Higher Grounds

YellaBird Media

In 1993, rock frontwoman Elle Harrison was found dead at Higher Grounds, the Nashville coffeehouse she owned with her three best friends. Authorities ruled it a suicide. Few believed that. Thirty years later, the remaining women break their silence for the first time. Told through candid interviews, Higher Grounds is an intimate oral history of lifelong friendship, ambition, and impossible choices, tracing four women’s lives from girlhood to the explosive moment everything came undone.

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12 episodes
Updated April 29
Explicit

Episodes12

Newest first

April 29 · 31 min
I'm Coming Home | Episode 11
After a devastating loss brings Charles home to Nashville, he’s faced with a major decision about his future. In Las Vegas, a brush with the past and a sudden turn of events change Sylvia’s life forever. Dive deeper into the story and explore upcoming YellaBird productions at: www.yellabird.com Follow YellaBird Media: Instagram: @yellabirdmedia YouTube: YellaBird Media Theme song: “Everything Changes” by Laura Jane Jones, available on Apple Music and Spotify. Featuring performances by: Laura Jane Jones as Sylvia Richardson Gervais Weekes as Charles Richardson Janice Lynn Sykes as Roz Mitchell Kimberly Conway as Kat Singleton Rachanee Lumayno - Opening and Closing Narration Sound design and mixing by YellaBird Media. Mixing and mastering by Rick Such. Transcript and additional information available at: www.yellabird.com
April 22 · 35 min
The Upward Way | Episode 10
Elle’s Playboy cover sends shockwaves through the country, launching Wilder to unimaginable heights—but behind the scenes, the cost of that success begins to surface. As fame spirals out of control, Sylvia reaches a breaking point, and makes a quiet, desperate plea for something more. Dive deeper into the story and explore upcoming YellaBird productions at: www.yellabird.com Follow YellaBird Media: Instagram: @yellabirdmedia YouTube: YellaBird Media Theme song: “Everything Changes” by Laura Jane Jones, available on Apple Music and Spotify. Featuring performances by: Laura Jane Jones as Sylvia Richardson Robert Fleet as Gentry Wilder Janice Lynn Sykes as Roz Richardson Timothy Stonedancer Coleman as Gordon Jenkins Kimberly Conway as Kat Singleton Rachanee Lumayno - Opening and Closing Narration Sound design and mixing by YellaBird Media. Mixing and mastering by Rick Such. Transcript and additional information available at: www.yellabird.com
April 15 · 37 min
Not Your Sweetheart | Episode 9
Gentry joins the house band on The Monte & Elle Comedy Hour. As tensions between the show’s stars mount, Elle starts pushing back against the image that made her famous. Dive deeper into the story and explore upcoming YellaBird productions at: www.yellabird.com Follow YellaBird Media: Instagram: @yellabirdmedia YouTube: YellaBird Media Theme song: “Everything Changes” by Laura Jane Jones, available on Apple Music and Spotify. Featuring performances by: Robert Fleet as Gentry Wilder Katy Yoder as Elle Harrison Janice Lynn Sykes as Roz Richardson Jerry Schultz as Monte Rayburn Alexander Sloan as Cal Porter Timothy Stonedancer Coleman as Gordon Jenkins Kyle Sanderson as Announcer Kimberly Conway as Kat Singleton Rachanee Lumayno - Opening and Closing Narration Sound design and mixing by YellaBird Media. Mixing and mastering by Rick Such. Transcript and additional information available at: www.yellabird.com
April 8 · 29 min
Between Here and Chicago | Episode 8
*This episode contains depictions of domestic violence and other forms of violence that may be disturbing to some listeners. In Las Vegas, Sylvia’s life with Carmine reaches a breaking point, and the consequences are impossible to undo. Dive deeper into the story and explore upcoming YellaBird productions at: www.yellabird.com Follow YellaBird Media: Instagram: @yellabirdmedia YouTube: YellaBird Media Theme song: “Everything Changes” by Laura Jane Jones, available on Apple Music and Spotify. Featuring performances by: Laura Jane Jones as Sylvia Richardson Robert Fleet as Gentry Wilder Stacey Lightman as Randi McMillan Kimberly Conway as Kat Singleton Rachanee Lumayno - Opening and Closing Narration Sound design and mixing by YellaBird Media. Mixing and mastering by Rick Such. Transcript and additional information available at: www.yellabird.com
April 1 · 40 min
The House Always Wins | Episode 7
