Category: bluegrass

We’re at Midweek With the ‘Are You Ready for The Country’ EP, Aretha Franklin, and Ringo Starr, Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Good morning, music lovers. As I prepare to head out I’m giving you the lowdown. We’ve got our big-ass country and country-rock EP up today, Aretha’s second turn as our featured singer-songwriter, and an updated Spotlight featuring Ringo Starr.

Here’s your midweek musical landscape:

9:00 a.m. Are You Ready for The Country: Various Artists

We start off the day with our playlist of great country music, from the masters to the generation that created the country-rock sound starting in Laurel Canyon. You will hear Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young, The Byrds, Gram Parsons, Pure Prairie League, Asleep at The Wheel, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, The Marshall Tucker Band, Jerry Jeff Walker, Mudcrutch, The Band, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Hank Williams, Glen Campbell, Rosanne Cash, Dolly Parton, Dan Fogelberg, New Riders of The Purple Sage, John Prine, The Desert Rose Band and more!

4:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Aretha Franklin

From country to the Queen of Soul as Aretha Franklin takes her second turn as this week’s featured singer-songwriter.

8:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of Ringo Starr UPDATED!

Perhaps not as prolific as McCartney (but who is?), but Ringo Starr has made over 39 albums since The Beatles split. His All Starr Band tours continue to pack them in and, in his 80’s, he’s got his 2023 tour on track. Tonight we put him In the Spotlight where he belongs.

It’s midweek. From here on out, we’re on the downslide to the weekend. It gets better from here, people. And it will be a pleasant slide if you simply tune us in. We’re totally free 24/7 with no commercial advertising. What are you waiting for?

The Midweek Groove

We’ve Got Mudcrutch Monday Madness, Maria Muldaur, and Volume One of ‘Repeat After Me’ on April 10, 2023

Good morning, Mudcrutch maniacs! Today we’ve got the full Mudcrutch slate of music (we’ll tell you why below) along with Maria Muldaur In the Spotlight and volume one of ‘Repeat After Me’ a playlist of covers by our favorite bands.

Here are today’s musical details:

10:00 a.m. Mudcrutch Monday Madness!

Tom Leadon, who was Tom Petty’s childhood friend and founding member and lead guitarist of Mudcrutch, passed away on March 22 from natural causes at the age of 70. He was also, at various times the bass player in Linda Ronstadt’s band. He was brother to Bernie Leadon, a founding member of The Eagles. This seems like a good time to break out the entire Mudcrutch catalogue in memory of Tom.

3:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of Maria Muldaur

Maria Muldaur began her illustrious career as part of the great folk revival of the sixties, playing the Greenwich Village clubs with Bob Dylan and John Sebastian. She then joined the Jim Kweskin Jug Band. When they disbanded, she embarked on her solo career recording albums in the folk, blues, early jazz, gospel, country, and R&B traditions. She also provided backup and harmony vocals on several Linda Ronstadt albums. We love Maria here in The Mermaid Lounge and today we put her in the spotlight.

7:00 p.m. Repeat After Me: Various Artists

We haven’t heard this one in a while. We have two volumes of this one. You’ll hear the second one later in the week. We are also working on volume three for later this month. These are great fun because we get to hear different versions of the same song by different artists. In this one, we have The Heartbreakers covering The Byrds, Tracy Nelson covering Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris covering Simon & Garfunkel, Linda Ronstadt covering Little Feat, Three Dog Night covering Laura Nyro, The Beatles covering Barrett Strong, Joan Baez covering The Band…you get the idea.

A great rock and roll pioneer once sang that he hated blue Monday. Why not make yours better by tuning us in? We’re on 24/7 totally free and without commercial advertising. It’s nothing but wall-to-wall music here.

Monday, Monday

We’re Heading for the Weekend With Our ‘Are You Ready for The Country’ EP, Our AOW, and ‘Live’ Linda Ronstadt Later, Thursday, January 19, 2023

Good morning, Musicologists! We’ve climbed the hill and are on the downslide to the weekend at last! We’ve got a great lineup of music coming your way today, as we do every day! Read on for details!

Here’s today’s musical landscape:

9:00 a.m. Are You Ready for The Country: Various Artists

Today we pay respects to country music with both traditional country stars and the pioneers of country-rock who made it happen back in Laurel Canyon. You’ll hear Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young, The Byrds, Gram Parsons, Pure Prairie League, Asleep at The Wheel, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, the Marshall Tucker Band, Jerry Jeff Walker, Mudcrutch, The Band, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Glen Campbell, Rosanne Cash, Dan Fogelberg, New Riders of the Purple Sage, John Prine, The Desert Rose Band and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: A Night of Blistering Blues by B. B. King and Friends

This great live album is almost in the record books as B. B. King is joined on stage by Gladys Knight, Etta James, Chaka Khan, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton and more! Don’t miss it. Our final airing will be sometime on Saturday.

