The String

What is tradition in music? It turns out that's a tricky but illuminating question, and this week Craig puts it to a range of folks at the World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, NC. CJ Lewandowski of the hot new Po' Ramblin' Boys (pictured) want to build bridges between fans of the inside and outside. Doyle Lawson applies it to the atmosphere he's set at his 39-year-old festival in Denton, NC. John Showman describes how the Lonesome Ace String Band produces traditional sounding music without thinking like preservationists. Multiple IBMA Award winner Becky Buller knows how to write songs from across the trad/rad spectrum. Jordan Laney brings her scholarly background to the question. East Tennessee State bluegrass music program director Dan Boner says he's seen tradition take many forms in his students. Asheville fiddler Natalya Weinstein and her husband John Miller tap their respective family histories in their music. And string music educator Happy Traum has helped pass down tradition via video lessons. It's a fascinating ramble, with music throughout. 

This week circles back one final time to AmericanaFest 2018, where a global community dedicated to American roots music gathered and networked and listened to some of the world’s best music. Amy Helm, out solo after a decade with Olabelle and working with her late great father Levon, is an exceptional singer with the new album This Too Shall Light. Veteran alt-country and bluegrass singer songwriter Robbie Fulks showcased his new rollicking boogie woogie rock and roll project with pianist and singer Linda Gail Lewis, Jerry Lee’s sister. Their duo album is called Wild Wild Wild. And rounding out the hour is emerging Canadian folk artist Kaia Kater.  She’s on a remarkable journey of identity and creativity, and she is newly signed to the iconic Smithsonian Folkways record label. Her album Grenades is out in a matter of days.

This week circles back one final time to AmericanaFest 2018, where a global community dedicated to American roots music gathered and networked and listened to some of the world's best music. Amy Helm, out solo after a decade with Olabelle and working with her late great father Levon, is an exceptional singer with the new album This Too Shall Light. Veteran alt-country and bluegrass singer songwriter Robbie Fulks showcased his new rollicking boogie woogie rock and roll project with pianist and singer Linda Gail Lewis, Jerry Lee's sister. Their duo album is called Wild Wild Wild. And rounding out the hour is emerging Canadian folk artist Kaia Kater. She's on a remarkable journey of identity and creativity, and she is newly signed to the iconic Smithsonian Folkways record label. Her album Grenades is out in a matter of days.

Episode #71: This week we get out of the studio for three radio field trips with some remarkable songwriter/artists. First I visit with Rayland Baxter at the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum about his explosively colorful new album Wide Awake. Next it’s off to the ballpark for nine questions in nine innings with rocking country songwriter Nora Jane Struthers. Finally I sit on the upper deck of the famous Mercy Lounge taking in the Nashville skyline with Gary Louris of the venerable, always relevant Jayhawks.

Episode #71: This week we get out of the studio for three radio field trips with some remarkable songwriter/artists. First I visit with Rayland Baxter at the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum about his explosively colorful new album Wide Awake. Next it's off to the ballpark for nine questions in nine innings with rocking country songwriter Nora Jane Struthers. Finally I sit on the upper deck of the famous Mercy Lounge taking in the Nashville skyline with Gary Louris of the venerable, always relevant Jayhawks.

Episode 70: Shemekia Copeland was born to sing, raised by blues royalty. Her dad, Johnny Clyde Copeland, took his Louisiana and Texas roots to the New York City area where he based a career that landed him a Grammy award and a spot in the Blues Hall of Fame. Shemekia sang all her life and by 18 she was on record and on the minds of everyone looking at the next generation of the blues. And she’s won a raft of awards in her genre. Thing is though, she’s a wide ranging artist who wants to see the blues evolve and expand, so in the past few years, she and Americana have found one another in a big way. She came to Nashville to make her last two albums, calling on Will Kimbrough as a guitar player and writer on both and producer on her latest, America’s Child. That album, released in September, is a pointed political and humanistic statement that features guest turns by Mary Gauthier, John Prine, and Emmylou Harris. Her showcase was one of the most anticipated at AmericanaFest 2018. Also, Austin's Band of Heathens addresses their latest politically charged release, a song-by-song cover of the 1972 Ray Charles album A Message From The People. 

Episode 70: Shemekia Copeland was born to sing, raised by blues royalty. Her dad, Johnny Clyde Copeland, took his Louisiana and Texas roots to the New York City area where he based a career that landed him a Grammy award and a spot in the Blues Hall of Fame. Shemekia sang all her life and by 18 she was on record and on the minds of everyone looking at the next generation of the blues. And she's won a raft of awards in her genre. Thing is though, she's a wide ranging artist who wants to see the blues evolve and expand, so in the past few years, she and Americana have found one another in a big way. She came to Nashville to make her last two albums, calling on Will Kimbrough as a guitar player and writer on both and producer on her latest, America's Child. That album, released in September, is a pointed political and humanistic statement that features guest turns by Mary Gauthier, John Prine, and Emmylou Harris. Her showcase was one of the most anticipated at AmericanaFest 2018. Also, Austin's Band of Heathens addresses their latest politically charged release, a song-by-song cover of the 1972 Ray Charles album A Message From The People.

Episode 69 is the first in a series of shows reporting on artists who performed at AmericanaFest 2018, the most wide-ranging and diverse convention in its 19 years. Americana continues to represent and promote classic country music, bluegrass and songwriter-driven roots music. It also has become more reflective of the blues, soul and regional folk styles. This week Craig visits with Mississippi raised blues musician Cedric Burnside, a key figure in the legacy and spread of the Hill Country blues. Also, Zach and Danielle Green, the songwriting couple at the heart of Nashville indie-folk band Birdtalker and East Tennessee's Kris Truelsen. He's the leader of throwback Appalachian string band Bill and the Belles and a mover/shaker with the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol TN/VA. The range is wide and the insights about where they are taking the music are profound. 

Episode 69 is the first in a series of shows reporting on artists who performed at AmericanaFest 2018, the most wide-ranging and diverse convention in its 19 years. Americana continues to represent and promote classic country music, bluegrass and songwriter-driven roots music. It also has become more reflective of the blues, soul and regional folk styles. This week Craig visits with Mississippi raised blues musician Cedric Burnside, a key figure in the legacy and spread of the Hill Country blues. Also, Zach and Danielle Green, the songwriting couple at the heart of Nashville indie-folk band Birdtalker and East Tennessee's Kris Truelsen. He's the leader of throwback Appalachian string band Bill and the Belles and a mover/shaker with the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol TN/VA. The range is wide and the insights about where they are taking the music are profound.

Episode 68: At 31 years old, Brittany Haas has been in high level touring string bands more than half her life and she's already regarded as one of the finest fiddle players in the world. As part of Crooked Still, she helped shape a new strain of traditional Americana. Of late she's been touring with the Dave Rawlings Machine, playing as part of the house band on public radio's Live From Here with Chris Thile and producing stunning instrumental music with her quartet Hawktail. We talk about her mentors, learning the innovative chopping technique that gives her music such propulsion and juggling a busy creative schedule. She's nominated as one of four contenders for the Americana Instrumentalist of the Year. Rounding out the hour, a conversation with Kentucky raised singer songwriter Leah Blevins. There's deep country in her voice and soul but a spirit of exploration and growth that she fully embraces. She is showcasing at AmericanaFest 2018 with a tour ahead of her opening for Amanda Shires.