Kevn Kinney of Drivin n Cryin joins Sloane Spencer from the green room at the fabulous 40 Watt club in Athens, Georgia during AthFest 2026. Dive Bar Music Club owes some of its origins to previous conversations with Kevn, who always shares thoughtfully who he has been working with and loves in music. We chat about everything from Drivin n Cryin's latest record made especially for their long-time fans to the intriguing sounds of up-and-coming artists. Kevn shares how his new songs resonate with long-time fans and how the "living tribute" series of 100 of his songs reinterpreted by other musicians brings a refreshing diversity to his own music and find new meaning in them, especially when performed by women. So grab your favorite drink, kick back, and join us as we chat about songwriting, a bit of breaking news, and a few cheeky anecdotes that’ll have you laughing all the way to the last call.

We also caught up with Dash Rip Rock and Slightly Famous Somebodies (an Athens-Atlanta supergroup) at AthFest.

Pin Our Tastemaker Playlists

• Apple Music
• Tidal

Musicians Featured in this Episode

• Drivin n Cryin
• Aaron Lee Tasjan
• Elizabeth Cook
• Ian Noe
• Todd Snider
• Sadler Vaden
• Anna Kramer
• David Ryan Harris
• Sixpence None the Richer (upcoming release!)
• Jonathan Spencer/Slightly Famous Somebodies

Musicians, Bands, and Related Topics

• Peter Buck
• Shooter Jennings
• Butch Walker
• Goody Mob
• Killer Mike
• Outkast

The Regulars

• Sloane Spencer

Chapters

• 00:08 - Introduction to the Dive Bar Music Club
• 01:05 - Dive Bar Music Club: Conversations with Musicians
• 05:32 - Exploring New Music and Cultural Connections
• 06:19 - The Importance of Disconnecting
• 10:18 - Exploring New Music and Collaborations
• 12:13 - The Dive Bar Music Club Podcast Wrap-Up

Recommended If You Like

Kevn Kinney, Drivin n Cryin, Dive Bar Music Club, Crushing Flowers, Kevn Kinney interview, Drivin N Cryin podcast, Atlanta music scene, songwriting, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Elizabeth Cook, Killer Mike, Sadler Vaden, Peter Buck, Todd Snider, David Ryan Harris, Sixpence None the Richer, indie rock, southern rock, Americana, alternative rock, music podcast, album interview, singer-songwriter, cover songs, new music recommendations, Atlanta musicians, music fans, music discovery, podcast interview, athfest, 40 watt club, Kevin Kinney, Driving and Crying, 90s alt rock, music podcast, emerging songwriters, music playlists, indie music scene, music recommendations, Atlanta music, music evolution, cult bands, songwriting insights, music interviews, new music releases, underground music, folk music

This is Kevin Kenny from Driving and Crying.

You've been listening to the Dive Bar Music Club.

We will now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Welcome to the Dive Bar Music Club podcast, where the guest hosts drop in and out, but the opinions are always passionate and the playlists loud.

It's like cheers if everyone at the bar had a strong take on 90s alt rock or a suspicious number of burned CDs.

Around our table, you'll find an emerging touring songwriter, a former cult band favorite whose work since then is even more interesting, a portrait photographer with a not so secret metal penchant, a record store owner who learned about Swifties the hard way, a retired folk singer who regrets nothing, and a zine maker with more cool music projects than we can count.

We're all just here to share what we're currently obsessed with and maybe convince someone that, yes, that weird Icelandic synth folk band is worth a listen.

Okay, that last one's probably me.

Sloan Spencer.

It's Dive Bar Music Club.

Low key, high taste.

Happy hour for music nerds.

Hey, y', all, Sloan Spencer here with Dive Bar Music Club.

I'm sitting backstage real fast before they go on stage with Kevin Kinney.

We're in the 40 watt and we're.

Having a big old time, and it's F fest, and they've got a set coming up that I'm super excited about, some special guests, and I'm not gonna share any of those special things, y'.

All.

I go way, way back as a fan of Kevin's songs, all the way back to cutting school to go be in one of their first music videos and sneaking out to get the 688 presents and sneaking into 688.

And I snuck in so many times that your former manager used to just let me in.

So I'm forever grateful to you and.

Your songwriter and Randy Blazak.

Randy Blaszak is the reason that I got to sneak into 688 pretty much all the time.

It's like you and the black person.

That's right.

You and Chris Enrich.

That's exactly right.

I was like.

And then when they opened the Cotton Club, I was like, oh, I knew these benches.

They came from 688.

Wait a minute.

What's up with this?

I'm still underage.

They're little round ones they had for a while.

You continue to prolifically create and write, and we talked a few years ago, and you said something to the effect of, you just will continue writing as long as the muse inspires.

But I know you also listen to a ton of music.

What have you been listening to lately?

I do listen to music.

Well, I try to listen to my friend's music and like you say, Aaron Lee Tashan has a new album coming out and I've been listening to that.

