Song of the Soul

We're headed out to Pennsylvania today, with hopes that we'll see today's guest in Wisconsin within a couple months. His name is Dann Pell ( music on bandcamp ), and he came to my attention from an email offer he sent to my local Quaker meeting of a tour he is planning for March.

A visit to a rich variety of musicians featured on Song of the Soul in the early days of the pandemic, highlighting themes of The Road, The Reason, The Destination, with songs by  Spook Handy ,  Andi Renfree ,  Laura Marie ,  Ksenia Mack , 

We're headed to Whitefish, Montana, for a deep-end encounter with Jamie Wyman . Jamie was headed toward work as a lawyer, in the role of either a criminal prosecutor or a healthcare attorney, but, as she says, her Saturn Return radically altered her trajectory, and music became her pathway and vehicle to world betterment. She spent some time with the Sunraven Band, but most of her years creating &...

Cliff Eberhardt has performed with oodles of well-known performers I've loved, like Lucy Kaplansky , Dave Van Ronk , Richie Havens , and Odetta , generally of the folk-rock-Americana-acoustic varieties, and I'm so excited to have him here today.

Time today for some seasonal music, but, of course, with a twist. Sofia Talvik has joined us twice before, and with the release of her 2 nd compilation of her annual Christmas songs, songs which Sofia has written to explore the wider experience of Christmas, including the distressing and challenging sides of the holiday, we again reached out across the sea to her, to Berlin, Germany, where this Sw...

Today for Song of the Soul, we are straying far from my safe and well-known musical turf to the the wonderful works of Ivar Lunde, Jr , a prolific and accomplished composer, pedagogue, performer, and conductor. Born in Norway, educated in Norway & Austria, he has performed & taught in many corners of Europe & the USA, including 35 years teaching at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Clai...

A delightful retrospective of Song of the Soul guests from Summer 2020, ranging lighthearted to profoundhearted.

We're headed to the west coast today for a deep & touching visit with Frances Ancheta , a Filipina-American singer/songwriter and acoustic musician. Frances has a rich repertoire of thoughtful and eclectic indie folk/pop/rock songs. I hear tell that before long she may also share some of the music from her family's country of origin, The Philippines, but right now we'll be blessed with her US-...

We don't usually have a lot of cowboy content on Song of the Soul, but this week we'll at least get a piece of that with the music of Dusty James & Abalone Pearl , with Pearl as our guest. Dusty and Pearl have just released their first album, after about 9 years of performing together, and it's a mix of their original songs with traditional and public domain covers.

We're headed today to the enchanted realm summoned by the flute of Peter Phippen, now accompanied by the magic of Ivar Lunde Jr and Paulina Fae . Some of you may remember Peter, who has been with us on Song of the Soul a few times before, mostly in the musical manifestation connected with his wood flutes, though Peter's alter ego also plays the bass and guitar as part of Virginia Steele and in oth...

We'll dive deep in the Afro-Colombian music of Lucas Silva, pioneer of Champeta. Founder of  Palenque Records  (or  on Facebook ) via today's guest-host  Patricia Stansbury  (AKA Sunny Gardener).

I got news this past week that Bob Franke , one of my favorite musicians, died on October 16 th this year, and it was a real blow to my heart. I'm sharing with you today the interview I did with Bob back in July 2009, for which I am very grateful. Bob had an amazing ability to vividly capture the experience of the human heart and spirit, and some of his best songs are included in the wonderful Ris...

For a number of years, Sage Cook was part of Elephant Revival , and toward 2014 Sage and Aera consciously moved toward a more subsistence, closer to the land, lifestyle, and continued to make music as part of We Dream Dawn . Their metamorphosis has continued, with a stronger acoustic folk flavor, as they mostly now perform as Sage & Aera .

Today's guest, Maria Requena, is also known as Sunflower Summit , and they answer to both, so take your pick. What attracted me first was the singing, but I quickly became intrigued when I saw comments like “ Chicago based queer Latinx artist and producer ” and “ with a mission to support their community through music and mental health discussion ” and, finally, “ music that hits right in the feel...

Andrea Prichett 's musical career started in Zimbabwe, where she taught, and it was with the group Novisimos . Her activist music grew further during the many years she performed as part of the trio Rebecca Riots , and other synergies have been explored with the musicians of Wildcat Canyon , and with the Shake It Booty Band .

It's been 20 years that Northern Spirit Radio has been broadcasting, and to celebrate that milestone we've set up a John McCutcheon concert event both streaming online and right here in-person, in Eau Claire, WI, on Sunday October 5 th , 2025, starting at 6:30 pm Central Time. Get more info and tickets on the NorthernSpiritRadio.org website . I've interviewed John several times, including live at...

Though Kris Angelis is a long-time resident of LA, California, she joins us today from her new home in Okinawa, Japan. There is so much about Kris that will intrigue & enrich you. She has an identical twin, Alex , and both of them are singers, and both have been actors, Alex more than Kris. But Kris is queen in the indie singer-songwriter role, with a rich tapestry of music mostly painted in c...

Linda Allen was called to my attention by Peter Alsop . Linda has all the credentials that speak to me. She has 5 decades of experience as a people's musician . She combines a piercing mind & and capacious heart, with room enough for all. And she won her Doctor of Ministry degree with a dissertation called, “ The Bridge Between the Earth and Sky: The Spirituality of Voice ”, leading to her ord...

Minnesota's Twin Cities are teeming with musical talents, among them Curtis and Loretta. They've been making & performing fine mostly-folkish music for more than 3 decades.  Loretta Simonet  writes the lion's share of their songs, and her primary instrument is either the guitar or the folk harp, accompanied by Curtis' deep voice & rich instrumental skills.

Katie Dwyer is absolutely one of the top surprises & joys of 20 years I've been doing this program, no exaggeration. Katie is unassuming & modest, even though she has every reason to be proud of the wonderful music she creates & performs. She's all about real life, real pains and glories, all song with passion & compassion. Maybe it's fitting that she doesn't live among coastal eli...

Though he tried a strenuous life on the music circuit in his 20s, Mike Green found a better path for him, at the time, was helping other musicians in organizing & scheduling their tours.

Lucy Kaplansky is, in some ways, very much a road-less traveled person. For example, after starting a successful career as performing Americana musician with the likes of Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega, and many more, she detoured through a decade as a clinical psychologist. Her own inner work led her back to the path she most loves, music, and she has released a total of 11 albums, I think, the last...

(From left to right: Annie Patterson, Wendi Bourne, Lauren Janson)

Today is the second time we'll have  Jim Phillips  with us, and this is kind of a new-and-improved-music of  Jim Phillips , with significant overlap of songs from the last time, but with dramatically enhanced versions of some of his tunes.

Joanna Clare  started her violin quite young on rather standard Suzuki method fare, but along the way Irish music captured her, both as a dancer & as a fiddler. And along the way, new Irish tunes began flowing out of Joanna's fiddle. Though she is a Philadelphia-based material science/engineer by day, music is inextricably linked to her mind & soul.