Stars Volta Podcast

Send us Fan MailTyson Colson is a standup comedian with a refreshingly authentic perspective on life. His incredible storytelling paints a world where humor can always be discovered, even in the darkest of places. We sat down with the Ohio native to talk about his journey and the stories behind his jokes.

Send us Fan MailCam Allen returns to the Star Volta Podcast for the second time. The Oklahoma native was a featured artist in Season 1 - Episode 10 back in 2023. Later that year we filmed Cam's Grand Theater debut at Choctaw Casino when he opened up for country headliner Carly Pearce. Since then Cam signed with the talent agency CAA, collaborated with country writers in Nashville and opened up for Redferrin, Koe Wetzel, Wade Bowen, Dwight Yoakam, Huser Brothers, and Whiskey Myers.    

Send us Fan MailBrandon Holtz won the 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Troon Country Club in Arizona last September. Along with lifting the Robert T. Jones Jr. Trophy, that victory also earned Holtz the opportunity to compete at The Masters and The US Open in 2026. Like the Amateur champions before him, Brandon was a division 1 student-athlete, just not in golf. The Bloomington, IL native played college basketball at Illinois State University on a Redbird squad that posted multiple 20+ win seasons and nearly punched their ticket to the big dance. What makes Brandon's story even more compelling is he graduated from ISU in 2009. How did a 39 year old former college basketball player make it to The Masters and U.S. Open? Click play to find out.  

Send us Fan MailBrendan Perlini was drafted 12th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft. Born in the UK and raised in Canada, Perlini was the 3rd in his immediate family to play in the NHL. Brendan has taken the ice with some of the best players in the world while suiting up for the Arizona Coyotes Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and the Edmonton Oilers. The 6'3" winger is currently playing pro hockey in Switzerland for HC Lugano. 

Send us Fan MailDAP The Contract is a Rapper, Producer and Lawyer based in NYC. He grew up in Nigeria, attended boarding school in London, went to the US and became an Ivy League graduated at Brown University and got his law degree from Columbia Law School. He drop his mixtape in 2014 and The Source Magazine named it the best mixtape of the year. Since then he's release 9 solo produced albums and recently joined forces with his friends Clyde Lawrence and Cody Fitzgerald to create the band Hi-Lo Jack. To say the least DAP has lived a fascinating life with lots of stories to tell.

Send us Fan MailHayden Coffman is one of the top independent Country Music Artist in world right now. The Knoxville native has generated over 285 million streams globally and his breakout single Better Off recently turned Gold. We sat down with Hayden to talk about his career and new EP Goner which you can stream everywhere you get your music.  

Send us Fan MailJP Kennedy is a rising artist in Nashville making waves with his hit singles Reasons To and Leaving with the Reason. JP grew up in PA and played college football in the Washington DC area. Shortly after graduating Kennedy moved to Nashville to becoming a singer/songwriter.  

Send us Fan MailTom Luginbill is the National Recruiting Director at ESPN and Lead Analyst at the ACC Network. As an athlete, Tom was the starting Qb at Palomar Junior College helping his school win the National Championship in 1993. He would later transferring and becoming the starting QB at both Georgia Tech and Eastern Kentucky. Luginbill is the son of a coach and followed in his father's footsteps coaching in the AFL, XFL and NFL. You can see Tom on ESPN and the ACC Network calling college football games and breaking down every aspect of the sport. In this episode we focus on the upcoming college football season and highlight which teams could be title contenders in 2026. Tom talks about the transfer portal, top QB's in the ACC, what the heck Bill Belichick is doing at UNC, transfer tampering and much more.  

Send us Fan MailCoach Richard Shaughnessy is the Director of Strength and Conditioning at Troy University. Shaughnessy's elite training program has been the bedrock of Troy's success since 1997. Coach and his staff have helped hundreds of athletes take their talents to the next level including DeMarcus Ware, Osi Umenyiora, Lawrence Tynes, Leodis McKelvin, Jerrel Jernigan and Kimani Vidal. Shaughnessy tells us how he turned a program with no budget into one of the best strength programs in the nation.

Send us Fan MailWill Pruitt plays Professional Basketball in Belgium for the Leuven Bears. We first spoke to Will in season 2 as he was entering his Senior season at Lipscomb University with the goal of making it to the NCAA Tournament. Pruitt accomplished his goal in 2025 and shares his experience of playing in the "Big Dance" and what it's been like playing pro ball overseas. 

