Miss Chatelaine

Katie is joined by New York correspondent and huge Indigo Girls fan Mark Blankenship for a deep dive into the music and meaning of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers’ long-running duo. They talk about the albums Rites of Passage, Swamp Ophelia, Shaming of the Sun, Look Long and more; Amy and Emily’s activism and their collaborations with other artists; and the rise of queer voices in country/Americana music. Katie and Mark also work out whether they are an ‘Amy’ or an ‘Emily’; Mark shares his experience of growing up queer and loving country music in the south of the US; and Katie marvels at Mark’s perfect recall of the lyrics of ‘Ghost’. Here is the playlist:

* Closer to Fine – Indigo Girls

* Least Complicated – Indigo Girls

* Get Out the Map – Indigo Girls

* Ghost – Indigo Girls

* Dear Mr President – Pink ft. Indigo Girls

* Country Radio – Indigo Girls

Photo of Indigo Girls (above) by Jeremy Cowart

Mark Blankenship is a New York–based podcaster and writer who co-hosts the podcast Mark and Sarah Talk About Songs (MASTAS) with Sarah D. Bunting; visit MASTAS’s Patreon page and follow the podcast on Facebook and Twitter. He also hosts the iHeartRadio Showtune Countdown podcast and is the founder and editor of the new publication The Flashpaper: Theatre’s Thoughts on Right Now. Follow Mark on Twitter.

Read ‘The Countermelodies that Changed Us: A Lifetime of Loving Indigo Girls’ by Karen Tongson at NPR.

Katie plays a fabulous lot of new and recent music in the first hour today, including songs by past Miss Chat guests Lucille and Përolas, and a coming-out song by US queer artist Becca Mancari. There are also some lovely messages from regular listeners – all of whom are part of the Miss Chat family! Here is the playlist:

* Watercolours – Përolas

* Your Hero Is Not Dead – Westerman

* Wise Man – Lucille ft. Shane Howard

* Wayfaring Stranger – Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi

* Matters of the Heart – Shayne Cook

* Higher Places – Nat Vazer

* Tangled Man – Green Gartside

* Moonglow – Tony Bennett ft. k.d. lang

* First Time – Becca Mancari

* Little Miss America – Josh Orange

Above: Nat Vazer’s Is This Offensive and Loud? album artwork; design and photography by Benjamin Joel

Some seriously great new releases in the second hour of the show, including a re-working of a Paul Kelly classic by Kelly and Paul Grabowsky, a gorgeous track by Miss Chat favourite Emily Barker, and a song by Tim Minchin that Katie is in love with! Here is the playlist:

* Watching the World Go By With You – Michael Franti & Spearhead

* If I Could Start Today Again – Paul Kelly & Paul Grabowsky

* Return Me – Emily Barker

* Worth – Benjamin Trillado

* Baby Blue – Corn Nut Creek

* It’s Easier When You’re Standing There – Garrett Kato

* I’ll Take Lonely Tonight – Tim Minchin

* The Mess – Angus Dawson ft. Grace Armstrong

* Call Me Home – The Dreggs

* Moral of the Story – Ashe ft. Niall Horan

Above: Michael Franti & Spearhead’s Work Hard and Be Nice album artwork – design by Betsy Baird; photography by Anthony Njuguna

A slightly shorter first hour this week, but still full of great music – including a track about being queer in America and listening to country-music radio stations from the Indigo Girls’ fabulous new album, Look Long. Here is the playlist:

* Olalla – Blanco White

* Wildfire – D’Arcy Spiller

* Money and Fools – Benny Walker

* Country Radio – Indigo Girls

* Human Race – Julian Taylor

* Drifting Too Far from Shore – Van Walker

* This Is Not Forever – Kate Miller-Heidke

Above: Julian Taylor’s The Ridge album artwork; photography by Julian Taylor

Treat yourself to a bunch of songs by Miss Chat favourites – new tracks by Benny Walker, Lucille, Alana Wilkinson and Përolas, and older tracks by k.d. lang, Adam Lambert and Emily Wurramara – and more! Here is the playlist:

