Lindsay Lou is on a serious roll! She just finished hosting an all women river expedition, she’ll be featured at the International Bluegrass Music Association’s convention in Chattanooga, also Lindsay will be appearing at the Grand Ole Oprey@100 celebration. Lindsay Lou is also releasing a brand new collection of songs written by women and performed by women called, appropriately, “Bluegrass Women”. The release will be 8/14 when Lindsay Lou appears on the main stage of Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots Festival !

Our segment begins with two songs from her recent catalog, “Nothing Else Matters” with guest Jerry Douglas and “Freedom” with Billy Strings! Lindsay was very generous and thoughtful in her responses to topics like major transitions in her life and difficulties. We talk about the challenges brought about by natural disasters (Tornadoes in East Nashville) a global pandemic and it’s creative impact. Personally Lindsay went through a divorce from her longtime creative partner and the death of a very close grandmother. We feature songs from her earlier catalog with The Flatbellys such as “Old Songs” and “The River Jordan” written by inspiration to Lindsay;May Erlewine.

We talk about inspiring women such as her Grandmother, May Erlewine, Rachael Davis as well as host of Nashville friends! These female colleagues showed up to help Lindsay record “Bluegrass Women”; an astounding collection of the genres finest performers! The project honors women in a predominantly male fronted genre while featuring bands made up entirely of some of the best women and pickers in the scene today. Led by Lou, the album features the likes of Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, Aoife O’Donovan and Sarah Jarosz (of I’m With Her), Laurie Lewis, Tatiana Hargreaves, AJ Lee, Allison DeGroot, Bronwyn, Brittany Haas, Gena Britt, Maddie Witler, Courtney Hartman, Allison Brown and more! Wow!

We played the brand new single, “I’ve Endured” by Ola Belle Reed which lyrically spells out the difficulties women have had to navigate. Lindsay Lou discusses the importance of representation by women and the great strides that’ve been made in the last decade. We talk about the recording process and the huge undertaking to schedule these folks in just four days in the studio. All finished with Lindsay very pregnant with her son, Bart! We finish the segment with Dorothy Skaggs gorgeous song (Ricky’s mom), “All I Ever Loved was You” featuring Tatiana Hargreaves and Laurie Lewis on fiddles, Maddie Witler on mandolin, Allison Brown on banjo along with Hasee Ciaccio on bass!

Make sure to catch Lindsay Lou at Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots Festival, August 13-16 in Manchester. She’ll be performing on the Main Stage and the Lamplighter Stage on Friday night!

LindsayLouMusic.com

GreenMountainBlueGrass.com

Liz Longley has found her own path. After going the traditional path of hard work leading to a major label signing while headlining her own tour; something went awry. Her label personnel changed and she was dropped. While the decision must’ve sidetracked her momentarily, the result has been creative control and independence. All those years of house concerts and club dates created a hug batch of dedicated fans (who refer to themselves as Liz’s Lizards). When Longley sought her fan’s support on a Kickstarter to release this new material, she asked for $45,000. She got over $15,000!! This enabled her to buy back control of her songs and carry on.

Our segment begins with a song “Funeral For My Past’ which calls for moving on and releasing all that hold you back. Sometimes, you just need to let go. Liz has done this with her career and urges her listeners to do the same. “Whatever kills your story, Don’t Give it One More Breath!!”

Our conversation covers her career path from Philly to Berklee School of Music and now Nashville! We discuss the role of Songwriting competitions as well. Liz has won three prestigious ones. We also discuss the use of her songs in TV and film. Liz explains that wasn’t a strategy but she’s garnered a batch of songs on some TV series.

These days, Liz is embracing her independence; creatively and business-wise with the release of the aptly-titled “New Life”. We finish the conversation with “Can’t Get Enough” from the latest.

Liz’s show is tonight at The Iron Horse. 6/12 at 7:00PM. Doors open at 5:00PM.

