Ear To The Common Ground, a new 30-minute series airing on public television stations nationwide, which premiered on Nashville Public Television on January 2, 2023, begins with one question: Would you like to spend time eating and listening to music together?
Filmed in a historic barn in Cash Lane in Nashville, Tennessee, known worldwide as “Music City USA,” each episode features one music artist and eight fans representing a wide range of perspectives on each. Various cross-sections of Political issues of the day – left, right, center. Everyone brings a plate and talks face to face about political issues. The only rule is that he listens and speaks with compassion. In doing so, guests at Ear To The Common Ground celebrate America’s greatest diversity: diversity of thought.
“Ear to The Common Ground is one of the simplest and most profound undertakings I’ve ever been involved in,” says series creator and Emmy-winning producer Todd Mayo. “We had 12 diverse artists, and we had an American tapestry full of racial, religious, geographic, sexual orientation, and gender diversity. They all broke bread and were very divisive. We talked about big issues – and everyone did it voluntarily!”
Becky McGrath, president and CEO of Nashville Public Television, said: “Without a doubt, our country is a haven of diverse voices, opinions and music, and this series captures that brilliantly. We are proud to present it to our system!”
Todd Mayo adds: , remember that the casserole they made tasted better than the taste of opinions you disagreed with.
Episode 2 artist Kishona Armstrong recalls: I always wanted my music to speak the truth about being a responsible, caring and respectful member of society. With Ear To The Common Ground, my music was able to reflect just that. ”
Ear To The Common Ground was filmed in historic Madison, just north of Nashville, Tennessee, on land known as the Smith-Carter House on the National Register of Historic Places. Smith Carter House was home to his five members of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Jim Denny, Carl Smith, June Carter, Mabel Carter, Patsy Cline, Marty Stuart. The kitchen of the house is where June Carter and Merle Kilgore wrote ‘Ring Of Fire’. The property’s historic barn served as the location for the series.Today, Smith-Carter House is the home of Todd Mayo, creator and producer of Ear to The Common Ground.
Ear To The Common Ground Episodes:
101 Wu Fei – Immigration
102 Kishona Armstrong – Voting Rights
103 The Sweet Lizzy Project – Abortion – See screener.password: watch
104 Gustavo Morader – Race in America
105 She Came Back From War – LGBTQ Issues – See Screeners. Password Watch
106 Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen – Gun Rights and Gun Control
107 Susto – Environment
108 Sam Lewis – Polarization
109 Bill Miller – Separation of Church and State
110 Sister Sadie – The Divide Between City and Country
111 Louis York – Education
112 Minton Sparks – Sexual Politics
Ear To The Common Ground is presented by Nashville Public Television and distributed to public television nationwide by NETA. Ear To The Common Ground was produced by The Barn and Mayo Farm in conjunction with This Is Noteworthy and Brands & Content.
For more information and episodes, visit eartothecommonground.com.
