Tag: BGS Podcast Network

Basic Folk: Great Lake Swimmers

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Accidental bandleader and beloved Canadian Tony Dekker joins us to talk about Great Lake Swimmers‘ new album, Caught Light. Tony is up to old tricks again, like recording in a remote and weird place (in a century-old farmhouse in the middle of the woods) and working with his merry band of rotating musician friends, including producer Darcy Yates (Bahamas). The album was recorded in three days, the shortest amount of time he’s ever spent on a record. In that very fast process, he had to learn to let go of control. In our Basic Folk conversation, he shares what he’s learned about the beauty of letting go. We also get into how Tony feels most capable of confronting environmental and political themes in his songwriting and daily practice.

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In recent years, Dekker has moved his family from Toronto, the big city, back to the Niagara area in Ontario where he grew up, to establish a small town community and life. We revisit his early years in Wainfleet, Ontario, discussing the ins and outs of his family’s farm, his love of country radio, and talent for picking any instrument. He learned the joy of playing music at a young age. The reward of music was enough, and that notion has translated into how Great Lake Swimmers operates and what kind of bandleader he is. As stated before, the fact that he is the group’s bandleader is an accident, since he only wanted to organize the band and act as a background member. Finding himself more and more on the frontline, he did some serious work learning how to be a good leader and how to operate a band that’s made up of good friends. It’s clear that Tony’s figured out how to be a humble leader and friend as his collaborators return to his orbit time and time again.

Photo Credit: Robert Georgeff

The Working Songwriter: Hayes Carll

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Welcome to The Working Songwriter, the show where today’s best songwriters come to talk shop. Each episode we host a distinguished guest and we ask them to go deep on their inspiration, their process, and the general ups and downs of making a life in music. Whether you’re a grizzled veteran picking out custom chrome trim for your tour bus or a scrappy upstart, trying to determine whether your Toyota Tercel can make it through a three thousand mile tour, this is your show. Because, ultimately, it is what every writer seeks most. An ironclad excuse to put off actually writing.

Our guest this week on The Working Songwriter hails from The Woodlands, Texas. Hayes Carll is a singer, songwriter, and storyteller whose sharp wit and plainspoken poetry first broke through with his 2002 debut, Flowers & Liquor. That was followed by 2008’s Trouble in Mind, which delivered the hit “She Left Me for Jesus” and cemented his place among the genre’s most distinctive voices.

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Carll has toured with artists like Old Crow Medicine Show, Todd Snider, and Alison Krauss and his songs have been covered by Miranda Lambert, Lee Ann Womack, and Kenny Chesney. He’s recorded for Lost Highway, Dualtone, and Thirty Tigers and he’s performed on stages from Newport Folk Festival to Austin City Limits and the Grand Ole Opry.

Rolling Stone praises his work for its “razor-sharp wit and lived-in warmth,” while NPR notes his “keen eye for the human condition wrapped in disarming charm.” American Songwriter calls him “one of Americana’s most reliable truth-tellers.”

Photo courtesy of the artist.

The Working Songwriter: Evan Bartels

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Welcome to The Working Songwriter, the show where today’s best songwriters come to talk shop. Each episode we host a distinguished guest and we ask them to go deep on their inspiration, their process, and the general ups and downs of making a life in music. Whether you’re a grizzled veteran picking out custom chrome trim for your tour bus or a scrappy upstart, trying to determine whether your Toyota Tercel can make it through a three thousand mile tour, this is your show. Because, ultimately, it is what every writer seeks most. An ironclad excuse to put off actually writing.

Our guest this week on The Working Songwriter hails from Tobias, Nebraska, a town of about 100 people. Evan Bartels is a singer-songwriter who with his 2017 debut, The Devil, God & Me, burst onto the national scene. More recently, Bartels has expanded his audience with the release of his EP, To Make You Cry, recorded after relocating to Nashville and reflecting on a period of personal upheaval and renewal.

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Bartels has toured with American Aquarium, The White Buffalo, and John Moreland; he records for MCA/Universal; and he’s performed at Mile of Music, Americanafest, and the C2C Festival. No Depression calls him “a haunting new presence in Americana,” while Americana Highways praises his “unvarnished, soul-bearing songwriting.” Glide Magazine notes his “ability to turn bruised experience into stark, resonant beauty.”

I caught up with Evan Bartels a few months ago for The Working Songwriter to hear about his musical journey so far.