7:00 p.m. Linda Ronstadt Live at Stadehalle, Offenbach, Germany, November 16, 1976

Linda Ronstadt, a patron saint of The Mermaid Lounge, live in Germany on her Hasten Down The Wind tour in a performance recorded for airing on the Rockpalast show.

Get your musical shit together and tune us in, people. Join your friends from around the globe who have realized just how easy it is to get good music with no strings attached. We do not require a subscription, a credit card or any personal information at all. We’re on 24/7 and we accept no commercial advertising. Tune us in.

Just Push Play.

We Head Toward the Weekend With The Trio Sessions, Our Album of The Week, and Some ‘Live’ Laura Nyro, on Thursday, December 8, 2022

Good Morning, Music Lovers! We’ve got a treat for you today as we bring you The Trio Sessions, courtesy of three of our favorite women of music: Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. Tonight, we’ve got another favorite in Laura Nyro.

Here’s Thursday’s lineup:

10:00 a.m. The Trio Sessions: Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris

Once upon a time, three of the most talented women on the planet decided to get together and make a couple of albums. They just blew everyone away with this project. They called themselves Trio. Today, we have the entire sessions surrounding this event, including alternate versions, outtakes, and other assorted gems. This is one you don’t want to miss!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Rumors by Fleetwood Mac

No doubt this album was biographical and referenced the personal situations going on with the members of Fleetwood Mac, hence the title. It was also one of the best pop-rock albums ever made.

7:00 p.m. Laura Nyro Live at The Fillmore East, New York, March 30, 1971

Closing out our programming is a woman who made others famous with her spectacular songwriting. But there’s nothing quite like hearing Laura Nyro sing these herself.

Before, in between, and after you’ll be treated to wide :Open Stream courtesy of The Music Mermaid. Give us a shot and join your friends from around the globe in the spirit of camraderie. You can’t go wrong. No lie. No surprises.

The Trio Sessions!

The Work Week Rears Its Ugly Head But We’re All Set Here With John Prine, Al Green, and ‘Live’ Emmylou Harris With The Nash Ramblers To Get You Through Monday, November 14, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! We are back in The Mermaid Lounge to help you through yet another work week. And even better, the teeming masses start to follow the sales around in preparation for pissing away holiday money on gifts that will be obsolete in about an hour (if you have kids, that is).

Here’s today’s line-up:

10:00 a.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of John Prine

We’ve got our second airing of this week’s Singer-Songwriter Series featuring John Prine, one of the most amazing songwriters of all time whose Angel From Montgomery became Bonnie Raitt’s calling card. That’s what great singer-songwriters do. They create the vehicles for great vocalists.

3:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Al Green

At mid-afternoon, we’ve got the smooth soul sound of the great Al Green who brought us so many great hits like Let’s Stay Together, Take Me To The River, You Ought To Be With Me and more!

7:00 p.m. Emmylou Harris & The Nash Ramblers Live at The Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN, April 30-May 2, 1991

Emmylou Harris put together an acoustic band for this event at the old home of the Grand Ole Opry over a three day period. This single event and the acclaim the resulting album brought was the impetus for renewed interest in The Ryman and led to its renovation after 20 years of being abandoned. It is now a concert hall. By the way, the resulting album from these shows won the Grammy for Best Album in 2017.

We’ve cut a wide swath here today with all kinds of musical programming coming your way, from folk to soul to country. And in between, we give you that great wide Open Stream! Close that office door pull up a tab and enhance your work environment. It’s not illegal. Yet.

Cursor Here, Please!

We’re at Midweek With Our Multi-Artist ‘Folk Music From A-to-Z’ EP and Chuck Berry In The Spotlight, Wednesday, October 19, 2022

We hit our midweek stride with a great EP focused on folk music and folk-rock. We play both the great pure folk artists (like Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan), along with those who pay homage to the musical genre (like The Beatles and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers). Later, we put Chuck Berry front and center.