I got the pre release on vinyl.

It's a great record.

Really great record.

Elizabeth Cook has a new record coming out.

Oh, and I've listened to.

She's got two songs out right now.

And that's another great record that I love.

It's tv.

Oh, I forgot the name of it.

Vintage TV or tv?

It's got TV on the COVID Nice.

That's a great record.

It's gonna be coming out as produced by Shooter Jennings.

Fun.

And which is like one of her best friends.

And so it is really great.

It's.

She is a great producer.

I've been impressed with what he's done.

Yeah.

And she's worked with Butch Walker and she's.

She's had some pretty cool edgy for sure.

Not your straight lace country whatever.

So it's really.

She's just one of my favorites.

Yeah.

Peter.

Peter Gilbert.

I think that's his last name.

Peter Gilbert, who was the executive producer for the Easy kind.

Her new movie that is out was the.

Was the director of photography for the I can't promise you the world video at the center stage.

Oh, what a sweet.

He told me that.

What a smart.

I made them dinner.

I made them some smoked chicken, grits and some and green.

My wife made the grits and greens and she brought this really great guy that got turned on to that I'm listening to now.

His name is Ian.

No N O E. Oh, yes.

He's great.

So he's sitting at our table and he never really had grits for dinner like that before.

And we had some.

My wife made some smoked Gouda, some grits.

And then I put him on the grill, smoked him with the chicken.

So it was smoked Gouda, smoked Gouda, grits.

He loved that.

But he was a really good guy.

And I've been listening to the new Killer Mike record, which is this really great record.

I think it's for Sinners and saints or Saints and Sinners.

I recommend everybody should listen to that.

It's a really great record.

Once again, like the Atlanta.

The Atlanta.

The Goody Mob, all that outcast stuff.

They're really great segues and they're just.

It's.

It's a different animal than other stuff, so.

Agreed.

And Killer Mike is a great.

Of Course.

World famous, Grammy award winning.

And he.

I've been listening to his podcast a lot lately.

They call it Conversate.

And those two worlds collided when he had Elizabeth Cook on his podcast, which is stunning.

It just came out yesterday.

Okay.

And it's so great to watch the evolution of those of his guys.

If you know about his podcast.

He's got these three guys and they're all like at East Point or something like that.

And to watch them fall in love with her and her story and the things that she's bringing to the table.

And it's really a great episode.

Like, see, she's talking about gospel music.

And then one of them says, oh, really?

See it?

Let me ask you a question.

Can you sing me one of those guys?

And she sings it and blows them away.

I bet.

And so it's a beautiful.

It's a really classic.

It should be a movie.

Right?

So I would guarantee everybody listen to that.

That's after you get done listening to.

I'm gonna check that one out first.

Let's be real.

Yeah.

So that's what I've been listening to.

I love it.

Yeah.

That's fantastic.

I love Killer Mike and really interesting perspective on entrepreneurial spirit and young folks and just all kinds of things.

He's just a take no prisoner, kind of like straight lace Ted Turner kind of like says what he means, fearless, speaks his truth.

And a lot of it coincides with, you know, my truths.

So I just really dig it.

Well, and, you know, speaking of, like Elizabeth Cook and just fabulous folks like that who continue to evolve musically.

You've had a lot of fun, both with your solo work and also with.

I hope I can ask about the Driving and Crying record that came out this year.

It's a great record.

I like it.

I made it for Driving and Crying fans.

It's like it was a fan club record, basically.

I love it.

And if other people like it, that's cool.

But I think fans like the diversity and some of the old.

Some of the songs are from the old, old days of driving and crying.

And so it's a.

So it's a special.

It's a special record.

I love it.

The title track is Crushing Flowers.

So the first lines of that is Break away from the engine.

Break away from the machine.

And that is about.

Just put your phone down.

Don't let it listen to you.

Don't talk to it.

Don't read it.

Just stop.

Have a day.

Break away from the engine.

Have a day if you can do it, you know, and it's hard for me to do it, too, because I'm catching up on emails and things like that.

And I guess I could, but it's important for people to realize that there was a world where they didn't exist.

And if you can just rehearse once a week to not be a slave to your phone.

I.

Quite often, when I run errands or something, unless I need it, you know, like, someone's gonna need to tell me what's happening, you know, or, you know, like, can you pick this up while you're out?

But otherwise, I leave it at home.

I almost never.

I never bring it to clubs.

I don't bring it to event.

I mean, what I hate is when I have to bring it to a club or an event, like a comedy thing, and I have to use it to get in.

And then they take it from me.

Like, I would.

I don't even want to freaking bring it.

But my ticket, I can't.

I don't know what to do with this ticket thing.

So that's as ranty as I'm gonna get before concert.

But.

So, yeah, I'm really proud of this record.

It's very diverse.

Peter Buck's on it, Todd Snyder's on it.

Yeah.

And it's a very good record.

I really like it.

It's got some humor to it.

It's got some.

I like it a lot.

