Down the River/To Waterloo & Beyond

In late June, it really seems like time to get outdoors, so this week in the Song Parlor we’re spending much of our time with songs and tunes that take us out on a river -- before finishing off with a few pieces than in one way or another evoke thoughts of Napoleon Bonaparte and carry us on to Waterloo and beyond.

Free & Equal Blues, Our Times, & Some Family Connections

In the wake of the anguish, turmoil, and waves of protest that have followed the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, this week’s show begins with two sets of songs that seek to offer musical perspective on racial injustice and the struggle for civil rights, justice, and equality over the past 80 years or so. Then we move on to a set of new releases that in one way or another seem right for the times and season, before finishing off with several pieces that showcase strong family connections.

Old Dreams. New Visions and Getting Through Hard Times in the Spring

In this week’s mini-edition of the Song Parlor, we start out with a set drawn from new releases that offer an assortment of old dreams, new visions, and community-building affirmations. After that, a few songs, old and new, that explore some challenges and possible responses to hard times and unemployment. And, finally, we finish off with several songs and tunes that feature springtime thoughts and memories.

Getting Out? . . . Planting Seeds . . . Sailing With (& Remembering) Pete

This week’s mini edition of the Song Parlor begins with a set that features pieces to help us move from self-isolation indoors to reentry into the world outside and then on to Springtime planting. After that, a set to honor and remember Pete Seeger, a great sower of the seeds of peace and justice – and a creative champion of generations of sailors singing out for clean and golden rivers.

Getting Exercise in Home Sweet Home – and Riding the (Fantasy) Range

With millions of families spending their time working from home and sheltering in place, keeping physically active can definitely be a challenge – and imagining being somewhere else might often seem appealing. So this week’s mini-edition of the Song Parlor brings together several songs and tunes that offer opportunities for getting exercise in Home Sweet Home -- and we follow that with a set that involves riding the (fantasy) range.

Climbing Up Through Trials, Imagined Rambles, & Journeys Home

As we all try to move as gracefully as we can through this extraordinary time and hang together in spite of the ongoing necessity of “social distancing,” here’s another mini-edition of the Song Parlor to encourage us along the way, one step at a time. . . .

Now for a little walk and a couple of other tasks, then on to the audio. . . .

A Few Songs & Thoughts for This April

Here’s a new Song Parlor mini-session that brings together a few songs and tunes and thoughts to help us through this extraordinary April.

Hope you guys have managed to get outside on this genuinely Spring-like day!

Here’s a Song Parlor mini-session to help us through social distancing and difficult Coronavirus times.

Flu? + Stepping into March & Looking Toward St. Patrick’s Day

Since the spread of the coronavirus has been so much on our minds, it seemed only fitting to start this week’s show with a few pieces about the flu and various other health-related conditions. Then, as we move on into March, several new and recent releases that include songs and tunes for the season seemed irresistible. Later on, in the second half of the show, we’ll celebrate the approach of St. Patrick’s Day with several sets of pieces with Irish connections.

Mid-February Feelings + Ballads Old & New

This week we begin with a couple of sets of songs and tunes – mainly from new or recent releases – that in one way or another seem to capture this year’s mid-February mood. Then we move on to a bunch of big ballads – including several versions of a classic American tale, plus a number of pieces (some comic, some tragic) that offer variants of stories from long ago that are included in Francis James Child’s monumental collection, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads -- along with one recent ballad that unfolds a powerful contemporary tale.