A.A.R.T.

Folk artist Abe Partridge, spurred by the Covid lockdowns, pursued Signs Following songs for six long years. These songs (which mention the handling of serpents and consumption of deadly poisons) have been performed for decades by the "serpent handlers" of the Appalachians.At a music festival in Kentucky, Abe Partridge – along with podcasting buddy Ferrill Gibbs – attempted to document these songs live, using a professional recording engineer. (Ryan Engelberger, Chase Park Transduction. Athens, GA.)The service opened with Sister Dootsie Rose. Then, a five-member band – led by co-pastors Andrew and Taylor Hamblin – took the stage. This serpent-handling group of veteran musicians performed decades-old songs before an audience of more than 200 festival goers.What began as an effort to record undocumented music became something ... more. A public act of worship, captured pristinely by a group of professionals, gave the secular audience a small glimpse of a faith as devout as they come.To hear how it began, check out Alabama Astronaut – the original podcast following Abe into the world of the serpent-handlers.

Abe, invited by an unnamed church group, ascends Fonde Mountain in Kentucky to search for snakes used for church services.Overlooking his old home in Middlesboro from those high places there is an epiphany: The prophesy Cody Coots gave him the first day they met, finally came to pass. "God told me to tell you, you're gonna find the answers you're searching for..."

Abe – from the road, in Wisconsin – gives an update about concluding the first season of A.A.R.T. and where things go from here.Also, a Summerford contacts the show, updating Abe and Ferrill about what happened to her grandfather. Now, Abe and Ferrill pledge to resolve the cliffhanger remaining at the end of Alabama Astronaut.

Abe recounts three precious objects he found along his way, while touring the American South. These were needles in haystacks, but treasures in Abe's life: An old Methodist hymnal, a VHS tape, and an extremely rare record. They cost him $3.In today's Transmission, Abe argues art is not just something a discerning eye beholds, but can usher a transformation in one's very life. To see the Son House video referenced today, go to the Masters of the Country Blues on YouTube...

Abe continues his search for hidden artists in the hills of Appalachia.Today, in the same stretch of mountains his beloved friends Jimmy and Pam Morrow lived, he locates a kind man with a house filled to the top with "outsider" art.This artist (named Ralph Vaughn) informs Abe God ordained his search, and that is who provided the inevitable meeting.  Abe spends the day recording Ralph, until he sings Abe a song about a "going in the Mulberry tree ..."