Derek Trucks / DART

If anyone was born and raised to lead American roots music into the 21st century it was Derek Trucks. HIs name was lifted from an Eric Clapton album and by eleven years old it was clear he was a prodigy guitar player. His uncle Butch played drums for the Allman Brothers and his father was the band's road manager. So Derek grew up surrounded by a who's who of creative, improvising musicians. And at age 19, after years of sitting in, he was named an official member of that legendary band.

Trucks has absorbed many guitar ideas and traditions and developed one of the most distinctive and admired instrumental voices in the world. We get into all that in an interview from backstage at the Ryman Auditorium where Derek's very large and very successful Tedeschi Trucks band recently performed over three consecutive nights.

First though, a special report from the frontier of digital music. It's been a while since anything really new emerged from the world of streaming and downloading. Mostly what you read are complaints about the payouts artists and songwriters receive from Spotify, Apple Music and the rest of them. But there is now something new being deployed in the industry. It's definitely a bit technical, but whether you're a creator or a fan, you'll want to follow along. This could really change things.