Here’s your midweek lineup:

10:00 a.m. Folk Music From A-to-Z: Various Artists

We’ve got them all here in this playlist. You’ll hear John Prine, Dave Van Ronk, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul & Mary, Odetta, Cat Stevens, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Beatles, Arlo Guthrie, Bonnie Raitt, Joan Baez, The Band, Eric Andersen, Tom Rush, Judy Collins, Nanci Griffith, Jesse Winchester, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Lead Belly, Tim Hardin, The Kingston Trio, Simon & Garfunkel, Richie Havens, Jackson Browne, Guy Clark, James Taylor, The Carter Family, Harry Chapin, Linda Ronstadt, Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt and more!

7:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Chuck Berry NEW!

Tonight we put a rock n’ roll pioneer, one of its Founding Fathers, In the Spotlight as we celebrate his birthday (belatedly, it was October 18). John Lennon once said this about Chuck Berry, “If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry.'” Indeed.

Before, in between, and after we’ve got that great wide Open Stream all day and all night long, because we run 24/7, not just when we have programming. You are in the hands of The Music Mermaid who, as you well know, has impeccable taste in music.

Happy Birthday, Chuck Berry!

A Busy Saturday Brings Our ‘Water, Water Everywhere’ EP, Our AOW, Springsteen In the Spotlight, and LIVE DEAD!, September 24, 2022

We are busy as beavers here in The Mermaid Lounge as we give you our traditional “busiest” day of programming, including a belated birthday celebration for The Boss.

Yep, the planet earth is composed of 71% water; so is our programming today!

Here’s your Saturday musical landscape:

9:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Sunshine Superman by Donovan FINAL AIRING!

We’re on the final airing of this great psychedelic effort, but we have a brand new one on tap for introduction tomorrow. Get this one in while you can! It was Donovan’s most psychedelic album.

12:00 p.m. Water, Water Everywhere: Various Artists

Water, like music, is a life essential. You’ll hear odes to water from Paul McCartney, Deep Purple, Joe Cocker, Simon & Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Otis Redding, Neil Young, Elton John, The Doobie Brothers, Valerie Carter, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Al Green, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Loggins & Messina, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Linda Ronstadt, Spirit, The Grass Roots, The Beach Boys, Lindisfarne, Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt, Carole King, Steely Dan, Tom Rush, Johnny Rivers, America, Donovan and more!

7:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Bruce Springsteen NEW!

Finally, Springsteen gets his Spotlight feature and we’re happy to wish The Boss a belated (only one day) 73rd birthday with this one. Give a listen to the guy who was a major pioneer in the ‘heartland rock’ genre.

10:00 p.m. LIVE DEAD! The Grateful Dead Live at The DuPont Gymnasium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, May 7, 1970

Another repeat, but it was last aired in early 2020, so it’s like new. As is every performance by the world’s preeminent jam band. We’re working on new material going forward, but this is a great soundboard recording.

Saturday is a busy day her, but we’d like to remind you that wide Open Stream is still the majority of our daily fare from The Mermaid Lounge. All of our EP’s are multi-artist as well. The Music Mermaid does an impeccable job of keeping us in line here. Come on in and see for yourself!

Water, Water Everywhere!

We Keep It Simple With a Ride On ‘The Psychedelic Express’ and Donovan’s Album of The Week, Sunday, September 18, 2022

It’s officially a keep-it-simple Sunday with a full psychedelic programming spectrum today. We start it all off with a ride on our ‘Psychedelic Express’ EP.

All aboard the trippy train!

Here’s your Sunday Funday lineup:

10:00 a.m. The Psychedelic Express: Various Artists

Get on board. No tickets required. You’ll be entertained on your trip by Vanilla Fudge, The Chambers Brothers, The Beatles, The Electric Prunes, The Animals, Jefferson Airplane, Blues Image, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Donovan, The Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Traffic, Cream, Dr. John, Procol Harum, Fleetwood Mac, The Who, Canned Heat, Tommy James & The Shondells, Yes, Electric Light Orchestra, Mudcrutch, Blind Faith, Grateful Dead, The Velvet Underground, Big Brother & The Holding Company and more!

7:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Sunshine Superman by Donovan NEW!

Released in 1966, this is Donovan’s most psychedelic album. It includes the iconic single Sunshine Superman, along with The Trip (no explanation required), his tribute to Jefferson Airplane with Fat Angel (which the Airplane later covered) and Season of The Witch, one of my all-time favorite songs. We’re traveling on this one for a week.

This is your day to tune in, turn on and drop out. It’s Sunday, a day of rest and relaxation. Take advantage of the good vibes by turning into a great radio station. All you need is a computer, a free tab and a mouse. No credit card required. No bullshit commercial advertising aired. No mouthy disc jockeys. What is not to love here?