 

Basic Folk: Mary Chapin Carpenter

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Mary Chapin Carpenter’s latest album, Personal History, is as lush in production and color as the beautiful farmland she calls home in Virginia. Carpenter will often wake up early for sunrise walks with her dog, Angus, and one of several daily cups of coffee (of course) to start the day. In our Basic Folk conversation, she reflects on how living in this serene farmhouse has brought her peace, drawing parallels to Carl Sandberg’s “creative hush.” Mary Chapin also discusses her method of “song walking” as a tool to overcome writer’s block, often accompanied by her pets.

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Carpenter goes on to touch on her evolving relationship with fame and the importance of surrounding herself with grounded people; she reveals her younger self was shy, and talks about how being less concerned with others’ opinions has empowered her over time. We cover her connection to the Celtic music community and how it inspired her collaborative album Looking for the Thread with Scottish musicians Julie Fowlis and Karine Polwart. That record was her first with Josh Kaufman as producer and it worked so well, she decided to have him produce her new solo album, too. We also chat about “hyphen-gate,” due to her double first name, the process of feeling visible and valued, and the impact of Elizabeth Strout on her perspective of songwriting.

Photo Credit: Aaron Farrington

Joe Pug’s The Working Songwriter Joins BGS Podcast Network

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

The BGS Podcast Network is proud to announce our first addition of a new (to us) show in 2026, bringing artist and singer-songwriter Joe Pug‘s hit podcast, The Working Songwriter, on board. Beginning January 9, the Working Songwriter will be distributed exclusively through BGS and available wherever you stream podcasts.

“After ten years and over three hundred episode of doing this podcast independently, we’ve decided to go pro!” Pug says. “[BGS] is the perfect home for our show. They focus on American roots music, but ultimately they celebrate any kind of songwriting as long as it’s of a very high quality. I think that’s pretty similar to the ethos of The Working Songwriter.”

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Over a decade of work and hundreds of episodes, Pug has explored songwriting, music-making, artfulness, and creative practices with some of the most thoughtful and entrancing voices in Americana, country, roots music, and songwriting as a whole. Over the years, guests have included such luminaries as Jerry Douglas, Charlie Peacock, John Hiatt, ERNEST, Chuck Prophet, Kim Richey, Bonny Light Horseman, Hunter Hayes, Iris Dement, Del McCoury, Keb’ Mo’, Darrell Scott, and countless others. Alongside these songcraft heavy-hitters are just as many fresh discoveries, newcomers, and essential-yet-underrated voices in the space, too.

The overlap between our rootsy BGS purview and Pug’s roster of guests is vast and varied, illustrating how perfect a fit the show will be for the BGS Podcast Network. “With their network,” Pug continues, “we’re gonna be able to get guests that we’ve never had before. We’re gonna be able to produce more content and we’re gonna be able to lean into video quite a bit more. I’d like to thank Cindy Howes and Amy Reitnouer Jacobs for believing in our show and helping to shepherd it to the next level.”

“The Working Songwriter has set the standard for long-form interviews with our favorite songwriters in the roots music world and beyond,” responded Cindy Howes, director of the BGS Podcast Network. “Joe’s ability to open up his guests in relaxing conversations on the craft of writing is endlessly impressive. The fact that a podcast of this caliber that legitimizes the best working songwriters is joining our roster is an honor. We are beyond excited to work with Joe and his team on this wonderful show.”

The latest season of the Working Songwriter will premiere this Friday, January 9, with guest Evan Bartels. Bartels, a singer-songwriter, burst onto the national scene with his 2017 debut, The Devil, God & Me. He has toured with American Aquarium, The White Buffalo, and John Moreland; he records for MCA/Universal; and he’s performed at Mile of Music, Americanafest, and the C2C Festival. We’re looking forward to beginning this new era for The Working Songwriter with Joe Pug, Evan Bartels, and all of you, right here on BGS.

To celebrate the announcement and the upcoming season premiere, listeners can subscribe to the Working Songwriter wherever they listen to podcasts. While you do, revisit and enjoy all past episodes of The Working Songwriter – including these five of our favorite selections below, chosen from over 10 years of superlative work.

Remembering Todd Snider (March 2020, rereleased November 2025)

Joe originally sat down with The Bard of East Nashville back in March of 2020, but after his untimely passing in November 2025 at the age of 59, TWS reissued this beautiful episode in his honor.

Jerry Douglas (June 2025)

An artist who needs little introduction to BGS audiences, GRAMMY-award winner Jerry Douglas is considered the contemporary master of the Dobro. Joe talks to Jerry about his long and storied career, playing alongside everyone from Ray Charles to Billy Strings.

