Woodsongs Vodcasts

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Woodsongs 740: The Blind Boys of Alabama and Ed Kowalczyk Jun 12, 2014

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THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA return to the WoodSongs stage with a brand album 'I'll Find a Way' produced by Bon Iver�s Justin Vernon. Nearly seventy-five years after they hit their first notes together, the Blind Boys of Alabama are exceptional not only in their longevity, but also in the breadth of their catalog and their relevance to contemporary roots music. Since 2000, they�ve won five Grammys and four Gospel Music Awards, and have delivered their spiritual message to countless listeners. blindboys.com ED KOWALCZYK is the founding member, songwriter and former Lead Singer of LIVE. With over 20 Million Albums sold worldwide, Kowalczyk has built an impressive r�sum� in LIVE that includes eight full-length albums that have reached gold and platinum status in 9 countries, and nine Top 10 hit songs, which include the crossover smash "Grace" from his debut solo album, and classics such as "Lightning Crashes", "I Alone", "Selling The Drama", "The Dolphin's Cry" and "Heaven". Kowalczyk opened a new chapter in his already illustrious career in 2009 with the launch of his solo career. He will be performing songs from has brand new EP 'The Garden'. edkowalczyk.com

Woodsongs 740: The Lindsey Family and The Mallet Brothers Band Apr 03, 2014

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Woodsongs 738: Michael Martin Murphey and The Clark Family Trio plus Fiddlin' Banjo Billy Mathews, Allison Williams and Clancey Ferguson Apr 03, 2014

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Michael Johnathon and the WoodSongs Crew head to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for the second show of a double broadcast taping at as part of the 66th Annual Ozark Folk Festival. MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY has been called "one of the best songwriters in America." Murphey has left an indelible mark on the American Music Landscape crafting and recording such iconic hits as "Wildfire," "Carolina In The Pines", "Geronimo's Cadillac", "Cowboy Logic," "Cherokee Fiddle", "Boy From The Country" and more. In the process, he earned six gold albums and multiple Grammy nominations. His latest release is the bluegrass flavored album 'Red River Drifter'. michaelmartinmurphey.com THE CLARK FAMILY TRIO are from Searcy, Arkansas and perform modern Bluegrass, Americana and Gospel favorites, featuring tight three-part "family" harmonies and finger-style and flat picked acoustic guitar. Nine-year-old Sally Ann Clark and her big sister, 15-year old Sophie, have literally grown up singing with their Mom, Cindy (who also plays upright bass for the group) and are joined by Little Rock superpicker Bill Nesbitt on acoustic guitar.

Woodsongs 737: Leroy Troy and the Tennessee Mafia Jug Band, Clancey Ferguson, The Ozark Alliance, Mountain Sprout, David Kimbrough III, and Allison Williams Apr 03, 2014

Show notes

Michael Johnathon and the WoodSongs Crew head to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for the first show of a double broadcast taping at as part of the 66th Annual Ozark Folk Festival. LEROY TROY AND THE TENNESSEE MAFIA JUG BAND are a "blast from the past" band. They are five guys and a scrubboard, with roots like wisdom teeth anchored by Leroy Troy, "The Tennessee Slicker," who has performed his astounding old time banjo act since the 1980's and was a featured player on hit TV show Hee Haw. Their latest CD is 'Barnyard Frolic'. tennesseemafiajugband.com CLANCEY FERGUSON has been hailed as "Princess of Bluegrass". This 15 year old fiddler from Mountain View, Arkansas is the 2012 Arkansas State Junior Fiddle Champion the and 2013 Arkansas Junior Contemporary Fiddle Champion. Despite her tender age, Clancey has amassed and impressive list of appearances including playing on stage with Rhonda Vincent on numerous occasions and interviewed by Chelsea Clinton for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. THE OZARK ALLIANCE is a family band from Salem, Missouri, (home of The Dillards). Alex, Jenny, Allison, Robin, & Dennis Vaughn have been playing together as a band since 2002 - with the exception of Allison, who was only born in 2004. The band specializes in traditional and modern bluegrass and bluegrass-gospel music performed around a single mic. In fact, they won 1st place in the National Single Mic Championship at Silver Dollar City in 2008. MOUNTAIN SPROUT is a highly energetic hillbilly music machine, spitting original tunes and blowing minds with whitty lyrics and face melting musicianship. Hailing from Eureka Springs, Arkansas, four incredible musicians work seamlessly to bring forward the kind of bass thumping, banjo picking, guitar playing, fiddle shredding, that makes you get and stomp your feet. DAVID KIMBROUGH III is a genuine bluesman living in Northwest Arkansas. He began his career singing alongside his father the great "Junior" Kimbrough. David has recently added the mountain dulcimer to his presentation of original, Delta, North Mississippi Hill Country and Cotton Patch Blues. ALLISON WILLIAMS is a native of the Arkansas Ozarks and plays old-time clawhammer banjo in a modern context. Allison got her start as a punk rock musician before rediscovering her musical roots. Several years in the mountains of North Carolina educated her in Appalachian banjo techniques, especially the fast, distinctive styles of Hobart Smith and Wade Ward. Since releasing her solo CD 'Give Me Roses', she has toured internationally, playing to a sold-out Barbican Hall in London, as part of the BBC's "Folk America" special, and backing folk legend Michelle Shocked on her 2010 East Coast tour. She makes her home again in the Ozark mountains.

