The Rant

Friends of The Rant | Nitro Nitra returns to Sanford (and our podcast)

Nitro Nitra and her band lit up the stage at Carolina Indie Fest, and the rising artist is excited to return to the area for next month's Wampus Cat Festival. Listen to our interview and stick around for frivolity and yuks. 

Friends of The Rant | J.R. Richards, former Dishwalla frontman and upcoming Wampus Cat Fest performer

J.R. Richards, the former lead singer of Dishwalla and current independent solo artist, will be among the many big names performing at the Wampus Cat Festival near Sanford on May 13-15 at Gross Farms II. Richards talks to The Rant about growing up with music, the songs that inspire him, how a massive hit like "Counting Blue Cars" changed his life and his engagement with fans on social media as a solo artist. 

Friends of The Rant | Wampus Cat country artist John Norris

Country artist and Sanford native John Norris — our first in a series of performers for the upcoming Wampus Cat Music Festival — joins the Friends of The Rant podcast to talk about his career and the upcoming three-day festival. 
 
Learn more about John here: https://www.johnnorrismusic.com/about
 

Friends of The Rant | Jeff Popka shares Wampus Cat Music Festival details

Jeff Popka, CEO of Indie on Air Records and organizer of the upcoming Wampus Cat Music Festival, shares details on the May 13-15 event that will include acts like Everclear, Lit, Sister Hazel, Thompson Square, the Swon Brothers, J.R. Richards (Dishwalla) and more than 90 acts. 

Friends of The Rant | Dr. Raj Swamy from Central Carolina Hospital

Dr. Raj Swamy of Central Carolina Hospital joins the Friends of The Rant podcast to talk about heart month and the remarkable cardiac procedures available to patients in Sanford and Lee County. Swamy is the head of cardiology at CCH in Sanford. He received his undergrad degree at Duke University and his medical degree from the University of Chicago-Pritzker. He specializes in cardiology, coronary intervention, echocardiography, arterial and venous ultrasound, vascular medicine, peripheral vascular intervention, stress testing, cardiac rhythm evaluation and management.

Friends of The Rant | Jimmy Randolph talks pottery festival return

Jimmy Randolph is CEO of the Sanford Area Growth Alliance, but he joins us today wearing another hat — organizer for the Sanford Pottery Exhibition & Marketplace, a reboot of sorts of the old Sanford Pottery Festival which took place here for several years and is set to return on April 30 and May 1 at the Dennis Wicker Civic Center.

Friends of The Rant | Tracy Carter talks his final days as Lee County Sheriff

Lee County Sheriff Tracy Carter will end 30-plus years in law enforcement when he officially retires on Jan. 1. He took some time to talk about his career and not only his future, but the future of the sheriff's office, on our Friends of The Rant podcast. 

Friends of The Rant | Richard Sullins, government reporter extraordinaire

Government reporter and political science authority Richard Sullins joins the podcast to talk about his experience writing for The Rant and his first impressions of local government in Lee County.