Thursday, May 5, 2016, 12:00pm
We Banjo 3 is a band from Galway, Ireland that plays a blend of traditional Irish, old time, and bluegrass! They stopped by WPR's Buck Studio to share some tunes with Stephanie Elkins and give a little insight into their music, a genre they've dubbed "Celt-Grass."
Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 2:15pm
Stephanie Elkins interviews Ottawa Valley singer, fiddler and stepdancer, April Verch!
Friday, April 15, 2016, 2:15pm
Stephanie Elkins interviews guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, Sean Watkins!
Friday, April 8, 2016, 2:15pm
Stephanie Elkins interviews Grammy Award-winning musicians, The Okee Dokee Brothers!
Thursday, March 10, 2016, 2:15pm
Stephanie Elkins interviews North Carolina's self-styled "renegade traditional" band, Mipso!
Sunday, January 29, 2012, 2:15pm
Stephanie Elkins interviews Willy Porter and The Carpe Diem String Quartet!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012, 12:00pm
Wisconsin's own Cory Chisel and his longtime keyboard player and singing partner Adriel Denae recently stopped by WPR's Buck studio to talk with Stephanie Elkins and play some of the songs from his new CD: "Old Believers."
Thursday, November 19, 2015, 2:15pm
Minnesota-Wisconsin duo American Feedbag has been making waves across the Midwest, and this fall they rolled into WPR's Buck Studio to share some lively conversation and music with Simply Folk's Stephanie Elkins!
Thursday, October 8, 2015, 4:15pm
Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen swing by the WPR studios for music and conversation with Simply Folk's Stephanie Elkins!
Wednesday, October 7, 2015, 5:00pm
Jim Leary is a public folklorist who was born and raised in Rice Lake in northwestern Wisconsin. Since the early 1970s his research has focused on the traditional songs, stories, customary practices, and handwork of indigenous and immigrant peoples and their mostly rural and working class descendants in America's Upper Midwest, resulting in numerous museum exhibits, folklife festivals, public radio programs, documentary sound recordings, films, essays, and books. Jim joins Stephanie Elkins on Simply Folk for some conversation and a look at his new multimedia project Folksongs of Another America.
Monday, September 21, 2015, 5:00pm
The Kissers began in the 1990s on a lark. Ken Fitzsimmons and Kevin Youngs envisioned a band that played Pogues songs and drank free beer with their friends, and a now-legendary string of Monday gigs at O’Cayz Corral began. Eventually, the side project grew into a first-rate band, “a rock band that learned to play Irish music.” Today, The Kissers are a highly skilled, veteran unit playing fresh material and loving it. While their rock roots are still audible, the music is more acoustic and traditionally Irish than ever before. WPR's Stephanie Elkins invited them into the studio for a lively interview and performance....
Wednesday, August 5, 2015, 2:50pm
Nominated for Best Band in Milwaukee 2014 (88Nine Radio Milwaukee), the Zach Pietrini Band barrels through towns on rails laid by Gram Parsons and Ryan Adams. They are spurred by stories, steam, and whiskey. Their freight bespeaks barroom-stomping Midwestern Salt-Of-The-Earth Americana. Stephanie Elkins sat down with Zach this summer to hear some tales and tunes.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015, 3:20pm
Based in Colorado, schoolteacher and singer-songwriter Josh Gadbaw stopped by Simply Folk to share some stories and songs with Stephanie Elkins, including one written for his great-great-grandfather (one of the four oldest engineers on the Milwaukee Railroad back in 1918) who lost his life when his passenger train collided with a freight train outside of New Lisbon, WI.
Sunday, August 2, 2015, 7:15pm
Stephanie Elkins interviews Jerry Vandiver, who paid a visit to the Simply Folk studio this past August.
Thursday, June 4, 2015, 2:15pm
Singer, songwriter and author Carrie Newcomer stopped by the Wisconsin Public Radio studios to share music and conversation with Simply Folk host Stephanie Elkins.
Friday, May 15, 2015, 2:00pm
Horseshoes and Hand Grenade is a progressive, high-energy string band with roots in old-time folk and bluegrass music. It’s a band filled with great musicians and song writers, all Wisconsin-born, getting some momentum going with a new recording and a tour that is also keeping them busy. They passed by WPR’s Buck studio and shared some music and conversation with Stephanie Elkins on Simply Folk.
David C. Lynch – Harmonica, Accordion, Spoons, Vocals; Russell Pedersen – Banjo, Fiddle, Vocals; Adam Greuel – Guitar, Dobro, Vocals; Sam Odin – Bass, Vocals; Collin Mettelka – Fiddle, Mandolin, Vocals
Tuesday, April 21, 2015, 2:00pm
Anna Laube is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer. Her songs have been featured on NPR, C|Net/Download.com, The San Francisco Bay Guardian, The Wisconsin State Journal, Wisconsin Public Television, and XM/Sirius Satellite Radio. She has performed at numerous festivals including SXSW, The Monterey Blues Festival, Folk Alliance International, and the Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour, and has toured internationally. She joins Stephanie Elkins on Simply Folk for some live music and conversation.
Friday, April 17, 2015, 1:00pm
Pacific Northwest duo Dave McGraw and Mandy Fer are internationally-acclaimed songwriters. Upon early release in Europe, their latest album Maritime charted at #1 on the EuroAmericana Chart for two consecutive months. Their compelling vocal harmonies grace every one of their songs, all tightly arranged and highly intricate. They joined Stephanie Elkins on Simply Folk, sharing their raw and honest songs, and having conversation.
