Elephant Revival Tune 'Pasture' Made To 'Rock The Earth'
Thursday, February 18, 2021, 1:55pm
From its opening notes, "Pasture," by the band Elephant Revival, dances through the speakers with a percussive melody from a mandolin, followed up by its duet partner, the fiddle. The band shared this wonderful instrumental during a 2013 in-studio performance and interview with "Simply Folk's" Stephanie Elkins.
We Learn The Music From Others
Wednesday, September 16, 2020, 7:20pm
Learning and inspiration can strike us from anywhere and from anyone. The Madison-based Krause Family Band has taken what they’ve learned from others and passed it on with their family’s music.
'Oh, These Warm Summer Evenings Are Where We Once And Again Shall All Meet'
Wednesday, August 12, 2020, 11:20am
"It's a warm summer evening / I can just hear the Knuckleball Suite / the clover hums along / the little rain clouds finding their feet." That’s how Peter Mulvey starts his musical sketch of the Cafe Carpe in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Titled "The Knuckleball Suite," a live in-studio performance of the song is featured on the "Simply Folk" 40th anniversary CD. Mulvey recorded it while being interviewed by Stephanie Elkins back in January of 2013 . You can download the song at the link above.
Hope, Beauty, And Community Bring Us Resilience
Wednesday, July 29, 2020, 4:10pm
What gives us resilience? It’s a pertinent question these days, with our country dealing with the twin crises of the coronavirus pandemic and systemic racism. While no recipe exists for resilience, we can find the ingredients all around us — beauty, hope, community. All these ingredients come together in one of the tracks from Simply Folk’s 40th anniversary CD, "My Bird Can Sing," by Willy Porter and the Carpe Diem String Quartet .
'You Can Do This Hard Thing' — Carrie Newcomer's Music Encourages Us In Difficult Times
Thursday, April 30, 2020, 10:25am
We’re all doing hard things these days, whether facing exposure to COVID-19 as a frontline worker, dealing with unemployment or just not being able to see family and friends. Doing something difficult was a theme back in June 2015, when musician Carrie Newcomer performed her song "You Can Do This Hard Thing" in WPR’s Madison studio.
The Bluegrass Sound Has Taken Root In Wisconsin
Wednesday, November 27, 2019, 6:30am
In December 1945, Earl Scruggs joined Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys, bringing the Scruggs-style three-finger banjo playing to the band. Many people point to that moment as the birth of what we now call bluegrass music.
Roots Musician Wade Fernandez Honors The Past To Ensure The Future
Wednesday, November 6, 2019, 1:15pm
For Wade Fernandez, music is a way of honoring the past while also ensuring the future. A roots musician and member of the Menominee Nation, Fernandez’s song, "Sawaenemiyah (Blessed)" is the "Simply Folk" download of the month for November.
Cris Plata Plays His Music At The Crossroads
Wednesday, October 2, 2019, 3:20pm
Cris Plata is an embodiment of a musical crossroads, having grown up traveling with his family around the United States as migrant farmers. And those travels exposed him to music that melded with the traditional Mexican music that he grew up with.
Laura Gibson Shares An Intimate Version Of 'The Fire'
Tuesday, July 30, 2019, 2:35pm
Nothing beats a live performance, and while we can’t provide you with a concert in your living room, we can come close with the musicians who perform in Wisconsin Public Radio’s studio. This month’s 'Simply Folk' download is a great example of that. Laura Gibson was in WPR's Buck Studio back in...
Singer-Songwriter Tret Fure Has Worked Both On Stage, Behind The Music
Friday, March 1, 2019, 5:00pm
A well-known musician herself, Tret Fure also has made it possible for other people to share their voices and their music. As an engineer, record producer, songwriting teacher and president of her local musicians’ union, she has been both on stage and behind the music for over 40 years.