Brett Dennen is a songwriter, painter and summer camp enthusiast. His camp experience was instrumental in developing his musicality. He attended Camp Jack Hazard in the Sierra Nevada Mountains where young Brett was enamored with the music his camp counselors would play on guitar around the campfire. He was introduced to Paul Simon, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and John Denver thanks to his counselors and his parents. He really developed as a songwriter in college at UC Santa Cruz. After school, he ...
Mar 30, 2023•56 min•Ep. 206
Nickel Creek , the bluegrass trio who's been in existence for almost 35 years, returns with their first original release in nine years. It's brainy, it's theatrical, its twists and turns are not predictable from its authors, who have entered mid-life. To that point, there is lots of middle on this album. The middle's not the most exciting or thrilling part (see: beginning or ending), but there is plenty happening and plenty to celebrate. The band says that's the feeling they want to convey throu...
Mar 23, 2023•52 min•Ep. 205
Adeem the Artist has gained a slew of new fans in the past year with their new album, ‘White Trash Revelry,’ but they are anything but an overnight success. Their journey to singer-songwriter acclaim began in middle school, when they moved from the Carolinas to New York State. Finding themself a southerner in the north, they found out that being from the American south meant something to people. It came with a certain set of assumptions and expectations that they have reckoned with over the cour...
Mar 16, 2023•55 min•Ep. 204
Welcome to Folk Debate Club , our occasional crossover series with fellow folk-pod Why We Write ! Today, to discuss Lyrics vs Melody, we welcome our panel of guests: music journalist and former singer/songwriter, Kim Ruehl , Isa Burke (Lula Wiles, Aoife O’Donovan), musician and Basic Folk guest host lizzie no , and yours truly, Cindy Howes , boss of Basic Folk. Our conversation begins with a case each for melody and lyrics from members of the panel. Some panelists are more fluid with their thoug...
Mar 09, 2023•48 min•Ep. 203
Sam Phillips was born to a family that loved doling out nicknames. She was called “Sam” growing up in a house that was filled with readers. She nurtured her love of philosophy and spirituality by exploring different religions and devouring works by authors like C.S. Lewis and Thomas Merton. Early in her career, she found success as a Christian musician under her real name: Leslie Phillips. She made several albums, but became uncomfortable with her label marketing her as “the Christian Cyndi Laup...
Mar 02, 2023•58 min•Ep. 202
Fun times with our favorite non-duo duo Anna Tivel and Jeffrey Martin . The pair met in the early 2010's in Portland, bonded over songwriting and have been together ever since. They got together at a time when they were both learning how to tour and they were able to figure it all out as a pair. And yes, they have toured and do tour together and have sang on each other's records, but there has never been an interest in an official collaboration. In this special interview, they discuss their thou...
Feb 23, 2023•1 hr
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ WHOA! SistaStrings is the real life sister duo of Monique (cello) and Chauntee (violin) Ross. Currently tearing it up on the road with Brandi Carlile and Allison Russell , The Ross sister’s musical roots began with their intense classical training, family gatherings and in church. All five of their siblings played music, toured around with their minister parents and even had their own family band, Sisters of Praize with old...
Feb 16, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 200
Growing up in the Berkshires, Massachusetts-born Eliza Edens grew up in a family with strong musical roots. Getting her first guitar at 16, she was moved to write songs as her chosen form of expression. After some time in Philly, Eliza took on New York, choosing Brooklyn as her home base. There she found community and began to thrive creatively, especially in embracing her queer identity, Eliza uses she/they pronouns. She released her second album We’ll Become the Flowers in 2022 seeking to unde...
Feb 09, 2023•46 min•Ep. 199
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ Mark Erelli is slowly going blind. In August 2020, he noticed he couldn’t see his fingers during a show. After that, as he was driving in a tunnel everything went black. Mark went to the doctor and was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, or RP. Since then, his life has changed in ways he could have never imagined. He doesn’t drive at night, he carries a flashlight everywhere he goes, his relationship with his family, his w...
Feb 02, 2023•59 min•Ep. 198
Originally from a small town: Gause, Texas, Ruthie Foster came from a family of gospel singers. Singing gospel music acted as a prime method of communication in her life strongly enough that it ended up being her career. Along the way, Ruthie studied audio engineering in college, which ended up giving her invaluable knowledge to support her artistic expression, especially as a woman in a male dominated field. She quit music for about a year and joined the Navy, wanting to do something other than...
