Folk Music & Beyond

Join us this Saturday at 3 pm on KALW for a special program featuring the music of the great eclectic guitarist Ry Cooder.  We'll go way back to his earliest albums and listen to songs from his latest CD "The Prodigal Son."  We'll also be hearing songs from a fabulous new CD featuring Pacific Island musicians "Small Island Big Song."  Both CDs available for your pledges of support during the KALW Fall Membership campaign.

Join us this Saturday 3 pm on "Folk Music & Beyond" for the crème de la crème—string wizardry at its finest, starting first with members of the Shasta String Celebration.  Cellist Tristan Claridge leads the celebration, along with champion Texas-style fiddler Matthew Hartz and guitarist Sean Watkins (co-founder of Nickel Creek).  At 4 pm, renowned fingerstyle guitarist Peppino D'Agostino returns to the KALW studios, performing what he humbly calls his "minestrone" music.  

All aboard!  Chicken Train rolls into the KALW studios this Saturday 3 pm for a live performance on "Folk Music & Beyond."  Led by master banjo player John Herrmann, Chicken Train performs old time and Appalachian mountain music.  John Engle on fiddle and Meredith McIntosh on guitar round out the band.   Chicken Train specializes in the fiddling styles of North Carolina and old African-American string band music that pre-dates the blues.

Join us this Saturday (tomorrow) at 3 pm on "Folk Music & Beyond" for the lowdown on the upcoming San Francisco Free Folk Festival, now in its 41st year.  Brother Spellbinder and EllaHarp are among the festival headliners who will perform live in the KALW studios tomorrow. 

The Free Folk Festival will include three stages of music with over 30 acts, over 40 workshops and classes on singing, dancing, and instrument playing, storytelling, open mic, family activities, and jam sessions.

Legendary folk singer Joan Baez recently announced that 2018 will be her final year of touring.  When her tour ends, she will retire from the road.  This coming Saturday at 3 pm, Folk Music & Beyond will be paying tribute to Baez and celebrating her six decades in music.  Highlighting our tribute will be  songs from her latest and most likely her final CD "Whistle Down The Wind."

The KALW folk festival is back this Saturday April 28th from 3 to 8 pm.  It's five hours of continuous music in the KALW studios performed by some of the Bay Area's finest talent. 

Join us for live performance by the San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers, as they take over the KALW airwaves tomorrow (this Saturday 4/14) at 3 pm.  Leading the fiddlers will be the younger generation—talented teenagers who grew up with Scottish fiddling.  The fiddlers will start their spring tour in two weeks with master Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser.  Their final concert in Santa Rosa will be a benefit for the North Bay fire victims who lost their homes.  For details, visit http://www.sfscottishfiddlers.org 

Join us this Saturday (3/31) at 3 pm for a special concert recording with American roots artist Tim O'Brien and Lunasa, one of Ireland's leading traditional bands.  This concert was recorded last month in Berkeley at the Freight & Salvage.  The evening was lively, the songs were engaging, and the on-stage humor was unparalleled (in other words, cringe-worthy at times).  A good time was had by all!

American Epic is a musical journey across time to the birth of modern recording, when the voices of a diverse nation transformed the way music sounded and how it impacted our lives and the world.  These brilliantly restored recordings from the 1920s were the product of early record labels sending producers and engineers deep into rural America with the latest technology, and artists from isolated communities flocking to have their music preserved and made available to faraway audiences.  Director Bernard MacMahon, Producer Allison McGourty, and Musician Duke Erikson worked for ten years on the project.

Mr. Sun, that is—the new talented multi-generational band led by fiddle master Darol Anger.  Mr. Sun will roll into the KALW studios this Saturday at 3 pm on Folk Music & Beyond.  They'll showcase some songs from their soon-to-be released live recording.  Darol has once again rounded up some exceptional young musicians to perform with him—Grant Gordy on guitar, Joe K. Walsh on mandolin, and Aidan O'Donnell on bass.

We got some good cheer last Saturday on "Folk Music & Beyond" with Cherish The Ladies, one of the leading bands performing Irish music today.  The ladies (and gentlemen) presented their annual Celtic Christmas concert in Berkeley last week and KALW broadcast their concert.  Lots of familiar carols and traditional songs, along with Joanie Madden's great sense of humor.  This concert was highly entertaining and a great way to unwind ahead of the holiday onslaught—hope you can listen!

Join us for the next KALW On-Air Folk Festival this Saturday December 9th 3 pm to 8 pm!

It's five hours of continuous music performed live in the KALW studios, showcasing some of the Bay Area's top talent.  The folk festival is hosted by JoAnn Mar, Kevin Vance, and Peter Thompson.  Here's the line-up:

A double bill this Saturday 3 pm on Folk Music and Beyond!   Talented Canadian fiddler April Verch and her trio makes her debut on KALW.  April is an award-winning, champion fiddler and step dancer—her music covers a lot of different styles—American roots, old-time, and traditional Canadian.  And from the Bay Area, singer Chris Webster and guitarist Nina Gerber will stop by the KALW studios and share a few songs. 