All Aboard The Psychedelic Express!

It’s a Busy Saturday in The Mermaid Lounge With Our ‘Folk Music From A-to-Z’ EP, Spanky & Our Gang In the Spotlight, Our AOW, and LIVE DEAD! Later, September 17, 2022

Good Morning, Weekenders! We’ve got a great slate of music for you today here in The Lounge, including a new playlist from the Sixties “sunshine pop” band, Spanky & Our Gang. But they were more than that.

Here’s your Saturday musical landscape:

9:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Electric Music For The Mind and Body by Country Joe & The Fish FINAL AIRING!

We bid a fond farewell to this great piece of psychedelia, one of the first psychedelic albums to come out of San Francisco. Tomorrow, we’ll have a new piece of psychedelia for you. Get this one in today!

11:00 a.m. Folk Music From A-to-Z: Various Artists

We follow up Country Joe with our great folk/folk-rock EP featuring John Prine, Dave Van Ronk, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul & Mary, Odetta, Cat Stevens, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Beatles, Arlo Guthrie, Bonnie Raitt, Joan Baez, The Band, Eric Andersen, Tom Rush, Judy Collins, Nanci Griffith, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Lead Belly, Tim Hardin, The Kingston Trio, Simon & Garfunkel, Richie Havens, Jackson Browne, Guy Clark, James Taylor, The Carter Family, Linda Ronstadt, Harry Chapin, Joni Mitchell, Phil Ochs, The Stone Poneys and more!

7:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Spanky & Our Gang NEW!

Pop was a big part of the sixties music scene, and some bands did it better than others. This is one such band. Led by singer Elaine “Spanky” McFarlane, Spanky & Our Gang became known for their amazing harmonies and for a string of hits in both the U.S. and Canada, including Like To Get To Know You, Sunday Will Never Be The Same, Sunday Mornin’, and Lazy Day. But in my mind, the best song they ever made was Give A Damn. You’ll hear all of them and more here tonight.

10:00 p.m. LIVE DEAD! The Grateful Dead Live at The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, New York, June 24, 1970

We last aired this concert in 2019, so it’s definitely like brand new. When you tool around the Internet, you’ll see people saying this was their best live performance ever. Others say their Cornell University concert was the best. Beauty is in the ear of the beholder when it comes to The Dead. But one thing’s for certain: No two concerts are ever the same, even on the same tour.

Great day to give us a listen. We’ve got a lot of people on already this morning from around the globe, including Ireland, the UK, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Australia, Germany, Japan, Russian Federation, Spain, Kansas, California, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York. Get with it, people. We’re totally free, we don’t accept advertising, and we’re on 24/7. No Joe Rogan either. What’s not to love?

Folk Music From A-to-Z!

We’re at The Midweek Point with Our ‘Are You Ready for The Country’ EP and The Band ‘Live’ in Asbury Park Later, Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! We begin the day just a bit early as it is Truck Day in ACE Hardware retail land. But we will have control of the music we have to listen to, and it’ll be right here.

They started as Dylan’s back-up band and became one of the most influential bands in popular music history. And they are most certainly a Mermaid Lounge favorite.

Here’s your midweek line-up:

10:00 a.m. Are You Ready for The Country: Various Artists

We’re back with our tribute to real country music (not bad pop bands with fiddles, as Tom Petty calls the pretenders), and the Laurel Canyon crowd who were instrumental in the development of country-rock. You’ll hear Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young, The Byrds, Gram Parsons, Pure Prairie League, Asleep at The Wheel, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, The Marshall Tucker Band, Jerry Jeff Walker, Mudcrutch, The Band, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Bonnie Raitt, Glen Campbell, Rosanne Cash, Dan Fogelberg, New Riders of The Purple Sage, John Prine and more!

7:00 p.m. The Band Live at The Casino Arena, Asbury Park, New Jersey, July 20, 1976

As Robbie Robertson explains, they wound up with their name because that’s what everyone referred to them as when they were recording in the early years. From their beginnings as Dylan’s back-up band, The Band became one of the most revered and influential bands in music history. We here in The Mermaid Lounge love The Band. They are in our top three. Guess who the other two are.

One more day on the front lines of retail hell coming up. We had a totally unhinged woman with a paintbrush up her ass come in yesterday. It was a thing of beauty. We’re going to see if we caught her tirade on camera. But hey, it’s a new day and we’ve got great music on tap.

Are you ready?