I sat down with Nashville musician Jude Smith to talk about his brand-new album Destiny, what it means to create from a place of genuine conviction, and how to use social media as a tool — not a trap.

Jude is a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter blending blue-eyed soul and pop. He sings, plays electric guitar, drums, keyboard, produces, mixes and writes — all while staying grounded in his faith and the Nashville community he loves. He's collaborated with Scary Pockets, racked up 3M+ streams worldwide, and earned endorsements from Fender, Martin Guitars, D'Addario, JHS Pedals, and more.

Recorded at Treehouse HQ, Nashville.

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00:00 – Introduction
01:24 – Making Destiny & What the Album Is About
06:21 – Why Vinyl & the 10-Song Limit
08:46 – Home Studio Setup & Production Philosophy
14:49 – Being a Multi-Instrumentalist (Guitar, Drums, Production)
18:00 – Social Media, Content Creation & Humor
24:22 – Losing Followers & Staying Authentic Online
30:22 – Wisdom, Balance & "The Man of God Avoids Both Extremes"
37:01 – Discipline, Not Sleeping In & Observing the Sabbath
40:09 – Rock & Roll Culture & Faith in the Music Industry
48:20 – Why Music Is Inherently Spiritual
53:16 – Scary Pockets & the Power of Collaboration
54:38 – Practical Advice for Independent Musicians
58:13 – Is East Nashville Special?
59:36 – Best Advice He Ever Received
01:02:23 – Favorite Nashville Coffee Shop & Guitar Hero Origin Story
01:07:18 – Fitness, Basketball & Life on the Road
01:12:58 – AI in Music — Threat or Tool?
01:18:57 – Homeschooling, Family & Creative Roots
01:20:00 – Upcoming September Tour Dates
01:22:25 – The Vinyl Release & How to Find Jude

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Follow Jude Smith:
🌐 judesmithmusic.com
📸 Instagram: @jude_smith
▶️ YouTube: youtube.com/user/judesmithmusic
🎵 Spotify & Apple Music: search "Jude Smith"

Subscribe to The Noah Jackson Podcast for weekly conversations with working artists and music industry professionals.
📺 YouTube: @noahjacksonlive
📸 Instagram: @noahjacksonlive

Nashville singer-songwriter Emily Hackett stopped by Treehouse HQ ahead of her album release Must Be Present to Win (out June 26) and we got into everything — how a throwaway line from her husband became the title of her album, writing "Butter" in 10 minutes flat and cranking the autotune to full T-Pain, navigating creativity and motherhood when the inspiration window is baby's nap time, and the deeply personal song she wrote about visiting a lost friend in her dreams. We also get into East Nashville, Halloween haunted houses, the wardrobe malfunction costume, and what Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic has to do with all of it.
🎙️ Follow Emily: @ms_emilyhackett
🎵 Must Be Present to Win — out June 26
📍 Treehouse HQ | Nashville, TN
@NoahJacksonLive

0:00 — Welcome to Treehouse HQ
2:00 — Introducing Emily & Must Be Present to Win
5:00 — The listening events: wine, yoga & ceramics
8:00 — Mother and Sunshine: Emily's cyanotype art side hustle
12:00 — "Validation" & the entrepreneurial circus of being an indie artist
16:00 — Where the album title came from (Mikey said what?)
22:00 — Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic & showing up for your genius
26:00 — Creativity after having a baby
30:00 — "Butter": the 10-minute take & going full T-Pain
36:00 — Why Alan Watts is on the record
40:00 — "The Steps": forget the steps, enjoy the dance
44:00 — Mourning your own wedding & the mushroom trip that healed it
51:00 — Brian: the song about a friend on the other side
58:00 — Halloween, haunted houses & the wardrobe malfunction costume
1:05:00 — What is East Nashville really?
1:09:00 — Best food in Nashville (hot takes)
1:11:00 — Advice for independent artists putting out a record
1:13:00 — Outro & where to find Emily

I sat down with my friend Joy Owings for a Halloween special: horror movies, Halloween trivia, and the time she walked into a cadaver lab and found nothing but a head on a table.

Joy is a nurse practitioner who teaches nursing at Belmont, and she's my best friend's girl and my girl's best friend. She's also the biggest horror fan I know. We get into her top picks of the season (Obsession, Backrooms, Hokum), why horror is having a moment, why a nurse who isn't squeamish about blood and guts is scared to death of mold, and why she doesn't like candy (it makes her face go numb). Plus multiple-choice trivia, Halloween jokes that did not land, a jump scare from Adam, and an appearance by Polly the poodle in her Elphaba costume.

Recorded at Treehouse HQ, Nashville.

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0:00 – Welcome, Joy Owings

1:30 – Best & Worst Halloween Costumes (Polly the K9)

3:35 – Can You Get Arrested in a Cop Costume?

5:12 – Halloween Plans: New York & Lord Farquaad

7:00 – The 15-Foot Skeleton Question

7:43 – Halloween Trivia, Round 1

11:53 – The Severed Head: A Cadaver Lab Story

18:31 – Back to Trivia: Before Candy Was Candy

21:10 – The Poisoned Candy Myth & the 1974 "Candy Man" Case

23:49 – Should We Scare Kids? Haunted Houses

26:50 – Watching Horror Alone: Obsession & Backrooms

29:49 – Joy's Top Horror Movies of the Season

33:37 – Joy's Backrooms Theory

36:42 – Why Horror Works: Suspiria, Black Swan, A Quiet Place & Get Out

43:11 – Midterms, Three Days After Halloween

44:00 – Is Being Scared of Halloween Really a Phobia?

45:34 – Polly Joins + What We're Spending This Year

48:02 – Candy Trivia (From Someone Who Doesn't Like Candy)

51:07 – Ranking the Worst Halloween Candy

52:28 – Why Chocolate Costs So Much This Year

54:43 – Not Squeamish About Blood & Guts… But Afraid of Mold

58:27 – Why Joy Doesn't Eat Candy

1:02:00 – Halloween Jokes (Tough Crowd)

1:04:16 – Adam's Jump Scare

1:06:53 – Hot Take: New Horror Beats Old Horror

1:07:57 – Joy's Horror Movie Recommendations

1:12:17 – Wrap Up

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Joy's picks: The Silence of the Lambs, Parasite, Late Night with the Devil, Fresh, Hereditary, Get Out, Us, A Quiet Place, Black Swan

Follow Joy Owings:

📸 Instagram: @almonddjoyyy

🎬 Letterboxd:

Subscribe to The Noah Jackson Podcast for weekly conversations with working artists, music industry professionals, and friends.

📺 YouTube: @noahjacksonlive

📸 Instagram: @noahjacksonlive