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Monday, July 13, 2009

Bluegrass/Country Show - July 12, 2009

Sunday July 12, 2009 – 7:00-9:00 pm

I made a rare return to live radio to guest-host the Bluegrass Ramblings and Country Classics hours on CKUT (90.3 FM in Montreal).

This program is available as a podcast (for two months) for streaming or downloading at

http://secure.ckut.ca/64/20090712.19.00-21.04.mp3

The program begins 18 seconds into the download.

This program was dedicated to the memory of the late jazz broadcaster extraordinaire Len Dobbin who passed away Thursday at age 74. Earlier today I was privileged to participate in CKUT’s special five-hour homage to Len.

STEVE MARTIN- Pitkin County Turnaround
The Crow (Rounder)

DIAN & THE GREENBRIAR BOYS- Cannon Ball Blues
Dian & the Green Briar Boys (Collector’s Choice)
CHARLIE HADEN featuring RACHEL HADEN & TANYA HADEN- Oh, Take Me Back
Charlie Haden Family & Friends: Rambling Boy (Decca)
ROBIN & LINDA WILLIAMS- Maybelle’s Guitar and Monroe’s Mandolin
Buena Vista (Red House)
TONY TRISCHKA w/MICHAEL DAVES- Molly and Tenbrooks
Territory (Smithsonian Folkways)

Country Kicks Cancer – A Benefit for Cancer Research Organization “Team in Training” with Notre Dame de Grass, Ladies of the Canyon, Yonder Hill, Lake of Stew, Terry Joe “Banjo”, Mike O'Brien and Colin Moore, Wednesday, July 29, 8:00 pm, at Café Campus, 57 Prince Arthur East. Visit http://hellodarlinproductions.com/ or call 514-524-9225 for info or tickets.

NOTRE DAME DE GRASS- New Canada Road
New Canada Road (Hello Darlin’)
YONDER HILL- Missing Me
Yonder Hill (Yonder Hill)
LAKE OF STEW- The 105
Ain’t Tired of Lovin’ (Woodhog)
TERRY JOE “BANJO”- Blackberry Blossom
Mountain Calling (Terry Joe Banjo Rodrigues)

BERGGREN/KIRK/SHAW featuring ANN DOWNEY- Log Driver’s Waltz
North River/North Woods (Sleeping Giant)
SHEARWATER BLUEGRASS- Argyle Street
Shearwater (Shearwater)
STEVE MARTIN- Wally on the Run
The Crow (Rounder)

DIANA JONES- All God’s Children
Better Times Will Come (Proper American)
RITA HOSKING- Little Joe
Come Sunrise (Rita Hosking)
ALECIA NUGENT- Hillbilly Goddess
Hillbilly Goddess (Rounder)

CROOKED STILL- The Absentee
Still Crooked (Signature Sounds)
CEDAR HILL REFUGEES (lead vocal: RALPH STANLEY)- Keys to the Kingdom
Pale Imperfect Diamond (Effigy)
MARGOT LEVERETT & THE KLEZMER MOUNTAIN BOYS- High Lonesome Honga
2nd Avenue Square Dance (Traditional Crossroads)

NANCI GRIFFITH- The Loving Kind
The Loving Kind (Rounder)
RONNY COX- Can I Come Back Home
Songs…with Repercussions (Wind River)
CORIN RAYMOND- There will Always be a Small Time
There will Always be a Small Time (Corin Raymond)

GRETCHEN PETERS w/TOM RUSSELL- Guadalupe
One to the Heart, One to the Head (Frontera/Scarlet Letter)
TOM RUSSELL w/DAVE ALVIN- Blue Wing
The Tom Russell Anthology: Veteran’s Day (Shout! Factory)
KERRY GROMBACHER- Never Come Again
It Sings in the Hi Line (Kerry Grombacher)
JAMES TALLEY- Sometimes I Think About Suzanne
Tryin’ Like the Devil (Cimarron)

I’ll be hosting The Montreal Folk Reunion with Jesse Winchester, Penny Lang, Bruce Murdoch, Willie Dunn and Ron Bankley on Saturday, July 18, from 3-4:30 pm, at the Apple Hollow Music Fest in Franklin Centre, QC. All of those artists, and many others, will also be doing full concert sets at some point during the day or evening. Visit http://www.applehollowmusicfest.org/ or call 450-827-2748 for info or tickets.

