Kyle Meredith With...

Ben Folds recently sat down with Kyle Meredith to talk about the complicated year that saw him record a stunning live album with the National Symphony Orchestra just before stepping down as Artistic Advisor for the Kennedy Center. Folds opens up about the importance of the Kennedy Center’s mission, how it connects communities beyond the stage, and why that made his exit during the Trump administration’s takeover so necessary. Listen now.Reflecting on the album, Folds calls it “an absolute honor” to record with the NSO, praising the room’s natural magic and the delicate work of mixer David Boucher. The album arrives like an act of resistance, beginning with “But Wait, There’s More,” which Folds says was born out of the absurdity of the Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference. “It felt so cynical at first, but I do still believe there’s more good than not,” he says.The conversation also dives deep into the vital role of public funding and arts institutions, and how Folds’ Kennedy Center series aimed to

For the fourth time around, Milo Manheim, Meg Donnelly, Malachi Barton, and Freya Skye sat down with Kyle Meredith to sink their teeth into Zombies 4, the latest chapter of Disney’s monster-mash musical saga. This time, Zed and Addison find themselves caught in the middle of a new supernatural rivalry — Daywalkers vs. Vampires — as they play camp counselors to Seabrook’s most fang-tastic new recruits. Listen to the episode now.Both Manheim and Donnelly have leveled up as executive producers on the film, and they’re more hands-on than ever. Meanwhile, newcomers Malachi Barton and Freya Skye came prepared for the monster mayhem, with Barton embracing a different kind of bloodsucker. “The whole writing team did such an amazing job of turning vampires into this fun-loving, friendly type of monster,” he said. Meanwhile, Skye studied up on the franchise’s style: “My way of studying was just watching the movies over and over… Zombies has such a distinctive feel to it.” Off-set, the cast bonded over music, game night

Rhian Teasdale of Wet Leg catches up with Kyle Meredith to talk about the band’s wildly anticipated sophomore album, moisturizer. After riding the wave of their self-titled debut — and the indie smash “Chaise Longue” — the CoSigned band doubled down on what made them so joyously chaotic in the first place. Now a five-piece, they holed up in the countryside, turned off their phones, and let their oddball impulses thrive. Listen now.“A lot of it just came out of GarageBand bedroom demos the first time,” Teasdale says, reflecting on the shift from a duo to a collaborative project. “So it was the most natural thing to write the second record together. We just wanted to shut the world out and jam — the romantic version of a band you read about in music mags.” Those late-night jam sessions were fueled by repeat viewings of Aliens, Braveheart (“six times, but never the full movie!”) and cult fave Jennifer’s Body — which even inspired a song of its own.Teasdale gets real about the lyrical layers too, exploring love f

Renée Elise Goldsberry sat down with Kyle Meredith to dive deep into her vibrant debut album, Who I Really Am. The Tony-winning powerhouse, best known for her role as Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, is proving she’s just as compelling behind a mic as she is on stage. Blending pop with the theatrical soul of Broadway, she's crafted a record that defies genre while still feeling timeless. Listen now.Of course, Hamilton remains a cherished chapter. She revisited “Satisfied” for the album and recently reunited with the original cast for the Tony Awards. “We’re ridiculously silly when we’re together,” she admits. “It’s love all over the room.” Meanwhile, her other family, the Girls5eva crew, might still have more stories to tell. “I dream we’ll be back in 10 years, dressing alike, singing harmony, taking over malls that probably won’t exist,” she jokes.Listen to Renée Elise Goldsberry chat about all this and more or watch it on Youtube. Please take the time to like, review, and subscribe to KMW wherever you get

Lucy Dacus sits down with Kyle Meredith to discuss her latests solo record, Forever Is a Feeling. The singer-songwriter unpacks the new album’s lush poetry, the angelic iconography behind its cover, and the raw intimacy of performing in churches and museums. Listen now.Touring behind the new record (get tickets here!), Dacus found herself gravitating towards sanctuaries both literal and spiritual. “Places like that always feel super reverent whether or not you’re religious,” she says of the cathedrals and churches she’s played in. “They inspire a quietness and an introspection that I really like.” That same thoughtful hush permeates Forever is a Feeling, an album that glides between dreamlike atmospheres and confessional clarity.Of course, she didn’t go it alone. The record brings together a who’s who of kindred spirits, from Hozier to Madison Cunningham to Bartees Strange, along with her boygenius bandmates Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker (also her romantic partner), appearances that feel like a tight-knit

Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips sat down with Kyle Meredith for three conversations across a handful of years to talk about solo albums, Luna reunions, and songwriting. Sometimes, these chats even double as emotional excavation. Listen to the archived interviews now.Wareham, known for his iconic turns in Galaxie 500 and Luna, talked in 2014 about finally releasing his first solo album and what it meant to step out from the comfort of collaboration. He also chats about working with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James as producer, as well as the funny backlash from his memoir, navigating identity beyond legacy bands, and why a lyric like “what have I done with my life?” doesn’t always need a worried reading.In her own chat in 2016, Phillips walked Kyle through Luck Or Magic, a stunning debut that toggles between torch songs and simmering synth-pop, and how tracks like “Do It Last” playfully (and darkly) flip gendered expectations of obsession in love songs. She also opened up about the nerves of writing about Dean…

Alan Walker dropped in to talk with Kyle Meredith about the evolution of Walker World — a decade-long transformation that’s turned a teenage bedroom producer into a globe-touring architect of immersive EDM. With the WalkerWorld 2.0 album, the brand-new single “Me, Myself & the Night,” and a multimedia blitz that includes a mobile app and cinematic film experience, the 27-year-old artist is engineering something more expansive than just chart hits. Listen now.Written during a writing camp in the Bahamas, “Me, Myself & the Night” became a template for a new era: “It gives the core Alan Walker sound and vibe... happy, jumpy, melancholic.” As for why he’s revisiting that era: “That’s the golden era of Alan Walker... we’ve been chasing trends, but now I want to make music that sounds like me again.”The world-building doesn’t stop at the music. With WalkerWorld: The Last Ride on the horizon and a fan-centric app that bypasses traditional streaming algorithms, Walker is pioneering a kind of EDM Extended Univ

Kyle Meredith sits down with two legends, Randy Bachman and the late Gary Brooker to talk about legacy and how you live with — and sometimes rewrite — the ghosts of greatness. Listen to these archive interviews now.Hear Brooker of Procol Harum speak just before his passing about the band’s 50-year retrospective Still There’ll Be More, the timeless power of “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” and why Procol never quite fit in anyone’s box (except maybe their own). Then, it’s Randy Bachman (The Guess Who, Bachman Turner Overdrive) discussing By George, his inventive reimagining of George Harrison classics that's filled with rearranged melodies, sly tributes, and a surreal phone call from Winnipeg to Friar Park. From Lennon birthday parties in Liverpool to dodged opportunities with Clapton, it’s a masterclass in reverence and reinvention from two legends.Listen to Randy Bachman and Gary Brooker chat about all this and more. Please take the time to like, review, and subscribe to KMW wherever you get your podcasts, and

Zara Larsson caught up with Kyle Meredith to talk about her new album Midnight Sun, her second LP in just over a year. Powered by creative momentum and a self-described “dream team” of collaborators, Larsson is embracing a more spontaneous workflow that channels her current energy into a confident, cohesive record. Listen now.The record's namesake track, “Midnight Sun,” is a tribute to summer nights in her native Sweden, where the sun never fully sets and life feels mythically endless. “I wanted to be this little nymph that goes to the city,” she says, explaining the vibe that shaped both the sound and spirit of the album. The song itself is a swirl of joy and presence and the kind of spiritual clarity that only appears in duskless Scandinavian landscapes. It also helped unlock the album’s carefree tone: “I don’t give a fuck, but I do care a lot, and I hope and I pray and I manifest,” she says, summing up the paradox at the heart of Midnight Sun.Larsson will bring that energy to her upcoming tour with Tat

Seth MacFarlane has long lived at the intersection of irreverence and reverence. As the creator of Family Guy, he built an empire of absurdist animation, but his latest creative projects deepens his musical streak. He caught up with Kyle Meredith to talk about his new album Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements, a collection of unearthed and previously unrecorded Frank Sinatra charts. From there, the conversation swings through his revival of The Naked Gun, a reimagining of The ’Burbs, and the success of Ted’s leap to television. Listen now.When Tina Sinatra called to offer MacFarlane access to her father’s archived arrangements, he jumped at the chance to revive what had been sitting in boxes for decades. “There were a good hundred charts or so in there that Frank had never recorded,” he says, citing a Nelson Riddle arrangement of “How Did She Look” and the infamous abandoned 1958 session for “Lush Life.” MacFarlane and his team not only finished the track, but aimed to deliver each song with the fidelity