I like how Sadler Vaden was able to continue that relationship.

Sadler is.

He's earned his stripes and he's, you know, he produced it.

He produced it.

He played guitar on it.

He helped arrange it.

Tim Nielsen and Dave, they do all the background vocals.

Tim Nielsen is the arranger of all the background vocals.

So he is a job doing that.

Like, I don't even know what the background vocals are like.

I just, you know, I didn't know they send that and then Tim does all the backgrounds.

I didn't know that.

So, yeah, he doesn't.

It's really great.

So all that Mirror, Mirror stuff.

Yeah.

Why don't you go around?

That's all.

That's all Tim.

I did not know.

So the other project that I really love has been this ongoing series of tributes into all of the songs that you have written.

And at this point, this could go on for years, which is just the best thing ever.

I'm stopping it.

Or Anna's stopping it at 100, but she's very close.

She's only got 12 more to go.

Oh, man.

And you've done a lot of special things with it, though.

Well, We.

We're hoping it would be a good fundraiser.

We're not done with it yet.

We're going to do a podcast where we focus on one song or a couple songs and just how she got the artist.

Just interview her.

Like, just every.

Like, I'll interview her.

Like, where did you.

Because I had nothing to do with getting any of these people together.

Like, she's my name to.

Like, I'm Kevin's wife or whatever, but outside of that.

And she does the art.

She does all the art.

She does a painting for everyone.

And she's a fine artist.

You know, she's not like, just like an outside artist, like I am.

So she spends a lot of time.

It's mind blowing.

And so, yeah, so I got some stuff on the horizon that I'm gonna be working on, but we're gonna try to get our.

Our home studio straightened up enough where we can start doing our podcast.

But we don't know where to.

I guess, you know, what platform to put it.

What platform is this on?

So we just push it out through.

So we're hosted through something called Captivate, which is a British website.

And then we're pushed out through Apple and Spotify and all the.

All the places.

Weirdly, a lot of traction through.

I hate to say this, Amazon Music I didn't know existed.

Oh, I have some stuff on Amazon.

I didn't even know.

But I didn't even know I bought stuff on Amazon Music.

And then I. I looked open.

I was like, oh, Robert Trower and.

Right.

The psychedelic brown acid session.

Okay.

I realized that it probably comes through people with Alexa who were listening to music through it, I guess.

But I didn't.

I just.

Just not in my world.

I don't use any of that title.

Right.

I don't either.

It's not my thing.

One last quick question for you.

Once upon a time, you had said something to me about how you had a few of your songs you'd written that you were hoping to rework and do a little bit differently.

And it's been interesting hearing these covers coming from friends and colleagues and hearing some of their takes on some of these songs, which has been exciting to listen to.

Where are you feeling about that with your own music these days and existing catalog?

I'm trying to learn the versions that other people do.

A lot of them, like songs that I've abandoned.

Like, Good Day Every Day.

Some of these ones that I just never really did have really been elevated and read like David Ryan Harris doing Good Day Every Day is a Perfect example.

It's a perfect one.

There's a new one.

There's a one coming out.

Six pence, none the richer.

Doing.

Let's go dance.

And.

Oh, man.

It's stupid.

Awesome.

And I don't know if I just broke the news, but.

That's right.

It'll be out.

Yeah.

It's not like.

Yeah.

Entertainment Tonight.

We'll be calling.

That's right.

Yeah.

Just a lot of different, great.

Hardy T. Hardy Morris and David Barbee did a Scar, but smarter in a totally different way.

Oh, that'd be nice.

That was great.

So I'm learning.

I'm learning those versions and.

Right.

So I mean, to bring that all the way back.

I heard Aaron Lee Taschen once do it on grand piano.

Yes.

And it was beautiful.

And he did Broken Hearts and all the parts on some sort of, like, synthesizer version.

That's really beautiful.

That's a great one, too.

These are all on.

I have a playlist going on Spotify called Let's Go Dancing.

Kevin Kenny.

Where I have all the ones that are released on there.

Oh, that's cool.

We'll send some.

The Future Birds did one.

They did a really great one.

Jonathan Spencer did Set in Stone, which is beautiful.

And yeah, really.

It's really great.

Also hearing FEMA singers sing.

Sing some of them.

There's a.

There's one by Anna Kramer.

You don't know me.

That's.

I'm learning, too.

That's a great one, too.

She does a really.

With a country and with her guitar player, Fran.

That's where that.

The podcast is going to be kind of important to document.

Yeah.

These songs and ask her about why.

What the painting means and, you know, all this stuff.

So.

Absolutely got a lot going on in this kitty house.

And then we got four dogs only.

And we're cooking.

We're always cooking.

Sweet puppet dogs.

This is Kevin Kenney from Driving and Crying.

You've been listening to the Dive Bar Music Club.

We will now return you to your regularly scheduled program that's Last Call at.

Dive Bar Music Club.

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See y' all next time for the low key, high taste happy hour for music nerds.