Sunday, March 15, 2015, 1:00pm
Midwest singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Cris Plata is known for his unique brand of Tex-Mex songs that tell stories of his family's life as migrant farmers, and the lands they grew to love. His music involves a wide spectrum of musical styles, including Tex-Mex polkas, country rock, swing tunes, Mexican ballads, Mariachi music, and more. Plata is also the subject of a biography published by the Wisconsin Historical Press called “Cris Plata: From Fields to Stage/Del Campo al Escenario” by Maia A. Surdam. Ann Plata has been the bass player and backing vocalist for the band since its inception....
Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 5:00pm
Tret Fure has over four decades of experience in the music industry, with extensive touring and a substantial number of recordings under her belt, not to mention producing and audio engineering experience. She has been a fixture in the women’s music circle, being a part of women’s music festivals. She is also creative in other areas. She was a guest on Simply Folk, performing wonderful live music, and talking with Stephanie Elkins.
Thursday, February 19, 2015, 5:00pm
John Gorka is a singer-songwriter with 11 critically acclaimed albums under his belt. However his success does not stop there, Gorka has topped the Billboard Folk Charts and has collaborated with a number of artists including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nanci Griffith, Mary Black and Maura O’Connell. “Music is a refuge”, we hear in his thoughtful conversation with Stephanie Elkins on Simply Folk, alongside some wonderful live music.
Thursday, January 29, 2015, 12:00pm
Violinist and Educator Randy Sabien visited the WPR studios for some music and conversation with Stephanie Elkins. Randy also brought along his friend and fellow violinist Chris Wagoner. The two played and sang some of the songs from Randy's new release, Soul of a Man, talked about fly fishing in Wisconsin, and explored the vast repertoire of poultry-themed fiddle music.
Friday, November 21, 2014, 2:00pm
Garnet Rogers is a powerful singer, song-writer and multi-instrumentalist from Canada. Rogers' music soothes and comforts, and his presence enlightens and amuses. He brought his deeply purposeful and highly sensitive music to the WPR studios, alongside sharing some intense backstories with Simply Folk’s Stephanie Elkins.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014, 1:00pm
Colorado indie-grass folk quintet Trout Steak Revival are guests on Simply Folk. Talking with Stephanie Elkins, we hear about their journey from informal jamming band without any bluegrass background, evolving to become winners of the great Telluride Bluegrass Festival competition. It is a unique success story that enlightens.
Casey Houlihan – bass, vocals; Steve Foltz – guitar, vocals; Will Koster – guitar, vocals; Travis McNamara – Banjo, vocals; Bevin Foley – Violin, vocals
Tuesday, October 21, 2014, 7:00pm
Ida Jo is a singer, songwriter and violinist who recently won the Madison Area Music Association Folk/Americana performer of the year – just the latest in a collection of awards.
She recently released a new recording called The Current, and stopped by WPR’s studios with guitarist Scott Lampe and Bassist Nick Moran to share some music and conversation with Stephanie Elkins.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014, 3:00pm
Born in Milwaukee and raised in southwest Wisconsin, Singer-Songwriter Simon Balto recently moved back to the state after living in Chicago.
He’s currently pursuing a Ph.D. in History with a focus on African-American studies while continuing to write and perform music.
He spent some time at WPR with Simply Folk’s Stephanie Elkins, sharing several songs and some conversation. His newest CD is “The Roads that Make Men Weary.”
(Audio production by Joe Hardtke. Web production by Allen Rieland.)
Thursday, September 18, 2014, 1:00pm
One of the founders of the Simply Folk program and longtime host and co-host of the program, Tom Martin-Erickson joins Stephanie Elkins to talk about the genesis and some of the early days of Simply Folk. Martin-Erickson spent a lot of time behind the scene in venues all over the state and beyond, capturing music, storytelling, dance, and conversation on tape to be shared on the air.
Saturday, August 2, 2014, 3:00pm
Dom Flemons is a Grammy Award winner and founding member of the old-time string band Carolina Chocolate Drops. Flemons appeared in Wisconsin at the 2014 Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival, sharing his old-time folk music and the magic behind his unique new sounds. Together with Simply Folk's Stephanie Elkins, we find out that he is a true scholar in the way he approaches music.
Saturday, August 2, 2014, 2:00pm
Jerron Paxton is a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist and a modern day songster. Paxton easily moves through playing the banjo, guitar, fiddle, harmonica, piano, and other instruments. Similarly, Paxton masters multiple blues styles, playing through fiddle tunes, banjo tunes, ballads, rags and more.
He brought his joyous entertainment and humor to the 2014 Wisconsin Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival, and shared some music and conversation with Stephanie Elkins from the Roots and Reasons Stage there.
Thursday, July 17, 2014, 12:00pm
Coming from Tucson, Arizona, Run Boy Run is an award-winning folk quintet with music that brings together the traditional and the new. They beautifully blend three-part female harmonies with fiddles, mandolins, and upright bass, performing a range of music from the upbeat to the reflective. They came in for a session in WPR's Buck Studio, sharing a little conversation and lots of wonderful music.
Matt Rolland – fiddle, guitar; Grace Rolland – cello, vocals; Bekah Sandoval Rolland – fiddle, vocals; Jen Sandoval – mandolin, vocals; Jesse Allen – bass