When Holler asked me to interview Rissi Palmer about the beautifully non-stop career ascension she is currently enjoying, I told them it wouldn’t be a typical interview between a journalist and an artist. It would lack objectivity because, at this point, our fates are pretty tightly bound, Rissi’s and mine. Not only are we good friends, but we are colleagues at Apple Music Country – each with our own show. We’re also co-conspirators, founding a pair of grant funds that support marginalized artists in roots and country music. So, when I told Rissi that Holler gave me this assignment, asking for a no-holds-barred conversation between two friends pushing to diversify country and Americana, she said, “You could just publish one of our text threads.” (Listen here.)