Jess Klein's Big Table

Do you need to laugh?  I did, and that is one reason why I am so glad that my guest this week is my dear longtime friend, Erin McKeown.  This is a special crossover episode of Jess Klein's Big Table and Erin McKeown's Fax of Life.  Like when, in the 90's, a star from one sitcom would appear on the other, and the storylines would get blurred, and everyone would get really excited.  Erin and I go wa...

Taking a break from our regular format this week to answer listeners' questions! -how to write songs about political issues -singing - is it nature?  or training? -will I ever tour in Europe again? -a rambling list of songwriters I admire I am so grateful to folks who wrote in!  Hope y'all enjoy.   *** Singer-songwriter Jess Klein – whom the New York Times calls "a songwriter with a voice of unbli...

A survivor of the New York City foster care system, Aminata Desert Rose Plant Walker Fire Woman, aka Dr. Amanda Kemp has been a lifelong poet-performer and advocate of justice. As a student at Stanford University, she was a leader in student movements to divest from South Africa and to press the university to revamp Eurocentric curriculum requirements.  Since her college years, she has worked with...

In 2023, Chris Pierce was handpicked to be the special guest opener for the NEIL YOUNG Coastal Tour. He recently gained   additional worldwide prominence with "We Can Always Come Back to This". His hit song aired on 3 episodes of the #1 NBC primetime series 'THIS IS US,' then went on to #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart. Pierce has also done worldwide headlining tours and has performed with: Neil Yo...

Rachael Sage is a singer, songwriter, poet, and producer from New York who has released over 20 albums and EPs of empowered alt-folk-pop on her own label MPress Records since first bursting onto the women's music scene via Lilith Fair. An outspoken activist on behalf of many causes including LGBTQ+ rights, homelessness and women's health issues, Sage is a self-described "cancer thriver" who is a 6...

Shannon Downey aka Badass Cross Stitch is an artist, activist, craftivist, community builder, and general instigator. Her work moves people from passive consumers of art into engaged creators and leverages craft-based art forms to bring people together, present them opportunities to transition from makers to change makers, and inspire radical hope for what is possible.  In this episode:   Want to...

Reagan Mitchell, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, earned his/their Bachelor's and Master's degrees in music with an emphasis in Jazz Studies and his/their Educational Specialist's and Doctor of Philosophy degrees with an emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction. The transdisciplinary training in composition, performance, and educational philosophy has afforded them the space to explore the social,...

Trevia (TREE-va) Woods is a multiracial woman with Indigenous ancestors who has two decades of experience in bodywork, education and community-building. She has roots in the Midwest and Colorado and, after traveling the world finds herself back in America finding her roots and how she belongs in the world. Trevia supports people in unpacking cultural appropriation, community building, and helping...

Introducing Jess Klein's Big Table, hosted by folk/americana singer-songwriter and touring artist, Jess Klein.   This podcast will feature bi-weekly conversations with Artists and Activists about the intersections between ancestors, art, and activism. Questions to be explored will include: Who and where do we come from?   What lineages and forebears do we draw upon, biological and otherwise, for i...