Send us Fan MailMac Harris is the starting middle linebacker for 18th ranked football team in the country, University of South Florida. Harris led the Bulls in tackles last season and currently has 56 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 1 interception that he returned 93 yards for a touchdown. The Villages HS alum has led USF to victories over #25 Boise State and #13 Florida in the Swamp. 

Send us Fan MailBill Pidto is a sports journalism pioneer. When ESPN2 launched in 1993, Bill was the first anchor delivering sports news and highlights to America. Pidto would go on to anchor popular ESPN shows like NHL 2Night, Baseball Tonight and NFL Primetime. Today you can find Bill on the MSG Network as the lead anchor for the pregame, halftime and postgame shows for the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.

Send us Fan MailScooter Gennett is a former MLB All-Star second baseman who played 7 years in the Bigs for the Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants. He is one of 21 players in the history of the league to hit 4 home runs in one game. In this episode Scooter talks about making it to the majors leagues, his approach at the plate and his mission since retiring from the game.

Send us Fan MailLandon Smith is a Folk/Country singer & songwriter based in Nashville. Before moving to the music capital of the world, Smith was rocking frat parties at Georgia Southern just like Luke Bryan and Cole Swindell. Landon's strong voice and stage precence has won over large crowds while opening for Gavin Adcock, Ella Langley and Riley Green. You can listen to the first 6 song off his EP Recon So, highlighted by the hit track Pawn Shop Collectibles. 

Send us Fan MailDwayne Harris is one of the most dynamic special teams players to ever lace 'em up in the NFL. Drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, a Pro Bowler with the Giants and a dangerous weapon for Raiders. Harris shares great stories about his playing days at ECU, getting yelled at by Jason Witten, catching balls from Tony Romo and Eli Manning and everything in-between.

Send us Fan MailSkyler Higley is a standup comedian/writer who's written for Conan O'Brien, The Onion, The New Yorker, After Midnight, Going Dutch and The Mark Twain Prize on Netflix. You can see Skyler's Comedy Central standup special and his Just for Laughs showcase on YouTube.  

Send us Fan MailLee Beebe Jr. is a redshirt Junior running back at Indiana University. Before the Big Ten, Beebe walked-on to UAB football team, earned a scholarship and became the Blazers starting RB. While in Birmingham, Lee accumulated 1,600 all-purpose yards and 12 touchdown in 2 active season. This off-season he decided to transfer to IU to join Coach Curt Cignetti and the nationally ranked Hoosiers. Hear more about his journey from Montgomery to Birmingham to Bloomington. 

Send us Fan MailEllory Smith is an Emmy nominated Writer and Standup Comedian in Los Angeles. Original from Upstate New York, Ellory got into comedy over a decade ago cutting her teeth in New York and Boston before moving to LA where she's been performing and writing for the last 7 year. Smith got her big break in writing when she was noticed by the creators of Robot Chicken, a stop-motion animated sketch comedy TV show on Adult Swim. Ellory's elite writing has earned her 3 Emmy nominations and we believe the best is yet to come.    

Send us Fan MailBryce Walker is a former Notre Dame lacrosse player who won back-to-back National Championships with the Irish in 2023 & 2024. Bryce sat down with us to talk about his lax journey from West Lake High School in Austin, TX to winning the first two lacrosse titles in school history at South Bend.  

Send us Fan MailMichael Turner is a stand-up comedian who's known for his Road Warrior Tour where he travels to Cincinnati Bengals road games, does standup in that city and then interacts with NFL fans on game day. Turner has been on Netflix is a Joke Radio and his stand-up special can be seen on Don't Tell Comedy. In this episode we talk to Michael Turner about his beloved Bengals, his comedy career and hilarious experiences he's had on the Road Warrior Tour. 

Send us Fan MailPug Johnson is a rising country artist who's opened for Midland, Clint Black, Steve Earle and the Eli Young Band. The Beaumont, TX native's sound is a mixture of old school country and swamp pop. We talked with Pug about his journey to the big stage and the impact his wife/manager, Mindy, has had on his life/music career. Pug also shared the meaning behind his lyrics included the songs off his new album "El Cabron" which drops on March 28th. 

Send us Fan MailJackson Woodard is an All-American Linebacker from UNLV, he was 4th in the nation in tackles (135) and was named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. The two time captain led the Rebels to a 11-3 record in the 2024-2025 season which concluded with a bowl victory over Cal. Woodard is now preparing for the 2025 NFL combine which will take place at the end of February in Indianapolis. 