Jan 26, 2023•50 min
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ By the mid-2010’s Canadian rock legend Tom Wilson ’s life was already pretty epic: he had perfected his blue collar roots rock sound in his bands Blackie and The Rodeo Kings and his seminal 90’s outfit Junkhouse . He was a home-grown rock and roller with humble Hamilton, Ontario roots. In addition to his musical output, he had overcome addiction, he was a father, grandfather and painter. However, his life completely changed...
Jan 19, 2023•59 min•Ep. 196
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Jan 12, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Courtney Marie Andrews seems anciently wise in general, but on her new album Loose Future , she's particularly tapped in to some cosmic intelligence. Growing up, CMA spent a lot of time alone, so we naturally start our conversation there. People have been isolated in the last few years, which can be sad and scary, but also offer certain gifts. Courtney was able to quarantine during the first summer of the pandemic on Cape Cod. She grounded herself by walking six to eight miles daily and explorin...
Jan 05, 2023•45 min
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ The latest from Nashville-based, New York-bred and Georgia-born trio The Lone Bellow , Love Songs for Losers , was recorded at Roy Orbison’s creepy former house in Hendersonville, TN. The house’s vibe bled its way into the vibe of the album, which was co-produced by band members Brian Elmquist and Kanene Pipkin, producing vocals. The band went for a bombastic sound and they did it with no adult supervision (read: no outside...
Dec 15, 2022•50 min•Ep. 188
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ *** Lizzie No interviews John Calvin Abney... A lot of people like to claim the title “Hardest Working Person In Music” but John Calvin Abney might take the crown from them all. John has made a name for himself as a shit-hot guitar player, accompanying John Moreland, Samantha Crain, Margo Cilker, and many others (including Lizzie No herself!). But the reason we wanted him to join us as a guest on Basic Folk is that his own ...
Dec 08, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 192
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ Known as one of the foremost fiddlers of her generation, Lissa Schneckenburger 's latest release is a huge left turn for the Vermont resident. Thunder in My Arms is unique because Lissa is not only singing her own compositions, but the subject matter is hugely personal. The album chronicles her experiences adopting her son. Through the fostering and adoption process, she came across resources, workshops and books, but no mu...
Dec 01, 2022•58 min
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ Upright bassist, singer and songwriter Melissa Carper has been playing in bands since she took up the position of bass in her family band at the age of 12. She grew up with a reverence for country music in her small town Nebraska family. The original Carper Family band toured regionally on the weekends at Elks lodges, VFWs and small bars. Little Melissa made $50 a gig, which allowed her to take her friends out for dinner an...
Nov 17, 2022•48 min•Ep. 190
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ A note before we begin: our guest on this episode, Patrick Haggerty of Lavender country passed away on October 31 at the age of 78 several weeks after he’d had a stroke. This episode was produced before his death. We are grateful to be able to share this conversation with Patrick and we hope our listeners will take some time to learn about Patrick’s remarkable life, especially his pro-LGBTQ+ and pro-working class activism. ...
Nov 10, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 189
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ Lizzie No talks to Ondara When Ondara was a little boy growing up in Nairobi, Kenya, music was both everywhere and just out of reach. He walked around the market listening to vendors playing music from stereos, stopping to listen when he heard something that caught his attention. His family couldn’t afford musical instruments, and the household radio was constantly in demand so he would wait until everyone was asleep so tha...
Nov 03, 2022•59 min•Ep. 188
Lizzie No talks to Mali Obomsawin Y’all ready for a crossover? Basic Folk listeners will remember Mali Obomsawin from their work as a bassist, singer, and songwriter with folk trio Lula Wiles, but today we are celebrating Mali’s debut as a jazz bandleader/composer. Mali’s new album, ‘Sweet Tooth,’ was inspired by field recordings of elders from Mali’s Wabanaki community. Mali’s improvisational approach to creating music results in a remarkable living piece of music that not only illustrates hund...
