American Routes is blues and jazz, gospel and soul, rockabilly and country, Cajun and swamp pop, Tejano, Latin… and beyond. Songs and stories from musicians describe a deep and diverse nation with sounds and styles shared by all Americans. From the bayous to the beltways, from crossroads to crosstown, on interstates and city streets, turn up your radio for the sonic journey!
American Routes—produced in New Orleans since 1998
St. Patrick’s Singers, Fiddlers and Pickers from Ireland to America
March 11, 2026
For St Patrick’s, it’s old and new cultural connections of singers, fiddlers and pickers from Ireland to rural and urban America. Reels and jigs for dancing, jazz takes on Irish tunes and songs about love, immigration and drinking from Hank Locklin, The Clancy Brothers and Louis Armstrong. Then, a live set from the 80th National Folk Festival exploring the musical connections of Ireland and Appalachia with Irish musicians John Doyle and Seamus Egan and bluegrassers Rob and Ronnie McCoury.
NEXT WEEK
Blues for Home and Highways: Eddie Cotton, Jr. & Willis Alan Ramsey
Jackson, Mississippi blues guitarist Eddie Cotton, Jr. takes time out from his performance at the 2019 National Folk Festival to talk to us about his gospel roots and his mission to bring Mississippi music to the world. Then we sit in on a live set from New Orleans’s Chickie Wah Wah with Texan songman Willis Alan Ramsey. Plus music from Robert Johnson, Lucinda Williams, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Willie Nelson.
Drifting Cowboy Blues with Texan Charley Crockett & Homeland Bluegrass with Virginian Linda Lay
Charley Crockett from south Texas has risen to country stardom as a deep-voiced, drifting cowboy blues singer/guitarist with a well-traveled history of playing street corners, subway stops and honky-tonks. Charley talks about how music has sustained him in the rough life of a 21st Century rambler. Then, a family bluegrass band from Southwest Virginia, Springfield Exit–lead by wife and husband Linda and David Lay, who share their stories of growing up with music, starting their own band and farming tomatoes. Plus music from Johnny Cash, the Carter Family, Freddy Fender, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.
The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University
Join American Routes host Nick Spitzer at the 2026 New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University for a conversation with artist Francis X. Pavy.