The BGS Radio Hour – Episode 189

For the first time, we are so excited to bring to you the BGS Radio Hour in podcast form! Since 2017 the BGS Radio Hour has been a weekly recap of the wonderful music, new and old, that we’ve covered here on BGS. Check back in every Monday to kick your weeks off with the best of BGS via the BGS Radio Hour.


LISTEN: APPLE MUSIC

Shemekia Copeland – “Clotilda’s on Fire”

Highly awarded modern blues artist — and our current Artist of the Month — Shemekia Copeland brings us a new release, Uncivil War, offering us a number of topical songs with perspectives on gun violence, LGBTQ+ rights, and more.

StillHouse Junkies – “Mountains of New Mexico”

Colorado-based StillHouse Junkies bring us a classic murder ballad inside an ode to the American West.

Marc Scibilia – “Good Times”

Recent 5+5 guest Marc Scibilia brings us a song from his new release, Seed of Joy.

Leyla McCalla – “Song for a Dark Girl”

Leyla McCalla (who you may know from folk supergroup Our Native Daughters) brings us a song from her new Smithsonian Folkways re-release, Vari-Colored Songs: a Tribute to Langston Hughes.

My Darling Clementine – “I Lost You”

UK-based duo My Darling Clementine brings us a new interpretation of an Elvis Costello/Jim Lauderdale co-write.

The Caleb Daugherty Band – “Daylight’s Burning”

The Caleb Daugherty Band pays tribute to Aubrey Holt of the acclaimed Boys From Indiana with a cover of “Daylight’s Burning.”

Madison Cunningham – “The Age Of Worry”

Madison Cunningham is back on BGS with a brand new EP, Wednesday, an interpretation of a handful of cover songs chosen by the California-based singer, songwriter, and guitarist.

Adam Hurt – “The Scolding Wife”

“Clawhammerist” Adam Hurt was a recent feature on Tunesday Tuesday with a solo gourd banjo rendition of “The Scolding Wife.”

The Avett Brothers – “Victory”

Everyone’s favorite roots music brothers — that is, the Avett Brothers — are back with The Third Gleam, a follow up to the first and second Gleam EPs. Much like their earlier sounds, the new record is stripped down, with timely discussions of gun violence, mortality, and the human condition. Check out our conversation with Scott, Seth, and Bob Crawford.

Jeff Cramer and the Wooden Sound – “Aimless Love”

Denver-based singer-songwriter Jeff Cramer brings us an edition of The Shed Sessions along with his band the Wooden Sound, and a wonderful tribute to the late, great John Prine.

Max Gomez – “He Was a Friend of Mine”

Regular friend of BGS, Max Gomez brings us a timely, social justice-inspired song.

Mipso – “Your Body”

Pop string band Mipso is just one of so many great North Carolina groups that we’re proud to feature this month in our Made in NC playlist for #NCMusicMonth!

Julian Taylor – “Love Enough”

Julian Taylor was the guest of honor on our most recent episode of Shout & Shinea series that serves as a platform for Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian, LGBTQ+, and disabled musicians, who are so often marginalized in genres to which they’ve constantly contributed.

Tony Trischka – “Carry Me Over The Sea”

Quintessential banjo legend Tony Trischka was featured this week with a new single from his 2021 release, Shall We Hope, that also features Irish singer Maura O’Connell.

Susan Werner – “To Be There”

Like many, Susan Werner is currently hoping for better times. And better times is what this Carter Family-inspired number is all about.


Photo credit: (L to R) Tony Trischka by Zoe Trischka; Shemekia Copeland by Mike White; Leyla McCalla by Rush Jagoe.

WATCH: Jeff Cramer and The Wooden Sound, “Aimless Love”

Artist: Jeff Cramer and The Wooden Sound (Emma Rose, Dylan McCarthy, Dave Pailet)
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Song: “Aimless Love” (John Prine cover)
Album: The Shed Sessions
Release Date: November 20, 2020

In Their Words: “I dreamt up ‘the shed’ late last year — a backyard DIY project fueled by a desire to provide space and community within Colorado’s incredible songwriter scene — which, as luck would have it, I finished building at the end of February this year. During the pandemic, it has become my office and writing space, and it ultimately brought me to a vision for a video series of live-recorded new, old, and cover songs with my new band, The Wooden Sound. I’m excited to be releasing seven videos and tracks from the The Shed Sessions over the next two weeks, starting with a cover of John Prine’s ‘Aimless Love’ here.

Aimless Love was my first John Prine record, and while it might not be amongst his most prominent, the title track especially has become one of my favorites. Maybe it was discovering it as a teenager — as a small fry kid in a Midwestern town — that caused me to feel a special closeness to it. John Prine was able to add a sense of warmth and humor to the messiest of human conditions and somehow make it personal to everyone (including me) in the process. I also vividly remember playing Aimless Love under the full moon in my backyard in Denver the moment we learned that he had passed. It felt appropriate to release this video as my little tribute to him.” — Jeff Cramer


Photo credit: Payden Widner

LISTEN: Jeff Cramer, “Big Man’s World”

Artist: Jeff Cramer
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Song: “Big Man’s World”
Album: Northern 45
Release Date: January 25, 2019

In Their Words: “This song’s a bit of a deep cut for me. About a decade ago, just after graduating from college, I was working full-time at a ceramics factory in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts, and part-time at a wine bar. I had a tendency to do about as much wine drinking as serving in the role, which didn’t work out so well for the owner. One day, after having some sort of blow up in a relationship and likely over-serving myself as the bartender–immediately leading to a mutual agreement with the owner this wasn’t the right fit–I found myself alone in my room in Main South Worcester and wrote this song. Coming out of college with a super-practical philosophy degree, working two jobs, and overdrawing my bank account every week, it was easy to feel like a boy in a big man’s world. But even today, with a job, and at least a good long while without an overdraw, it’s just as easy to feel the same way–especially since the self-appointed ‘big man’ started running the show in DC.” — Jeff Cramer


Photo credit: Bridgette Aikens