Others In This Space

The final portion of this week’s proGram took others into consideration, wherever they may be:

Lightning Flash- Amir ElSaffar Rivers Of Sound
City Adventure- A Moving Sound
Jiu Kuang (Drunken Ecstasy)- Cheng Yu with Dennis Kwong Thye Lee

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Thiosano- Kadialy Kouyate
Felicitation- Sonia Aimy
Bakithi- Guy Buttery, Mohd. Amjad Khan & Mudassir Khan

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Tempest Of The Dawn- Trio Tekke
Yemenia- Rasm Almashan
Sahari- Aziza Brahim

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Cadillac Dreams- J.Ele
El Inflador- Orquesta Akokán

Sugar Stacked

The middle part of this week’s proGram had itself glued toGether with that sweetness of tha’ suGar.

Oakanda Overdrive- Burnt Sugar Arkestra Chamber
***pre-recorded conversation with Jared Michael Nickerson**
Lisala Over Inna-OAKANDA- Burnt Sugar Arkestra Chamber
Repatration-Of-The-Midnight-Moors-(Oakanda rmx-2)- Burnt Sugar Arkestra Chamber

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Parallel Experience- David Ornette Cherry
Hargrove- Kenny Garrett
A Love Supreme, Pt. IV ~ Psalm- John Coltrane (live in Seattle, 1965)

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Wrong Key Donkey- Helen Sung with Harlem Quartet
Tues Days- Jane Ira Bloom & Allison Miller

Fillin’ It Uphill

The first part of this week’s proGram had so much in the path upwards:

Beautiful Is Black- Brandee Younger Ft. Ron Carter
Marimbista- Jenny Klukken
Chapters- Jenny Klukken

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Waves Of Color- Barrett Martin Group
Dance Of The Seven Sisters- Barrett Martin Group
Chuckles- Band Of Other Brothers

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Orange Coals- Graham Dechter
Mr. Day- Dave Liebeman

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Bye Bye Blackbird- Pat Coil Ft. Danny Gottlieb & Jacob Jezioro
4 A.M.- Gerry Gibbs
Natty Notes- Gerry Gibbs

Burnt Sugar Arkestra Chamber: Angels Over Oakanda

Founded by Village Voice icon Greg Tate & co-led with Dayton Ohio monster bassist Jared Michael Nickerson since 1999, Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber is a sprawling band of musicians whose prodigious personnel allows them to freely juggle a wide swath of the experimental soul-jazz-hip hop spectrum. Burnt Sugar was originally conceived as a forum for the New York area improvisational musician to compose, record and perform material which reflects the breadth and depth of American diasparan music in the 21st century. The intent of the Arkestra Chamber, through the deployment of Butch Morris’s conduction system, is to make every performance a fresh interpretation of its constituent parts. Rather than limit ourselves to the straight jackets that the commercial recording industry uses to market contemporary Black Music, Burnt Sugar freely moves amongst many styles, eras and genres to devise its own exciting hybrids. These hybrids are based on a solid foundation of various musical traditions and the use of cutting-edge music technology. In this sense the group mission honors its deepest inspirations, the first post-modernists of American music – Duke Ellington, Sun Ra, Parliament Funkadelic and The Art Ensemble of Chicago. This very accomplished crew has playing credits that range from Cecil Taylor, Charlie Musselwhite, Melvin Van Peebles, Lady Keir, Toshi Reagon, Vernon Reid, Arto Lindsey, DJ Logic, John Paul Bourelly, Gary Lucas, TV On The Radio, Tamar Kali, Mark Ribot, Phish, William Parker, Lizz Wright, The Holmes Brothers, Wadada Leo Smith, The The, David Murray, Thurston Moore, and Joseph Bowie to let you know. Arkestra Conductor Greg Tate says, “Burnt Sugar got the nerve to claim Sly Stone, Morton Feldman, Billie Holiday, Jimi Hendrix and Jean Luc Ponty as progenitors. Our player-ranks include known Irish fiddlers, AACM refugees, Afro-punk rejects, unrepentant beboppers, feminist rappers, jitterbugging doowoppers, frankly loud funk-a-teers and rodeo stars of the digital divide.” All this above is from their website, I call them the daily best unplanned thanG that could happen then, and family.

