All Americana/Singer-Songwriter Episodes

When you’re a master craftsman, as Marco Benevento is, and have a wealth of tools at your disposal, as is also the case with Marco’s extensive inventory of many different types of keyboards and synths, creating on a whim, brilliant works of art, is merely an exercise in timing and availability. With the world seemingly shut down Marco indeed had the time, retreating back to his lair, his home studio, he wanted to create something entirely on his own, a masterwork of sorts, which displayed his wi...

One of our favorite female singer songwriters, Nicki Bluhm will be releasing Avondale Drive in early June on Compass Records. This is, Nicki’s second solo record, a follow up to her 2018 record To Rise You Gotta Fall. Nicki has been a mainstay in the jam band adjacent communities for years, and I’ve been a fan since her awesome van sessions that she did with her old band The Gramblers. Now this native Californian makes her home in Nashville, and Avondale Drive marks a new chapter in Bluhm’s life...

The pandemic was no doubt a tough time for everyone. Being huddled in your home, away from socializing, going out with friends, or even attending shows. A glimmer of hope though for many was the absolutely awesome Phish covers fingerstyle guitarist Adam Weinberg and his daughter performed for us on social media. That's where I first came across Adam, and indeed learned that he was a talented musician in his own right, having put out solo instrumental records, and touring as Matisyahu's accompani...

Mother Hips co-founders Tim Bluhm and Greg Loiacono have been at it now for 30 years. The pandemic allowed the pair to work on their record Glowing Lantern a great representation of their career to date. Master songwriters, players and Tim and Greg continue to be great ambassadors for the Bay Area and it’s music scene. With Glowing Lantern available now everywhere you listen to music, I thought it was a good time to catch up with Tim and Greg. First song: I Don’t Want To Drive You Away Second so...

Admittedly, I’ve gotten to the Jake Shimabukuro story a little late. For those unaware, Jake is the Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele. That is to say, many play his instrument, but few have the skill, dexterity and finger strength to carry off equally incredible playing of such a small instrument. This prowess is evident in the company he keeps, the career he’s had and the continued touring and music he’s making. His latest effort, a few years in the making, is a compilation of terrific tunes and coll...

Neal Casal was a brilliant musician, singer, songwriter, and music aficionado who we lost way to early back in 2019. Like everyone else who crossed his path, I was devastated to hear that Neal sadly took his own life, just days after performing at the Lockn’ Festival. He was such a kind and gentle soul who was always ready to share his time talking about his own music, the music he collaborated on, and music more generally. I had the great pleasure of welcoming him to this show a couple of times...

There has been a palpable buzz over the last little bit for singer songwriter Neal Francis whose album "In Plain Sight" is due out November 5th on ATO Records. This Chicago based piano player is a bit of a throwback in everything he does. From his personal aesthetic to the kind of music he makes, Francis would not be lost in the mid 70s. That isn’t to suggest he’s just a copy cat of people we dig like Dr. John, The Meters or Allen Toussaint. It’s just that Neal gives you an immediate sense of co...

43 years into making records, Los Lobos, who actually formed in 1973 wanted to do something different for their latest release, the first on New West Records. Originally the plan was to do an all covers record, something the band is quite adept at doing, but upon deeper discussion they settled on narrowing the covers list to 13 songs from native LA musicians, since East LA is home. You can only imagine what a unique set of songs appear on Native Sons, since Los Lobos themselves have a very eclec...

Like you, we’ve been following the Midnight North story for a while now. For the uninitiated though,they are a roots rock Americana quartet out of the Bay Area. While there have been personnel changes over the years, the constants have been Grahame Lesh, Elliott Peck and Conner O’Sullivan who have been joined more recently by Nathan Graham. I purposely didn’t mention what each member contributes to the fabric of the band, because they all play a part in vocals and instruments besides their main ...

You’ve been listening to Lay it on Me, the title track from Gabe Dixon’s recently released solo record. I’ve been a fan of Gabe’s work, dating back to his 2008 debut album The Gabe Dixon Band, which also included Wood Brothers member Jano Rix. Gabe is a classically trained pianist, but don’t let the credentials fool you. This guy can play just about any style of music really well and you’ll notice his influences right away. In fact, Gabe Dixon is so talented he is now a member of the Tedeschi Tr...

You may know Oliver Wood as one half of the Wood Brothers, the other half being Chris Wood who also plays in Medeski Martin and Wood. Always Smilin’ is Oliver’s first solo record, but this savvy music veteran isn’t a newbie, and is well versed in blues, folk, gospel, country-soul and Americana music. This record shines a bright light on Oliver’s songwriting prowess, his unique guitar playing, and his very memorable voice. I caught up with Oliver to talk about the record, and wondered if this rec...

Many musicians who grow up in the shadow of their famous musician parents desperately try to shake their heritage in favor of setting their own path. Singer-songwriter Amy Helm isn’t one of those people. Instead she continues to pay homage to her father Levon Helm by continuing to pursue authentic musical experiences for herself and the audience. Her third album What the Flood Leaves Behind, is proof positive that Levon’s spirit purveys over an album full of material that is rich in lyrics, supe...