Wake the Dead play rock grooves, hot Irish reels, haunting airs, and beautiful melodies familiar to Deadheads everywhere. These worlds mesh seamlessly, true to the spirit of the Grateful Dead and the eternally hopeful Celts.  Tune in Saturday to hear this year’s DAY OF THE DEAD live recording of the band from Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage, 3-5pm on Folk Music & Beyond.  Hosted by Sandy Miranda.

Tim O'Brien, Grammy-award winning singer-multi-instrumentalist, is our special guest this Saturday 3 pm on KALW's Folk Music & Beyond.  Tim will talk about his musical journey starting in Wheeling, West Virginia and his collaborations with sister Mollie O'Brien, Darrell Scott, Dirk Powell, Kathy Mattea, and musicians from Ireland and the bluegrass band Hot Rize.  Tim's latest CD "Where The River Meets The Road" includes songs inspired by West Virginia.

Listen this Saturday afternoon 3 to 5 pm (PDT) for Richard Thompson unplugged!  We'll hear songs from his new release "Acoustic Classics II"—Richard revisits some early classics from his Fairport days.  We'll also listen to some rarities—songs recorded as demos or performed in concert.  

Listen this Saturday 3 pm to 12 midnight for some fabulous music!  Saturday music hosts share their favorite new releases that have come out this past year. 

At 3 pm on Folk Music & Beyond, new CDs by British guitarist Richard Thompson, the Portland indie band 'The Decemberists, and Irish accordion master Sharon Shannon.

At 5 pm on A Patchwork Quilt, "Jesus Rocked The Jukebox", a collection of gospel from the 50s and 60s

We'll shine the spotlight on Bay Area artists this Saturday (July 1st) 3 pm on "Folk Music & Beyond".  Among our local treasures are fiddler/guitarist Laurie Lewis and mandolinist Tom Rozum.  They'll stop by the KALW studios for a visit and play a few songs.  We'll also hear singer-songwriter Sean Hayes talk about his song "Rosebush Inside", inspired by the compelling story of ex-death row prisoner Moreese Bickham.

We'll preview the upcoming June 10th San Francisco Free Folk Festival--two stages of live music, over 40 different instructional workshops on singing, dancing, and instrument playing, a story-telling stage, kids activities, and jam sessions.   This Saturday 3 pm on Folk Music and Beyond, our musical guests will all be performing at the festival--The Brothers Strong from Sonora, the Bay Area vocal trio Muse Crossing, and folk singer David Maloney.  For details, visit sffolkfest.org

The Stray Birds will stop by the KALW studios this Saturday at 3 pm to perform a few songs from their new recording "Magic Fire."   Their first release made it on to NPR's "best-of" Folk/Americana list in 2012. "This record was certainly one of the finest debuts of the year from a band to watch.”

This Saturday 3 pm, songs in remembrance of war victims over the last century.  We'll hear two classic songs by the late Leonard Cohen, as well as music by British vocalists June Tabor, Billy Bragg, and Richard Thompson, Serbian cellist Vedran Smailovic, and a reading by Garrison Keillor.   Opening the program will be live music by British balladeer John Roberts and New England folk singer Debra Cowan.

Midwest singer-songwriter CARRIE NEWCOMER will be live in the KALW studios this Saturday at 3 pm on "Folk Music & Beyond."  She'll perform songs from her new CD "The Beautiful Not Yet" and talk about her humanitarian work in her local community and around the world.

GUY KLUCEVSEK,  master of the accordion,  made a rare appearance in the Bay Area this weekend.  He performed live in  the KALW studios on "Folk Music & Beyond".

Join us this Saturday 3 pm on "Folk Music & Beyond" for an encore broadcast of our conversation with Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart.  This weekend marks the Dead's 50th anniversary and their final performances together as a band.  Hart talks about his other life outside of the Grateful Dead--the active role he's played in helping to preserve the endangered music of Bali, Africa, and other parts of the world.  He also talks about his collaborations with some of the greatest percussionists in the world--Zakir Hussein, Airto Moreira, Babatunde Olatunji, and Hamza el Din.

Famed natural sound recordist Bernie Krause is our special guest this Saturday 3 pm on "Folk Music & Beyond".  He talks about his early career in professional music and how he made the transition to naturalist and bio-acoustitian.  Krause will take us on a sonic tour to some of his favorite wilderness areas and talks about his new book "The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World's Wild Places."  Saturday, 3/30 at 3pm.

"Folk Music & Beyond" pays tribute to Joni Mitchell, who turns 70 later this year.  Our special guest this Saturday (1/19) at 3 pm will be Dina Maccabbee, music director of "Under Cover Presents:  Joni Mitchell's Blue", a masterful mashup of Bay Area musicians who each cover a different song from the album, infusing it with their distinctive sound and personality.

"Folk Music & Beyond" welcomes the return of folk singer JohnMcCutcheon to the KALW studios. John will perform a few songs from his latest recording "This Land:  Woody Guthrie's America."   Listen anytime via KALW's Local Music Player through 1/19/13.

Folk Music & Beyond welcomes master musician Ross Daly from the Grecian isle of Crete.  He draws upon a number of popular and classical idioms mainly from the Balkans and Middle East, but also from North Africa and Central and South Asia, incorporating elements of each into his compositions and renditions of traditional repertoire.