In this week’s episode, Sid Evans, Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living Magazine, chats with Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay, a singer who’s lent her voice to some of the most well known music of the last 60 years. She got her start as a session singer when just a teenager in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and her voice helped songs from Percy Sledge and Elvis Presley become #1 hits. Eventually, she headed to California and made the transition from the studio to live performance after befriending Jerry Garcia and joining the Grateful Dead. She’s also got a love of both Southern and Californian cuisines and, of course, her grandmother’s delicious biscuits.
For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam
Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living
Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living
Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer
Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer & Editor/Producer
Jeremiah Lee McVay - Producer
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47:31
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47:31
Fannie Flagg Always Has Something to Look Forward To
Fannie Flagg grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, where she had close family ties to the Irondale Cafe, a restaurant that’s still serving fried chicken, creamed corn, and of course…fried green tomatoes. The beloved local spot was run by her aunt, Bess Fortenberry, and served as inspiration for her 1987 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which she also adapted for the famous 1991 film. It was no accident that Fannie found success in the movie business. Both her father and grandfather worked as motion picture machine operators, which exposed Fannie to the magic of films at a young age. It also gave her just enough knowledge to bluff her way into running the spotlight at the local theater, where she eventually became both a performer and a writer. Now she’s out with her eleventh book, Something to Look Forward To, a collection of short stories featuring a lot of the quirky Southern characters she’s known for. Sid talks to Fannie about her early days in Birmingham, her very funny grandmother, and the upcoming movie adaptation of her novel, A Redbird Christmas.
For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam
Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living
Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living
Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer
Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer & Editor/Producer
Jeremiah Lee McVay - Producer
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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35:51
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35:51
The Biscuits & Jam Holiday Special
All year long Sid has been asking his guests about how they celebrate the holidays, and in this episode we’re sharing some of those answers for the first time. You’ll hear brand new clips from some of his favorite interviews, including TV host and cookbook author Katie Lee Biegel, the incredible husband and wife duo known as The War and Treaty, Houston chef Tiffany Derry, country star Riley Green, and comedian Ellen Skrmetti.
For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam
For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam
Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living
Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living
Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer
Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer & Editor/Producer
Jeremiah Lee McVay - Producer
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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43:00
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43:00
Erika Council’s Rise to Biscuit Fame
Erika Council, a chef, author, and the owner of Atlanta’s wildly popular Bomb Biscuit Company, stopped by the Southern Living offices to do this interview in person. She grew up in Durham, North Carolina, though she spent plenty of time down the road in Goldsboro, where her grandmother ran the church kitchen like a five-star restaurant, even as she raised funds for civil rights. Erika’s talent runs deep on both sides of her family tree. Her paternal grandmother, Mildred Council—better known as Mama Dip—ran a legendary restaurant in Chapel Hill for more than 50 years, feeding everyone from college kids to Presidents. For a long time, Erika wasn’t sure she wanted to follow the same path, but of course, life had other plans. A few cooking side gigs turned into pop-ups, and those turned into a thriving breakfast business. She’s now a James Beard nominee and the author of Still We Rise: A Love Letter to the Southern Biscuit. Sid talks to Erika about her family’s legacy, the lessons baked into her journey, and how a simple biscuit can tell a much bigger story.
For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam
Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living
Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living
Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer
Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer & Editor/Producer
Jeremiah Lee McVay - Producer
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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45:22
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45:22
How Jamey Johnson Went from the Marines to Music Row
Jamey Johnson has called Nashville home for half his life, but he was raised in Montgomery, Alabama, in a family where pretty much everyone either played an instrument or sang. His grandfather was said to be a great singer, too, with a deep rumbling baritone, and Jamey learned his craft performing with his father’s band, the Down Home Boys. From there he eventually joined the Marine Corps Reserves, an experience that delivered lifelong friendships, but it also left him with some emotional scars that have informed his songwriting. Last year, he channeled some of those memories into his first album in 14 years, called Midnight Gasoline, and these days he has plenty to celebrate. In 2025, he got married at a rock quarry in Tennessee—a story you’ll want to hear—celebrated his 50th birthday with a show at the Grand Ole Opry, and acted in an upcoming movie with Megan Moroney called A Grand Ole Opry Christmas. Sid talks to Jamey about his tribute to the Greatest Generation, the new song he just recorded with Ronnie Dunn, and the organization he and his wife started called the Give It Away Fund, which supports disaster relief and other important causes.
For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam
Biscuits & Jam is produced by:
Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living
Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living
Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer
Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer & Editor/Producer
Jeremiah Lee McVay - Producer
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In the South, food and music go hand in hand. They define much of what we think of as Southern culture, and they say a lot about our past, our present, and our future. Each week, Sid Evans, Editor in Chief of Southern Living, sits down with musicians, chefs, and other Southern icons to hear the stories of how they grew up, what inspires them, and why they feel connected to the region. Through honest conversations, Sid explores childhood memories, the family meals they still think about, and the intersection of food and music in their lives. Always surprising, always engaging, Biscuits & Jam is a celebration of the South—and the people who are moving it forward every day. New episodes every Tuesday.
USA