I first heard about the High Hawks, an all-star Americana outfit consisting of players from mostly the jamgrass scene from Chad Staehly of Hard Working Americans and Great American Taxi when I talked to him a few months back about the John Hartford tribute record, and the band’s contribution of Waugh Paugh. The band includes, Vince Herman (Leftover Salmon), Tim Carbone (Railroad Earth), Chad Staehly (Hard Working Americans), Adam Greuel (Horseshoes & Hand Grenades), Brian Adams (DeadPhish Orches...

Grammy award winning Steep Canyon Rangers recently released their first album of 2020 Arm in Arm. I say that somewhat tongue and cheek, because this latest release follows two great releases in 2019 North Carolina Songbook and Be Still Moses. The album which was recorded over several days at the Southern Ground Studios in Nashville is filled with exquisite playing, great song writing and beautiful harmonies. The album certainly expands on the bands sound, while paying respect to their early Blue...

Reid Genauer has decided to release an album, Angels and Alibis as part of a Patreon campaign. While Reid has dabbled in other crowd sourced campaigns, it’s the first time he’s used Patreon. So we sat down with this talented musician and expert marketer to learn more about the project, and why he decided to involve his fans in this unique campaign. First Song: 00:14: Angels and Alibis (single) Interview Begins: 04:04 Extro Song: 30:11: Brown Eyed Woman (live cover) See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

I’ve been watching Bahamas career grow since his debut in 2009 and Pink Strat. For those that don’t know Bahamas is actually the stage persona of Afie Jurvenen one heck of a guitar player who toiled on the Toronto and Canadian indie scene until being recognized by Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Fairytails who signed him and the rest as they say is history. His music blends all kinds of styles and genres and but his sound is distinctly his. His humble and quiet manner is hardly rock star in any way, an...

The Revivalists are one of the most active straight ahead Rock n’ Roll bands out there right now. And while they aren’t a “Jam Band” per say as most of the bands are that we feature on this show, they do jam, and fit nicely into the southern rock, ethos. They have a very distinctive sound, and at the heart of that sound is their lead singer David Shaw. So to hear that he’s put out original material, of course I was intrigued. Luckily we were able to track down David, and we had a lovely conversa...

When I first heard of Band of Heathens a few years ago, it was because someone slapped the album Duende in my face. It’s a great listen, but it came out like 3 years ago. Since then Band of Heathens have also released a great cover of the Ray Charles album “A Message From the People”. So I was pretty excited to hear that the band which I hold in high regard due to their lyrics and musicianship had a new record “Stranger” coming. So we hooked up with our old pal Ed Jurdi a veteran of this podcast...

I’ve developed quite the report with many of the artists on the Jam Band scene in Northern California. Many of them aren’t just great musicians, but also great people who inspire all of us with their great music. Zach Gill’s full time gig is playing keyboards and other instruments with ALO but he’s also had a successful career putting out solo records. Cocktail Yoga is his fourth such effort plus the two EPs he’s put out as well. Not to mention his work with Jack Johnson and DJango. This dude is...

While the title of the new album for Blitzen Trapper’s 10th release due out September 25th, may suggest something on the lighter side, Holy Smokes Future Jokes is certainly not that. It deals with a great many existential and deep questions about life and death. Because the album is so deep when we hooked up with frontman and lyricist Eric Early I wondered what the most challenging part of making this record may have been. With the future of what Blitzen Trapper will be after this release, somewhat in question, I can assure you, that Holy Smokes Future Jokes is a must tune. After all, this is the 10th album by the band with Eric Earley at the helm in 20 years. That’s some pretty prolific stuff from one of the Northwest’s finest roots/americana band. For more on Blitzen Trapper visit blitzentrapper.net.

It’s been six years since Joan Osborne put out a record of original material, but her new 10 song record Trouble and Strife absolutely makes up for the wait. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved the Bob Dylan covers record, and all the live playing she did to go along with it, plus her contributions to the first version of Trigger Hippy, but I think we can all agree that Joan has always had a very strong voice for socio-political advocacy in her writing and it’s something that’s been missing f...

The Alone Together Sessions are a collection of 10 re-imagined songs from his career to this point, and a duet with his wife, singer/songwriter Allison Moorer, who also guests on another track which you’ll hear in the show as well. It’s an interesting idea, down the road in a career to think about how you can restructure, and in some cases totally change the way a song sounds from its original. We’ve always enjoyed cover songs, but this is an artist, in Hayes’ case that has in fact covered and r...

Wood & Wire are a special kind of bluegrass band, who stretch the boundaries of what they do beyond typical bluegrass music. Sure there are others that do the same, but Wood & Wire offer something more unique in terms of song structure and style. I suspect that even if you weren’t a typical bluegrass fan, you’d enjoy their music, because it pays homage to so many other genres. That’s what first got me into the band a few years back when I heard North of Despair and had Tony Kamel on the podcast....

Good at Losing Everything is the latest album from The Ghost of Paul Revere, a great band out of Maine, that we absolutely adore. They are a little bit holler folk, straight ahead folk, but mostly good ole' rock n roll, and frankly that's why we love them so. The title track, and the entire album ebbs and flows through their sonic journey, with the human condition in toe, bound up in the pain of loss, love, and life in the band's lyrics. Had the awesome opportunity to sit down with Griffin Sherr...