*This episode contains depictions of domestic violence and may be disturbing to some listeners. In Nashville, Joni begins to rediscover a sense of purpose amid the demands of motherhood. In Las Vegas, as Sylvia settles further into life with Carmine, the truth of who he is begins to reveal itself. Dive deeper into the story and explore upcoming YellaBird productions at: www.yellabird.com Follow YellaBird Media: Instagram: @yellabirdmedia YouTube: YellaBird Media Theme song: “Everything Changes” by Laura Jane Jones, available on Apple Music and Spotify. Featuring performances by: Laura Jane Jones as Sylvia Richardson Cynthia Ergenbright as Joni McKay Janice Lynn Sykes as Roz Mitchell Stacey Lightman as Randi McMillan Robert Fleet as Gentry Wilder Kimberly Conway as Kat Singleton Rachanee Lumayno - Opening and Closing Narration Sound design and mixing by YellaBird Media. Mixing and mastering by Rick Such. Transcript and additional information available at: www.yellabird.com
March 25 · 36 min
Luck Be A Lady | Episode 6
In Las Vegas, Sylvia meets a young musician named Gentry Wilder, but her attention is quickly claimed by another man. After a violent encounter leaves her shaken, her life begins to take a different path. Dive deeper into the story and explore upcoming YellaBird productions at: www.yellabird.com Follow YellaBird Media: Instagram: @yellabirdmedia YouTube: YellaBird Media Theme song: “Everything Changes” by Laura Jane Jones, available on Apple Music and Spotify. Featuring performances by: Laura Jane Jones as Sylvia Richardson Stacey Lightman as Randi McMillan Robert Fleet as Gentry Wilder Gervais Weekes as Charles Richardson Kimberly Conway as Kat Singleton Rachanee Lumayno as Opening and Closing Narration Sound design and mixing by YellaBird Media. Mixing and mastering by Rick Such. Transcript and additional information available at: www.yellabird.com
March 18 · 37 min
You Can't Go Home Again | Episode 5
In the aftermath of a devastating year, the girls begin finding their footing in lives that look nothing like the ones they once imagined. A wedding brings Roz and Elle back to Nashville for the first time in years. Old friendships are rekindled, but the distance between their worlds is impossible to ignore. And in New Orleans, Sylvia wrestles with the growing divide between the girl she once was and the woman she is becoming. Dive deeper into the story and explore upcoming YellaBird productions at: www.yellabird.com Follow YellaBird Media: Instagram: @yellabirdmedia YouTube: YellaBird Media Theme song: “Everything Changes” by Laura Jane Jones, available on Apple Music and Spotify. Featuring performances by: Laura Jane Jones as Sylvia Richardson Cynthia Ergenbright as Joni McKay Janice Lynn Sykes as Roz Mitchell Katy Yoder as Elle Harrison Stacey Lightman as Randi McMillan Gervais Weekes as Charles Richardson Kimberly Conway as Kat Singleton Rachanee Lumayno - Opening and Closing Narration Sound design and mixing by YellaBird Media. Mixing and mastering by Rick Such. Transcript and additional information available at: www.yellabird.com
March 11 · 40 min
Nineteen Dollars and Eighty-Three Cents | Episode 4
It’s 1970. The girls are scattered across the country, trying to hold onto each other through letters as their lives start to split at the seams. In Louisiana, Sylvia is pushed into survival mode by a relentless series of events. In Nashville, Joni is left to navigate a new kind of loneliness, when a day of celebration turns into a night she will never forget. Written and produced by Kimberly Conway. Dive deeper into the story and explore upcoming YellaBird productions at: www.yellabird.com Follow YellaBird Media: Instagram: @yellabirdmedia YouTube: YellaBird Media Theme song: “Everything Changes” by Laura Jane Jones, available on Apple Music and Spotify. Featuring performances by: Laura Jane Jones as Sylvia Richardson Cynthia Ergenbright as Joni McKay Gervais Weekes as Charles Richardson Kimberly Conway as Kat Singleton Rachanee Lumayno as Opening and Closing Narration Sound design and mixing by YellaBird Media. Mixing and mastering by Rick Such. Transcript and additional information available at: www.yellabird.com © 2026 YellaBird Media. All rights reserved
March 4 · 40 min
The End of an Era | Episode 3
