The String

He’s a singer and a songwriter, a fiddle and mandolin master, a band leader and a valued collaborator.  Tim O’Brien has few peers in his influence on American roots music over the past 40 years. He formed the band Hot Rize in 1978 in Boulder CO with banjo player Pete Wernick, guitarist Charles Sawtelle and bass player Nick Forster. That quartet became arguably the most popular and influential bluegrass band of the 1980s and Hot Rize inspired a vibrant bluegrass scene in Colorado with its own strains and sounds. When the IBMA inaugurated its award show in 1990, Hot Rize won the first Ent of the Year prize.

There’s been much more - a varied solo career, duo albums considered folk masterpieces with his sister Mollie, an album called Red on Blonde that set the gold standard for Bob Dylan cover records and numerous collaborations with musicians from the US and the UK. Along the way he’s had songs recorded by Garth Brooks, Alison Krauss and others. He co-founded the Earls of Leicester, the Flatt & Scruggs inspired band that’s become the toast of bluegrass. He’s been a case study in excellence and steadiness.

Tim OBrien’s newest album mingles original and cover songs dedicated to the state where it all began for him - West Virginia. It’s called Where The River Meets The Road.

In his new memoir Change of Season, John Oates describes  his journey from the suburbs of Philadelphia to the heights of superstardom in the 1980s and 90s as half of Hall & Oates. The duo released seven platinum albums and reached the Billboard Hot 100 34 times in a career stretching back to 1973. But the John Oates heard here, in a live interview at the Nashville Public Library, is an artist seeking his muse with total freedom. And that’s a sound that’s fit right in with Nashville’s songwriting Americana scene.

This wide-ranging episode introduces guest co-anchor Whitney Matheson, reports on how Nashville's growing number of vinyl retailers is getting ready for Record Store Day 2017 and re-airs an NPR feature by Jewly Hight on Bay Area to Nashville transplant band Front Country. 

In his new memoir Change of Season, John Oates describes  his journey from the suburbs of Philadelphia to the heights of superstardom in the 1980s and 90s as half of Hall & Oates. The duo released seven platinum albums and reached the Billboard Hot 100 34 times in a career stretching back to 1973. But the John Oates heard here, in a live interview at the Nashville Public Library, is an artist seeking his muse with total freedom. And that’s a sound that’s fit right in with Nashville’s songwriting Americana scene.

This wide-ranging episode introduces guest co-anchor Whitney Matheson, reports on how Nashville's growing number of vinyl retailers is getting ready for Record Store Day 2017 and re-airs an NPR feature by Jewly Hight on Bay Area to Nashville transplant band Front Country. 

A photograph taken around 1960 appeared recently at Ebony magazine’s website featuring renowned actors and activists Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee with their three kids at an anti-war protest. One of those kids – about six years old – is Guy Davis. He made the cardboard signs that the family is carrying. Guy Davis, now 64 years old, still has a lot to say as one of America's finest blues musician and folk singers. 

Traditional acoustic blues is arguably the bedrock of American popular music, but even in today's roots revival, the legacy of artists like Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, Mississippi John Hurt – takes a bit of a backseat. We’d have to talk about Taj Mahal and Corey Harris. I had Rory Block on this show some time ago. Ben Harper and Keb Mo keep traditional blues in their mix. Less celebrated than he should be is Guy Davis.

His most recent album is a duo recording with Italian harmonica master Fabrizio Poggi on an album-length tribute to Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee. In our conversation, Davis talks about growing up at the epicenter of New York culture and how the ethos of engagement he learned from his parents is translating to the here and now.

A photograph taken around 1960 appeared recently at Ebony magazine’s website featuring renowned actors and activists Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee with their three kids at an anti-war protest. One of those kids – about six years old – is Guy Davis. He made the cardboard signs that the family is carrying. Guy Davis, now 64 years old, still has a lot to say as one of America's finest blues musician and folk singers. 

Traditional acoustic blues is arguably the bedrock of American popular music, but even in today's roots revival, the legacy of artists like Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, Mississippi John Hurt – takes a bit of a backseat. We’d have to talk about Taj Mahal and Corey Harris. I had Rory Block on this show some time ago. Ben Harper and Keb Mo keep traditional blues in their mix. Less celebrated than he should be is Guy Davis.

His most recent album is a duo recording with Italian harmonica master Fabrizio Poggi on an album-length tribute to Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee. In our conversation, Davis talks about growing up at the epicenter of New York culture and how the ethos of engagement he learned from his parents is translating to the here and now.