Oct 27, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ Originally from Charlottesville, Virginia, Caroline Spence came from this cool family that always seemed to be messing around with music: listening and playing music. She’s recently been discovering and sharing home movies from when she was a kid: scooting around in diapers on a guitar case, singing with her grandfather and mother. The clips, which she used in the video for “Clean Getaway,” were a gift in which she was able...
Oct 20, 2022•53 min•Ep. 186
When Will Sheff was a baby, he had a life-threatening illness that required him to have a tracheotomy. From that moment, he was always aware of being fragile and somewhat out of place in his body. He never quite fit in in the New England prep school culture he grew up in. His childhood was full of magic, however. He spent a lot of time in the woods, and when he looked up at the sky he felt the presence of the divine more deeply than he ever did in church. A lot of people dream of forming a band ...
Oct 13, 2022•1 hr
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ Lizzie No interviews Caleb Caudle on Basic Folk! Caleb Caudle has lived a lot of his life on the road. His father was a truck driver and Caleb learned early on that making a living often meant long days away from home. The North Carolina-born Caudle started out in a rock band before he found his calling as a thoughtful alt-country singer-songwriter. When Caleb released his debut solo album, ‘Red Bank Road,’ in 2007, he was ...
Oct 06, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 184
Fiddler Brittany Haas has an impressive resume: she started touring at 14 with Darol Anger, recorded her debut album at 17, started performing with Crooked Still before she finished college and has played on Chris Thile’s radio program Live From Here and done stints in David Rawlings and Gillian Welch’s David Rawlings Machine. Currently, she’s teaching workshops and classes in between working with her band Hawktail along with Paul Kowert, Jordan Tice and Dominick Leslie. Their latest album, Plac...
Sep 29, 2022•55 min
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ Amy Ray is best known for being one half of Indigo Girls with Emily Sailers, a band that’s been going strong since the late 80’s. She’s also known for her activism and love for all types of music. On her latest solo album, If It All Goes South , Amy’s bringing us songs of comfort and healing. Recorded live to tape in Nashville, this album features an incredible lineup of guests like Brandi Carlile, I’m With Her, Allison Rus...
Sep 22, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 182
Lizzie No interviews Ken Yates! Ken Yates grew up in the college town of London, Ontario and he is truly Canada’s Next Top Model, by which I mean he is wonderfully talented, disarmingly nice, and from Canada, obviously. Ken is a Berklee College of Music graduate, and I took the opportunity to talk with him about that experience. Why would somebody choose to go to music school, what were you hoping to gain, and what did you actually get out of it, are questions that are fascinating to me, and Ken...
Sep 15, 2022•59 min
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ Kyshona is an artist with a literal mission statement: “To be a voice and a vessel for those who feel lost, forgotten, silenced and are hurting.” She’s found that having this tool at her disposal gives her work meaning, especially on those nights when she’s felt like she hasn’t sold enough tickets, merch or gotten enough applause. If one person comes up to her and tells her they feel seen, she walks away feeling like she’s ...
Sep 08, 2022•51 min•Ep. 180
Lauren Balthrop's Mobile, AL upbringing saw her soaking in the music of The Andrews Sisters, Steve Sondheim, R.E.M., Elliott Smith and Neil Young. As a child, she was involved in activities that varied from sports, to drama, to music and beyond. She never really settled on a passion, until she found acting and theatre. She pursued that dream from fourth grade until after college, moving to New York to go after auditions and acting parts. She found a soft landing in the city by moving in with her...
Sep 01, 2022•56 min
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ Lizzie No interviews Molly Tuttle on Basic Folk! Growing up in Palo Alto. California, Molly Tuttle was surrounded by music. Her dad was a teacher at Gryphon Stringed instruments, which is not-so-coincidentally where I got the pickups installed on my mini harp. Molly took to the guitar early and intensely, eventually earning a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music. But I think it was those early days growin...
Aug 25, 2022•48 min•Ep. 178
Help produce Basic Folk by contributing at https://basicfolk.com/donate/ Milwaukee-born Peter Mulvey has, along with classical duo SistaStrings , made an anti-fascist record. According to Peter, “to make an anti - fascist record, you must keep kindness and compassion in the foreground.” Love is the Only Thing goes from family, to politics, to family, racism and then back to family. It's as optimistic and introspective as it is filled with "running out a burning building" type of songs. All the w...
Aug 11, 2022•59 min•Ep. 177