It’s 1969. The Divine Darlings are riding high on their first studio recording when real life closes in. A humiliating scene in a school parking lot. The Vietnam War divides the nation. As the world outside grows louder and more volatile, the girls are forced to make difficult choices, and the future they once imagined begins to slip out of reach. Written and produced by Kimberly Conway. Dive deeper into the story and explore upcoming YellaBird productions at: www.yellabird.com Follow YellaBird Media: Instagram: @yellabirdmedia YouTube: YellaBird Media Theme song: “Everything Changes” by Laura Jane Jones, available on Apple Music and Spotify. Featuring performances by: Laura Jane Jones as Sylvia Richardson Cynthia Ergenbright as Joni McKay Janice Lynn Sykes as Rozalyn Mitchell Katy Yoder as Elle Harrison Gervais Weekes as Charles Richardson Kimberly Conway as Kat Singleton Rachanee Lumayno as Opening and Closing Narration Sound design and mixing by YellaBird Media. Mixing and mastering by Rick Such. Transcript and additional information available at: www.yellabird.com © 2026 YellaBird Media. All rights reserved
February 25 · 34 min
The Divine Darlings | Episode 2
It’s 1967. Sylvia, Roz, Joni, and Elle form a singing group called The Divine Darlings. What starts on church stages quickly grows into something bigger. But as ambition begins to surface and first loves complicate loyalties, the four friends take their first real step toward the spotlight—unaware of where that step will lead. Written and produced by Kimberly Conway. Dive deeper into the story and explore upcoming YellaBird productions at: www.yellabird.com Follow YellaBird Media: Instagram: @yellabirdmedia YouTube: YellaBird Media Theme song: “Everything Changes” by Laura Jane Jones, available on Apple Music and Spotify. Featuring performances by: Laura Jane Jones as Sylvia Richardson Cynthia Ergenbright as Joni McKay Janice Lynn Sykes as Rozalyn Mitchell Katy Yoder as Elle Harrison Gervais Weekes as Charles Richardson Kimberly Conway as Kat Singleton Jennifer Tzoumas as Allison Andrews Rachanee Lumayno as Opening and Closing Narration Sound design and mixing by YellaBird Media. Mixing and mastering by Rick Such. Transcript and additional information available at: www.yellabird.com © 2026 YellaBird Media. All rights reserved
February 24 · 37 min
The Summer of '62 | Episode 1
In the series premiere, journalist Kat Singleton arrives at Higher Grounds to speak with the women behind Nashville’s most infamous coffeehouse. Thirty years ago, the coffeehouse made international headlines when child star turned rock icon Elle Harrison was found dead in its parking lot. Six weeks later, mobster Carmine D’Orazio was gunned down in the same spot. Both cases were closed quickly, but questions have lingered for decades. Now, for the first time, the women who built Higher Grounds are ready to speak. Told through candid interviews, Higher Grounds traces four women’s lives across the decades—friendship, ambition, fame, and fallout—leading to the moment long-buried secrets erupted into one of Music City’s most explosive scandals. The story begins here, in the summer of ’62. Written and produced by Kimberly Conway. Dive deeper into the story and explore upcoming YellaBird productions at: www.yellabird.com Follow YellaBird Media: Instagram: @yellabirdmedia YouTube: YellaBird Media Theme song: “Everything Changes” by Laura Jane Jones, available on Apple Music and Spotify. Featuring performances by: Laura Jane Jones as Sylvia Richardson Cynthia Ergenbright as Joni McKay Janice Lynn Sykes as Rozalyn Mitchell Kimberly Conway as Kat Singleton Tara Madison as Reporter Brianne Buishas as Young Elle Kyle Sanderson as Announcer Rachanee Lumayno as Opening and Closing Narration Sound design and mixing by YellaBird Media. Mixing and mastering by Rick Such. Transcript and additional information available at: www.yellabird.com
Jun 19, 2025 · 1 min
Trailer
In 1993, rock frontwoman Elle Harrison was found dead at Higher Grounds, the Nashville coffeehouse she owned with her three best friends. Authorities ruled it a suicide. Few believed that. Thirty years later, the remaining women break their silence for the first time. Told through candid interviews, Higher Grounds is an intimate oral history of lifelong friendship, ambition, and impossible choices, tracing four women’s lives from girlhood to the explosive moment everything came undone. Higher Grounds is the debut fiction podcast series from YellaBird Media Premiering February 2026. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts. Written and produced by Kimberly Conway, Starring: Laura Jane Jones as Sylvia Cynthia Ergenbright as Joni Janice Lynn Sykes as Roz Katy Yoder as Elle Kimberly Conway as Kat Robert Fleet as Gentry Gervais Weekes as Charles Stacey Lightman as Randi and a full cast Sound Design & Mixing: YellaBird Media Mixing & Mastering: Rick Such Website: www.yellabird.com Instagram: @YellaBirdMedia #HigherGroundsPodcast #fictionpodcast #audiodrama #womeninpodcasting #nashville #oralhistory #cinematicsound #womenauthors #scriptedpodcast #emotionalfiction #booktok