JESSE WINCHESTER- Bless Your Foolish Heart
Love Filling Station (Appleseed)
PENNY LANG- (Up To My Neck In) High Muddy Waters
Stone + Sand + Sea + Sky (Borealis)
BRUCE MURDOCH- As Soon as Possible
Matters of the Heart (Bruce Murdoch)
WILLIE DUNN- School Days
Metallic (Aural Tradition)
JESSE WINCHESTER- It’s a Shame About Him
Love Filling Station (Appleseed)

JOE ELY- Lift Your Leg
Man of Somebody’s Dreams: A Tribute to Chris Gaffney (Yep Roc)
DAVE ALVIN & THE GUILTY WOMEN- River Under the Road
Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women (Yep Roc)

TISH HINOJOSA w/DALE WATSON- Count Me In
Our Little Planet (Varese Sarabande)

2:18 AM

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http://secure.ckut.ca/64/20090709.09.45-10.14.mp3

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Tribute to Jackie Washington

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Folk Roots/Folk Branches with Mike Regenstreif is now a 30-minute feature frequently heard at about 9:45 or 10:00 am during Folk Directions with Gerry Goodfriend on Thursday mornings (9-11:00 eastern) on CKUT, 90.3 FM in Montreal.

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Visit the Folk Roots/Folk Branches blog at http://frfb.blogspot.com/.

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Thursday July 9, 2009

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In Tribute to Jackie Washington....

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When Jackie Washington, the legendary folk/jazz/blues singer, guitarist, pianist and raconteur from Hamilton, Ontario passed away on June 27 at the age of 89, Canada lost one of our most beloved performers, and, I would hazard to guess, our most venerable performer. Although he was already in his mid-50s when he made his first LP, Jackie began performing at the age of five as one of the Four Washington Brothers.

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From the first time I heard Jackie, at the Mariposa Folk Festival – I think it was in 1974, maybe ’75 – to the shows I produced for him at the Golem in Montreal until the final concert I saw him do a year ago May with Ken Whiteley and Mose Scarlett at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, I loved being in his audience. He was a wonderful performer with a seemingly endless repertoire of standards and obscurities. Just as good were the opportunities to sit and visit with him off-stage where the stories and songs would always continue to flow. In 2004, Jackie did a wonderful interview with me on Folk Roots/Folk Branches.

As a guitar player, he had a sense of chords and rhythm that I’ve only ever heard from two other players: the late Freddie Green of the Count Basie Band and the late Ted Bogan of Martin, Bogan & Armstrong, both of whom were older than Jackie, both of whom are also now deceased. ....

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MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 1

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JACKIE WASHINGTON- What That Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam’....

Midnight Coo Choo (Borealis)....

JACKIE WASHINGTON- Sugarfoot Rag....

Midnight Coo Choo (Borealis)....

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MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 2....

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JACKIE WASHINGTON- Street of Dreams....

Midnight Coo Choo (Borealis)....

JACKIE WASHINGTON- Triscadecaphobia....

Midnight Coo Choo (Borealis)....

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MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 3....

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JACKIE WASHINGTON- Take the “A” Train....

Keeping Out of Mischief (Pyramid)....

JACKIE WASHINGTON- Alabamy Bound....

Midnight Coo Choo (Borealis)....

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MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 4....

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SCARLETT, WASHINGTON & WHITELEY- Walking Down the Line....

Sitting on a Rainbow (Borealis)....

SCARLETT, WASHINGTON & WHITELEY- We’ll Meet Again....

We’ll Meet Again (Borealis)....

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MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 5

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This feature is available as a podcast (for two months) for streaming or downloading at

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The feature begins five seconds into the download.

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Folk Roots/Folk Branches is now a blog featuring Mike Regenstreif’s playlists, CD and DVD reviews, news and commentaries.

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Special Program Note: I’ll be doing a rare live show on CKUT on Sunday evening, July 12, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, with a program of bluegrass and country roots and branches.

11:22 PM

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http://secure.ckut.ca/64/20090611.09.45-10.14.mp3

Thursday, June 11, 2009

June 11, 2009 -- The Songs of Steve Gillette

Visit the Folk Roots/Folk Branches blog at http://frfb.blogspot.com/.

Thursday June 11, 2009

The songs of Steve Gillette

For the past 20 or so years, Steve Gillette has been recording and touring in a partnership with his wife, Cindy Mangsen. But Steve’s history on the folk music scene goes back to the mid-1960s. He first came to prominence in the mid-1960s when Darcy Farrow and several other songs he wrote in traditional folk song styles became popular through the recordings of Ian & Sylvia, and then, many other artists.

This Folk Roots/Folk Branches features interpretations of Steve Gillette songs by a variety of artists.

