Check out this week's best new folk, roots, and Americana music in rotation at Folk Alley! The post Hear the Best New Folk Music with Fresh Cuts Friday appeared first on Folk Alley.

Gleefully getting tangled up with Jon Muq aboard Cayamo 2025. We learned how leaving his home country of Uganda to follow music impacted the songwriter, who first learned English by singing. We spoke of how working on a cruise ship for six months helped with his feelings about food insecurity. He also talks about the heart-breaking story behind his guitar's googly eyes. The post Basic Folk podcast, eps. 306 – Jon Muq appeared first on Folk Alley.

Plain and simple: the musical notes and phrases of the 18 songs and tunes on What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow live so deeply within Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robbins that the duo evokes the earthiness and the spirit of the old-time string music they celebrate and honor. The pair traveled back to the North Carolina houses of their mentors Joe Thompson and Etta Baker and included their mentors’ arrangements of these songs and tunes. Many of the tracks feature the singing of birds or the buzzing of cicada, airily blending the music of nature with the strums and fingerpicking of Giddens’ banjo and the flights of Robinson’s fiddle. The post Album Review: Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson, ‘What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow’ appeared first on Folk Alley.

This week on Folk Alley, Cindy Howes shares a vibrant mix of fresh spring folk and Americana, featuring new music from Olive Klug, The Swell Season, The Mallett Brothers Band, The Shootouts, Jason Isbell, and a stunning duet from Allison Russell and Annie Lennox. You'll also hear longtime favorites like Chris Smither, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Over the Rhine, and Anna Tivel, plus new tracks from Kieran Kane & Rayna Gellert, Alison Krauss & Union Station, and a special look at the 30th anniversary edition of Guy Clark’s 'Dublin Blues'. Don’t miss an excerpt from the Basic Folk podcast with Ani DiFranco and Carsie Blanton, and more gems from Neko Case, Uncle Earl, Valerie Smith, and others. The post Folk Alley Radio Show #250410 appeared first on Folk Alley.

Check out this week's best new folk, roots, and Americana music in rotation at Folk Alley! The post Hear the Best New Folk Music with Fresh Cuts Friday appeared first on Folk Alley.

Basic Folk is making trouble at sea with Ani DiFranco and Carsie Blanton! Hosts Lizzie and Cindy had the opportunity to speak with the two like-minded radical songwriters aboard the 2025 edition of Cayamo. From creativity during menstruation to music as part of a larger movement for justice... check out a truly radical conversation at the link in bio or where you listen. The post Basic Folk podcast, eps. 305 – Ani DiFranco & Carsie Blanton appeared first on Folk Alley.

Like pure rain falling, the crystal vocals and harmonies of Kieran Kane and Rayna Gellert wash over, cleansing our hearts and souls. Their new album, 'Volume 4,' is the last release on Dead Reckoning Records, an anniversary of the first album on the label thirty years ago, Kieran’s 'Dead Reckoning.' The duo’s new album features the warm lead vocals and harmonies and intimate instrumentation we’ve come to expect from the duo. The post Album Review: Kieran Kane & Rayna Gellert, ‘Volume 4’ appeared first on Folk Alley.

Billy Strings and Bryan Sutton channel the spirits of Doc Watson, Tony Rice, and Clarence White in their set at the American Legion Post #82, and they honor them, innovating on and carrying their songs to new heights for a new generation of listeners. It’s not too much to say that every song or tune that this pair touches turns to musical gold, and 'Live at the Legion' overflows with gold nuggets. The post Album Review: Billy Strings & Bryan Sutton, ‘Live at the Legion’ appeared first on Folk Alley.

This week on Folk Alley, join Cindy Howes as we kick off April with music from Simon & Garfunkel, Aubrey Haynie, and Johnny Cash. Enjoy fresh tracks from Alison Brown & Steve Martin (with Tim O’Brien), Jake Xerxes Fussell, Special Consensus, Andy Leftwich, Jason Isbell, The Faux Paws, Watchhouse, Olivia Ellen Lloyd, and Kieran Kane & Rayna Gellert. We’ll also celebrate Kaia Kater’s recent Juno Award win and remember the legendary John Prine. Plus, hear an excerpt from Basic Folk featuring Loudon Wainwright III—and more! The post Folk Alley Radio Show #250403 appeared first on Folk Alley.

Check out this week's best new folk, roots, and Americana music in rotation at Folk Alley! The post Hear the Best New Folk Music with Fresh Cuts Friday appeared first on Folk Alley.