John Dennis is a singer/songwriter of folk music, who lives in Nashville, TN, and grew up in rural southern Illinois outside St. Louis. He has published three albums (“Mortal Flames” in 2020; “Second Wind” in 2017; and “Eternity’s Tree” in 2014) and is currently working on his fourth. John and host Michael Whidden connected over his beautiful and aching yet hopeful ballad “Bird O’ Freedom” which he wrote in 2020 for a song-writing contest and to help find his place in the contentious climate of that year.
John talks about, among other things:
*how his love of music started with the Beatles and had its epiphany with Bob Dylan
*the background to “Bird O’ Freedom”
*religiosity, humility and being teachable
*the difference between folk music and country music and the new genre “Americana”
*life in Nashville
John finds hope in those who find success in their lives against all the odds against them, embodied by his partner of five years. He also finds hope for our current societal state in the broader human story, noting that we have faced challenges in the past and we are farther along than we often realize. We were touched that he found this podcast a sign of hope...a sign that rationality and compassion and humility are prevailing in small ways...and mention it here because it says far more about each guest, like John, who has been willing to candidly share their stories and thoughts on the show.