Threads and Tangents Music Hour

Threads and Tangents 8/29/23 - music in Bellingham

This week I’ll play music from some of the performers that I’ve seen in and around Bellingham over the past twelve months.  I’m just finishing up my second year here in the City of Subdued Excitement, and I remain happily surprised at the quality of live music in Bellingham.  We’re lucky that we get touring bands needing a gig somewhere between Vancouver and Seattle; and, we’re especially lucky that a number of excellent musicians have made Bellingham their home. We'll hear music from: Mike Allen Quartet, Michael Alpert & Craig Judelman, Big Shoulders featuring Seán Cleland, Matt Dusk, Tony Furtado & Luke Price, Hawktail, Colin James, The Jeremiahs, Gaby Moreno, Joe Pug, Curtis Salgado, Mads Tolling, John Whelan, and Sunny War.

Threads and Tangents 8/22/23 - Vegetables

This week, the musical thread is Vegetables. Over the years, there've been a lot of great songs written about vegetables and this week I'll play a few favorites. We'll hear music from: the Beach Boys, Guy Clark, Olu Dara, Mike Doughty, The Four Blues, Steve Goodman, Terra Hazelton, The J.B.’s, the Mothers of Invention, Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers, The Ronettes, Mem Shannon, Dee Dee Sharp, Chris Smither, and Booker T & the MGs.

Threads and Tangents 8/15/23 - Roots of the Woodstock Festival Songbook

This week, I’ll take a really deep dive into the roots of the Woodstock festival songbook.  Forty-four years ago, on 8/15/69, The Woodstock Music and Art Fair began on Max Yasgur’s farm.  There were a lot of memorable performances, and a surprising number of the songs were covers, so I’m gonna dig into the earlier recordings of those songs, older versions that influenced the Woodstock artists’ performances.    
We'll hear music from: The Byrds, Laura Nyro, Albert King, Henry Thomas, Ronnie Milsap, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Bob Dylan, The Leaves, The Great Society, Erma Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Jack Bruce, Willie Bobo, J.B. Lenoir, and Sonny Boy Williamson II.

Threads and Tangents 8/1/23 - The Days Between: Celebrating the music of Jerry Garcia

This week, the musical thread is The Days Between – the stretch of days from August 1st which was Jerry Garcia’s birthday, to August 9th, the day he died.  Last year on Threads and Tangents, I covered the breadth of Jerry’s work – from his early 60’s folk recordings to his last studio recording in 1995.  This time around I’m going deep into an era – the early 70’s.  The time around 1973, when Jerry lived in Stinson Beach, has been described by David Grisman and Peter Rowan as Jerry’s happiest years. They were also some of his most creative and productive, so I built this show around that time period.  We'll hear music from: David Bromberg, Jerry Garcia, Art Garfunkel, Mickey Hart, Paul Kantner / Grace Slick / David Freiberg, Legion of Mary, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Old & in the Way, Merl Saunders, Stephen Stills, Howard Wales, and Link Wray.

Threads and Tangents 7/25/23 - Subdued Stringband Jamboree

This week, the musical thread is Bellingham's Subdued Stringband Jamboree.  The festival runs from August 10th through August 12th.  In its 23rd year, The Jamboree is a proudly, local festival - one that was created, and managed, to maintain its own community around it. We'll hear music from: Robert Sarazin Blake, Alpha Yaya Diallo, Sam Doores, Ruthie Dornfeld & Forrest Gibson, Kian Dye, FogHoller, Gallowglass, Dean Johnson, Kitty and The Rooster, Caleb Klauder &Reeb Willms, Eugenia Riot, Peter Rowan, Shpilkis, and The Sons of Rainier.

Threads and Tangents 7/18/23 - 1973

This week, the musical thread is 1973 – That Was The Year That Was.  We’ll take a look at that year in musical history, and from as many angles as possible.  In part, the idea for this thread came from the mid-60’s NBC series, That Was the Year That Was.  On the show, satirist Tom Lehrer wrote topical songs related to items then in the news.  Our focus isn’t so much about topical issues, but some important albums and their place in the music of the era and even today. We'll hear music from: the Grateful Dead, Herbie Hancock, Etta James, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Gram Parsons, Pink Floyd, John Prine, Flora Purim, Bonnie Raitt, Tony Rice, Roxy Music, Taj Mahal, and Toots and the Maytals.

Threads and Tangents 7/11/23 - Rivers

This week the musical thread is Rivers. Over the years, rivers have captured the attention of many songwriters, there seems to be a special magic in the way a river flows. Rivers are used as a powerful metaphor for ideas, like the passage of time, emotion, a path, and freedom. We'll hear music from: Larry Davis, Bob Dylan, John Hartford, Syl Johnson, Allison Krauss, Randy Newman, Ollabelle, Persuasions, Claudia Schmidt, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Stephen Wade, Doc Watson, and The Wood Brothers.

Threads and Tangents 7/4/23 - Woody covered

This week the musical thread is Woody Guthrie covered. I'll play Woody’s songs, just done by other musicians. Woody’s birthday is coming up on July 14th – on Bastille Day, go figure – and given who Woody was, and what he sang about, this is a perfect thread for July 4th. We'll hear music from: Billy Bragg, Slaid Cleaves, Ry Cooder, Dropkick Murphys, Bob Dylan, Jay Farrar/Will Johnson/Anders Parker/Yim Yames, Eliza Gilkyson, Sharon Jones, Klezmatics, Jimmy LaFave, Del McCoury, Solas, and Wilco.

Threads and Tangents 6/27/23 - Festival Time (Grey Fox)

This week, the musical thread is Festival Time. Summer’s here, and there are great music festivals taking place every week. As a way of making this thread manageable, I’m going to feature the musicians that are playing at a single festival, Grey Fox in upstate New York. There are around 40 bands playing at Grey Fox so I’ll only be able to play a sample of all the great music a summer festival can offer. We'll hear music from: Jake Blount, Alison Brown, Sam Bush, Della Mae, Jerry Douglas, Fog Holler, Jim Gaudet & the Railroad Boys, Henhouse Prowlers, Sierra Hull, Infamous Stringdusters, Del McCoury Band, Stillhouse Junkies, Scythian, and Tray Wellington Band.

Threads and Tangents 6/20/23 - Summer

This week, in celebration of the summer solstice, and the sun finally making an appearance up here in the northwest corner, the musical thread is Summer. We'll hear music from: Norman Blake, J.D. Crowe & The New South, Miles Davis, The Fiery Furnaces, Robert Gordon & Link Wray, The Happenings, John Hartford, Husker Du, Martha & The Muffins, Bill Morrissey, R.E.M., Jonathan Richman, and Laura Veirs.