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 1

IAN & SYLVIA- Darcy Farrow

The Complete Vanguard Studio Recordings (Vanguard) or Early Morning Rain (Vanguard)

CAROLYN HESTER- 2:10 Train

At Town Hall (Bear Family)

SCOTT ALARIK- Molly and Tenbrooks

All That is True (Scott Alarik)

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 2

RONNY COX- Grapes on the Vine

Songs…with Repercussions (Wind River)

LAUREL CANYON RAMBLERS- Back on the Street Again

Back on the Street Again (Sugar Hill)

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 3

MATT WATROBA- Bed of Roses

The Best is Yet to Be (Ledgewood)

TED HAWKINS- Happy Hour

The Ted Hawkins Story: Suffer No More (Rhino) or Happy Hour (Rounder)

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 4

STEVE GILLETTE- The River

The Ways of the World (Compass Rose)

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 5

For more on Steve Gillette, visit http://compassrosemusic.com/.

This feature is available as a podcast (for two months) for streaming or downloading at

The feature begins 57 seconds into the download.

Folk Roots/Folk Branches is now a blog featuring Mike Regenstreif’s playlists, CD and DVD reviews, news and commentaries.

9:10 PM

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Thursday, April 23, 2009

In Praise of Tom Paxton, Part 3

Visit the Folk Roots/Folk Branches blog at http://frfb.blogspot.com/.

Thursday April 23, 2009

Guest- Tom Paxton

In Praise of Tom Paxton, Part 3

This was the third of three Folk Roots/Folk Branches features in praise of Tom Paxton.

Tom performs Sunday April 26 at the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall, his first Montreal concert since his regular sold-out concerts at the Golem in the 1980s. Call Hello Darlin’ Productions at 514-524-9225 for tickets or information. Tom is one of the all-time greatest folk-based singer-songwriters, and one of my all-time favourite performers. Definitely a don’t miss concert.

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 1

A song written for the first Earth Day, April 22, 1969.

TOM PAXTON- Whose Garden Was This
Tom Paxton 6 (Collectables)

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 2

TOM PAXTON & MIKE REGENSTREIF- conversation

That conversation with Tom Paxton was recorded on April 15^th.

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 3

TOM PAXTON- How Beautiful Upon the Mountain

Comedians & Angels (Appleseed)

TOM PAXTON- The Honor of Your Company

Live for the Record (Sugar Hill)

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 4

For more on Tom Paxton, visit http://tompaxton.com/.

Folk Roots/Folk Branches is now a blog featuring Mike Regenstreif’s playlists, CD and DVD reviews, news and commentaries.

10:34 PM

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Thursday, April 02, 2009

In Priase of Tom Paxton, Part 2

Visit the Folk Roots/Folk Branches blog at http://frfb.blogspot.com/.

Thursday April 2, 2009.

In Praise of Tom Paxton, Part 2

This was the second of three Folk Roots/Folk Branches features in praise of Tom Paxton.

One of the things Tom is known for is his topical songs. Many comment on the news of the day and he often refers to those as his “short shelf life songs.” Many others, like the next four songs, are timeless.

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 1

TOM PAXTON- Dogs at Midnight
Tom Paxton 6 (Collectables)
TOM PAXTON- Peace Will Come
Politics Live (Flying Fish)

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 2

SALLY ROGERS- Mother
Generations (Flying Fish)
TOM PAXTON, ANNE HILLS, BOB GIBSON- She Sits on the Table
Best of Friends (Appleseed)

Tom was playing many of the same coffee houses, clubs and folk festivals as Mississippi John Hurt in the early-to-mid-1960s. Tom’s classic song, Bottle of Wine, was inspired by John Hurt’s style. So was his tribute song, Did You Hear John Hurt.

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 3

DAVE VAN RONK- Did You Hear John Hurt
Somebody Else, Not Me (Philo)
TOM PAXTON, ANNE HILLS, BOB GIBSON- Bottle of Wine
Best of Friends (Appleseed)

Tom Paxton is also well known for his great love songs.

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 4

TOM PAXTON- Me and a Couple of Angels
Looking for the Moon (Appleseed) ..

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 45

For more on Tom Paxton, visit http://tompaxton.com/.

Folk Roots/Folk Branches is now a blog featuring Mike Regenstreif’s playlists, CD and DVD reviews, news and commentaries.

9:33 PM

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Friday, March 06, 2009

In Praise of Tom Paxton, Part 1

Visit the Folk Roots/Folk Branches blog at http://frfb.blogspot.com/.

Thursday March 5, 2009

In Praise of Tom Paxton, Part 1

This was the first of three Folk Roots/Folk Branches features in praise of Tom Paxton.

