David Howley, lead vocalist and guitarist from We Banjo 3, was my guest on Nine Volt Heart. He previewed “his band of brothers” upcoming New England tour in support of their new release, Haven. The tour has stops in Conn, Maine and a local stop at Northampton’s Iron Horse on 2/6. They play at the Somerville Theater on 2/9 to finish the tour.

This quartet hails from Galway, Ireland and consists of two sets of brothers; Martin Howley plays banjo,mandolin, and sings. My guest, David Howley, plays guitar and sings. The other set of siblings includes Enda Scahill on banjo and Fergal Scahill on fiddle, mandolin and guitar. Between the four, they count about Twenty All-Ireland awards in their honor. They play like a cross of Avett Brothers meets The Frames.

Their new disc, Haven, is a powerhouse of all originals played with intensity and sincerity. The songs seem like party tunes but the lyrics tell a deeper story. Several deal with deeply personal issues like depression and anxiety. David was very open about discussing the band’s latest direction. We talk about their inherent optimism and the need for honesty in dealing with these tougher issues. They are a talented and energetic bunch and are selling out these shows quickly. So, give our interview a listen along with the songs “The Fox”, “Haven”, “Happiness”, “Hold On to Your Soul” and “Don’t Let Me Down”.

Bruce Molsky is easily one of the nation’s most talented old-time fiddlers. He is a renowned ambassador of this authentic Appalachian mountain music. He is an esteemed professor at Berklee School of Music’s Roots Music Program. He’s collaborated with the world’s finest musicians from Mozaik, Anonymous 4, Linda Ronstadt, Bill Frissell and Mark Knopfler. One of his many current projects is his old-time trio, Molsky’s Mountain Drifters. This trio will be appearing locally at the Parlor Room in Northampton on 1/20.

Our conversation covers a lot of ground including his early musical inspiration when the jazz great Billy Taylor visited his grade school in the Bronx. We talk about his love of this music, his teaching position at Berklee including a special anniversary concert of the Roots Music Program. We talk about his two events next week at the Parlor Room including an afternoon Workshop and an evening Parlor Session; both on 1/20.

Of course, our visit includes some great music. The setlist includes songs by the Mountain Drifters (Bruce on fiddle, Stash Wyslouch on guitar and Allison DeGroot on banjo),The Deadly Gentlemen (includes Stash), The Goodbye Girls (includes Allison)Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project (includes Bruce). The set concludes with a brand new tune from the upcoming Mountain Drifter’s second album called “There’s a Bright Side Somewhere”.

Northampton’s Parlor Room sponsors a series of Acoustic music events called the Parlor Sessions which serve up a winter’s worth of amazing roots music. A very special sense of community is built with this series featuring a concert followed by a jam session. Along with soup, bread and PIE! The shows all are scheduled for Sunday evenings and begin 1/20 all the way to St Patrick’s Day. Performers include Molsky’s Mountain Drifters, Stephane Wrembel, Seamus Egan Project, Michael Daves, Rani Arbo with Daisy Mayhem. March brings Jacob Joliff, Laura Orshaw, and finished with the celtic sounds of Nuala Kennedy, Eamon O’leary and Jefferson Hamer.

The series has a “who’s who in Valley acoustic music” to anchor the jam sessions (and to eat Pie!). The house band includes Gareth Buckley on bass, Lily Sexton on fiddle, Max Wareham on guitar and John Benjamin on mandolin. They were kind enough to spend an hour with me playing some old time and bluegrass tunes in advance of the Sessions and filling our listeners in on the upcoming series.

The set list includes “Green Light on the Southern” by the House band followed by Molksy’s Mountain Drifters’ latest  single, “Bright Side Somewhere”. The House Band did a lovely “Handsome Molly” which we followed with Stephane Wrembel’s “Bistro Fada”. Michael Daves’ version of “Darling Corey” is followed by a live version of “Doorstep to Trouble”. We also include Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem’s “Down by the Water” and Jacob Joliff’s latest set of instrumentals “Waitin on Gravey”. The House Band played the traditional “Red Wing’ while we finished the hour with Seamus Egan’s “Weep Not For the Memories”.

Make sure to check out these very community-oriented sessions from now till Spring, only at the Parlor Room on Sunday evenings. Tell ’em Nine Volt Heart sent you.

Kaia Kater was born and raised in Canada but chose to pursue her education in West Virginia. Her father was raised in Grenada and emigrated to Canada among political unrest in his native island. Kaia’s newest release weaves a musical and spoken word tapestry which connects both generations along with broadening her musical palette.

West Virginia’s folk and old-time music dominated Kaia’s first two releases, Sorrow Bound and Nine Pin. Both releases feature traditional tunes along with Kaia’s original tunes that document her personal and political narratives. While the national media hail the new release, Grenades, as “a bold new step” for the singer-songwriter; we discuss the album as a logical next step in her introspective narrative. The disc does feature a much fuller sound with a drum,keys,guitars while the earlier releases were spare affairs which relied on Kaia’s plaintive banjo and vocals. The band keeps the sound melancholy even where the songs add her father’s Carribean roots to the mix.

Grenades tells the family narrative of her father and his experiences in Grenada in the form of spoken word interludes that are mixed through Kaia’s eleven original tracks. This approach results in the feeling of an intimate conversation between father and daughter. The songs contexts and meanings come to focus as a result for the listener.

Grenades is a thoughtful ambitious work and continues to prove that Kaia Kater is a roots artist with an intelligence and insight into her own identity. The listener is brought along this personal journey and the rewards of the travel are many.

She will be appearing at Greenfield’s Hawks and Reed Performance Art Center on November 29th. Local singer-songwriter Lily Sexton opens the show.

Greenfield’s Hawks and Reed Performance Center will be transformed to the house of  blues next Saturday 11/17. Hubby Jenkins’ love of old time music including gospel, stringband bluegrass and especially, country blues will delight fans of these under-represented roots genres. Hubby Jenkins was my guest on Nine Volt Heart in a delightful and insightful conversation that ranged from his time busking in NYC subways to playing the Grand Old Opry with the Carolina Chocolate Drops. We talked about his blues heroes and meeting Bob Dylan. Along the way, we listened to a half dozen songs from both his Carolina Chocolate Drops work to his recent solo release. Do yourself a musical favor, get a pair of tickets to see Hubby perform; it’s an informative, engaging and humorous show focused on the acoustic blues. Here’s the audio of our conversation: