Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – May 6, 2025: The Banjo Special

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/70088.html

Theme: The Banjo Special.

Pete Seeger holding his banjo.

All the songs and tunes on this show feature the banjo.

Doc Watson- Rambling Hobo

Memories (Sugar Hill)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Foolish You

Tell My Sister: Kate & Anna McGarrigle (Nonesuch)

Michael Jerome Browne- Reverend Strut

Gettin’ Together (Borealis/Stony Plain)

John Hartford- Gentle on My Mind

Live from Mountain Stage (Blue Plate Music)

The Be Good Tanyas- Reuben

Chinatown (Nettwerk)

Mary Gick- Hills of Home

Six Tunes and a Song (Mary Gick)

Finest Kind- Going to the West

Lost in a Song (Fallen Angle)

Marc Nerenberg- Little Birdie: A Reimagined Traditional Song

Little Birdie: Birds, Beasts & Banjo Blues (Marc Nerenberg)

The Dumptrucks- Qu’Appelle

Selections (Laughing Cactus)

Pete Seeger- Monsieur Banjo

American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 4 (Smithsonian Folkways)

Last Forever with John Cohen- Dillard Chandler

No Place Like Home/Last Forever (2nd Story Sound)

Arnie Naiman- My Lucy Stars

My Lucky Stars (Merriweather)

Robert Thomas & the sessionmen- Springhill

The Way We Roll (Gas)

Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer- Redwinged Blackbird

Get Up and Do Right (Community Music)

Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five- Put ‘Em Down Blues

The Hot Fives & Hot Sevens, Vol. III (Columbia)

Paul Barbarin with Danny Barker- Eh La Bas

Paul Barbarin and His New Orleans Jazz (Collectables)

Mark Rubin – Jew of Oklahoma- Berish Katz Breakdown

Dispatches: Songs from a World Gone Mad (Rubinchik)

Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson- Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss

What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow (Nonesuch)

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings- Howdy Howdy

Woodland (Acony)

Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn- Railroad

Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn (Rounder)

Pharis & Jason Romero- Train on the Island

Tell ‘Em You Were Gold (Smithsonian Folkways)

Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project- Lazy John

Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project (Borealis)

Derroll Adams- The Mountain

Songs of the Banjoman (Wundertutte) 

Suzy Thompson- Lose My Blues

Suzy Sings Siebel Volume One (Suzy Thompson)

Jenny Whiteley- Banjo Girl

The Original Jenny Whiteley (Black Hen Music)

Tony Trischka & Steve Martin- Plunkin’ Rag

Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular (Rounder)

Next week: A Tribute to The Klezmatics.

--Mike Regenstreif

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday February 24, 2024

Saturday Morning is an eclectic roots-oriented program on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Saturday mornings from 7 until 10 am (Eastern time) and available for on-demand streaming anytime. I am one of the four rotating hosts of the Saturday Morning show. 

This episode of Saturday Morning was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/128/64070.html

Cleia- February Morning Drive

This Side of Main (Cleia)

Mike Regenstreif & David Francey (2019)

David Francey- This Morning

The Breath Between (Laker Music) 

John Prine- Souvenirs

Souvenirs (Oh Boy)

Nanci Griffith- Speed of the Sound of Loneliness

Other Voices/Other Rooms (Elektra)

Reggie Harris- Hello In There

On Solid Ground (Reggie Harris Music)

Bonnie Koloc- Clocks & Spoons

Timeless (Mr. Biscuit)

Mike Regenstreif & James Talley (2005)

James Talley- If We Could Love One Another

Bandits, Ballads and Blues (Cimarron)

Susan Werner- Tiny Texans

Halfway to Houston (Susan Werner)

Tom Rush- Glory Road

Gardens Old, Flowers New (Appleseed)

Jim Kweskin & Maria Muldaur- Let’s Get Happy Together

Never Too Late: Duets with My Friends (StorySound)

American Patchwork Quartet- Beneath the Willow

American Patchwork Quartet (Carolina Jasmine)

Ken Whiteley- Michael Row

Long Time Travelling (Ken Whiteley)

Ranky Tanky- Pay Me My Money Down

Beat Em Down (Resilience Music)