Woodsongs 736: Tim O'Brien & Darrell Scott and Ron Block with Sierra Hull Apr 03, 2014

Show notes

TIM O'BRIEN & DARRELL SCOTT are roots-music titans. The highly regarded writer/singer/multi-instrumentalists have conducted their parallel careers as solo artists and sidemen, cutting similarly wide swaths across the roots-music land-scape.They�ve continued to release solo albums while leading their own bands and lending their talents to world-class musical aggregations � notably including O�Brien�s stint in Mark Knopfler�s touring unit and Scott�s foray with Robert Plant�s Band of Joy � as well as having their songs covered by the likes of the Dixie Chicks, Dierks Bentley, Nickel Creek, Kathy Mattea, Faith Hill, Guy Clark, Sam Bush, Brad Paisley, Sara Evans, Garth Brooks, Patty Loveless, Trace Adkins and Tim McGraw. The two have just released 'Memories and Moments'. It's their long awaited studio follow-up to the 2000 release 'Real Time'. timanddarrell.com RON BLOCK has long since secured his reputation as a deeply thoughtful and accomplished musician. After two-decades as part of Alison Krauss� band, Union Station, with whom he�s earned a collection of Grammy®, IBMA, and Dove awards, as well as many years as a songwriter and sideman for the likes of Rhonda Vincent, Randy Travis, The Boxcars, The Cox Family, Dailey & Vincent, Dolly Parton, and Vince Gill, Block now presents his third solo album, �Walking Song.� This collection of songs contains the richest range of sentiments that Block has ever taken up, from the ultimate longings of the soul to the joy and wonder of being alive. Ron will be be performing on WoodSongs with bluegrass phenom Sierra Hull. ronblock.com

Woodsongs 735: The Ooks of Hazzard and The Bankesters Apr 03, 2014

Show notes

THE OOKS OF HAZZARD are a nine-person ukulele collective from Santa Monica, CA who transform songs from the likes of Radiohead, Sublime, Bad Company and Lynyrd Skynyrd into singalong uke ditties.. The Ooks uploaded to YouTube their cover of MGMT's 2008 hit "Kids" the same weekend that MGMT played Coachella, and it brought the uke players worldwide attention with over 600,000 views! Along with their different styles, the members perform with a range of ukuleles, including bass, baritone, tenor, concert and concertino types. One of the Ooks' more unique instruments is the Resonator Delta Cone Ukulele, or the Banjuke. uploaded to YouTube their cover of MGMT's 2008 hit "Kids" the same weekend that MGMT played Coachella, and it brought the uke players worldwide attention. ?Facebook page THE BANKESTERS are a talented family band from Illinois. Phil and Dorene Bankester and their three daughters and son-in-law are known for some of the finest harmony singing in bluegrass music. The band was recently nominated for the International Bluegrass Music Momentum Award for Group of the Year. Now, on their first internationally distributed album 'Love Has Wheels' released on Compass Records and produced by Alison Brown, The Bankesters shine as ma-ture vocalists, instrumentalists, and articulate songwriters. http://www.bankesters.com/home

Woodsongs 734: Guy Davis, Si Kahn & The Looping Brothers and Sue Massek Apr 03, 2014

