Each year American Routes americanroutes.org celebrates Thanksgiving weekend with words and music from the National Heritage Fellows Concert in Washington DC. Since 1982 the National Endowment for the Arts has presented the fellowships. It’s America’s highest award in Folk & Traditional Arts. We’ll hear a mix of this year’s fellows live from the stage as well as great recordings of those from years gone by: The Holmes Brothers, Doc Watson, Tremé Brass Band, Michael Doucet with Beausoleil, Boozoo Chavis, Flaco Jimenez, Mavis Staples, Del McCoury, John Cephas & Phil Wiggins, Andy Statman and many more. Blues and jazz, Cajun and zydeco, Téjano and klezmer, bluegrass and gospel as well as Native American voices, make a cornucopia of sounds and stories for the holiday!
All from American Routes, the weekly public radio program devoted to the music and culture of New Orleans, the Gulf South and beyond. American Routes is produced with Tulane University’s School of Liberal Arts and distributed nationally by Public Radio Exchange.
This Week’s Playlist:
Hour 1
The Maryland and Delaware Singing and Praying Bands live performance live recording at NEA Heritage Concert 2014
“Black Cat on the Line” (Cephas) Cephas and Wiggins From Richmond to Atlanta (Bullseye Blues)
“Big Black Train” (Johnson/Sherry) The Earls of Leicester The Earls of Leicester (Rounder)
“House of the Rising Sun” (Ray/Holmes) Doc & Richard Watson Third Generation Blues (Sugar Hill)
Instrumental: “Fiddler’s Dream/Whistling Rufus/Ragtime Annie” (Trad.) Doc Watson Foundation: The Doc Watson Guitar Instrumental Collection 1964-1998 (Sugar Hill)
Kevin Doyle on-stage interview live recording at NEA Heritage Concert 2014
“Parlez-Nous A Boire (Speak to Us of Drinking)” (Trad.) Beausoleil Parlez-Nous A Boire & More (Arhoolie)
“Dog Hill” (Chavis/Simien) Boozoo Chavis Boozoo Chavis (Electra Nonesuch)
“Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio” (Jimenez) Flaco Jimenez Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio (Arhoolie)
Instrumental: “Viva Seguin” (Jimenez) Flaco Jimenez Arriba El Norte (Rounder)
“Descarga Cachao” (Lopez) Cachao Descarga Cachao (Epic)
Cowboy Donley live performance and on-stage interview live recording at NEA Heritage Concert 2014
“Sing On” (Trad.) The Treme Brass Band New Orleans Music! (Mardi Gras)
End Bed: “Tipitina” (Byrd) Allen Toussaint American Routes original recording
Hour 2
Rufus White live performance and on-stage interview live recording at NEA Heritage Concert 2014
Yvonne Walker Keshick on-stage interview live recording at NEA Heritage Concert 2014
“On the King’s Highway” (Statman) Andy Statman Old Brooklyn (Shefa)
Vera Nakonechny on-stage interview live recording at NEA Heritage Concert 2014
Instrumental: “One in Nine” (Statman) Andy Statman Old Brooklyn (Shefa)
Henry Arquette on-stage interview live recording at NEA Heritage Concert 2014
“Loggin’ Man” (McCoury) The Del McCoury Band The Cold Hard Facts (Rounder)
“John Henry” (Trad.) John Jackson Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down (Arhoolie)
Caroline Mazloomi on-stage interview live recording at NEA Heritage Concert 2014
“I’ll Take You There” (Isbell) The Staple Singers The Muscle Shoals Sound (Rhino)
Instrumental: “Opus de Soul” (Thomas/Isbell) Albert King, Steve Cropper, Pops Staples Jammed Together (Stax)
The Holmes Brothers live performance and on-stage interview live recording at NEA Heritage Concert 2014
End Bed: “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” (Carter) 2014 NEA Heritage Fellows live recording at NEA Heritage Concert 2014