Ashe (September 2024)

TWS covers songwriters of all backgrounds and genres, as demonstrated in this 2024 episode with Ashe.  The Berklee College of Music grad discusses her years writing songs for other artists such as Demi Lovato, only to find her own distinct voice (and a legion of obsessive fans, including the late Diane Keaton) in the last five years.

The Swell Season (October 2025)

The Oscar-winning and decades-spanning musical partnership of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglová has captivated worldwide audiences, but this conversation with Joe from 2025 celebrated their first album together since 2009 (Forward), and showed their connection and chemistry was as deep as ever.

Bonny Light Horseman (February 2023)

Each member of the folk supergroup trio of Anaïs Mitchell (Hadestown), Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats), and Josh Kaufman (The National, Bob Weir, Josh Ritter) could easily deserve their own deep-dive episodes, but put together it’s clear that they are greater than the sum of their parts. Joe digs in with the three GRAMMY nominees to peek behind their magical music-making curtain.

Lead image courtesy of New Frontier Touring.

Basic Folk: 2025 Wrap-Up

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

To send 2025 off into the great abyss, we have a sensational year-end Basic Folk roundtable featuring Lizzie’s group chat: Kaia Kater, Olivia Ellen Lloyd, and Isa Burke.  It can feel so challenging to know which media you can trust and whose takes you can really take to the bank. There is no one we trust more to wrap up this wild and wacky year than these gals. We turned to them at the end of 2025 to hear their hot takes, what they’re grateful for, what they’ve learned, and what four poppin’ folk musicians were up to in this crazy year in the industry.

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We also share a couple of Basic Folk clips from 2025! Our most-listened-to episode featured Ani DiFranco and Carsie Blanton onboard Cayamo, so of course we wanted to share a portion of their conversation about periods. Lizzie tees up a clip from her favorite episode featuring Cindy’s  meet-cute moment with Morgan Toney. Morgan spoke of how he started to get more familiar with his Indigenous musical heritage and shares incredible insights about how to connect with your cultural heritage as a marginalized artist.

Lizzie & Cindy then get into what each has been up to this year, together and separately. They especially reflect on their trip to Alaska with Parlor in the Round, the pod’s new baby, Lizzie’s Yallidarity Social Club podcast, and the latest on their dogs – including one emergency surgery to remove a six-month-old corn cob. Goodbye, 2025!

Lead Image: Olivia Ellen Lloyd by Mandi Fountain Photos; Isa Burke by Sam Kassirer; Kaia Kater by Janice Reid; Lizzie No courtesy of the artist.

Basic Folk: Madison Cunningham

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Our episode with Madison Cunningham was one of those all-time Basic Folk moments where a guest gets really deep really quickly. I’m so grateful to have had the chance to speak with this brilliant young torchbearer of the folk tradition to celebrate the release of her new album, Ace. Cunningham grew up in the church, an environment which shaped her earliest memories of music. From the very beginning she had a sense of togetherness and transcendence in music which remains today and is represented throughout her catalogue. It was fascinating to hear Madison describe how she developed into a commanding solo performer, renegotiating her relationship with spirituality and individuality along the way.

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After the massive impact of her GRAMMY-winning 2022 album, Revealer, and collaborations with artists like Andrew Bird, Cunningham summoned all her creative, form-breaking powers for her new album. As we talked through the track list and arrangements I got the sense that this is an artist who is always challenging herself to release control. She lets things fall apart and then puts the pieces back together according to her own imagination. This is freedom. Her reflections on heartbreak feel intimate, thoughtful, hopeful, and unique. Ace may or may not be a “Folk” album by aesthetic measures, but it is certainly an outstanding example of world-building in the singer-songwriter format. Whether on piano or guitar, Cunningham has a focused way of expressing herself that makes me want to know what unpredictable gems she will create next. Long live the creativity of independent women!

Photo Credit: Sean Stout

Basic Folk: Frazey Ford

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Frazey Ford has always loved soul music. She fell in love with Otis Redding at age 11 and discovered people like Ann Peebles along the way, but it was Al Green that really knocked her out. She loved the layers, the expression, and especially his voice. She completely dove in and even started an Al Green cover band.

Although she had been perfecting her soul sound, the band that took off for Ford was, of course, The Be Good Tanyas. She talks in our Basic Folk interview about how the trio really worked to perfect quiet, beautiful country music rooted in her love of soul. She took that love into her solo career with her first record, Obadiah. Even though her solo debut was mostly a folk record, documentary filmmaker Robert Gordon heard one of those songs on the radio. He sent her an email and invited her to work with Al Green’s band, The Hi Rhythm Section. That invitation was the inception of her second album, 2014’s Indian Ocean.