I had the opportunity to catch up with my man Mr. Jared Michael Nickerson to take a deep dive into the brand new four-song suite titled “Angels Over Oakanda”, which is the group’s first new studio-generated album of original material since 2017’s “All You Zombies Dig The Luminosity”. The album is being released on CD and as a digital download by Avant Groidd Musica September 23, 2021 with a 12” vinyl release to follow in 2022. J & I get into the birth and beGinning life of each track as the entity they are, we talk what could have been, what it is and what is still gonna be for the Arkestra as we all move in a new world way. Truthfully, there are few words I can give you to add to our chat, the experience that is the Burnt Sugar Arkestra Chamber and mostly, the creative beings that comprised the sonic adventures created by beings clearly meant to get after it, as one. Live is the right way to get this kinda Sugar, until then, let this new music into you, and experience.

The Shift Music Festival & Visionaries Summit

The Shift Music Festival & Visionaries Summit is a free, online conference and music festival with 100+ speakers and music artists from around the globe coming together to offer electrifying inspiration, deep transformative practices, powerful healing work, ecstatic music celebrations, and real game plans for change.

This year, there was this fantastic partnership with TreeSisters, a social change and reforestation charity out of the UK. While this event is completely free, we invite you to donate to Tree Sisters and aid our goal of planting 1 million trees. To plant one tree costs on average about 50 cents USD. 100% of your donation goes to reforestation efforts through TreeSisters. And it is never too late to reach out to find out more and donate to the causes.

What a mind and soul opening event

Get Out There

The final portion of this week’s proGram had a little ways to keep on going:

Poetry- Common Ft. Marcus King & Isaiah Sharkey
Get It Right- Common Ft. Raphael Saadiq
Café Collonge- Maston w/L’Eclair
Do You Feel It Working- Maston w/L’Eclair

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Lemniscate- More Ghost Than Man
The Worlds I Made There- More Ghost Than Man

A Fish Called Dharma- One Earth Alliance
Old Man Touchy- One Earth Alliance

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Kolanut- Sonia Aimy
Do Your Best- Sonia Aimy
Better Days- Sasha Dobson
These Boots Are Made For Walking- Sasha Dobson
The Peanut Vendor- The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong All Stars Ft. Wynton Marsalis & Herlin Riley

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Hazlo Como Yo- Grupo Changüí de Guantánamo

Out Field Pointing

The middle portion of the proGram this week was in game shape from the get:

I Got Burned- Tommy Castro
I Caught A Break- Tommy Castro
Peace Will Come- Tony Holiday Ft. Southern Avenue
Right Shoe Wrong Foot- Colin Linden

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Like A Snake- Boogie Beasts
Heart Stealer- Rusty Ends Blues band
Dallas Man- Sue Foley

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Looking Back- Dagnasterpus
White Pigeon- Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns
Marshville Station- Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns

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Chain Reaction- Mister T.
Spicy Brown- Hot Mustard
Tulum- Brothers Of Brass

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I Can’t Get No Satisfaction- YORK
Devil and the Deep Blue Sea- The Fontanas
Hepcats in Heat- Trog’low

It’s Log

The beGinning portion of this week’s show started the rolling of steady and able:

B-Flat Earth- Swamp Tooth
Gold- Red Clay Revival & Doug McElvy
First Bird To Sing- Bruce T Carroll
Today And Every Day- Dar Williams

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Ugly- Bren Holmes
Bummed- Andrew Gabbard
Keep A Little Light On- B. Hamilton

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Who Do You Love- Tom Rush (live)
***pre-recorded Conversation with Mr. Tom Rush***
Wasn’t That A Mighty Storm- Tom Rush (live)
Drop Down Mama- Tom Rush (live)
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It’s Complicated- Thunderpaw
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Always Free- Jackie Venson
Put A Lid On It- Diane Durrett & Soul Suga
Rise Together- Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps Ft. Snuffy Walde
n

