podcast
Folklore Forensics with Alice Gerrard
Bluegrass hero and former weird kid Alice Gerrard strongly believes that traditional music is connected to everyday life. She has said: “When you listen to traditional music you have such a sense of this connectedness of this person’s life. It comes out of the earth.” She was first exposed to folk music while attending Antioch…
Read MoreBasic Folk 234 – Tré Burt
This week we have a Basic Folk hero returning to the pod! Tre Burt is back today, going track by track through his new album, ‘Traffic Fiction.’ I am a longtime fan of Tre’s music, and this new release on Oh Boy Records is my favorite of his records so far. It combines what fans…
Read MoreBasic Folk 233 – Antje Duvekot
Antje Duvekot confronts trauma with a newfound wisdom and fierceness on her new record, My New Wild West, her best in her 20 plus year career produced by her friend Mark Erelli. To put it plainly, Antje, who moved to America from Germany at age 13, had a really rough time as a teenager. She…
Read MoreBasic Folk 232 – Your Career vs Your Soul
Welcome to Folk Debate Club, our occasional crossover series with fellow folk-pod Why We Write! Today, to discuss Your Career vs Your Soul, we welcome our panel of guests: music journalist and Why Write Host, Kim Ruehl, Isa Burke (Lula Wiles, Aoife O’Donovan), musician and Basic Folk guest host lizzie no, yours truly, Cindy Howes,…
Read MoreBasic Folk 231 – Jenny Owen Youngs
Podcaster, #1 hit songwriter, human and dog mother, gay icon Jenny Owen Youngs returns with her first full length album since 2012! In the last decade plus, Jenny has experienced a wild ride of changes like divorce, extreme grief, moving across the country, remarrying, etc. Her main project while not writing, recording and tour, she…
Read MoreBasic Folk 230 – Buffalo Nichols
Milwaukee singer-songwriter Buffalo Nichols returns to Basic Folk today to talk about his new album, ‘The Fatalist,’ out September 15 from Fat Possum Records. We picked up where Nichols’ debut album left off, traveling the world hot on the heels of the blues. Following a profound tradition can be just as frustrating as it is…
Read MoreBasic Folk 229 – Rising Appalachia
Sisters Leah Song & Chloe Smith grew up in Urban Atlanta, they also lived in New Orleans and outside of Asheville. The pair are deeply rooted in their Southern identity as evidenced in their band, Rising Appalachia. Although their parents are not professional musicians, music was a constant part of the family. Their parents were…
Read MoreBasic Folk 228 – Nina de Vitry
Lancaster-born, Nashville-based Nina de Vitry‘s debut album, What You Feel is Real, shines while showcasing her passion for jazz and folk music. de Vitry’s name may sound familiar, as she comes from a musical family and is the youngest sister of folk superstar Maya de Vitry (formerly of The Stray Birds). She grew up fiddling…
Read MoreBasic Folk 227 – Ben Harper
Ben Harper has this deep connection to music through his family, who own a very special music store in the Inland Empire of California. The legacy of the store is founded on ensuring its community always has access to music. That legacy has deeply impacted the type of person Ben Harper continues to be throughout…
Read MoreBasic Folk 226 – Taylor Ashton
Canadian-born, New York based banjo person Taylor Ashton’s second solo album, Stranger to the Feeling, was recorded on a coast to coast road trip during 2021. These were the two weeks post-vaccine where we thought everything was A-OK, so Ashton and producer Jacob Blumberg set out on a recording adventure that included collaborations with friends…
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