Jenny Whiteley Things are Coming My Way

The Original Jenny Whiteley (Black Hen Music)

Last Forever- Ain’t Going Down to the Well No More/Poor Lazarus

No Place Like Home/Last Forever (2nd Story Sound)

Cat Power- Fourth Time Around

Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert (Domino)

Sassenach- MacPherson’s Rant/Reel du pendu

Passages (Sassenach)

Mike Regenstreif & Brendan Nolan (2023)

Brendan Noaln- The Broom O’Cowdenknowes

Familiar Brew (Ould Sagosha)

Portage- The Dawning Set: Dawning on the Pacific Rim/Washington’s March/Raleigh & Spencer

Portage (Portage)

The Once- Anthem

The Once (Borealis)

Béla Fleck with Eric Jacobsen & The Virginia Symphony Orchestra- Rhapsody in Blue

Rhapsody in Blue (Thirty Tigers)

The Heart Collectors- Kathy’s Song

The Space Between (Spins the Gold)

Bobby Watt- Desperado

Watt Next? (Glenashdale Music)

Roberta Flack- Ballad of the Sad Young Men

First Take (Atlantic)

The Dumptrucks- Stealin’

Selections (Laughing Cactus)

Taj Mahal- Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You

Savoy (Stony Plain)

Allison Russell- The Returner

The Returner (Fantasy)

Alan Doyle- Welcome Home

Welcome Home (Skinner’s Hill Music)

Carole Wise- I Know My Roots

North Star (Soulful Cricket)

Jay Linden- Ordinary Sunrise

Ordinary Sunrise (Americana North)

Jessica Heine- Burning Bridges

Build Again (Fallen Tree)

Nick Justice- Let the Wind Blow

Stranger in My Town (Nick Justice)

Jeff Talmadge- Night Train from Milan

Sparrow (Berkalin)

Terre & Maggie Roche- Kin Ya See That Sun

Kin Ya See That Sun (Earth Rock Wreckerds)

Mad Agnes- Holy Well

Likely Story (DigDag)

Lisa Klotz- Seventh Generation (For Mother Earth)

Morning Sun (Lisa Klotz)

Charm City Junction- Roll On John

Salt Box (Charm City Junction)

Leslie Evers- Along the Rocky Way

Bound for Land (Cumulus)

Eric Brace & Thom Jutz- Can’t Change the Weather

Simple Motion (Red Beet)

Mike Regenstreif & Lynn Miles (2013)

Lynn Miles- Cold Cold Moon

tumbleWeedyWorld (True North)

Mr. O’Muck- Big Bill Mess Around

Home Field Recordings: The Ancient Blues of Mr. O’Muck (Muck-O-Phone)

I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on March 23. I also host Stranger Songs on CKCU every Tuesday from 3:30-5 pm.

--Mike Regenstreif

Claire Lynch – North By South

CLAIRE LYNCH

North By South

Compass Records

clairelynch.com

Writing about Claire Lynch’s album New Day in Sing Out! magazine in 2006, I referred to her as “one of the finest bluegrass vocalists of the modern era.” And, indeed, she was/is that. But, as early as that album, if not before, she was also finding inspiration in contemporary folk-rooted styles, singers and songwriters.

On her new album, North By South, Claire specifically finds inspiration in Canadian songwriters – nine of the 10 songs were written by Canadians, most of them familiar to readers of the Folk Roots/Folk Branches blog and to listeners of the radio programs I’ve done over the years in Montreal and Ottawa.

An album of Canadian songs might seem an odd choice for an artist long based in Nashville but Claire was inspired by her recent marriage to a Canadian man – and the other song on North By South is “Milo,” an up tempo tune inspired by her new husband.

Canada, of course, is known for many great songwriters (Canadian Spaces, a radio program on CKCU in Ottawa that I co-host every couple of months or so, is primarily dedicated to Canadian singer-songwriters) and Claire has picked some gems to sing on this album.

Perhaps my favorite track on North By South is Claire’s haunting version of Lynn Miles’ “Black Flowers,” whose narrator is a young mother whose husband was recently killed in a coal mine accident. As I’ve mentioned before, “Black Flowers” is one of the best coal mining songs of recent years. 

