Folk Roots Radio Episode 525: feat. Stan Simon – Songs From Strange Places & More New Releases

Jul 12 2020

Toronto based singer-songwriter Stan Simon joins us on Episode 525 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about his third album, “Songs From Strange Places”, a lovely new country folk recording that takes its lead from the great singer-songwriters and balladeers of our time, on a reflective collection of songs that explore themes of love, loss and spiritual exploration. We also check out more of the latest new releases and this time around hear from Sarah Jarosz, Chalk Horse Music, The SteelDrivers, Jake Blount, Josh Kimbrough, Lynn Jackson, Mark Erelli and Ken Tizzard & Music For Goats. Check out the full playlist below.

Interview

Toronto singer-songwriter Stan Simon’s new 10 song recording, “Songs From Strange Places”, was produced by Dennis Patterson at Big Smoke Audio.

“This album appeared out of nowhere at a time when I did not feel like an artist. I had decided to stop pursuing music as a career and lost my passion for creating. After taking some time to focus my energy elsewhere these songs started coming to me naturally, in pieces. I approached my songwriting open and honestly, working to refine my lyrics to reflect where I was in my life and the things I have seen. Through my writing, I started to explore concepts around building a family, losing people that I care for, approaches to spirituality and how these moments redefine me as a person.”

The new album features Stan Simon on vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica with support from Nathan Gray (pedal steel), Sebastian Shinwell (bass, tambourine, electric guitar, piano and harmony vocals), Max Trefler (drums) and Jackie Mohr (vocals on “Visceral”).

For more information about the music of Stan Simon, visit stansimonmusic.com.

That’s all we have time for. Thanks to all the artists who share their music with us, and thank you for listening. We have a lot of great music and interviews to bring you on future episodes.

If you enjoy the music we play on this show and want to support the artists – many of whom aren’t able to play live at the moment because of the Covid-19 pandemic, don’t just stream their music – that earns them much less than a penny per play. Instead, buy their music – and really make a difference to their income. They’ll love you for it!

Listen

You can listen to this episode again on Soundcloud by following the link below. You can also listen to episodes of Folk Roots Radio, on demand, via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and Tune-in Radio. (Click on the highlighted link to reach your chosen platform.)