eTown

Aoife O’Donovan / Che Apalache / Award: KC Curberson-Alvarado (Part 1 of 2)

In this week’s two part airing, we’re joined by eTown veteran Aoife O’Donovan of the Grammy Award-winning band “I’m With Her.” Aoife returns to eTown for a very special performance with collaborator Jeremy Kittel, who co-produced and arranged Aoife’s first new studio recording in four years. Aoife and Jeremy are also joined by members of a string quartet.

Also with us for their visit is Latin and American roots band Che Apalache, featuring three powerhouse Latin American musicians – two from Argentina, Franco Martino (guitar), Martin Bobrik (mandolin), and Pau Barjau (banjo) from Mexico, as well as worldly frontman Joe Troop.

We’ll also hear an inspiring story from an individual who’s helping immigrants in Morristown, Tennessee by providing language and cultural education in addition to legal assistance.

Check out videos from this show and others at: eTown.org

Jonathan Wilson / Steve Earle / Award: Samir Lakhani (Eco-Soap Bank)

Both of our artists in this week’s re-airing are prolific in their own right. Joining us for the first time is psychedelic folk-rock songwriter and producer Jonathan Wilson. He’s an amazing musician in his own right (besides touring on his own, he spent two years on the road as part of Roger Waters’ touring band), plus he’s a sought after producer (Connor Oberst, Father John Misty, Dawes and many others have worked with him).

And iconic, prolific country Americana singer-songwriter Steve Earle returns to the show (his 9th visit) to showcase his recent tribute album to the legendary Guy Clark.

Rounding things out, our eChievement Award story this week features a young man who founded a humanitarian nonprofit organization working to improve sanitation conditions in the developing world.

 

Check out videos form this show and more at eTown.org

Greensky Bluegrass / Israel Nash / Interview: Christine & Lief Beck (U.S. National Junior Tennis League)

This encore broadcast brings an eclectic hour of music and conversation this week as bluegrass-jam band Greensky Bluegrass returns to the show along with Texas genre-bending rock ‘n’ roller Israel Nash. We’ll also hear from about a couple who has been introducing tennis to inner-city youth since the 1970s as a vehicle for inspiring a lifelong affinity for learning.

Watch videos from this show and others at etown.org

Patrick Watson / Basia Bulat / Award: Brandon Dennison (Coalfield Development)

This week’s show features Canadian singer-songwriter Patrick Watson, as he makes his first visit to eTown. Patrick grew up in Montreal and has some of the art-music sensibilities that remind us of Rufus Wainwright or Gregory Alan Isakov.

Also joining us is another Canadian singer-songwriter and eTown veteran, Basia Bulat. This is her second eTown, and she’ll be sharing songs from her upcoming album that’s produced by My Morning Jacket’s Jim James.

We’ll also have an inspiring conversation with an eChievement Award winner who is helping unemployed coal miners in West Virginia find meaningful work and income so they can support their families.

Watch videos from this show and others at: eTown

Beth Hart / John McEuen / Award: Diane Cohen (Finger Lakes ReUse)

In this week’s back-by-popular-demand re-airing, eTown welcomes the incredibly gifted singer-songwriter and piano virtuoso Beth Hart to the solar-powered stage at eTown Hall.

Plus, our longtime friend John McEuen, iconic American musician and founding member of the beloved Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, returns to the show.

We’ll also hear a motivating eChievement Award story about a woman in New York who’s headed up a highly successful “re-use and recycling” program, repurposing everything from building materials to some of the most difficult of items that would normally end up in a landfill. Hope you’ll join us . . . in eTown!

Watch videos from the show at etown.org 

Sarah Jarosz / Hymn For Her / Award: Paula Claussen (Project Mercy)

In this week’s re-airing, we welcome back long-time friend and musical virtuoso Sarah Jarosz to the eTown airwaves to share from her latest collection of songs. Sarah continues to skyrocket in her career, all while doing things her own way. We’ll learn more about what’s happening in her world these days, during her conversation with eTown host Nick Forster.

Also, eTown newcomers Hymn for Her bring their unique brand of Americana music to eTown’s solar-powered stage.

All of this, plus a one-of-a-kind musical finale collaboration and an inspiring eChievement Award story featuring Paula Classen of Project Mercy – this week in eTown.

Watch videos from this show and others at eTown.org

Allen Stone / Nikki Lane / Interview: Marc Barasch

This week on the eTown airwaves, we welcome neo-soul and modern R&B artist Allen Stone.

Also with us for her second visit to eTown is Nashville-based American country and rock singer/songwriter Nikki Lane.

Nick also has a conversation with Marc Barasch, founder of the Green World Campaign, who discusses how a regenerative agricultural revolution could be a solution to reversing climate change. Join us this week… in eTown!

Watch videos from the show HERE!

eTown Archival Earth Day 50th Anniversary Special

Earth Day is a huge deal for eTown. We taped our first show on Earth Day in 1991, launching our program with a commitment to both entertain and inform by featuring great live music, plus interviews with artists while presenting the views of experts, scientists, authors, and policy makers about the state of our environment and how we can each try to help heal the planet.

When we started, many radio stations were unsure of our particular format: one-of-a-kind live musical moments combined with compelling conversation. But eTown soon caught on, and we continue to reach more and more people. eTown was ahead of the curve, talking about climate change, almost 30 years ago. But though that discussion is far more common today than it was in 1991, the truth is, the Earth still needs our attention – now more than ever.

This week, we present our “Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary” Special, Covid-19 edition. Helen and Nick worked from home, she combing through the archives to select the various pieces, he writing and recording his parts. Their voices were recorded in their basement. eTown audio engineer extraordinaire Todd Ayers assembled it all with their direction. And the result is a lively, rich program we’re pretty sure you’ll enjoy. Lots of music, conversations with people like Jane Goodall and even the founder of Earth Day, the late Senator Gaylord Nelson – all from the eTown archives.

Where else are you going to hear Mavis Staples, a Woody Guthrie song sung in Arabic, Jack Johnson, and Jane Goodall all on the same show? That’s this week – in eTown.

Shook Twins / Danny Barnes / Award: Bill Lavin (Where Angels Play Foundation)

For this week’s encore broadcast, we’re joined by Shook Twins, the Portland-based indie-folk duo (and twin sisters) known for their incredible harmonies, as well as the wide range of instruments they play.

Also with us is longtime friend of the show, gifted songwriter and player extraordinaire Danny Barnes (a past winner of The Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass).

To round things out, we’ll share an inspiring eChievement Award story about Bill Lavin from New Jersey who started the Where Angels Play Foundation that builds playgrounds in areas of disaster or devastation to honor the victims of tragedy and provide places of hope and community for children and inspire healing.

Loretta Lynn Birthday Podcast

In honor of Loretta Lynn’s birthday, April 14th, we decided to pull up this interview with the country music icon from her visit to eTown back in 2009. We hope you enjoy this gem as much as we do. Happy birthday, Loretta Lynn!