Other favorites include Old Man Luedecke’s “Kingdom Come,” an infectious melody that has Claire’s voice weaving in and around virtuoso playing by the likes of Béla Fleck on banjo, Bryan McDowell on fiddle, and David Grier on guitar; “Molly May,” J.P. Cormier’s seafaring ballad; Willie P. Bennett’s lovely “Andrew’s Waltz”; “Empty Train,” the compelling title track from David Francey’s latest album; and “All the Diamonds in This World,” Bruce Cockburn’s gentle song of spiritual belief.

“In all honesty, this collection of Canadian songs only touches the tip of the iceberg,” writes Claire in the liner notes. So, hopefully, this is just the first in a series of North By South albums by Claire Lynch.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Various artists -- Rounder Records 40th Anniversary Concert

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Rounder Records 40th Anniversary Concert
Rounder
rounder.com

This CD collects highlights from an October 2009 concert at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville celebrating the 40th anniversary of the founding of Rounder Records, one of the most important, and by now one of the most venerable, of roots-oriented independent record labels.

Featured on the CD are two songs each from some of the most popular artists on Rounder’s current roster: Minnie Driver, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas, Irma Thomas, Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck (with Abigail Washburn on one song and Jerry Douglas on the other); and Mary Chapin Carpenter. All of them perform together on a spectacular grand finale medley.

As well, there are several performances not from the concert that were shown on the big screen at the Opry concert and are included here including a song from Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and two songs each from Madeleine Peyroux and Steve Martin.

Minnie Driver, who hosted the concert – an edited version was a recent PBS fundraiser – may be a bit of a weak link musically in such a stellar lineup, but all of the artists turn in terrific performances. It’s a great party that touches several of Rounder’s main bases: bluegrass, Zydeco, R&B, contemporary folk, etc.

But what the CD doesn’t really give us is a sense of Rounder’s tremendous musical legacy. I’ve known the Rounder folks for most of those 40 years and I’ve collected hundreds and hundreds of their albums. Here, then, is a list of 40 of my favourite albums released or reissued by Rounder over the years, either on Rounder, or its subsidiary or acquired imprints. For the sake of variety, I’ve included no more than one album by any artist or group, no various artists collections, and the list is presented in alphabetical order.

Chava Albertstein & the Klezmatics- The Well
David Amram‑ No More Walls
Rory Block- Gone Woman Blues: The Country Blues Collection
Roy Book Binder- Polk City Ramble
Brave Old World- Beyond the Pale
Guy Clark- Craftsman
J.D. Crowe- J.D. Crowe & the New South
Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard- Hazel & Alice
Nanci Griffith- Last of the True Believers
Woody Guthrie- My Dusty Road
John Hartford- Aereo‑Plain
Priscilla Herdman- Forgotten Dreams
Anne Hills- Angle of the Light
Tish Hinojosa- Culture Swing
Flaco Jiminez- Arriba El Norte
Bill Keith- Something Auld, Something Newgrass, Something Borrowed, Something Bluegrass
Klezmer Conservatory Band- Live: The Thirteenth Anniversary Album
Allison Krauss- I've Got That Old Feeling
Lew London- Swingtime in Springtime
David Mallett- Inches & Miles
Martin, Bogan & Armstrong- Martin, Bogan Armstrong/That Old Gang of Mine
Mary McCaslin- Way Out West
Katy Moffatt- Evangaline Hotel
Bill Morrissey- Bill Morrissey
David Olney- Roses
Tom Paxton- Even A Grey Day
Utah Phillips- The Telling Takes Me Home
Red Clay Ramblers- It Ain't Right
Peter Rowan- Peter Rowan
Tom Russell- Poor Man's Dream
Mike Seeger- Third Annual Farewell Reunion
Paul Siebel- Paul Siebel
Skyline with Tony Trischka- Ticket Back: A Retrospective
Michael Smith- Michael Smith/Love Stories
Bill Staines- Tracks and Trails
Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin- Our Town
Happy & Artie Traum- Hard Times in the Country
Guy Van Duser & Billy Novick- Exactly Like Us
Dave Van Ronk- Sunday Street
Doc Watson- Sittin’ Here Pickin’ the Blues

--Mike Regenstreif