Simply Folk Interviews

“Where would we be without music?!” That was a question that musician Johnsmith recently pondered during an interview for WPR’s Simply Folk. “Sometimes you’re driving down the road and Simply Folk comes on or some song comes on and you didn’t even think that some issue was up in your heart or like you were stuck about something ... and all of a sudden you got a tear in your eye or you’re really laughing. You’re really thinking about some little thing and it just kind of opens you up.”

Lil Rev and Larry Penn talked with "Simply Folk" host Stephanie Elkins back in September 2013 when they shared a performance of their classic, "I'm a Little Cookie."

We Banjo 3 is a four-piece string band from Galway, Ireland, that plays a blend of music they call "Celtgrass."  This recording is from an in-studio interview the group did on "Simply Folk" on May 5, 2016.

Rivka Maizlish is a doctoral student in the history department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a focus on folklore, particularly folk music. She stopped by WPR to talk with Dan Robinson, the host of "Simply Folk," about folk music and her work as a folk historian.

WPR's Sheila Shigley had the good fortune to interview Wisconsin-born artist Jeffrey Foucault this summer, and to capture some great tunes in Buck Studio -- take a listen!

Art Stevenson and High Water brought their brand of traditional bluegrass, sterling instrumental work, and wonderful harmony singing to the Simply Folk Shindig this past June. They’ve been at the heart of the Wisconsin string band community for years, and the crowd loved their performance this summer!

Joseph Huber and his band brought their high-energy show to Rothschild and the 2018 Simply Folk Shindig in June. Joseph had the crowd up and dancing for most of his performance!

The Simply Folk Shindig returned to the Rothschild Pavilion in June 2018, including a fantastic performance by Milwaukee duo, Nickel and Rose - Carl Nichols and Johanna Rose. Here's their set that opened the evening ... enjoy!

Joseph Huber and his band burned up the stage at the 2018 Shindig in June! Before the concert, the Milwaukee-based musician was kind enough to do an interview and performance with Simply Folk host Dan Robinson, sharing music and stories from his life and career.

The Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers, also known as Nikki Grossman and Joe Hart, came by WPR’s Buck Studio to share their music and some conversation with Simply Folk’s Dan Robinson, covering topics from songwriting to their love of old-time music. They also performed some songs from their latest album, “Don’t Think about Tomorrow Tonight.”