Monday, March 24
The Purple Bird is the latest recording from Bonnie “Prince” Billy, the project of Kentucky-born singer-songwriter Will Oldham. Working with a producer for only the second time in his career, Oldham traveled to Nashville to make the record which features guest appearances from country music legend John Anderson and bluegrass legend Tim O'Brien. Listen for music from that release as well as selections from Bob Mould’s latest, Here We Go Crazy, which finds the veteran musician focusing on the powerful, succinct songs he’s been known for since his time as a member of Hüsker Dü.
Tuesday, March 25
Ted Lucas was known as an expert guitarist in the Detroit music scene but he had a difficult time making his way out of the Motor City. By his early thirties he’d landed two record deals with Warner Bros. with two different bands only to see them dropped from their contracts. His career as a studio musician largely dried up when Motown moved to Los Angeles but his self-titled debut solo recording from 1975 has persisted as an underground masterpiece, long outliving Lucas himself, who passed in 1992. After being released and re-released on a series of small and private press labels, the record is finally available to a wide audience via Jack White’s Third Man label. We’ll hear selections from this 1975 recording as well as music from Gently, the new EP by Madi Laughlin.
Wednesday, March 26
Benmont Tench was an integral member of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and, in the 1980s, began to make a name for himself as a session musician, amassing credits with Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, and numerous others. Despite being an acclaimed songwriter, he’s only released two solo albums to date, 2014’s s You Should Be So Lucky, and 2015’s The Melancholy Season. The latter was produced by Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, Billy Strings) and features guest performances from Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek, Watkins Family Hour) and Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes). We’ll hear music from that LP as well as examples of Tench’s work with Jackson Browne, Jon Regen, Johnny Cash and, of course, as a member of The Heartbreakers and get to a song written for Tench by Chris Opperman. Plus: Selections from Peter Holsapple’s upcoming LP, The Face of 68, Chris Bell, Gary Louris, Lucy Dacus, and Geo-Joe.
Thursday, March 27
Long After The Fire is the debut album from the husband and wife duo of Vicki Peterson (Bangles) and John Cowsill (The Cowsills). We’ll hear music from that release and get to selections from No Fun In The Chrysalis, the latest from Eau Claire, Wisconsin’s Them Coulee Boys plus songs from Teddy Thompson, Linda Thompson, Sarah Mary Chadwick and Norah Jones.
Friday, March 28
Owls, Omens, and Oracles is the forthcoming release from Valerie June. Produced by M. Ward and featuring an appearance from The Blind Boys of Alabama, the record is being hailed as “transformative.” We’ll get to selections from that as well as music from the new LP by AJ Croce, Heart of The Eternal.
Saturday, March 29
Listen for selections from Bob Mould’s latest, Here We Go Crazy, which features his longtime rhythm section of Jason Narducy and Jon Wurster. We’ll also hear from R.E.M.’s 1983 debut, Murmur.