Send us Fan MailSarah Halpin is an award winning Presenter & Content Creator for Everton FC. She's our first international guest who joined us from Liverpool, England to talk about the history and current state of Everton football (soccer). Later this year, we'll be crossing the pond to join Sarah for one of Everton's final matches at historic Goodison Park. For more content from Sarah follow her on Instagram @sarahhalpin_tbib   

Send us Fan MailJax Biggers returns to the podcast to talk about his last two seasons in the Texas Rangers organization. Jax is an infielder who spent 2024 at AAA Round Rock where he won Texas Rangers Minor League Defensive Player of the Month and the True Ranger Award. Biggers shared his experiences with the new Robo Ump, challenging balls/strikes and what it was like squaring off against Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw. 

Send us Fan MailFozzy Whittaker is ESPN college football analyst and former running back/kick returner who played in the National Championship (2009) with the Texas Longhorns and Super Bowl 50 with the Carolina Panthers. We talked with Fozzy about playing football at an elite level and the experiences he shared with teammates Colt McCoy, Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly. We also talked about the current state of college football pertaining to the transfer portal, NIL and burnout. Whittaker shared his thoughts on the current Longhorn squad and we chatted about his new gig calling college football games for ESPN. If you want to hear more from Fozzy, go check out his podcast 3rd & Longhorn, streaming everywhere. 

Send us Fan MailJoe Maldonado aka Joe Exotic aka The Tiger King is a reality personality best know from the Netflix documentary, Tiger King. Joe operated the GW Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, OK from 1999-2018. Exotic was arrested in 2018 on suspicion of hire for murder of his depicted rival and the owner of Big Cat Rescue, Carole Baskin. Joe talked to us from prison in Fort Worth (TX) about his case for innocence, who he would vote for in the 2024 election and the news about his recent engagement to his partner Jorge. 

Send us Fan MailConor Enright a 6'2" 180 pound (RS) Junior G on the DePaul University basketball team. Enright played the first half of his college career at Drake University where he help the Bulldogs reach the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons ('22-'23 & '23-'24). We sat down with the Mundelein (IL) native to talk about playing under the bright lights in March, off-season training and hitting the transfer portal.

Send us Fan MailNoah West and Alee are both solo Country Singers/Songwriters base in Nashville. Alee is a 3x CCMA Female Artist of the Year winner who released her third solo album, "Love, Again" earlier this year (2024). Noah is making his 4th appearance on the show and has released two new singles "Almost Heaven" and "If it Was Easy." We sat down with the two Country stars live in Nashville to talk about the writing process, performing on the road, relationships and the meaning behind their lyrics.

Send us Fan MailWill Pruitt is a 6'3" 195 lbs. Guard at Lipscomb University. Pruitt averaged 15 PPG in the 2023-2024 season and led the Bison in rebounds and minutes played. The MT. Juliet native dropped 24 points on Florida State last season to help Lipscomb upset the Seminoles in Tallahassee. We sat down with the Grad-Senior at Lipscomb's campus in Nashville to talk about his basketball journey and expectation for the 2024-2025 basketball season.    

Send us Fan MailTanner Morgan is a former college and NFL QB who holds multiple school records at the University of Minnesota including most passing TD's in a season (30) and career wins (47). Morgan helped the Gophers beat #4 Penn State in 2019 and led the Gophers to 4 bowl wins during his time in Dinkytown. We sat down with Tanner to talk about his record breaking career and people who help him along the way. 

Send us Fan MailJake Butt is a former college and NFL Tight End who played at the University of Michigan and the Denver Broncos. In college he was a 2x All-American, 2x Big Ten TE of the Year, Ozzie Newson and John Mackey award winner. Jake was drafted by the Denver Broncos but his career was cut short due to multiple ACL injuries. After retirement Jake joined the Big Ten Network and is currently the lead College Football Analyst heading into the 2024 season. We sat down with the Pickerington, Ohio native to talk about his record breaking career at Michigan, lessons from Jim Harbaugh, playing through injuries, getting drafted by the Broncos and his current role with the Big Ten Network.  

Send us Fan MailConor Matthews is a singer/songwriter from Chicago who moved to Nashville after high school. Matthews caught the attention of Keith Urban with his raw vocal talent which led to a publishing deal in 2014 at just 19 years old. Since then he's worked with artist like Sam Hunt and Surgarland while also developing his solo career in Pop/R&B. Recently Conor has been pumping out hits such as Snowing in Miami, You Became me, Burn My Bed and Monster You Made Me.  We sat down with Conor to talk about his career and the story behind the music.

