Basic Folk

Oct 30 2024 308 ep. 55 mins 90

Basic Folk Podcast artwork

Basic Folk features honest conversations with folk musicians hosted by Cindy Howes, a well-versed public radio DJ, and singer/songwriter Lizzie No. While we’re not gassing up the banjo, fiddle, guitar and mandolin, Basic Folk approaches interviews with warmth, humor and insightful (invasive?) questions. This podcast fosters the folk community and showcases a genre that is often misunderstood. Our definition of “folk” is extremely broad, so you’ll hear interviews from Molly Tuttle, Ben Harper, John Hiatt, Chris Thile of Nickel Creek, Joy Oladokun and many more.

Basic Folk is dedicated to showcasing the best in folk, bluegrass, acoustic and americana including Black, Brown and Queer folx who have been excluded, or felt like they did not belong, in the folk world. Both Cindy and Lizzie bring unique perspectives to our honest conversations and are dedicated to changing the landscape and the gatekeepers of the folk music community.

Music Arts Society & Culture

Copy RSS

Subscribe on Podcast Addict

From Songwriting to Sobriety: Kasey Anderson's Journey to His Final Album, ep. 285

Oct 30 2024 71 mins

We're starting with the end in our conversation with Kasey Anderson. On the pod, we've covered a lot of firsts; debut album, origin stories and the beginnings. Ever since I (lizzie) have known Kasey, his social media bio has been "gradually retiring songwriter." I'm always teasing him about "What does that mean? When are you going to retire?" Officially, this latest album, 'To the

Riffing on Life: Chuck Prophet talks Music, Surfing, and Storytelling with Mark Erelli, EP. 284

Oct 23 2024 76 mins

Editor’s note: For this episode, we invited our friend Mark Erelli to interview Chuck Prophet. The two are familiar with each other's work through songwriting together for Mark's latest album Lay Your Darkness Down (2023). We're thrilled to welcome Mark back as guest host! Chuck Prophet has been a mainstay on the indie and Americana music scenes since the 1980s, before either de

Liv Greene on Finding her Tender Little Queer Heart, ep. 283

Oct 16 2024 55 mins

Oh how I've longed to talk to Liv Greene. Every once in a while you come across a young artist that seems older and wiser than her 26 years. Liv's been giving me that impression since I met her in 2019 when she was at Club Passim waiting tables and breaking hearts on the stage at just 21 years. Ok enough about being young. Liv's been writing, studying music and going to music camps

Exploring Ancestral Roots with Blind Pilot, ep. 282

Oct 09 2024 56 mins

The Oregon-bred indie folk music outfit Blind Pilot goes on a deep spiritual journal on their new album In the Shadow of the Holy Mountain (produced by Josh Kaufman). The music inspiration for frontman Israel Nebeker lay in his songwriting process. After struggling with writing for years (this is the first Blind Pilot album in 8 years), he set aside the songs he *had* been working

Amy Helm: Letters to Women and the Legacy of The Barn, ep. 281

Oct 02 2024 74 mins

Amy Helm has had one of the most fascinating lives that any person can have. As you might have guessed from her famous last name, she comes from roots music royalty. Amy Helm is the daughter of Levon Helm, the beloved late drummer for the incredible groundbreaking Canadian American group The Band. She also continues to run and uphold the musical legacy of The Barn, a music venue an

From Reality Bites to Nursery Rhymes: Lisa Loeb's Unconventional Journey, ep. 280

Sep 25 2024 66 mins

Looking back at her wildly successful and always adventurous career up to this point, it feels inevitable that Lisa Loeb was always going to be a songwriter and have a music career. But young Lisa probably could have done any creative job well. She grew up surrounded by music, yes, but she also had a passion for theater, and got her degree in comparative literature. It was her thea

Folk Music, Friendship, and Fountain Pens: Nerding out with Bruce Molsky & Darol Anger, ep. 29

Sep 18 2024 67 mins

The names Bruce Molsky and Darol Anger have come up more often than not when talking to fiddlers on Basic Folk. The pair have single handedly mentored hundreds of our favorites in fiddle music at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Darol's online music school, music camps, festivals and more. Darol and Bruce joined us on the occasion of their newest folk music collab: their new alb

Basic Folk Presents: American Masters: Creative Spark feat. Jewel

Sep 16 2024 38 mins

Editor’s note: Basic Folk is pleased to introduce our listeners to one of our favorite podcasts by sharing an episode in our feed! Do you ever find yourself watching, reading, or listening to something truly amazing and wondering, “How did they do it?”. That's why we wanted to share an episode of American Masters: Creative Spark, the award-winning podcast from PBS. American

Balancing Dreams and Reality: A Folk Debate on Ambition, ep. 278

Sep 11 2024 70 mins

Welcome to another edition of Folk Debate Club, our occasional debate series! To discuss Ambition vs Acceptance, we welcome our panel: music journalist Kim Ruehl, Basic Folk boss Cindy Howes, and yours truly Lizzie No. We would like to extend a very warm welcome to our special guests singer-songwriter Michaela Anne & producer Aaron Shafer-Haiss, also hosts of The Other 22 Hours pod

Jeffrey Foucault remembers Billy Conway with Universal Fire, ep. 277

Sep 04 2024 75 mins

In our episode with Wisconsin-born, New England based Jeffrey Foucault, we had a handful of questions for the singer-songwriter about his background: coffee, the midwest and Mark Twain wisdom. Then we talked about Billy Conway for more than an hour. Conway was Foucault's long-time partner in music, drummer and best friend who died from cancer in 2021. He was a rock and roll roots l