Song of the Soul

Tim Grimm  delivers moving music grown out of the soil of the Midwest, music that's flavored folk, country, and Americana, and by the end of this program you'll have songs lodged in your heart that you'll carry with you for the rest of your life.

Doug Gwyn was our guest for Spirit In Action about his book, A Sustainable Life, back in 2015 , but he joins us today to share from the music he's been creating & sharing for decades. Doug retired in 2018 from his work as a Quaker pastor, which freed him up to produce & remaster songs he's had for years. Doug grew out of the music of the 60s and 70s, but he's got a take all-his-own in his...

P.J. Hoffman was a musician, performer, songwriter, & social justice worker in his youth, playing violin, French horn, tuba, guitar and piano, including 4 years with a group called The Mystics . But one day he woke up without the gift of music which he had always had within, and he ended up on a different path for decades. Retirement brought him back to his gift and his roots, born out of 1960...

I've seen mentions of the music of Bettman & Halpin for years, but it took running into a video of a new song by Stephanie Bettman to lead me into the wealth of music she's written and performed. Just recently Stephanie released her own album, Out of the Darkness . Stephanie's range is astonishing in oh-so-many ways. Certainly in terms of vocal range, genre range, and the range of themes &...

We're back today with Part 2 of our Song of the Soul visit with Arielle Silver . If you missed part 1 last week, it can be easily found on our website, and it was a visit steeped in song, story, and Arielle's silky-soaring voice. We finished just as she was explaining some of the riches & wonderings that were gifts of her Jewish upbringing, including her deep dive into Eastern and Earth-based...

Arielle Silver is on a mission, and she takes this pursuit seriously. We'll get to know her music today, but her deep encounter with Eastern Spirituality, including her practice of yoga, meditation, and more, could easily fill all our broadcast time. Arielle had music flowing into her from her father's guitar playing, and it also was a rich part of her Jewish background, but she definitely found t...

Our guest today is Billy Simons Jr , (or on Bandcamp ) who I ran into by seeing, and loving, a number of the video reels he's shared online, mostly about current political issues & turmoil. Plus, he has wonderful sense of humor that adds an extra charge to his songs.

Part 2 of a Memorial Song of the Soul for Bruce Hecksel, shared by his wife, Julie, including 5 more songs; most written, sung, and played by Bruce on the lead. Bruce and Julie have more than 20 recordings as Patchouli , and also under the name Terra Guitarra, on their label, Earthsign Records . Bruce passed on July 28, 2025, at the age of 57, following a three-year battle with cancer.

Today we bring you a Memorial Song of the Soul for Bruce Hecksel, shared by his wife, Julie. Bruce & Julie have more than 20 recordings, as Patchouli , and also under the name Terra Guitarra, on their label, Earthsign Records . Bruce passed on July 28, 2025, at the age of 57, following a three-year battle with cancer. Bruce is best-known for his amazing guitar work, though he also was skilled...

Ana Egge  combines a beautiful voice with seriously deep lyrics to make transformative music. With 12 albums under her belt, and with a menagerie of creatures, like roses, snakes, tigers, & the Divine Mother, brought to life in her songs, there is both breadth & depth of vision channeled to us. With roots extending back to Saskatchewan, North Dakota, New Mexico, & Texas, Ana curre...

Our guest is  Johnsmith , a talented, engaging, profound, & easy-going guy.

Last week we got very engrossed in our conversation with David Rovics , so much so that we ended up doing 2 shows of interviewing in one long session, so we have David back this week to provide 5 more songs and the remainder of the conversation. To recap from last week, David Rovics has produced something like 50 albums, and while his style is mostly folk-based, he does some songs which are folk-p...

After 18 years we welcome back David Rovics today to share his 2 nd Song of the Soul. David has made an expansive career in writing and sharing music of protest, providing energy for & insight into the issues & mechanics of making a better life for those in the US & around the world. His many dozens of albums cover the gamut, with genres especially of folk, and folk-punk, but also touc...

Cheryl Prashker  is a talented musician with wide and deep skills, particularly on the drums, but she especially has a heart of gold and bestows endless blessings on all around her. Besides performing decades ago with a back called  CC RailRoad , she performs currently with a Celtic-based band called  Runa .

We welcome back David Wilcox to share his second Song of the Soul, following up on his 2013 interview . David has a hearty laugh even while digging deep in the challenges and pains of our lives, managing to keep grace and gratitude percolating without rose-colored glasses. His gift is sharing the full story, without inundating us with all the words, thereby calling them out of us as well. He joins...

The music of  Ben Bedford  talks on on a trip through a wider lens to life, not only that of humans, but of the vibrant world around us, with all our relations. While Ben's words dance lyrically through images and poetry, his tunes dance magically through guitar strings and vibrations.

I interviewed Peter Mayer back in 2011 – so 15 years ago – and for some bizarre reason I've waited all this time to have him back. The recent impetus was a song Peter wrote, called “Heroes,” inspired by the recent Minnesota uprising, so near to my home and to his. But Peter's music is endless reason to visit him time and again, because it's not only beautiful, but it's deeply reflective and inspir...

Seven portions of seven Song of the Soul shows with seven great musicians back in the summer/fall of 2020, with songs linked by themes around old-timey music, old times, old folks, and new songs.

Today we have a wide-ranging re-visit with musician-farmer, Andy Juhl . Though much of his music tilts Americana/Folk, he's also passionately into progressive rock music, and plays with a band of that character also. Raised on the farm, he's also been navigating that work in the direction of organic farming, working side-by-side with his father on 800 acres in NW Iowa. Time in the self-driving com...

El Kleiner does music from the deeper side of the pool, with profound imagery, and with sensitive sensitivity and insightful sight into the way we look below the layers of meaning of our lives. El does not define or box-in our beliefs, but creates a shifting mosaic of perception that allows the listener to flow beyond the usual constraints of analysis, all of it delivered through haunting, enraptu...

We welcome back Katie Dahl for Song of the Soul today, plunging deeper into the soul-sharings she gifted us with just over 2 years ago. Immediately after the murders of citizens in Minneapolis, Katie wrote and recorded A Song for Minnesota , which made it urgent to welcome back this Minnesota-raised Wisconsinite. With typical Minnesotan modesty, she looks deep within, looks boldly at the world aro...

We're headed over to Metuchen, New Jersey, today, for a visit with the amazingly talented Efrat . Efrat showed her musical gifts from a tender age, with the Oak Ridge Symphony at age 10, than with the Knoxville Youth Orchestra at 11, along the way with her dad in a Mexican Jewish band, and on and on. Though she shines powerfully in classical and jazz music, and she's top notch in klezmer, blues, &...

Ethan Eckert  is a player of music in a wild variety of genres, including folk, jazz, hip-hop, hard rock and just about whatever you can imagine. He's a drummer, keyboardist, guitarist, vocalist, and he writes songs on the creative edge. He will help raise you up, just as he does with his sourdough bread and his songs will answer your thirst, as does his mushroom tea. Ethan does all of this a...

This is the third visit of Anne Hills to Northern Spirit Radio, and she brings together for us stirring visions of our past, present, and future, often glimpsed from on the wing. Anne has a rich history of writing and performing folk music, on her own, and with the likes of folk greats like Tom Paxton , Michael Smith , David Roth , and others.

Claire Dacey is a wonderful gift of music, too-little known. Her arrival on the folk music scene was delayed, in part, by her studies in Biology, Botany, Field Naturalist, and finally, Ph. D. studies at Harvard in Physiological Plant Ecology. Twas near the end of these studies when she realized her passion for music could be her chosen path, alongside her work of introducing folks to the more-than...