Send us Fan MailJett Bush is a 6'2" 242 lbs Linebacker who walked-on at the University of Texas in 2019, earned a scholarship in 2020 and was a key part of the Longhorn defense under HC Steve Sarkisian. In 2023, UT beat #3 Alabama, won the Big 12 Conference and earned a birth to the College Football Playoff. Bush finished the season with 17 tackles, 2 sacks and a 43 yard pick six. We sat down with Jett to talk about his career highlights at Texas and his potential in the NFL.

Send us Fan MailSadie Bass is a Singer/Songwriter that has opened for Hardy, Brantley Gilbert, Chase Rice and Tyler Farr. The Bath, Michigan native gained fame from her appearance on The Voice where she rocked the audition and got Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani to smash the red button of approval. Not long after, Sadie planted her roots in Nashville where she's turned out hit song like Wake N' Bake, Holy Ground and Don't Pick Up. We sat down with Sadie and fellow Singer/Songwriter, Noah West, in Nashville to talk about writing together, new music, lyrics, music videos and upcoming tour dates.

Send us Fan MailThomas Rowland is a 22 year old singer/songwriter from Georgetown, SC. Now based in Music City, Rowland's sound can be described as a soulful mixture of indie rock, folk and blues. We sat down with Thomas in Nashville to discuss his journey as a young artist and the story behind his lyrics.  

Send us Fan MailWe sat down with Country artist, Noah West and Austin, live from Lucky's 3 Star in Nashville. The two singer/songwriters discuss new music, lyrics, women, recent concerts and the struggles they've faced as independent artist. This was Noah and Austin's second appearance on the podcast but first time together.  

Send us Fan MailJacob Lacey is a 6'1" 282 pound defensive tackle at the University of Oklahoma. As a senior at South Warren High School (Bowling Green) Lacey won the 5A state championship and was named the #1 prospect in the state of Kentucky (2018).  Jacob started his CFB journey at Notre Dame where he played three seasons under Brian Kelly helping the Irish go 32-6 and earning a birth in the College Football Playoff. Lacey transferred to Oklahoma prior to 2023 season but was hospitalized with blood clots in his lungs and was told by doctors he would never play football again. Listen to our interview with Jacoby Lacey to learn how he overcame the odds and what he has planned for his final season at Oklahoma.

Send us Fan MailAyo Adeyi is one of the most explosive running backs in college football today. He averaged 7.11 yards/carry in 2023 at the University of North Texas which was 4th in the country. Ayo will put his big play talent on display at James Madison University as a grad transfer in 2024. We sat down with Ayo to talk about his college football career, his experience hitting the transfer portal twice and what the future holds for him at JMU.

Send us Fan MailAustin is an up and coming solo musician that is changing what it means to be Country by infusing punk, pop and indie rock into classic country music story telling. The Hopkinsville, KY native graduated from Murray State University which is where he formed the duel group SixForty1. After a successful 8 year run that included performing for thousands as Brantley Gilbert opener, the band decided to split up in 2023. Now a solo artist signed to a publishing deal in Nashville, Austin is making waves with his unique sound. We sat down with Austin to talk about his journey in country music and the story behind his lyrics.

Send us Fan MailCooper Greer is a Country Music singer/songwriter originally from Hyde County, North Carolina. With a voice like Jason Aldean and a country-rock vibe similar to Koe Wetzel, Greer has become an artist to watch in 2024. The tar heel native was named 2022 CCMA Songwriter of the Year and CMT showcase the music video for his single "Drugs." We talked with Cooper about his journey in country music and the meaning behind his lyrics. 

Send us Fan MailJaxson Lavender is a Freshman Slot Wide Receiver at Southern Methodist University. Prior to SMU Lavender was catching touchdowns at Lovejoy High School just 30 minutes NE of Dallas in Lucas, TX. In the off-season you can find him training with the likes of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Cole Beasley and 2023 Heisman winner Jayden Daniels. We sat down with Jaxson in Dallas to talk about recruiting, NIL, the transfer portal, his first season at SMU, training with Dak and SMU joining the ACC. 

Send us Fan MailThomas Gordon is a 6'5" 245 pound senior TE at Northwestern University. We sat down with the Houston native to talk about his roller coaster career in Evanston which includes the highs of winning the Big Ten-West and the Citrus Bowl followed by lows of losing 20 games in 2 years and the firing of head coach Pat Fitzgerald. Gordon's career got back on track this season with a successful 7-5 rebuild and birth to the Las Vegas Bowl. Press play to learn more about Thomas Gordon's wild ride.

Send us Fan MailAkeem Hunt is a former NFL running back who played with the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs. Prior to the pros, the Covington, Georgia native racked up 4,600+ all-purpose yards and 20 TD's at Purdue University. We sat down with Akeem in Dallas to talk about his journey to the NFL, the current state of college football and his amazing stories with JJ Watt, Raheem Mostert, Arian Foster and Tyreek Hill. 