Shirley Manson has never been one to shy away from big feelings, big statements, or big synths. Speaking with Kyle Meredith, the Garbage frontwoman dives into Let All That We Imagine Be the Light, a record that flickers with vulnerability, political outrage, and, surprisingly, hope. The follow-up to 2021’s No Gods No Masters, the new LP serves as a spiritual twin — but this one stares down the chaos with resilience rather than just rage. Listen now.“I realized that if I didn’t change my tack, I was going to lose my mind,” Manson says of her shift in perspective after the last album. “I wanted to project love, even though I was feeling physically broken and emotionally spent.” That brokenness included two hip surgeries and the loss of her dog — yet she funneled it all into a more nuanced lyricism.She also reflects on her refusal to stay silent about world events, especially the humanitarian crises in Gaza and Ukraine. That same spirit fuels the band’s creativity; even with new recording methods during her reco

Mark Hamill has played a Jedi, a clown prince of crime, and just about everything in between — but it’s The Life of Chuck that he says might be one of the most special experiences of his entire career. The pop culture icon sat down with Kyle Meredith to talk about the new Mike Flanagan film, a surreal, poetic meditation on existence based on a Stephen King novella. Listen to the episode now.For Hamill, the film’s emotional core hit hard — both as a performer and as someone reflecting on a long life onscreen. He credits Flanagan’s adaptation for retaining the novella’s time-shifting structure and praised the cast, including a scene-stealing Tom Hiddleston and an emotionally rich performance from young newcomer Benjamin Pajak.The actor even relates the new film to the messaging behind his most famous role. "I told George [Lucas] I loved the idea of the Force so much because it’s spiritual in a way that doesn’t make people feel uncomfortable,” he explains. “When Yoda came on the scene, it wasn’t about religi

Finn Wolfhard has officially gone solo. After fronting Calpurnia and The Aubreys, the Stranger Things star is stepping out under his own name with Happy Birthday, an album of tape-saturated indie rock that pulls from Elliott Smith, Ben Lee, Daniel Johnston, and some garage-punk loudness for good measure. The actor spoke with Kyle Meredith all about it, listen now.Wolfhard wrote 50 songs in a single year, then cherry-picked the most personal ones to record alone — initially planning to hide behind a band name. “But then I kind of decided to just go fully in and just do it under my name,” he says. “Because, you know, it’s a personal record.” It’s also a deeply nostalgic one. On tracks like “Crown,” he finds himself longing for simpler times: “When you’re a kid, everything’s done for you/ Looking back, that was actually such a luxury.”Now that Stranger Things has wrapped, Wolfhard’s looking back on nearly a decade spent growing up inside one of the biggest shows of the 21st century. “I got to experience a once-i

In this two-part Rewind episode, Kyle Meredith catches up with Imperial Teen and Rainer Maria — two cornerstone indie bands that helped shape the lo-fi-to-mainstream arc of alternative music. Listen to their insights now.Taped at different moments in their respective comebacks, both interviews dive into the complexities of making new music after years away. Imperial Teen reflect on their 2012 album Feel the Sound, the logistics of long-distance collaboration, and why they never intentionally chase hooks. Meanwhile, Rainer Maria discuss the serendipity of proximity that led to their self-titled reunion album, pulling forgotten ideas from old MiniDiscs, navigating the streaming era, and writing lyrics with more personal depth than ever before. Both bands prove that time apart hasn’t dulled their creative spark. Really, it’s only sharpened their purpose.Listen to Imperial Teen and Rainer Maria chat about all this and more. Please take the time to like, review, and subscribe to KMW wherever you get your podcasts,

Auliʻi Cravalho (best known as the voice of Moana) returns to the mic in Lulu Is a Rhinoceros, a new Apple TV+animated musical that asks, “What if identity was more than skin — or fur — deep?” Voicing a dog who sees a rhinoceros when they look in the mirror, Cravalho uses this children’s story to navigate themes of gender identity, kindness, and self-acceptance, and talks with Kyle Meredith all about it. Listen now.Cravalho is also coming off a run in Cabaret starring alongside Adam Lambert, because apparently it’s not enough to voice a Disney icon — you’ve also got to tackle fascism eight shows a week. She talks about her love for roles that challenge her, her not-so-secret desire to play a villain, and how Lulu offers a chance to speak directly to the younger version of herself. Spoiler: she’s also plotting to take over behind the camera as a producer, director, and general artistic overlord.Listen to Auliʻi Cravalho chat about all this and more or watch it on YouTube. Please take the time to like, review,

