Show Notes
Coming October 19th: Don't Call Me Darlin'
Before social media, the women of bluegrass had a bright blue newsletter that showed up in the mailbox and said what no one would say out loud. In Don't Call Me Darlin', host Carolyn Kendrick and co-creator Tristan Scroggins hit the road to find the women Murphy Henry profiled decades ago, in a story about genre, identity, feminism, and the communities we built before the internet.
What can our foremothers teach us about how to challenge the system? And when should we challenge our own expectations? In conversations with legends such as Alice Gerrard, Kristin Scott Benson, Laurie Lewis, Missy Raines, Alison Brown, Rhonda Vincent, Sierra Hull, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, and many more, our hosts learn how tradition can bring community together and how it can break it apart. Join Carolyn and Tristan on their road trip as they explore the paradoxical world of bluegrass: an American art form with American problems, strengths, and growing pains.
Episode one will be available everywhere you listen to podcasts October 19th, 2026.
Don’t Call Me Darlin’ is based on the Women in Bluegrass newsletter that was published quarterly from 1994–2003 by Murphy Hicks Henry. More information about Murphy, including how to purchase her book Pretty Good for a Girl: Women in Bluegrass, can be found at https://www.murphymethod.com/
Read the Women in Bluegrass digital archive, created by Tristan Scroggins: womeninbluegrassarchive.org
To help support the archive, consider making a tax-deductible donation at: https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/the-women-in-bluegrass-archive-project
For more information on our hosts and their other ongoing projects, please visit:
Carolyn Kendrick: https://www.carolynkendrick.com/
Tristan Scroggins: https://www.tristanscroggins.com/
Follow Don’t Call Me Darlin’ on social media: https://linktr.ee/dontcallmedarlin
Interested in sponsoring us? Contact BGS: https://bit.ly/sponsorBGSpods
Underwriting Inquiries: [email protected]
More from Don't Call Me Darlin'
Welcome to our first bonus episode: a behind the scenes Q+A with Don’t Call Me Darlin’ creators Carolyn Kendrick and Tristan Scroggins. We’re making this first round of bonus episodes available for everyone to listen to for free. But if you enjoy this conversation and want to hear more full-length interviews in the future, while also supporting the making of this show, please consider subscribing through Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Don’t Call Me Darlin’ is based on the Women in Bluegrass newsletter that was published quarterly from 1994–2003 by Murphy Hicks Henry. More information about Murphy, including how to purchase her book Pretty Good for a Girl: Women in Bluegrass, can be found at https://www.murphymethod.com/ Sources and citations for today’s episode. Read the Women in Bluegrass digital archive, created by Tristan Scroggins: womeninbluegrassarchive.org To help support the archive, consider making a tax-deductible donation at: https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/the-women-in-bluegrass-archive-project For more information on our hosts and their other ongoing projects, please visit: Carolyn Kendrick: https://www.carolynkendrick.com/ Tristan Scroggins: https://www.tristanscroggins.com/ Follow Don’t Call Me Darlin’ on social media: https://linktr.ee/dontcallmedarlin Interested in sponsoring us? Contact BGS: https://bit.ly/sponsorBGSpods Underwriting Inquiries: [email protected]
Welcome to the Don’t Call Me Darlin’ bonus corner. We’re making this first round of bonus episodes available for everyone to listen to for free. But if you enjoy this conversation and want to hear more full-length interviews in the future, while also supporting the making of this show, please consider subscribing through Patreon or Apple Podcasts.
As a full-time musician living in Los Angeles, Carolyn Kendrick has a complicated relationship with bluegrass music. Despite years of experience and a deep connection to friendships formed in the community, Carolyn often thinks of herself as an outsider in the broader, male-dominated, and generally conservative genre. As life becomes more and more digitally saturated, the nostalgia-rich trappings and communal values of the bluegrass community speak to Carolyn as she finds herself yearning for a more grounded, unplugged time. She loves the music but is confused by how it fits into her sense of self.
Hey! Tristan Scroggins + Carolyn Kendrick here. We have a new show coming soon and we want you to know about it! It’s called Don’t Call Me Darlin’, an eight part narrative journalism podcast about music, feminism, and community. Episode One will be launching in the spring but you can listen to the trailer now, as well as subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Do you remember Life Before the Internet? I barely remember. Twenty-first century life is so digitally saturated that it's ve...