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.
Host Laura Jane Jones explores Charles Richardson's homecoming and Sylvia Richardson's life-altering events, revealing pivotal decisions and unexpected turns.
22 Apr 2026
The Upward Way | Episode 10
Laura Jane Jones as Sylvia Richardson navigates the escalating cost of fame as Elle's success surfaces difficult truths in this interview.
15 Apr 2026
Not Your Sweetheart | Episode 9
Robert Fleet as Gentry Wilder interviews Katy Yoder as Elle Harrison about pushing back against fame on The Monte & Elle Comedy Hour.
8 Apr 2026
Between Here and Chicago | Episode 8
Sylvia Richardson's life with Carmine in Las Vegas reaches a violent breaking point with irreversible consequences.
1 Apr 2026
The House Always Wins | Episode 7
Host Rachanee Lumayno narrates as Joni McKay finds purpose in motherhood while Sylvia Richardson uncovers Carmine's true nature in Las Vegas.
25 Mar 2026
Luck Be A Lady | Episode 6
Host Sylvia Richardson interviews musician Gentry Wilder about a life-altering violent encounter in Las Vegas.
18 Mar 2026
You Can't Go Home Again | Episode 5
Laura Jane Jones as Sylvia Richardson and Cynthia Ergenbright as Joni McKay explore evolving identities and strained friendships in 1970 Nashville and New Orleans.
11 Mar 2026
$19.83 | Episode 4
Kimberly Conway narrates Sylvia and Joni's diverging paths in 1970, exploring their struggles with distance and loneliness.
4 Mar 2026
The End of an Era | Episode 3
Kimberly Conway explores how external pressures and personal choices force The Divine Darlings to confront a shifting future in 1969.
25 Feb 2026
The Divine Darlings | Episode 2
Kimberly Conway narrates the story of The Divine Darlings' ambitious journey from church stages to the spotlight, exploring love and loyalty.
24 Feb 2026
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 (http://www.yellabird.com/)
Follow YellaBird Media:
Instagram: @yellabirdmedia (https://www.instagram.com/yellabirdmedia/)
YouTube: YellaBird Media (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=YELLABIRD+MEDIA)
Theme song: “Everything Changes” by Laura Jane Jones (www.laurajanemusic.net), available on Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/everything-changes/1561279515) and Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/track/2hsxs6tp2LJmyW4cSHpYNp?si=031a4f5504c744af).
Featuring performances by:
Laura Jane Jones (www.laurajanemusic.net) 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 (www.yellabird.com).
Mixing and mastering by Rick Such.
Transcript and additional information available at:
www.yellabird.com (http://www.yellabird.com/)
21 Feb 2026
Episode 1: The Summer of '62
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 (http://www.yellabird.com/)
Follow YellaBird Media:
Instagram: @yellabirdmedia (https://www.instagram.com/yellabirdmedia/)
YouTube: YellaBird Media (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=YELLABIRD+MEDIA)
Theme song: “Everything Changes” by Laura Jane Jones (www.laurajanemusic.net), available on Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/everything-changes/1561279515) and Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/track/2hsxs6tp2LJmyW4cSHpYNp?si=031a4f5504c744af).
Featuring performances by:
Laura Jane Jones (www.laurajanemusic.net) 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 (www.yellabird.com).
Mixing and mastering by Rick Such.
Transcript and additional information available at:
www.yellabird.com (http://www.yellabird.com/)
19 Jun 2025
Extended Trailer
This extended trailer introduces Higher Grounds, a debut fiction podcast series from YellaBird Media about the women behind a legendary Nashville coffeehouse and the scandal that threatened to destroy it all.
Who has been a guest on Higher Grounds
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Laura Jane Jones
Gervais Weekes
Janice Lynn Sykes
Kimberly Conway
Rachanee Lumayno
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
436,536,022
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.8 / 5
307 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 55 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
61
Social presence
0
YouTube
93
Engagement
32
Contact Higher Grounds
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
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