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 1

MARA LEVINE- The Last Thing on My Mind
Mara’s Gems (Mara Levine)
JUDY COLLINS- My Ramblin’ Boy
Judy Collins 3 & 4 (The Judy Collins
Concert) (Wildflower)
NANCI GRIFFITH w/CAROLYN HESTER- Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound
Other Voices / Other Room (Elektra)

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 2

Many years ago, Tom wrote a series of three beautiful songs that I’ve always loved about a woman named Annie. They’re such vivid songs and the Annie character seemed so real that I once asked Tom about her. Tom’s a friend of mine and I knew how deeply committed he’s always been to Midge, his lovely wife, so I was pretty sure that Annie wasn’t a real person. Tom confirmed that Annie was, indeed, fictional.

TOM PAXTON- Has Annie Been in Tonight?
Up & Up (Mountain Railroad)
TOM PAXTON- When Annie Took me Home
Even a Gray Day (Flying Fish)
TOM PAXTON- Annie’s Going to Sing Her Song
Even a Gray Day (Flying Fish)

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 3

A few weeks ago, the Grammy Awards gave Tom a Lifetime Achievement Award for the tremendous body of work that he’s produced over the past 45 or so years. Tom has never been one to rest on his laurels and continues to write great songs. His 2008 album, Comedians and Angels, was also nominated for a Grammy.

TOM PAXTON- Comedians and Angels
Comedians & Angels (Appleseed)

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 4

For more on Tom Paxton, visit http://tompaxton.com/.

Folk Roots/Folk Branches is now a blog featuring Mike Regenstreif’s playlists, CD and DVD reviews, news and commentaries.

12:44 AM

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http://secure.ckut.ca/64/20090108.09.46-10.16.mp3

Friday, January 09, 2009

In memory of Odetta -- January 8, 2009

Honouring the memory of Odetta (1930-2008)

Odetta, one of our greatest and most influential folk and blues artists for more than half a century, passed away on December 2 at the age of 77.

Odetta was a classically trained singer working in a production of Finian’s Rianbow in 1949 when she fell into the after-hours folk music scene in San Francisco. She learned to play the guitar and folk and blues music became her passion and her calling. Her first solo album, Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues, was released in 1956. Bob Dylan was a teenaged-rock ‘n’ roll wannabe when he heard that LP in Minnesota. He said it was his first exposure to folk music and hearing Odetta on that album inspired him to sell his electric guitar and amp, buy an acoustic Gibson and learn all of the songs she sang on it.

This Folk Roots/Folk Branches feature was a tribute to Odetta.

I first met Odetta in the 1970s and she became a regular performer at the Golem, the Montreal folk club that I ran in the ‘70s and ‘80s. All of her concerts there were standing room only sell-outs. In 2000, during a concert tour that brought her to Montreal, Odetta sat down with me for an extensive interview on Folk Roots/Folk Branches. Our last chance to visit and work together was this past August 17 when I hosted her afternoon workshop at the Ottawa Folk Festival. Odetta was scheduled to return to Montreal in April for the season finale of
the Wintergreen Concert Series at the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall.

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 1

ODETTA- Midnight Special
Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard)
ODETTA- Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard)

When the New York Times recently asked Odetta if there was a specific song she’d like to be remembered for, she cited Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.

Toward the end of the 1990s, Odetta pretty much gave up playing guitar and began performing with backing from pianists. She remained magnificent, both on stage and on record in that context.

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 2

ODETTA w/DR. JOHN- Oh Papa
Blues Everywhere I Go (M.C.)
ODETTA- New Orleans (House of the Rising Sun, When I was a Young Girl)
Lookin’ for a Home (M.C.)

Odetta was often referred to as “the voice of the civil rights movement.” In 1963, at the March on Washington, Odetta performed just before Dr. Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. In addition to We Shall Overcome, Odetta sang a medley of three songs – Oh Freedom, Come and Go with Me, and I’m On Way – that became known as the Freedom Trilogy.

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 3

ODETTA- Freedom Trilogy: Oh Freedom, Come and Go with Me, I’m On My Way
Gonna Let It Shine (M.C.)
ODETTA w/THE HOLMES BROTHERS- This Little Light of Mine
Gonna Let It Shine (M.C.)

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 4

This feature is available as a podcast (for two months) for streaming or downloading at

The feature begins 37 seconds into the download.