Send us Fan MailTracielynn is a country music artist with a powerful voice and commanding stage presence. The Chesapeake, Virginia native moved to Nashville in 2019 and since then has opened for Morgan Wallen, Sam Hunt, Brooks & Dunn, Jon Pardi, Sara Evans, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and Cody Johnson to name a few. In August of 2023 Tracielynn dropped her debut album 'More Than a Bad Habit' which features her hit single "Broadway Cowboy." We sat down with Tracielynn to talk about her recent concert tour, the new album, song lyrics and the country music gender gap that no one seems to be talking about. Slap that play button and enjoy.

Send us Fan MailTim Dillard is former MLB pitcher who is currently the Pregame and Postgame Analyst for the Milwaukee Brewers. Dillard made his MLB debut in 2008 and got his first strikeout against current Yankees Manager, Aaron Boone. We were lucky enough to talk baseball with the funniest man in sports and hear about his journey which may or may not include hilarious stories about Bob Uecker, Jason Kendall and Gary Sheffield.

Send us Fan MailConor Darvid is a New York based singer/songwriter who jumped on the music scene in 2017 when he collaborated with internationally ranked DJ, Morten. Their hit single "Ride Around" currently has over 12.3 million streams on Spotify. You can listen to his latest single "Sad Song for the Summer" everywhere you get your music but before you do that, slap the play button to hear about Conor's journey and the story behind his lyrics.

Send us Fan MailFormer ESPN SportsCenter Anchor sits down with us to talk about Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season. Jay Crawford brought America their sports news and updates as the midday SportCenter Anchor on ESPN from 2007-2017. Crawford joined ESPN in 2003 when he launched his show Cold Pizza, which eventually became First Take. The Sandusky, Ohio native has won 4 Regional Emmy Awards, hosted the Little League World Series and was a guest host on NFL Live. Jay is currently a News Anchor at WKYC Channel 3 in Cleveland where he also host the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show.

Send us Fan MailOur panel of former/current QB's analyze the top Quarterbacks in college football entering the 2023 season. In Part 3, our experts looked at two transfer QB's, Sam Hartman who transferred into Notre Dame this offseason via Wake Forest and Bo Nix who transferred to Oregon in 2022 via Auburn. Both have Heisman hopes and National Championship dreams, but do either have what it takes to turn hopes and dreams into reality? .........Watch the video version of the podcast on our YouTube page @starsvolta and reels on Instagram @starsvolta Our QB Panel:1. Kevin Anderson - Current Pro QB who just won the XFL Championship with the Arlington Renegades and played his college ball at Marshall and Fordham.2. Warren Arnold - Former D1 starting QB for Valparaiso where he played against Jim Harbaugh (Coach) and Josh Johnson (QB) at San Diego.3. Jeff Supernah - Former D3 QB at Loras College and High School football coach in the Madison, Wisconsin area.

Send us Fan MailOur panel of former/current QB's analyze the top Quarterbacks in college football entering the 2023 season. In Part 2, our experts looked at Washington's Heisman hopeful Michael Penix Jr. and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams Watch the video of the podcast via YouTube @starsvoltaOur QB Panel:1. Kevin Anderson - Current Pro QB who just won the XFL Championship with the Arlington Renegades and played his college ball at Marshall and Fordham.2. Warren Arnold - Former D1 starting QB for Valparaiso where he played against Jim Harbaugh (Coach) and Josh Johnson (QB) at San Diego.3. Jeff Supernah - Former D3 QB at Loras College and High School football coach in the Madison, Wisconsin area.

Send us Fan MailOur panel of former/current QB's analyze the top Quarterbacks in college football entering the 2023 season. In Part 1, our experts looked at UNC sophomore sensation Drake Maye who finished 3rd in Heisman voting last season. They will also analyze Tulane's junior play-caller Michael Pratt who shocked the world last year with an incredible comeback win over USC in the Cotton Bowl....Video version of the podcast can be found on YouTube @starsvoltaOur QB Panel:1. Kevin Anderson - Current Pro QB who just won the XFL Championship with the Arlington Renegades and played his college ball at Marshall and Fordham.2. Warren Arnold - Former D1 starting QB for Valparaiso where he played against Jim Harbaugh (Coach) and Josh Johnson (QB) at San Diego.3. Jeff Supernah - Former D3 QB at Loras College and High School football coach in the Madison, Wisconsin area.