Sessions from Studio A

Joining us this week for their second time in Studio A is Fuzzlove. Their new, sophomore album Countless Wasted Days is out now streaming everywhere and available for purchase on Bandcamp. We'll hear songs from that record and some new tunes that the band recorded live in Studio A. The band will also tell us a little about the making of Countless Wasted Days. Spoiler alert: there were goat toenail...

We are joined by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Clark Kelly on this week's show. We'll hear his live set recorded in Studio A and talk with Kelly about his music, his time spent in Nashville, and about Heaven's Jukebox, a project where he composes personalized songs for weddings, birthdays, and other special events.

Amanee Avery, also known as Saxchick, is a jazz and R&B saxophonist from Rockford and she brings her smooth sounds to Studio A this week. She recently released her EP School's Out which you can find out now streaming everywhere. We'll hear those songs performed live and also talk with Amanee Avery about that EP, her background, and more on this week's show!

Blues royalty joins us in Studio A this week! Our special guest is The Cash Box Kings, who brought a mix of classic Chicago and delta blues with their live performance. The band's latest record Hails to the Kings! is out now streaming everywhere and you can find that record available on vinyl at Cashboxkings.com. We'll talk with bandleaders Joe Nosek and Oscar Wilson about their music, their backg...

Indie/Americana band The Midnight Purchase joins us on this week's edition of Sessions from Studio A. Nominated for the "New Artist of the Year" award in Milwaukee in early 2020, the band was riding high but then had their world shifted by the pandemic. After finding inspiration while attending the Black Lives Matter protests, songwriter Orlando Peña assembled a new lineup and began writing some o...

Indie/Alternative band Mirabilia is our guest on this week's show! You wouldn't believe it from their set, but this is the band's first ever performance outside of the practice space. Mirabilia formed right at the start of the current pandemic, but has used the time to tighten their sound and record an EP. You can find that debut EP streaming everywhere now and keep an eye out for a new single "Ki...

Join us this week for a mix of jazz standards and original compositions from the Addison Jordan Trio. These three musicians met while attending the Jazz Studies program at Northern Illinois University's School of Music. Our production intern Jared Ortega takes over as guest host for this week's show! Join him for an interview with members Addison Jordan, Chano Cruz, and Tyler Steege.

Singer-songwriter Marques Morel joins us for this week's show. Inspired by sounds from country, blues, and folk, as well as the spirit of the American west, his latest album is titled Trail of the Ghost. Hear songs from that album performed live and a talk with Marques Morel along with bassist Ben Johnson and mandolin player Tracy Fleck.

Joel Baer is a drummer and bandleader of the Blueshift Big Band based in Chicago, where they play music in the tradition of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Join us as the Joel Baer Trio brings the sound and energy of a full big band into Studio A with this performance. We'll also talk with members Matt Ulery, Carl Kennedy, and Joel Baer about their backgrounds and some of their many side-projects.

Mathew Ray Fichter brings his beautifully honest songwriting to Studio A this week. Join us for a live performance recorded in Studio A, with music from Fichter's solo record "Hell Camino" which is out now on Mostly Annoyed Records and also Bandcamp. We'll also talk with the singer-songwriter about his background and his songwriting, plus Dan Edmunds will tell us more about his label, Mostly Annoy...

Join us for a live performance from singer-songwriter Olivia Ports on this week's show! This young performer from Aurora has a big story to tell. Her new EP Hospital Prom is out now everywhere and was inspired by Olivia's own experiences fighting a primary immunodeficiancy. Listen for a live set from Olivia Ports and guitarist Chris Leonard, recorded in Studio A. We'll also talk with Olivia about...

Initially inspired by the first wave of post-punk, The Funeral March of the Marionettes has continued to evolve their sound and release new music thoughout the band's existence. Their latest EP Solace was released in the spring of 2020 and is available on their Bandcamp page.

We have a special, unique edition of Sessions from Studio A this week, with Rockford's Los Compadres del Tango. The duo is made up of pianist Erik Olson and Jacques Saint-Cyr playing flute. This is a new genre for us in Studio A, and it was a joy to learn more about the culture and history of tango. We hope you'll learn something new as well!

Our guest this week is singer-songwriter Joe Nanzer. He's released a string of singles over the past two years that you can find on Spotify, Apple Music, and all your usual streaming platforms. Hear him perform those songs live in Studio A this hour. We'll also talk with Joe Nanzer about his background, his influences, and about the stories behind some of his songs. That's all on this week's editi...

Emily Hurd does it all. She's a musician, a mother, chef, and restaurant owner of The Norwegian in Rockford. Despite the chaos of owning a restaurant in 2020, Emily still found time last year to record and release her latest record "Nightshades". We'll hear songs from that album performed live in Studio A on this week's show, and we'll talk with Emily about her music, The Norwegian, and more.

"Paralysis by Analysis" is the new album out now from DeKalb artist Mark Walters, also known as Kram. Join us for this week's show featuring music from that album and more, performed live in WNIJ's Studio A. We'll also talk with Mark Walters about his background, inspirations, and about writing and producing Paralysis by Analysis.

Glory Days is a high-energy pop punk and alternative band from the Chicago suburb of Wauconda. Their debut record "The Roads We've Traveled" was released in 2016, shortly after the band's formation, and they've released a string of singles in the past few years.

We are joined this week by the incredibly talented duo the bellow & the whale for their second appearance on our show! Join us for a talk with Julia Lee Norris and Bianca Goyette about their new pair of EPs, including The Noise Still Lingers and their brand new EP coming out tomorrow.

Join us for original music by Krystee Wylder on this week's show. Krystee is a central Illinois native who has spent time living in Rockford and Chicago. Her sound is a unique mix of singer-songwriter folk and pop. Hear her live performance in Studio A and check out some behind the scenes videos below. We'll also talk with Krystee about her background, her music, and about how she almost lost the...

Derek Luttrell returns to Sessions from Studio A on this week's episode. We've heard Derek on the show before with his bands Name the Moon and more recently Sickhorse, but this time he's back with a new solo album, The Wolf Who Cried Boy. Join us as we listen through The Wolf Who Cried Boy and talk with Derek Luttrell about putting the album together.

Jazz returns to Sessions from Studio A this week with The Reggie Thomas Quartet, featuring acclaimed pianist and current head of Jazz Studios at Northern Illinois University, Reggie Thomas, along with guitarist Bobby Broom, drummer George Fludas, and bassist Dennis Carroll. The quartet gives us a passionate performance in Studio A, and we'll also hear a conversation with band members about their j...

Join us for original music from DeKalb singer-songwriter Cora Vasseur. Cora is a newer songwriter who has had a unique path to music. She started songwriting while in Second City's Comedy Writing program, and first began to sing while at her current job working with children with autism, when she discovered her voice helped calm the students.

Join us as we celebrate the holidays with The Jimmys on this week's edition of Sessions from Studio A. The Wisconsin blues band joined us for a live performance in Studio A with music from their latest record, Gotta Have It, as well as some Christmas tunes.

Chicago art-punk band Ganser joins us on this week's edition of Sessions from Studio A. Hear a performance recorded in Studio A with music from the band's new album, Just Look At That Sky. We'll also talk with Ganser about putting that album together, playing at last year's Riot Fest, and about their experiences during the pandemic.

Join us for a special edition of Sessions from Studio A with Ralph Wesley Carr and Old Town Tribune. We caught up with this trio of bluegrass virtuosos for a live set at the former House Cafe in DeKalb, now known as the Northern Illinois Center for Arts and Music.