Any southern gathering worth its salt has certain fundamental elements. Those most needed items include fried foods, cold drinks, a crazy uncle or two as well as a fair share of “Hoot’n and Holler’n.”
Matt Mitchell, a Walker County native known for his digital creations such as “Bless Your Rank” and “SEC Roll Call,” has now released “Hoot’n and Holler’n,” a new podcast celebrating the South and so much more.
Walker County natives Eric Nix, Drake Pittman and Shane Murray will join Mitchell for each episode, which is scheduled to drop every other Monday. The first one released today (April 22) on all podcast platforms as well as a video version on YouTube.
“I’ve wanted to do a podcast for a long time, and I actually released ‘Hoot’n and Holler’n’ a few years ago, but it wasn’t the right time or the right format,” Mitchell said in a recent interview with The Community Journal. “I’m really excited about what we’ve come up. We are definitely having fun, and I think people listening will enjoy it.”
The format of the show will see the hosts discussing (“hoot’n”) about something positive they’ve experienced but then turn around a start complaining (holler’n) about something negative or things that get on their nerves.
Nix, best known locally as owner of Old 64 Barber Shop in Sumiton, said the podcast has been something he’s wanted to do for several years.
“Matt and I had worked on a few ideas over the last couple of years, but it just wasn’t coming together,” he said.
Pittman and Murray are the former hosts of the “Pass The Jar” podcast, which ended in 2023 after 100 episodes. Mitchell and Nix were guests on the 99th episode, which led to the current collaboration.
“Shane and I fully expected to take a break from podcasting, but Eric called about a week after we recorded their episode, and wanted to see if we’d be interested in teaming up,” Pittman said. “I was all in, even if Shane wasn’t. Ten minutes later, Shane said ‘yes,’ so here we are.”
The group has recorded a couple of episodes so far and said the experience had been great.
“It’s basically four friends hanging out and talking about random things,” Murray said.
Another Walker County native involved with the podcast who isn’t seen on camera and rarely heard on the mic is Joey Prestley, who serves as videographer and editor for the show.
“That’s me,” Presley joked.
Mitchell said he hopes listeners will connect with the podcast through the stories shared in each episode.
“While all of us are from Walker County, I this isn’t a Waller County podcast,” he said. “We embrace our culture and our lives in our hometowns. Everyone should be able to connect with that, especially people across the south.”
To find “Hoot’n and Holler’n,” visit www.alostrich.com/podcast.
