Music Interviews · Nathaniel Thomas McGill, Josh Tanner

The Skillet Lickers Centennial Podcast

by Nathaniel Thomas McGill, Josh Tanner

A hundred years ago, a group of North Georgia musicians gathered around fiddles, banjos, and front-porch rhythms to record music that would help define the sound of Southern string band music. They called themselves the The Skillet Lickers, and what they captured in the 1920s still echoes through country, bluegrass, and Americana today. The Skillet Lickers Podcast explores the history, music, and cultural impact of this legendary Georgia band and the world they came from. Hosted from right here in North Georgia, the show blends storytelling, local history, music analysis, and conversations with historians, musicians, and culture keepers who understand why these songs still matter. Each episode digs into the people behind the music — from legendary fiddler Gid Tanner to the communities, recording sessions, and front-porch traditions that shaped early Southern music. Along the way, we explore how these recordings influenced generations of artists and helped lay the foundation for what would eventually become modern country and bluegrass. But this isn’t just a history lesson. It’s a journey into the roots of Southern culture — the stories, the humor, the hardship, and the joy that lived inside the music. Because long before Nashville became “Music City,” there were farmers, mill workers, and traveling musicians from the hills of Georgia who picked up their instruments and played something the world had never quite heard before. And a hundred years later, we’re still listening.