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GUY DAVIS has dedicated himself to reviving the traditions of acoustic blues and bringing them to as many ears as possible through the material of the great blues masters, African American stories, and his own original songs, stories and per-formance pieces. Guy has been recording since 1978 - he is a musician, composer, actor, director, and writer. 'Juba dance' is Guy's latest, released by our friends at M.C. Records. It's a stripped down recording contain Guy's own compositions and choice covers by Blind Lemon Jefferson, Rev. Robert Wilkins and Blind Willie McTell. guydavis.com SI KAHN & THE LOOPING BROTHERS have teamed up for an extraordinary album that features the best-known songs from this legendary songwriter, author, playwright and activist in a bluegrass setting. The Looping Brothers are one of Europe's most respected and best-loved bluegrass bands. On their joint CD 'Aragon Mill: The Bluegrass Sessions' the Looping Brothers handpicked and ar-ranged the material and cast each of Si's classic songs in a new light. sikahn.com & looping-brothers.de SUE MASSEK is best know as the banjoist and singer of Kentucky's Reel World String Band. This musician, artist, activist and educator from Willisburg, Kentucky is an official Master Artist for the Kentucky Arts Council's Master/Apprentice pro-gram. Sue is committed to using the music she writes and the songs she sings as tools for social justice, and recently released a solo recording project, 'Brave is the Heart of a Singing Bird,' a tribute to those people who influenced her music and activism. Sue is currently touring nationally with the one-woman play with music 'Precious Memories,' written for her by Si Kahn, in which she stars as Eastern Kentucky traditional singer and union songwriter Sarah Ogan Gunning. Sue's performance of an excerpt from the show on WoodSongs will be the first time any part of this work has been heard or seen outside a theater. suemassek.com/

Woodsongs 733: Sarah Jarosz and Old Man Luedecke Mar 21, 2014

Show notes

SARAH JAROSZ - 22- year-old, Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who hails from just outside Austin, TX. A recent graduate from the prestigious New England Conservatory, she is releasing her third album, 'Build Me Up From Bones', for Sugar Hill Records. She has toured the United States extensively, as well as Canada and the UK, taped Austin City Limits and the BBC Series The Transat-lantic Sessions and appeared on A Prairie Home Companion. OLD MAN LUEDECKE is an award-winning roots singer-songwriter from Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada. After touring the globe, winning multiple Juno Awards, and becoming a father to twin girls, Luedecke has finally found confidence in himself, and his art. His latest 'Tender Is The Heart' was produced by Tim O'Brien and goes beyond his beloved solo, banjo-driven folk tunes.

Woodsongs 732: The Jake Leg Stompers and Bassekou Kouyate Mar 21, 2014

Show notes

THE JAKE LEG STOMPERS evoke the rebellious spirit and colorful pageantry of American popular music before the Second World War, from the Memphis blues to the Virginia Reel; when jazz began, vaudeville was urgent, and folk music was still dangerous. From their world headquarters in Bucksnort, Tennessee, the band serve up tangy tastes of chicken-fried, pre-war, hokum-billy jug music to gourmet audiences everywhere. The band's latest release is 'Up to No Good'. BASSEKOU KOUYATE is a virtuoso picker, musical visionary and Africa�s greatest in-strumentalist whose work blurs the lines between West African and American roots music. Bassekou�s instrument, the ngoni, is an ancient traditional “spike lute� and an ancestor of the banjo, sharing its taut-skinned drum body, percussive attack, and varied picking techniques. Since 2005, Bassekou has led Ngoni Ba, the first-ever group built around not one but four ngoni�s. Bassekou Kouyate is celebrating the release of his album �Jama ko�.

Woodsongs 731: Tommy Emmanuel Mar 21, 2014

Show notes

TOMMY EMMANUEL is one of Australia's most respected musicians. This two-time Grammy nominee and legendary guitarist has dazzled audiences worldwide for five decades. Tommy's unique "finger style" is akin to playing guitar the way a pianist plays piano, using all ten fingers. Guitar legend Chet Atkins became one of Emmanuel's biggest fans. Tommy will be the featured guest for the entire broadcast hour. His latest release is an acoustic album with British jazz guitarist Martin Taylor titled 'The Colonel & The Governor'

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