Songs And Stories With Tom Rush

Tom Rush is a gifted musician & performer, whose shows offer a musical celebration, a journey into the tradition & spectrum of what music has been, can be, and will become. His distinctive guitar style, wry humor and warm, expressive voice have made him both a legend and a lure to audiences around the world. His shows are filled with the deep sincere laughter of terrific story-telling, the sweet melancholy of ballads and the passion of those gritty blues. Mr. Rush’s impact on the American music scene has been profound. He helped shape the folk revival in the ’60s and the renaissance of the ’80s and ’90s, his music having left its stamp on generations of artists. James Taylor told Rolling Stone, “Tom was not only one of my early heroes, but also one of my main influences.” Country music star Garth Brooks has credited Mr. Rush with being one of his top five musical influences. Mr. Rush has long championed emerging artists. His early recordings introduced the world to the work of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne & James Taylor, and in more recent years his Club 47® concerts have brought artists such as Nanci Griffith and Shawn Colvin to wider audiences when they were just beginning to build their own reputations. Mr. Rush has always displayed an uncanny knack for finding wonderful songs, and writing his own – many of which have become classics re-interpreted by new generations. Today, Tom Rush lives in New England when he’s not touring. His voice has grown even richer and more melodic, and his music, like a fine wine, has matured and ripened in the blending of traditional and modern influences. He’s written a number of new songs. He’s doing what he loves, and what audiences love him for: writing and playing …passionately, tenderly…knitting together the musical traditions and talents of our times.

I had the chance to catch up with friend of the proGram, Mr. Tom Rush about his upcoming show at the Bur Oak in Madison on September 28th. During this “Evening With Tom Rush”, he will be accompanied by a young creative talent, Matt Nakoa. Mr. Rush and I get into a little about how excited he is to getting back out there and sharing songs, stories and time with real people. We talk about the life of his songs and those stories as well as a what he has been up to during the times away from touring. We talk a little about this year’s 50th Shaboo Inn anniversary event he was a part of where one other bands in attendance did a song he does and did. We pondered if a superhuman can capo a pacemaker? And with many adaptations throughout the years, Mr. Rush continues to be a prominent musical voices for people who observe the every day with eyes wide. After tuning into this chat, the only way to really get why Mr. Rush is so important, is to be in a live room with him. Hope you can.

(see Bur Oak Covid policy here)

Photo: Bob Stegmaier

Plant Glows

The final part of this week’s proGram had that certain lit up effect happening to your natural worlds:

The Days in Brazil- YORK Ft. Guida de Palma
Roughneck- Eddie Roberts

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Lover- Joon Moon Ft. Liv Warfield
Misery- Joon Moon Ft. Liv Warfield
Bla Bla- Joon Moon Ft. Liv Warfield
Somebody’s Watching Me- Mr. Confuse Ft. John Winston Berta
Sweet Extasy- The Supertights

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Upsetter- Danny Mayer
Roast Fish & Cornbread- Lee “Scratch” Perry
Evil Tongues- Lee “Scratch” Perry
Free Up The Weed- Lee “Scratch” Perry

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The Spiral- Theon Cross Ft. Afronaut Zu & Ahnansé
Pressed- Atmosphere ft. Anwar HighSign, BlackLiq, Sa-Roc, Haphduzn, & Lateef the Truthspeaker

Don’t Be

The middle portion of the proGram wanted us all to remember to get out there and take that chance:

The Tastiest Combo- Jess Grant
Don’t Let The Tears- Howlin’ Rain
Cold As Ice- Lamar Williams Jr.
Cool My Head- Mo’ Gigs
Is This Love?- Allen Stone

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Tam- Shinji
Roll It- Handsome Jack
Deli Style- Hot Mustard
Golden- Brothers of Brass Ft. Rogers Bros

Love Somebody- The Allergies
I Love My Friends- Kiefer

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You Can Run, But You Will Only Die Tired- Thunderpaw
Going For Gold- Thunderpaw

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Soulgroove ’66 Pt.1- The New Cobras
Gasline- Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns
Temperanceville- Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns

Juicy Ingredients

The first part of this week’s proGram had the things mixed in that made it just right:

Good For Both of Us- Jay Wadley
At The End Of The Rainbow- Sierra Ferrell

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Carefree Kids- Backyard Tire Fire
**pre-recorded conversation with Ed Anderson**
Little Wren- Backyard Tire Fire

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Weight of the Earth, on Paper- Mega Bog
City Is Burning- Strange Majik
Let’s Get Together- The Ronnie Wood Band Ft. Mick Taylor (Live at the Royal Albert Hall)

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Hustle- Tommy Castro
greenarrowradio promo- Elly Wininger
Alabama Blues- Elly Wininger
A Taste Of Malt Liquor- The Porkroll Project
4 Cars- Colin Linden

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Sinners Strut- Rusty Ends Blues Band
Gimme Some Skin- Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps Ft. David Millsap

