Category Archives: The Quinn Spinn

Answering Life’s Tougher Questions: New York, Nashville, and the Road Ahead

Back in March — just after my 39th birthday — I posed a question to myself and all of you…

“How does this thing (UMC) fit into the greater mosaic of my life, and how do I want to show up going forward?”

2026 has challenged me to hunt for the answer ever since.

So… what is the way forward? It starts this week in New York City.

This episode of The Quinn Spinn was recorded and produced at City Limit Studios, Old Hickory, TN.

Opening theme: REVEL 9 – All I’ve Become

Learn more about The Quinn Spinn

Creating Your Own Opportunities (ft. Eli Blackshear)

Eli Blackshear is an Americana artist hailing from the small mountain town of Manitou Springs, Colorado. Now residing in the Atlanta area, Eli has built a career and life for himself rooted in creativity, community, and advocacy — and he’s done it from the ground up!

Learn about Eli’s story and his new album, In Love and War, on this week’s edition of The Quinn Spinn!

This episode of The Quinn Spinn was recorded and produced at City Limit Studios, Old Hickory, TN.

Opening theme: REVEL 9 – All I’ve Become

Learn more about The Quinn Spinn

Building Community Through Common Values (ft. Ben Harris)

Ben Harris has turned the pain of loss into purpose, and a love of people into incredible community-building initiatives.

The Georgia native is the co-founder of Sibling Strong Retreats, a peer-support retreat program for bereaved siblings built on three pillars of adventure activity, grief work, and rest.

In the music industry, Ben also serves as the manager for Americana artist and fellow community builder, Eli Blackshear — who is our guest on next week’s episode!

Today, Ben joins us to talk about the importance of creating meaningful connections from one’s values — and the full array of experiences that shaped them.

Learn more about Ben: ⁠https://benharris207.com⁠.
This episode of The Quinn Spinn was recorded and produced at City Limit Studios, Old Hickory, TN.
Opening theme: REVEL 9 – All I’ve Become
Learn more about The Quinn Spinn: ⁠https://umcworldwide.com/thequinnspinn⁠

The Quinn Spinn Live at Cellovision 2026: Day 3

Here we are again, gathered around the Cellotree for the third and final installment of Cellovision 2026.

It’s a race against time and fleeting battery life, as we pack another half-dozen interviews into this hour-long finale. Gather ’round for conversations and insight from…

Eli Alger of Faster Horses
Abigayle Oakley
Mario Monterosso
Kristin Linegan Monterosso
Pi Jacobs
Xanthe Alexis & Ben Mathews

Opening theme: REVEL 9 – All I’ve Become

⁠Learn more about The Quinn Spinn

The Quinn Spinn Live from Cellovision 2026: Day 2

We’re back again for the second of three installments recorded at this year’s magnificent Cellovision 2026 house concert festival in East Nashville — and we have ourselves quite a talented guest lineup!

Somewhere in this episode, musician and Cellovision co-founder Sarah Clanton joins us to chat about how this unique event (and the community around it) grows year over year.

We also have the privilege of hearing from…
Julie from Midnight Rubies
Tai Shan
Nicole from Cast Iron Shoes
Yonna Jones
Erin Eades

Opening theme: REVEL 9 – All I’ve Become

Learn more about The Quinn Spinn

The Quinn Spinn Live from Cellovision 2026: Day 1

Cellotree Arts has put together an impressive community of musicians and creatives that breaks past genre and geographic boundaries. Year-round, Sarah Clanton and Andy Beckey host artists for house concerts and other special events — including Cellovision, a three-day festival featuring more than 50 performers in Nashville.

We attended all three days of this year’s Cellovision event, and had the opportunity to sit down with artists, industry professionals, and attendees to get their take on the event, the importance of community, and the state of the creative ecosystem.

This episode features:
Anjlee Khurana (Prolific Entertainment Law Firm)
Gabe Baker (Musician)
Alyssa Mongiovi (Musician)
John Milton (Musician)
Eli Blackshear (Musician)
Angie Jayne (Musician/Founder of Creative Pulse Nashville)

Opening theme: REVEL 9 – All I’ve Become

Learn more about The Quinn Spinn

Building a Stronger Creative Ecosystem (Our first episode in the UMC Creator Lab!)

After 13+ years of triumph and disaster, joy and heartbreak, and the rollercoaster ride of a lifetime… we bring you the first episode of The Quinn Spinn EVER recorded in our very own space — the UMC Creator Lab!

We’re still working out a bug or two (it’s a new space with new toys, after all)! While we do, let’s catch up on a summer’s worth of adventures, and how a few key stops along the journey — Musikfest (Bethlehem, PA), Gussapolooza (Cookstown, ON), and Cellovision 2026 (Nashville, TN) — have shed a light on the pockets of community being created across the creative ecosystem.

The Quinn Spinn is recorded and produced inside the UMC Creator Lab at City Limit Studios (Old Hickory, TN).

Opening theme: REVEL 9 – All I’ve Become

Learn more about The Quinn Spinn

The Quinn Spinn: Gussapolooza 2026, Day 3

Our pop-up tent got destroyed. The rain made everything MOIST. And yet, we persisted, delivering a series of interviews from the third and final day of Gussapolooza 2026.

We spent this episode venturing out to other people’s booths, chatting with some of the visual artists in residence about their creative processes and inspirations. We also happened to get everyone’s stances on AI use in the arts… and we found some varying perspectives among the group.

Thank you to everyone at Gussapolooza — especially Gary from Barrie, Bad Club Media, and At the Scene Photography — for getting us back up and running after the storm tried to take us out!

Opening theme: REVEL 9 – All I’ve Become

Learn more about The Quinn Spinn: https://umcworldwide.com/thequinnspinn

The Quinn Spinn: Live from Gussapolooza 2026, Day 2

The Gussapolooza 2026 party continued on Saturday, and the threat of rain couldn’t stop us from getting some insightful convos in.

We chatted with multimedia wizard and longtime Gussapolooza volunteer Dominic Liberka, visual artist and women’s empowerment activist Angela Francis, and New York-based multi-genre trio Already Late.

Opening theme: REVEL 9 – All I’ve Become

Learn more about The Quinn Spinn

This Weekend, We Return to Gussapolooza!

Some of the best memories and musical discoveries of the past couple summers have been made in the middle of a field in Ontario, about 75 minutes north of Toronto.

The field? The Georgian Bay Steam Show Grounds in Cookstown, which will once again play host to Gussapolooza Music Festival this weekend (Aug. 21-23). Some of the best talent from the region (and throughout North America) will descend on this quaint Canadian town for a weekend of new music discovery and community.

Events like Gussapolooza — which boasts an all-independent lineup once again — are a beautiful reminder of why we got into this business in the first place. There is something so pure about a grassroots music festival, where volunteers from the community dedicate their time and talents to see it all the way to fruition — and create something a bit more magical, every single year. Driving these efforts is a belief in community, in artistry, and the notion that independent artists deserve a big stage and a world-class platform on which to showcase their talents.

That’s why we make the trip every year. And, once again, we’ll be capturing the action through Buckshot’s lens, as well as through a series of interviews from throughout the weekend which will be broadcast on The Quinn Spinn’s return episodes this fall.

If you don’t want to wait to see what we capture, you’re in luck: you can still get your single-day, weekend, or full festival passes here.

And, as an additional treat, we took the time to edit 100+ new photos from last year’s festival to get you ready for your trip to Cookstown. See you there!

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