Tickets are still available at Iron Horse.org

Peter Mulvey is a local treasure. He writes honest songs over decades; now approaching twenty albums. He’s written an illustrated childrens book, given TedX talks and performed thousands of times. What began with a busking approach in Boston subways has blossomed to a career full of amazing collaborations and artistic success. Peter stopped in-studio to sing a few songs and preview his upcoming Iron Horse benefit show along with long time friends and colleagues, Pamela Means and Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem. The show is June 2 and tickets are available at Iron Horse.org

We begin our segment with a live version of Peter’s song “Mailman” in honor of my 35 year Postal career. We chat about his long time collaborator “Goody” Goodrich, his touring and signing on Ani DeFranco’s Righteous Babe Records, and the success of his Milwaukee based duo SistahStrings! The current project involves another like-minded singer Jenna Nichols in a duo called “Floyd Mercantile” with an album to be released in mid June.

We talked about the role of “place” in his career including his birthplace Milwaukee, Wisc. Peter has recorded twice in nearby Fort Atkinson at The Cafe Carpe where important connections were made. Peter began curating a Festival there annually as he bonded with the venue and town. Cambridge’s Club Passim, likewise, has had a special role in Peter’s career. The folk club just celebrated the 30th anniversary of Matt Smith with alumni of that scene including Mulvey’s colleagues Kris Delmhorst, Dinty Child, Zachariah Hickman, Rose Cousins and dozens more.

Peter has been active in environmental issues in both song and career. Peter annually does a bicycle tour form gig to gig to showcase and perhaps mitigate the environmental impacts of touring. We also chatted about social justice songs and issues that Peter felt strongly about. He sang “Take Down Your Flag”, a song written in response to the Mother Emmanuel Church shootings in Charleston, SC. It was a moving and powerful moment. Give the segment a listen in the link above.

Peter Mulvey, Pamela Means and Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem will be appearing at The Iron Horse on 6/2. It is a benefit for The Child Advocacy Center of Hampshire County. The Center provides a coordinated team response to allegations of child abuse in a dedicated child-friendly setting. Suvivors of abuse can access free trauma-informed services to help them heal and thrive.

Tickets are available. Info at ParlorRoom.org or IronHorse.org

Todd Albright plays TONIGHT at The Parlor Room in Northampton. Todd plays pre-war acoustic blues on his 12 string guitar. This Detroit guitarist is old-school in every way. Recording with one mic in mono with folks like Charlie Parr, Todd brings the music of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie McTell and Mississippi John Hurt to life. Our conversation covers his Detroit upbringing, his signing to Jack White’s Third Man Records as well as cuts from his new release, “Blues For Dexter Linwood”.

Ari & Mia Friedman are both Moms. The new release celebrates that status with eight songs about love and parenting. We begin the segment with a song from their previous album, “Sew The City”, called “Come On Home”. The sisters chat about their upbringing and the music they were exposed to as children. In fact, the next song we featured from the new release is actually written by their Dad called “Little Ones”. The song finishes with the voices of Ari and Mia’s children to add another generation to mix. We talk about their experiences as parents and the songs they inspired. The songs are full of nature and the daily life of a family. The album, “Learning Your Name”, has six original songs, the one penned by Dad as well as a traditional tune, “Foreign Lander”. Ari and Mia had learned this traditional tune decades ago in fiddle camp. The words and a verse have been changed to reflect the love between a parent and child in place of the traveling soldier’s more romantic lyrics.

Give the segment a listen here but better yet, catch their live show. Ari and Mia will be debuting these songs on a special Mother’s Day weekend show at The Parlor Room on 5/9. Details at ParlorRoom.org as well as AriandMiaMusic.com

Charles and George Clements joined me on Nine Volt Heart to talk about their musical careers and their upcoming shows including a stop at The Parlor Room on 4/19. We begin with one of four songs from their debut release “Dandelion Breeze” called “Out of the Blues”. Our chat with these identical twins begins with their separate musical paths. Charles began the journey as a jazz saxaphone player while George went to Miami to go the classical music route. After some time, Boston became their focus and The Lonely Heartstring Band became their shared passion. The band recorded two excellent records but COVID and a decade together found the brothers searching for new approaches. Less bluegrass centric and totally emphasizing their incredible vocal interplay, the songs from that period became “Dandelion Breeze”.

