This week, New York singer-songwriter, Americana and folk duo Richie & Rosie recorded live at Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas. Also, interviews with these two fascinating talents.

“Richie Stearns and Rosie Newton grew up 150 miles and a few decades apart. While both were raised by professional cellists, Richie started playing banjo at age 14 and Rosie began classical piano lessons at eight, eventually moving to classical viola as a teen. Both shared incredibly unique, musically-immersed childhoods. Richie’s family founded the iconic GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance (of which he is now President) and by her junior year of high school, Rosie was playing fiddle and touring with folk rock band The Mammals. During that time, the two were introduced at Saratoga Springs’ Flurry festival, a meeting that would spark a fated friendship and unique musical bond. 

‘He left an impression on me because he was wearing Converse. I had never seen an adult wear Converse before,’ said Rosie, reflecting back on the first time she shared the stage with Richie. As a Woodstock native, she graduated high school and decided to move to Ithaca after being drawn to the thriving old-time scene, which happened to also be Richie’s stomping grounds. While studying viola at Ithaca College and playing fiddle on the side, Rosie started incorporating folk with her traditional Celtic and classical upbringing. Meanwhile, Richie was a well-established singer and banjo player in the community, having performed around the world with bands like Bela Fleck, Pete Seeger, David Byrne, Billy Bragg & Wilco, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Joan Baez. In addition to releasing two solo albums, Richie was adding to his endless discography, which includes three Natalie Merchant records, multiple collaborations with Jim Lauderdale and Donna The Buffalo, and Carrie Rodriguez.”

https://richieandrosie.com/bio

In this week’s “From the Vault” segment, musician, educator, and country music legacy Mark Jones offers a 1978 archival recording of Ozark original Frank Ellis performing a traditional fiddle medley from the Ozark Folk Center State Park archives.

Writer, musician, and traditional dancer Aubrey Atwater discusses songs of “home” with musical examples and her own cultivated insight. Home, hearth, family, and sense of place are profound aspects of the human experience. In this segment, we explore American folk songs that address leaving home, returning home, searching for home, homesickness, and our heavenly home.