Also a wonderful dramatic actor and playwright, the multifaceted entertainer recently turned his attention to another one of his loves: the banjo. In 2009 he put out his first banjo disc and began touring with the Steep Canyon Rangers. Now he has released his third record on the instrument, this time in collaboration with lyricist and singer Edie Brickell. You may recognize Brickell’s voice from her 1988 Top Ten single with the New Bohemians “What I Am” but this new work presents her in a whole other light. The pair discuss how they came to work together and what the future holds for their incredibly productive partnership. And, The Handsome Family. The husband and wife duo of Brett and Rennie Sparks recently released their 8th album, Wilderness. They share where the unique nature theme for the new record came from and Rennie explains why she feels that “any song that doesn’t acknowledge that we are going to die is a song that kind of tells a lie” (the reason is not as much of a downer as you might assume). That’s this week on Conversations from the World Cafe!