#54: From the Heartland with Jay Farrar

After spearheading the alt country movement with Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar pursued his vision with Son Volt, who recorded three landmark albums in the '90s before the groundbreaking artist put the band on extended hiatus and cut three solo LPs. Missing the free exchange of ideas and the surprises that inevitably occur when a group of simpatico musicians lock together, Farrar assembled a new lineup of Son Volt in 2004 and has since released five albums. Along the way, Farrar has collaborated with Ben Gibbard, Jim James, Will Johnson and Anders Parker to produce odes to Jack Kerouac and Woody Guthrie. The latest Son Volt album, Union, out March 29, confronts our turbulent politics and articulates the clarity and comfort music can offer in the tumult. Jay Farrar's work often seeks out the ghosts of America's discordant or forgotten past, converses at length with them, and writes songs that stake a claim to a better future.