We reach for “mystic chords of memory” with the late singer-songwriter Joe Ely and gospel/soul man Roscoe Robinson to hear about the ground they’ve covered as veteran touring musicians. Joe starts us off in Lubbock, Texas, where he grew up, and tells of railroading across America, running off with the circus, musical explorations with the Flatlanders, and his role in Austin’s Cosmic Cowboy scene. Roscoe Robinson remembers his childhood in Dermott, Arkansas, the family’s north migration, traveling the gospel circuit through the Jim Crow South, taking the stage at the Apollo Theater, and his life-long spiritual journey. We spin travel tunes from artists’ influences like Buddy Holly, Flaco Jimenez, and the Staple Singers.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream was first shared in words. We’ll hear it in music from the Staple Singers, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and Bob Dylan, plus classic jazz, reggae and a new generation of singers: the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Norah Jones and  Questlove. Then, songs, rhythms and histories from the Georgia Sea Islands Gullah Geechee Ring Shouters. 

We’re going “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans,” as the 1920s Tin Pan Alley pop song had it. It’s one of many songs written about our home place. We’ll hear some of those and go beyond to blues and jazz, roots rock and soul, gospel and country, Tejano, zydeco and swamp pop. We offer a diverse mix with Charley Pride, Bob Dylan, Dr. John, Adia Victoria, Aretha Franklin and Louis Armstrong, with sounds ranging from critique to guilty pleasures.