Playlist: Episode 165

It was good to be back in the studio on August 30 (Episode 165) after another weekend away, this time for the Eaglewood Folk Festival. No interviews this week, just lots of music, including some great new stuff. There was also a very healthy dose of Canadian content.

This week’s show was very much a wrap up for our festival summer, and an opportunity to play some of the artists we enjoyed at this year’s Eaglewood Folk Festival. Eaglewood was the fourth festival of our summer, following Mariposa, Hillside and Kingsville and the third that I was hosting. So let’s just say that I was very busy but also having a blast. I have to say I love to emcee. It’s great to be so close to the music, while also allowing the performer in me a chance to get out from behind the mic. Anyway, if you’re looking for a Stage host / MC, you know where to find me…

Like all of the other festivals we’ve been to this summer, Eaglewood was lots of fun. Set on a beautifully landscaped farm in Pefferlaw, Ontario it was the perfect place for more great music in the outdoors. We couldn’t play music from all the artists on the bill, but I hope you’ll be satisfied with music from Coco Love Alcorn, Brooke Palsson, Kevin Breit, David Celia, Ariana Gillis, Lindy, Ian Reid, Kim Churchill and Harlan Pepper.

After a festival with so many great performances it’s hard to pick one highlight so I’ll pick two. If like me, you were a fan of HBO’s quirky Winnipeg-based comedy Less Than Kind, I should tell you that Brooke Palsson played Sheldon’s girlfriend in the series. As well as being a very talented actress, Brooke has been writing songs since the age of 12. She released her debut album, “The Willow” earlier this year. And, as well as having a wonderfully smoky voice, she also plays a mean ukelele. It was great to get to introduce her. And David Celia‘s performance with cameo backing vocals from Ariana Gillis and Coco Love Alcorn was outstanding. And another thing, Rockwood’s Ian Reid is really blossoming into a great stage performer since he started to pick up that electric guitar a lot more. Okay, that’s three. Enough.

This week’s Mystery Theme eluded to the fact that I’ve been out of the studio quite a bit this summer and it’s now time to get back in “the old routine”. A great excuse to play The Strawbs from 1977; an album I picked up on vinyl, on release, at the tender age of 17. I guess I just aged myself.

It was also nice to throw in some Bert Jansch, Rab Noakes ( I was first exposed to him through the Lindisfarne connection) and Jonny Kydd, who is also an actor, like his father Sam Kydd. Interestingly Jonny Kydd (as Jonathan Kydd) appeared as a six year old in The Iron Maiden, a 1962 British comedy about a traction engine – and the first film I ever went to see without adult supervision. It was part of the Saturday kids cinema in my home town of Sunderland (England), and I was just eight years old. I can’t remember how much it cost to get in but it wouldn’t have been a lot and its a memory that’s stayed with me. How’s that for trivia? Songs by First Aid Kit and Cindy Lee Berryhill rounded out the set.

This week’s Guilty Pleasure was Pretzel Logic, the title track from Steely Dan‘s 1974 album. It doesn’t sound like its aged at all. It went out to Murray Wheeler who went to see the ‘Steelys’ or should it be ‘The Dan’, last week in Toronto. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker still put on a great show.

If you have a guilty pleasure you’d like to share – that song you still love though you think other people would find it unfashionable (believe me, they won’t), get in touch. We’d love to play it for you! And, if you have a good story about why you love that song, so much the better.

I mentioned earlier that we played a lot of new music on today’s show. After already raving about the new album “Everything Changes” by the 79 year old Peggy Seeger (check it out) and The Hello Strangers – sisters Larissa Chace Smith and Brechyn Chace, Plumhall‘s “Thundercloud” featuring Michelle Plum and Nick B Hall is also pretty good too. I can’t wait to prepare my ten favourite albums of 2014 – I think I’ve already found some great candidates.

Well, that’s just about all the time we have for today. You can find the full playlist for the show below. Thanks to all the artists who share their music with us, and thank you for listening. We’ll see you next week!

You can listen to the show again on Mixcloud.

Folk Roots Radio – August 30 2014 by Folk Roots Radio on Mixcloud

Mystery Theme: “The Old Routine”

The Strawbs
Back In The Old Routine
Burning For You (1977, Witchwood)

Bert Jansch
The Old Routine
Sketches (1990, Temple Records)

First Aid Kit
This Old Routine
The Lion’s Roar (2012, Witchita Recordings)

Rab Noakes
The Old Routine (1982)
The River Sessions (2004, River Records)

Jonny Kydd
Back In The Old Routine
Eggshell Heart (2006, Self)

Cindy Lee Berryhill
Old Trombone Routine
Naked Movie Star (1989, Rhino)

Kevin Breit
Sunny Side Up
Folkalarm (2000, Poverty Playlist) CDN

The Oh Chays
What I Love
Big Old World (2014, Self) CDN

Red Moon Road
Where My Heart Is
Red Moon Road (2012, Self) CDN

David Celia
Life Is A Dream
I Tried (2010, Self) CDN

Kim Wempe
The Cost
Coalition (2013, Self) CDN

Steely Dan
Pretzel Logic
Pretzel Logic (1974, MCA)

Valerie June
Workin’ Woman Blues
Pushin’ Against A Stone (2013 , Concord Music Group)

Balmorhea
Bowsprit
Constellations (2010, Western Vinyl Recordings)

Lynne Hanson
This Too Shall Pass
River Of Sand (2014, Continental Song City) CDN

Peggy Seeger
You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are
Everything Changes (2014, Red Grape Music)

The Hello Strangers
The World Knows Better
The Hello Strangers (2014, IMI)

Plumhall
Learning How To Talk
Thundercloud (2014, Proper Records)

Lynn Jackson & Chris Boyne
Soft Stars
The Acoustic Sessions (2014, Busted Flat Records) CDN

Digging Roots
For The Light
For The Light (2014, Sugar Bush Music) CDN

Shane Jacob Philips
Rise Up
Social Justice & Peace (2014, Jacob Records) CDN

Brooke Palsson
The Willow
The Willow (2014, Self) CDN

Ariana Gillis
John The Monster (Prologue)
Forget Me Not (2012, Self) CDN

Ariana Gillis
John The Monster
Forget Me Not (2012, Self) CDN

Lindy
While We Were Waiting
Suspension Of Disbelief (2004, Orange Record Label) CDN

Harlan Pepper
TV (Let It Slide)
Take Out A Twenty & Live Life To The Full (2014, Six Shooter Records) CDN

Ian Reid
Pigeon
Delivered On Delhi Street (2014, Self) CDN

Kevin Breit
Bring Me Down
Field Recording (2012, Self) CDN

Coco Love Alcorn
Revolution
Joyful (2009, Sound Of Pop) CDN

Kim Churchill
Smile As He Goes Home (Live)
Live At Kerrville Wine & Music Festival (2011, Self) CDN