Backyard Tire Fire Is Back

Backyard Tire Fire is back! The Midwestern alt-country band’s forthcoming EP ‘Black Dirt Blue Sky’ dropping today via Black Dirt Records/Royal Potato Family. The five-song collection marks the first new music from Backyard Tire Fire in eleven years. The rebirth of Backyard Tire Fire springs forth with an undeniable burst of musical energy. Fans will cheer the band’s return the way families celebrate a long-awaited reunion. The music radiates a spirit of renewal, like a John Deere tractor turning over a patch of rich soil. And the musicians pack more passion into the material than a team of horses in their prime, eager to work. The recordings show how much bandmates Edward David Anderson, Matt Anderson, Scott Tipping and John Ganser are happy to play new songs together after a decade-long hiatus. ‘Black Dirt Blue Sky’ is loaded with moments that coax smiles and recall good memories. “Carefree Kids” inspires nostalgia, while “Truck Stop Shower” negotiates the ups and downs of a life lived hard with guest vocals by Garrison Starr. The band’s experience touring the USA and recording a series of timeless alt-country records in the early aughts informs the present-day energy of tunes like “Little Wren” and “House Of Cards.” Holding up alongside the best of Backyard Tire Fire from years past, the music shines with beauty and joy, like light at the end of a long tunnel. Backyard Tire Fire will return to the stage for a handful of select performances, including their own Black Dirt Music Festival in Bloomington, IL on Saturday, September 11 to be headlined by fellow Illinois band, Wilco.

It’s been a few years now, but I had a chance to reconnect with Backyard Tire Fire’s founding member, primary songwriter and friend of the proGram, Edward David Anderson. We talk about the new music, where it came from and how it was made ready to go down as a BTF collection. We dissect a couple of the tracks, so that feeling of being there when pen hits paper or strings get strummed for their birth is true. We also talked about life, where it was, where it’s been and some hopes for where it could be going and how all that translates into stories, the reason this band means so much to me…it’s the stories and how they are easily relatable for me as both a listener and a music sharer. A few years back when chatting with Cody, (Chicago Farmer), he and I discussed the influences they bounced off one another and same thing goes down in this chat. This is why is we his songs seem to “get us” is discussed. There might even have been mention of a children’s album and book. Say what? If you’ve been waiting, that part is now over and it’s time to get reconnected with a little Backyard Tire Fire of your own. I think this new EP is a great place to (re)start.

Eye To I

The final part of this week’s proGram made that all important connection:

Bill- Joon Moon Ft. Liv Warfield
Footsteps- Digital Liquid Ft. Joseph Malik + Beldina Odenyo
Paradise- Lowdown Brass Band
Truth- Lowdown Brass Band
Who Will Save the World?- Anthony Joseph

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Souvenir- Maston with L’éclair
Swiss Franc- Maston with L’éclair
Fiction Island- Zoe’s Shanghai

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Wiya Waist- The Garifuna Collective
Faden Sawo- Nakany Kante
One Bright Road- JonQuan & Associates x Elliot Martin
Small Axe- U-Roy Ft. Jesse Royal

Wider Views

The middle portion of this week’s proGram widened some ears to this more complete view:

Anyday- Tedeschi Trucks Band Ft. Trey Anastasio (Live at LOCKN’)
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Confess It- Saun & Starr Ft. The Dap-Kings (Live at the Apollo)
Thank You Lord- Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens (Live at the Apollo)
A Brighter Day- The New Mastersounds Ft. Lamar Williams Jr.
Honey Dijon- Hot Mustard

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crybaby- Kiefer
Lift Somebody Up- Kiefer Ft. Josh Johnson
The Fall of Phaeton- One Earth Alliance
Scoochie- Tim Carman Trio

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Low Era- Geese
Time- Joon Moon Ft. Liv Warfield
Young- Joon Moon Ft. Liv Warfield

Breakslow

The first portion of this week’s proGram took it’s sweet time enjoying every morsel:

Aeolian- Sendelica
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Dose of Love- Strange Majik
That Life- Unknown Mortal Orchestra
I Need You Bad- Shannon & The Clams
Crumb Back- Mega Bog
Honesty- Naia Izumi

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Praise Him- Mud Morganfield
Don’t Call it Love- Rusty Ends Blues Band
Back to Chicago- Lauren Anderson Ft. Mike Zito
Blow- Colin Linden

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Shame Shame Shame- The Ronnie Wood Band Ft. Mick Taylor & Paul Weller (live at The Royal Albert Hall)
Good Lover- The Ronnie Wood Band Ft. Mick Taylor (live at The Royal Albert Hall)
It’s Too Late- Tedeschi Trucks Band Ft. Trey Anastasio (live at LOCKN’)