Nashville Country Drama Becomes A Podcast

 

An undiscovered talent moves to Nashville to chase her country music dreams, and finds herself in a town "where relationships come and go, and you always have to watch your back."

That's a familiar story — but it's now being told in an unprecedented way, reports The Tennessean.

The new podcast "Make It Up As We Go" released its first two episodes this week. It's a scripted audio drama, complete with original songs and cameos from real country music stars. The result sounds a lot like TV's "Nashville," minus the cameras, and with a focus on the craft instead of soapy scandals.

It's a crucial project for Jared Gutstadt and his company, Audio Up Media, which has entered the space with a bold series of scripted musical podcasts. 

"I took it as an opportunity to say, 'How can music really play a part in this inherently audio form?'" Gutstadt tells The Tennessean. "Is this maybe a discovery platform, the same way that music videos were for MTV in the early days? And, and to me, the answer was, 'Well, we should try.'"

The scripted country music podcast 'Make It Up As We Go' premiered October 8.

Miranda Lambert, Bobby Bones and Lindsay Ell make appearances, and the cast includes Billy Bob Thornton and Craig Robinson. The podcast's pivotal voice, however is its star, creator and director, Scarlett Burke.

Burke plays Charlotte Sayles, who makes a sudden move to Nashville from Texas, after a producer sees her perform in an Amarillo bar. In reality, Burke is an actor and singer/songwriter, bouncing between Los Angeles and Nashville.

"You can hear her struggle with this decision of leaving, and being away from her family to pursue a career that she's not quite sure she wants yet," she says.

"Whether you're an artist or a nurse or whatever, it's that feeling of sacrifice to pursue what your gut is telling you to go forward with."

The first seeds of the project came from six songs Burke wrote — before she even knew what a podcast was, she recalls with a laugh. At the same time, she was looking for a alternative route to take in her music career.