Song of the Soul

Kevin Slick has Pennsylvanian roots, New York growth, and a Coloradan canopy. Sure, since he was 5, that music was where he was going, Kevin has been inspired by folks like Pete Seeger and the Beatles to find the soul of music. He has performed solo and with bands like Steel Pennies, Neo Pseudo, and The Amen Trio, and he's done many musical genres, including instrumental film scores, AND he wrote...

Pete Seeger once said, "If you want to hear some of the best songs out there today...listen to Sarah Pirtle," an author and musician with deep roots which feed the abundant branches and fruits of her work for peace, wholeness, and care for the planet.

Libby Roderick is a world-healing singer/songwriter, best known for her song How Could Anyone . Firmly rooted in Alaska and inspired by Native Alaskan ways of thinking, Libby combines deep concern for the Earth and its creatures with beautiful music and lyrics, to inspire and equip listeners toward a better world.

Tribe1 is a growing, morphing, evolving, group of musicians, orchestrated by Niyonu Spann , who express their testimony and aspirations for the world through the songs they co-create - it's a pretty special process! Jonathan Snipes & Ingrid Lakey, 2 of about 10 members of the group, share their soul journey with Tribe1 .

Heidi Hart was dramatically changed by her first encounter with the German concentration camps of WWII, and she has dived deep into the subject of music and violence. With her harp and voice, Heidi explores and interprets the beauty and power of music, often of German origin, and in her writing she leads us to better understand of the potential of music for health and harm.

Marielle Allschwang makes music in several configurations - with Group of the Altos, Hello Death (also on Bandcamp.com, and with Adam Krause (Ethan Krause's brother). And solo as well now. Creative and beautiful, both vocally and instrumentally, Marielle will lead you to the edge and beyond.

Brianna Lea Pruett sends an evocative message through her music and her art . With all kinds of deep musical influences - classical, jazz, rock, pop, and country - Brianna does breathtaking folk (and more). Her lineage includes Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw forebears, but also French and Irish, so she's a rich mix in the very way you might expect. And she lives a deep passion and concern for hum...

Chris Vallillo's music is roots music. Occasionally it's on themes of things like the music of Abraham Lincoln's time, the poetry of Carl Sandburg, and the music of Stephen Foster, but there are also songs of his own place and time. Chris' music is stunningly rendered on his stable-full of guitars, and other instruments. Located in Macomb, Illinois, Chris sends his song from the heartland to the h...

With a masters in poetry and feet planted faithfully in West Philly, Sterling Duns caught the hip-hop passion and has been churning out music with Hardwork Movement for years, and recently as part of a duo, City Love.

Megan Smith is half of Misner & Smith, a really special folk/roots/country music duo. Megan plays the upright bass and mandolin, but it's her phenomenal vocals that won my soul. A native of Davis, California, she's also appeared in a number of theatrical productions. This is music and a musician you don't want to miss.

Larry Penn was a prolific folk musician/song-writer in the footsteps of folks like Woody Guthrie and Utah Phillips, until his death in October, 2014. Using themes like trains, workers, and powerful, common folks, Larry was inspirational to so very many others, and some of those folks share their stories and Larry's songs in celebration of Larry. In part 2 of 2, we talk with Bill Camplin , Mark Dvo...

Larry Penn was a prolific folk musician/song-writer in the footsteps of folks like Woody Guthrie and Utah Phillips, until his death in October, 2014. Using themes like trains, workers, and powerful, common folks, Larry was inspirational to so very many others, and some of those folks share their stories and Larry's songs in celebration of Larry. In part one of two, we'll visit with Craig Siemsen,...

Craig Siemsen was a wandering musician till he came back home to Milwaukee and a duet of a life with Patty Stevenson . Sometimes Craig is solo act, sometimes a duo with his wife Patty Stevenson, and he leads the Plum Creek String Band . Folk, jazz, bluegrass - you name it, he does it.

Sam Misner is half of Misner & Smith , and their latest CD is Seven Hour Storm , chock full of great glimpses into the human condition, but even more full of awesome vocals & harmonies. This is Folk/Americana music from a younger generation to match anything that's gone before.

Mud River Lee & the Bluegrass Orchestra  (or sometimes the Bluegrass Bells) has been a fixture of the Milwaukee Folk Music scene for decades. Lee is also a co-founder and mainstay for the  Milwaukee Musicians Coop . With a down-home style all his own, Lee warms a room with good music and a great ambiance. Lee's in Milwaukee and I'm in Eau Claire (Clear Water, in English).

Matt Watroba has been deeply immersed in folk music since 9th grade, including hosting the Folks Like Us show on WDET in Detroit and Folk Alley on WKSU at Kent State University, for a combined 26 years or so. With more than 3 decades performing, Matt is a master of the folk music genre, both as a performer and as a leader of group singing.

Doug MacKenzie has a long pedigree - as a jet engine mechanic and as a folk musician. Currently in collaboration with Sue West as Rural Roots Music , they are churning out music at an incredible rate. Because of his brother, Guy MacKenzie, Doug got used to having folks like Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Dave Van Ronk, and others around the house. After a hiatus of a couple decades, Doug is back doing f...

Harmonious Wail  & their music defy simple categorization, but you're sure to find some Gypsy Jazz in their sets. Maggie Delaney-Potthoff is the voice most often at the front, and the vocal spotlight is well-deserved. Maggie's Method is the unusual technique used in the voice lessons she gives, and Harmonious Wail leads up the  Midwest Gypsy Swing Fest  twice a year, in Madison,...

Anne Hills  is a folk music gem, prominent and still too little known. She has recorded & toured with Tom Paxton, David Roth, Priscilla Herdman & other greats, and she writes with wonderful depth & color, singing with great beauty.

Jon Brooks takes us on an odyssey with his music - through passion, compassion, history, politics, and identity. With powerful & evocative lyrics that unlock inner meaning, Jon takes on the big questions and issues with unblinking honesty sustained in hope.

Tony Vacca 's music is rooted in rhythm & Africa & raw spirituality. Through percussion, spoken word, and the help of many African musicians, Tony has us surfing the edge of experience, from New Jersey to Senegal and around West Africa, and straight to your heart.

Randall Paskemin is a member of the Plains Cree & a prolific and creative Round Dance & Pow-wow songwriter. Firmly rooted in native culture, but enriched by the music of the Beatles, U2, Shania Twain, & others, Randall weaves native vocal & drum style music with lyrics & tunes & themes to create music accessible and rich for all people. His latest CD is Christmas Cheer .

Michael Rambo first assembled his latest music as a project and it became a phenomenon. What to expect? Soul, jazz, R&B, gospel, and messages of gratitude and connection to God.

Marca Cassity  shares wonderful  acoustic soul spirit songs  on her latest CD,  Songs From the Well . Raised within the Osage Nation in Oklahoma, seasoned by 10 years in the Bay Area in CA, and now located in North Carolina, her spiritual exploration has been vast and deep.

Howard Lewis Hinterthuer is primary songwriter & co-anchor of the folk duo (plus friends) Embedded Reporter , featuring stories, local & global, of the human condition. Homey and real, the lyrics and music fit into real people's lives, and tug the listener to enter into the songs and be part of the experience.