Bluegrass music has produced a few mainstream hits and cultural moments, from The Beverly Hillbillies to O Brother, Where Art Thou? But the genre has never generated a crossover star like Alison Krauss.

Since her debut album in 1987, Krauss has never stopped performing hot and heavy bluegrass music, but of course she's spread her stylistic wings wide, achieving a historically original flavor of adult contemporary pop and folk. Her jaunt with Robert Plant caught folks by surprise in 2007 but it shouldn't have. She's up for a musical adventure. On her most recent project, Windy City, Krauss brings her voice to classic country music, refurbishing standards like Gentle on My Mind and Poison Love. It's a collaboration with star country songwriter and producer Buddy Cannon, with whom she has a great history.

Guest interviewer Keith Bilbrey speaks with Buddy Cannon and Alison Krauss.

Plus Time Machine Tape with Dolly Parton in 1967.

Bluegrass music has produced a few mainstream hits and cultural moments, from The Beverly Hillbillies to O Brother, Where Art Thou? But the genre has never generated a crossover star like Alison Krauss.

Since her debut album in 1987, Krauss has never stopped performing hot and heavy bluegrass music, but of course she's spread her stylistic wings wide, achieving a historically original flavor of adult contemporary pop and folk. Her jaunt with Robert Plant caught folks by surprise in 2007 but it shouldn't have. She's up for a musical adventure. On her most recent project, Windy City, Krauss brings her voice to classic country music, refurbishing standards like Gentle on My Mind and Poison Love. It's a collaboration with star country songwriter and producer Buddy Cannon, with whom she has a great history.

Guest interviewer Keith Bilbrey speaks with Buddy Cannon and Alison Krauss.

Plus Time Machine Tape with Dolly Parton in 1967.

No way could this happen today. There once was a band from Miami that got signed to a major label country record deal - on the history making MCA Records, circa 1992. And not only did this eclectic quartet serve up a debut album infused with Tex Mex, Latin, R&B and Bakersfield country music, its title track From Hell To Paradise, was a political song about the plight of Cubans struggling to make the 90 mile trip from a life of limits to one of infinite possibilities.

The singer and writer of that song - still the leader and commanding voice of The Mavericks 25 years later - is Raul Malo. And he knows this story because it's his family story. Malo's parents emigrated from Cuba shortly before he was born in 1965. While Malo has only visited the country once briefly, Cuba's culture and of course its spectacular music is part of his soul. And he's going back there this spring. That's central to our conversation in this hour.

Also, Part 2 of the series Music, Money & Metadata - The Promise of The Blockchain. And a short catch up with Amy Ray about the Indigo Girls upcoming tour with Joan Baez and Mary Chapin-Carpenter. 

No way could this happen today. There once was a band from Miami that got signed to a major label country record deal - on the history making MCA Records, circa 1992. And not only did this eclectic quartet serve up a debut album infused with Tex Mex, Latin, R&B and Bakersfield country music, its title track From Hell To Paradise, was a political song about the plight of Cubans struggling to make the 90 mile trip from a life of limits to one of infinite possibilities.

The singer and writer of that song - still the leader and commanding voice of The Mavericks 25 years later - is Raul Malo. And he knows this story because it's his family story. Malo's parents emigrated from Cuba shortly before he was born in 1965. While Malo has only visited the country once briefly, Cuba's culture and of course its spectacular music is part of his soul. And he's going back there this spring. That's central to our conversation in this hour.

Also, Part 2 of the series Music, Money & Metadata - The Promise of The Blockchain. And a short catch up with Amy Ray about the Indigo Girls upcoming tour with Joan Baez and Mary Chapin-Carpenter. 

If anyone was born and raised to lead American roots music into the 21st century it was Derek Trucks. HIs name was lifted from an Eric Clapton album and by eleven years old it was clear he was a prodigy guitar player. His uncle Butch played drums for the Allman Brothers and his father was the band's road manager. So Derek grew up surrounded by a who's who of creative, improvising musicians. And at age 19, after years of sitting in, he was named an official member of that legendary band.

Trucks has absorbed many guitar ideas and traditions and developed one of the most distinctive and admired instrumental voices in the world. We get into all that in an interview from backstage at the Ryman Auditorium where Derek's very large and very successful Tedeschi Trucks band recently performed over three consecutive nights.

First though, a special report from the frontier of digital music. It's been a while since anything really new emerged from the world of streaming and downloading. Mostly what you read are complaints about the payouts artists and songwriters receive from Spotify, Apple Music and the rest of them. But there is now something new being deployed in the industry. It's definitely a bit technical, but whether you're a creator or a fan, you'll want to follow along. This could really change things.