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Now seeing a deluxe edition release in 2025, Indian Ocean captured Ford coming into her own as a solo artist. Working with brothers Charles (organ), Leroy (bass), and Teenie (guitar) Hodges, The Hi Rhythm Section taught her so much about groove, space, and collaboration. In our conversation, Frazey revisits those sessions and the lessons they brought. She talks about how the brothers had always wanted to record with a folk artist and what kind of care and attention they brought to her songs. She reflects on her time working with Teenie, who died before Indian Ocean was released, but not before it was finished. We also get into her early life with her hippie family, her many creative outlets, and her fashion ethos.

Photo Credit: Lauren D Zbarsky

Finding Lucinda: Episode 13

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

In this episode of the podcast, Ismay sits down with Finding Lucinda director Joel Fendelman. They discuss how Joel approached the making of the documentary and concepts like developing the language of a film to build trust with the audience, the artist’s experience of not being where you thought you should be at a certain age – including how to constructively confront that – and the idea of trusting others in collaborations. They also talk about how there is overlap in the craft of filmmaking and music-making, including ideas like contrasts and consistency.

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With roots in Miami, Austin, and New York City, Fendelman has written, produced, and directed a number of award-winning narrative and documentary films. An award-winning filmmaker, he is dedicated to telling stories that reveal the underlying connections between us all. His documentary Man on Fire received an IDA Documentary Award and premiered nationally on PBS’s Independent Lens (2018–19 season). He went on to direct North Putnam, which won the Indiana Spotlight Award at the Heartland International Film Festival. In 2016, his short film Game Night premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won Best Super Short at the Savannah Film Festival. His second narrative feature, Remittance, earned multiple festival awards, including Best Actress and Best Screenplay at the Brooklyn Film Festival, and is distributed worldwide. His debut feature, David (2011), won the Ecumenical Prize at the Montreal World Film Festival. His most recent short film, The Spiritual Advisor, is premiering at DOC NYC 2025 and is being distributed by Rolling Stone Films.

Produced in partnership with BGS and distributed through the BGS Podcast Network, Finding Lucinda expands on the themes of Ismay’s eponymous documentary film, exploring artistic influence, creative resilience, and the impact of Williams’ music. New episodes are released twice a month. Listen right here on BGS or wherever you get podcasts.

Finding Lucinda, the documentary film that inspired and instigated the podcast, is now available to purchase, rent, or stream via video on demand. (Watch the film, listen to the soundtrack, or find a screening near you here.) Both the film and podcast showcase never-before-heard archival material, intimate conversations, and a visual journey through the literal and figurative landscapes that molded Lucinda’s songwriting.

Credits:
Produced, recorded, and mixed by Avery Hellman for Neanderthal Records, LLC.
Music by Ismay,
Special thanks to: Rose Bush, Liz McBee, Mick Hellman, Jonathan McHugh, Sydney Lane, Jacqueline Sabec, Rosemary Carroll, Lucinda Williams, and Tom Overby

Find more information on Finding Lucinda here. Find our full Finding Lucinda episode archive here.

Watch Finding Lucinda, listen to the soundtrack, or find a screening near you here.

Basic Folk: The Barr Brothers

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

In the eight years since The Barr Brothers last released an album, Andrew has been drumming with people like Feist, Mumford & Sons, and Broken Social Scene while Brad released a solo record and underwent incredible personal change. Brad made the huge decision to get sober, which he talks about candidly in our Basic Folk interview.

Anything you read about the new record, Let it Hiss, might allude to his newfound sobriety while not mentioning it directly. The band made a conscious decision not to include it in any press releases specifically so that their audience could have their own relationship with the new music. It seems like getting sober has impacted every aspect of the album, but one could listen and project just about any personal pivotal shift onto these songs. Regardless, I am so appreciative that Brad opened up about his sobriety, so we could better understand the music and the incredible relationship that he and Andrew share.

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Elsewhere in our conversation, we talk about Brad’s deep connection to the number 216, its origin, and why he’s kept that number close to him for most of his life. He shares his reflections on the music lessons given to him and Andrew from visiting Malian musicians, who exchanged their services for free dental work from their father. Those lessons completely changed the musical trajectory of the brothers and still impact them today. We also talk about their former band, The Slip (who are actually still active every now and again), a much-loved Boston group that was fully embraced in the jam band world. I find the music of Andrew and Brad Barr to be completely transformative and not of this world – and I’m so grateful for the new record. Please go see them live, especially if you are into celestial experiences!

Photo Credits: Lead image by Sarah Melvin. Alternate images by Meghan Sepe and Pappy’s Portraits.