee, published in 2004 by Graphic Arts Center Publishing, features Kerr’s words and photos by George Humphries. Southern Living Magazine says, "“Photographer George Humphries contributed the breathtaking images, while essayist Les Kerr conjures up memories for lifelong residents and nudges newcomers to get out and see places such as Clingman’s Dome and Rock Island State Park.”

Backstory City Limits is like taking a roadtrip and finding yourself in a new place that feels so familiar, so good, so inviting, that you decide to pull over and stay awhile.

I'm River Jordan and I have the pleasure of being your tour guide as we travel together to the places where there are stories, songs, and words we're all longing to hear.

BACKSTORY CITY LIMITS -great music, great stories, and great company. Join us each Saturday at 4pm - 6pm CST at 98.9fm Nashville, Comcast Channel 10 SAP, Nashville, or live and steaming world-wide at www.radiofreenashville.org And every week you can check in on BACKSTORY CITY LIMITS - more than a show - it's a destination.

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