In this long-lost 2016 conversation, legendary Warner Bros. Records president Lenny Waronker walks Kyle Meredith through the iconic Burbank offices (now shuttered), sharing candid stories about signing Prince, nearly passing on “Wicked Game,” quietly acquiring Tom Petty, and what made the label — and its artists — so visionary. Listen now.Waronker reflects on his early studio days, the genius of Prince’s bassless “When Doves Cry,” the Black Album saga, and how letting artists lead was always the secret sauce. From Randy Newman to Chris Isaak to Bat-era Kim Basinger moans, it’s a masterclass in music history told from one of its most influential behind-the-scenes architects.Listen to Lenny Waronke chat about all this and more or watch it on YouTube. Please take the time to like, review, and subscribe to KMW wherever you get your podcasts, and keep up to date with all our series by following the Consequence Podcast Network.Our Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.comAdvertising Inquiries: htt

John Densmore has spent 60 years drumming in the shadow of both jazz greats and one very poetic lizard king, and has lived to talk about it. In this chat, he joins Kyle to dig into The Doors’ ongoing live album series, the hypnotic pulse of “Riders on the Storm,” and having a front row seat to Ray Manzarek’s insane two-handed abilities. Listen now.He also shares how the band’s improvisational wizardry worked in real time — like jamming out "The End" while Jim Morrison free-associated poetry about familial homicide — and reflects on playing “WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)” live at a recent Whiskey a Go Go gig, which ended with his thumb staging a minor protest. There’s talk of Coltrane outtakes, Miles Davis, and even a Chuck D collaboration.And if you’re one of those fans who think the magic died in a Paris bathtub, Densmore kindly reminds you there were twopost-Jim albums. Not that they’ll be staging a reunion tour, but Robby Krieger is currently playing entire Doors albums live, and Densmore occ

Hannah John-Kamen returns to the MCU in Thunderbolts*, reprising her role as Ghost — a character who’s now less flickery rage-machine, more emotionally self-aware loner with sarcasm issues. The film trades in the usual spandex-and-quips formula for something darker: guilt, depression, shame, and what happens when the Avengers forget your name. It’s a Marvel movie by way of group therapy, and she’s here for it. The actress spoke with Kyle Meredith all about it, and you can listen to the conversation now.John-Kamen breaks down how Ghost has evolved — more control, a cooler suit, and a lot less murder-y panic. She didn’t bother rewatching 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp, choosing instead to reenter the role like a totally different person, because, well, Ghost is a totally different person now. There’s also some talk about finding British sarcasm in the middle of emotional trauma, improv sessions with Wyatt Russell and Florence Pugh, and the existential experience of filming a Marvel movie that isn’t just a CGI

Gene Simmons returns to Kyle Meredith With… to celebrate the 50th anniversary of KISS’s Dressed to Kill, the album that gave us the studio version of “Rock and Roll All Nite”—which, according to Gene, may or may not qualify as a hit depending on your definition of the word. Listen now.Simmons reflects on the bands origins as four “unqualified” New Yorkers in makeup and heels who somehow ended up headlining stadiums. He also talks about life after the “final” KISS tour, which includes his new film production company (including working on a new movie with Bella Thorne and Mel Gibson), restaurants, vodka brand, and whatever else you can slap a Moneybag™ on. He’ll also return to Vegas with KISS later this year — not in makeup — for a KISS Army celebration.As always, Gene has opinions. On streaming: it ruined music ("Where's the new Beatles? Where's Elvis?"). On critics: they’re talentless ("...They don't really wanna work for a living, but they can't play instruments and have no talent

Kevin Bacon and Jennifer Nettles join Kyle Meredith to talk about The Bondsman, Prime Video’s new supernatural dramedy where Bacon plays a dead bounty hunter who gets resurrected to do the devil's bidding. It’s a Blumhouse show, so expect a dash of horror, a dollop of weird, and a good amount of twang. Nettles, best known as half of Sugarland and her role in The Righteous Gemstones, finally plays a musician on-screen — something she’s avoided until now for fear of being accused of, well, playing herself. Listen now.Bacon and Nettles talk about the awkward charm of writing songs via voice memo ping-pong, the joys of channeling trauma into duets, and how most actors aren’t writing character-based albums because, frankly, they can’t. Bacon credits Nettles’ songwriting chops. Nettles calls Bacon a great lyricist. Somewhere in the middle, they form a spooky Americana dream team you didn’t know you needed.Listen to Kevin Bacon and Jennifer Nettles chat about all this and more or watch it on YouTube. Please take