Folk Roots/Folk Branches with Mike Regenstreif is on Myspace.. ..

http://www.myspace.com/ckutfolk

3:19 AM

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Thursday, December 04, 2008

Odetta 1930-2008

Odetta, one of the greatest folk and blues artists of all time, passed away yesterday at the age of 77. I was honoured to have enjoyed her friendship for more than 30 years. We worked together many times. She appeared regularly at the Golem, the Montreal folk club I ran in the 1970s and '80s, and did an extended interview with me on Folk Roots/Folk Branches in 2000. Our last opportunity to work together and to visit was at the Ottawa Folk Festival this past August.

My Folk Roots/Folk Branches tribute to Odetta will be heard on CKUT on January 8 during Folk Directions and will be available here for download from January 8 until March 8.

3:23 AM

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http://secure.ckut.ca/64/20081127.09.51-10.20.mp3

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Tom Russell Anthology, Part 2

Folk Roots/Folk Branches with Mike Regenstreif is now a 30-minute feature frequently heard at about 9:45 or 10:00am during Folk Directions with Gerry Goodfriend on Thursday mornings (9-11:00 eastern) on CKUT, 90.3 FM in Montreal, or at http://www.ckutfolk.com.

Thursday November 20, 2008

The Tom Russell Anthology: Veteran’s Day, Part 2

I recently had the great pleasure of writing the booklet essay for the 2-CD set, The Tom Russell Anthology: Veteran’s Day, a career-spanning retrospective that looks back at more than three decades of Tom’s recordings. As I mentioned in the essay, I think Tom Russell is the best singer-songwriter of my generation – the generation that came along 10 or 15 years after Dylan. This is the second of two Folk Roots/Folk Branches features spotlighting songs from the Tom Russell Anthology.

Tom Russell performs in concert in Montreal on Sunday, March 15, 2009 at Le Divan Orange. Call Hello Darlin’ Productions at 514-524-9225 for tickets or info.

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 1

TOM RUSSELL & DAVE ALVIN- Blue Wing
The Tom Russell Anthology: Veteran’s Day (Shout Factory)

Blue Wing, done here in a live duet with Dave Alvin, is one of my favourite Tom Russell songs. It tells the story of an Indian prisoner-cum-drifter lost in the bottle and his ancestral dreams. Tom probably ran into a lot of guys like Blue Wing when he started out in music, playing country songs in skid row bars in Vancouver.

TOM RUSSELL- The Sky Above, the Mud Below
The Tom Russell Anthology: Veteran’s Day (Shout Factory)

The Sky Above and the Mud Below is a vividly cinematic ballad about twin brother horse thieves whose luck runs out when they encounter the one-man justice system in Deacon’s bar.

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 2

TOM RUSSELL- Throwin’ Horseshoes at the Moon
The Tom Russell Anthology: Veteran’s Day (Shout Factory)

I’m convinced that Tom’s folk-opera, The Man from God Knows Where, a
song-cycle that documents the immigrant experience in America, is the most
important folk recording by anyone in the past 25 or more years. Throwin’ Horseshoes at the Moon, heard late in the folk-opera, is based on the life of Tom’s own father and his successes and failures. The lovely harmonies are by Iris DeMent.

TOM RUSSELL- Van Ronk
The Tom Russell Anthology: Veteran’s Day (Shout Factory)

Van Ronk is a spoken-word tribute to Dave Van Ronk, the legendary folk-blues-jazz singer who was the Mayor of MacDougal Street, the Pope of Greenwich Village. Dave was a friend of mine, and, like Tom, I went to school on his couch. I’ve probably heard the piece a hundred or more times by now and it still brings a tear to my eye every time because I know that every word of it is the truth. The track ends with a fragment of Dave Van Ronk singing Sportin’ Life Blues from the final concert he gave before he passed away. That concert is available on the highly recommended CD, and the tin pan bended, and the story ended (Smithsonian Folkways).

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 3

TOM RUSSELL- Roll the Credits
The Tom Russell Anthology: Veteran’s Day (Shout Factory)

In addition, to songs from each of Tom’s previously released albums, the set ends with two newly-recorded tracks. Roll the Credits is an ending song that uses the symbolism of an end of a movie to bring closure; closure, certainly, to the album. Perhaps, also, closure to a chapter in the creative life of Tom Russell. He’s got a new bride and I suspect that forthcoming songs might look at love from different angles than what we’ve heard on recent albums. In any case, I’ll always be looking forward to hearing new songs by the best songwriter of my generation.

MIKE REGENSTREIF- commentary 4

This feature is available as a podcast (for two months) for streaming or downloading at

The feature begins 40 seconds into the download.

The playlist and download link for Part 1 are available at

http://snipurl.com/6uwc2

Folk Roots/Folk Branches with Mike Regenstreif is on Myspace.

http://www.myspace.com/ckutfolk

11:58 PM

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