Sometimes Folk

English singer-songwriter Reg Meuross spent four years researching historical documents pertaining to Britain's slave trade of the 17th and 18th centuries. Although slave owning was outlawed, this didn't stop the wealthy -- particularly in Meuross's native southwest England -- from amassing tremendous amounts of profit, power, and influence through transporting slaves from Africa to the American colonies, with the explicit assistance of the British government and navy. The result of Meuross's efforts is a song-cycle of stories, Stolen From God, about unsung slaves caught up in the Transatlantic trade.

Amelia Baker -- a.k.a. Cinder Well -- is a native Californian who played in folk/punk bands around Santa Cruz. She was introduced to Irish traditional music through meeting members of the Dublin-based experimental folk band Lankum at a festival in Amsterdam. Subsequently Baker moved to County Clare to enroll in a master's program in Irish traditional music performance at Limerick University. This spring, both Well and Lankum have released new albums which are helping define the current sound of Irish folk music.

In 1981, Irish supergroup Planxty -- then at the point of disbanding -- were commissioned to create a music and dance piece for the Eurovision contest held that year in Dublin. Apparently that project, entitled "Timedance," was an inspiration for Michael Flatley to create "Riverdance" in 1994.

Ewan MacColl (1915-1989) -- one of the leading lights of the British folk revival of the '50s -- was among many things a singer, a song collector, an actor, a radio presenter, and a prodigious songwriter. This morning we celebrate the latter with contributions from Pete Morton, Seth Lakeman, Christy Moore, Johnny Cash, as well as the great man himself.   

Multi-instrumentalist Mr. Dave, as he was affectionedly called, was a musician's musician: a session player as well as solo artist who always chose the right notes and tones. Best known for helping to create Jackson Browne's signature sound in the '70s, Lindley also led his own bands -- Kaleidoscope in the late '60s and El Rayo X in the '80s -- as well as playing in duos with percussionists Hani Nassar and Wally Ingraham, frequenting the Palms Playhouses both in Davis and Winters. This morning we explored some of his many musical projects with Ry Cooder, Henry Kaiser, Linda Ronstadt, and many others.