Our segment includes a cut from Lonely Heartstring’s “The Roads Salvation” and the Clements’ “Morning Train”. Charles and George speak about the recording process and their creative song-writing methods. They’ve recorded a brand new album to be released later this year but songs will be debuted at the Parlor Room show on Sunday 4/19 . We discuss the songs and their shared and evolving meanings. We also talk about the uniqueness of being an identical twin (Editorial note: I am also an identical twin) in a creative duo. The DNA shared harmony vocals are astounding and featured on every cut. The songs “Help Myself” and the title cut finish the segment.

Parlor Room’s intimate seating is an ideal space to hear the Clements Brothers music. Don’t miss your chance. Details at ParlorRoom.org

Sean Trischka and Stash Wyslouch will appear locally at the Parlor Room on Saturday 4/11 as their alter-egos “Mattie & Debbie”. I had the pleasure of chatting with these two creative guys about their collaboration and all the other projects they are part of. The segment begins with a old bluegrass standard “I’m Just Here To Get My Baby Out of Jail” from the debut release entitled “Satan’s Junction”. We begin our chat by delving into the two musicians history together and their choice of alter-ego names! We listen to the Deadly Gentlemen song “Fall Back” from an early band they both worked with. We chat about the creative process, the time frame of some of these songs. Some are newly minted in the studio and some are a decade old. We listen to their take on Dylan’s “Masters of War” from “Satan’s Junction”.

Both of these musicians are busy creatively (and personally; Stash is cradling his second child just a few months old) and we discuss a number of upcoming projects. Stash is part of Freshgass Institute’s “Great Fiddle Hang” at Mass MocA in June while Sean is touring with Carsie Blanton and appearing with his dad Tony Trischka’s project on Emily Dickinson’s poetry.!

We hear Stash on Molsky’s Mountain Drifters “The Dreary Black Hills” live in studio while we also hear Carsie Blanton’s protest song “Little Flame”. We chat about the songs and concepts on “Satan’s Junction”. You NEVER know what to expect from a Mattie & Debbie show. One thing not on your bingo card is a Sacred Harp Shape Note tune! Yet our segment finishes with the tune “Montgomery” from page 189 of the hymnbook. Give the segment a listen or better yet; head over to Northampton’s Parlor Room on Saturday 4/11. Details at ParlorRoom.org

Natalya Zoe Weinstein and John Cloyd Miller use their middle names for the band who will be arriving at The Parlor Room on 3/13. Together, this couple have looked back into their grandfather’s musical heritage to craft their latest album, Songs of our Grandfathers”. It is an intriguing mix of Natalya’s fathers Jazz and her grandfather’s Klezmer styles combined with John’s grandfather’s pioneering Bluegrass fiddle work. We begin with the band’s take on the bluegrass “Rocky Road Blues” followed by “Klezmer Clave Medley”.

Our conversation is wide-ranging. We cover the musical lineage of the recent release as well as the Western Carolinian’s experience recovering from Hurricane Helene in 2024. A recent single from Zoe & Cloyd is directly inspired by the recovery. It’s called “Lineman” and recounts the fears and isolation of this mountainous region during the rare Category 4 hurricane.

We also hear the latest single, “The Road That Might Have Been”. The storyteller contemplates the past with some regret and curiosity. The maturity of an aging person told with compassion and wisdom. We finish with an earlier song called “Neighbor”.

The band will be hosting a trip to Ireland for music fans. A real treat for folks who want to discover the destination in the company of these two excellent musicians. Make sure to check in with them when they play at The Parlor Room on March 13. The segment concludes at 39:00 minute mark with additional music following our chat.

Details at ParlorRoom.org for tickets. ZoeandCloyd.com for band info.