I’m posting today about one of the more interesting people I’ve barely met in my life — Abe Partridge. I met him as he rolled through Roanoke, Virginia on his way to or from somewhere — touring, as he does. He played a wonderful concert of his original music to a small but incredibly appreciative gathering at the Third Street Coffeehouse. Abe’s ability to deliver a story through a song and between songs is exceptional — something worth experiencing. He doesn’t fit the usual Nashville mold in any way, and would probably consider that a complement. But he has Nashville insiders taking note. When questioned how this could be within the great Nashville music machine, Grace Pettis, another recent performer at Third Street, said “sometimes it’s just undeniable.”
But this post isn’t so much about music. Not directly, at least. That’s not what made me think I should be posting about it today.
What I’m posting about today is a podcast that Abe Partridge stars in, called the “Alabama Astronaut.” I have not listened to all episodes yet, but the fact that the very first episode, “Foreword,” ends with the following words makes it perfect to share in this blog, because it embodies the spirit of “understanding on purpose” perfectly.
Ferrill Gibbs says: “It’s one thing to podcast… about folks… whom you’ve never met; never intend to meet. It is another thing entirely to go shake their hands; to sit down with them; to have lunch with them; to look them in the eye and try to understand them.”