* Chosen Line – Benny Walker

* Come On, Fly – Lucille

* The Right to Love – k.d. lang

* We’re Good Together – Casey Barnes

* Rib Cage – Alana Wilkinson

* Watercolours – Përolas

* On the Moon – Adam Lambert

* Black Boy – Emily Wurramara

* The March – Blue King Brown with Jah Mason

Above: Benny Walker’s Chosen Line album artwork by John Patten

On a sunny winter’s morning, Katie plays new and recent tunes by artists from Melbourne, New York, the UK and Toronto, tells a funny footy story, talks about missing hugs during the pandemic, reads messages from listeners (including one from Brazil), and tops off the hour with a Dolly Parton miniature. Here is the playlist:

* Aphrodite – Brigitte Bardini

* In the Future – Minibikes

* Deep Black Sea – D’Arcy Spiller

* Take Me Away – Teddy Thompson

* Embrace – The While and Matthews Collaborative

* All I Can Do Is Hate You – Alexander Biggs

* Walk My Way – Harper Bloom

* The Ridge – Julian Taylor

* Drive – Ironess

* Gonna Hurry (As Slow as I Can) – Dolly Parton

Above: Minibikes’ Freaky Dreams album artwork – mural by Geoff Slater

With Black Lives Matter rallies taking places all over the world, including in Melbourne, Katie highlights some young Australian First Nations artists and plays some timely social commentary songs. Here is the playlist:

* Hey Girl – Boy Pablo

* I Contain Multitudes – Emma Swift

* At a Light – Teddy Thompson

* Mamma (live from Truettes podcast) – Little Wise ft. Tuck Shop Ladies

* Unlock the System – J-MILLA

* Twisting Words – Miiesha

* Move – Baker Boy

* The Joke – Brandi Carlile

* Underdog – Alicia Keys

* Teardrops – Elton John & k.d. lang

Above: Miiesha’s Nyaaringa album artwork by Nickeema Williams

Treat yourself to almost an hour of excellent new and recent folk, roots, acoustic and pop releases by artists from Sydney, Melbourne, Fremantle, the UK, the USA and Bulgaria. Here is the playlist:

* 100 Times – Sarah Wolfe ft. The Flowers

* I Belong to You – Blanco White

* Wish I Was – Gretchen Peters

* Nobody’s BF – Minibikes

* Tears Getting Sober – Victoria

* I Got You – Michael Franti & Spearhead

* Grand Ideas – Alice Skye

* Doubting Thomas – Josh Pyke

* Pure – Paige Valentine

* You Are Not Alone – Mavis Staples & Jeff Tweedy

Above: Alice Skye’s ‘Grand Ideas’ single artwork by Aretha Brown

Melbourne singer-songwriter and violinist extraordinaire XANI returns to Miss Chatelaine to talk to Katie on the phone about her current and recent projects, including performing in the on-stage band for the highly successful musical Come From Away; recording new music in her home studio; live-streaming twice a week during lockdown; and her new single and video ‘Who Would’ve Thought’. There are also great new tracks by Australian artists based in the Blue Mountains, Melbourne, Brisbane and Yackandandah, and a classic by the great Peggy Lee. Here is the playlist:

* Fool’s Gold – CJ Stranger

* You Be You – This Way North

* Too Far to Go – Matt Joe Gow ft. The Weeping Willows

* Little Soul – XANI

* Who Would’ve Thought – XANI

* My Town – The English Rain

* Stay for a While – Jed Zarb

* The Boy from Ipanema – Peggy Lee

Visit Xani’s official website and follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Her Bandcamp page is here and you can watch her Twitch.tv streams here.

Above: XANI’s ‘Who Would’ve Thought’ single artwork; photography by Michelle Grace Hunder, design by Meg Kolac

More fabulous folk, roots, acoustic and pop music in the first hour today, including a new one from the great Kate Miller-Heidke; further tracks from the excellent new albums by Gretchen Peters, Reb Fountain, and Steve Earle & The Dukes; and some cool guitar blues by Sydney’s Ray Beadle. Here is the playlist:

* The Sailor – Gretchen Peters

* Isolation – Joshua Moriarty

* Better Things – Kee’ahn

* Staring at Her – James Mark

* Don’t You Know Who I Am – Reb Fountain

* Time Is Never on Our Side – Steve Earle & The Dukes

* This Is Not Forever – Kate Miller-Heidke

* Whiskey Drinking Fool – Ray Beadle

* Take a Look Around – Serina Pech

* Directing Traffic – Pamela Claire

Above: Kate Miller-Heidke’s ‘This Is Not Forever’ single artwork