Category: Roots Rock

We’re at Midweek With Songs About Water, Live J. J. Cale, and Stephen Stills ‘In Session’ on Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Good morning, musicologists everywhere and welcome to hump day. We start out with ‘Water, Water Everywhere’ today, followed by J. J. Cale and Stephen Stills.

Here’s your midweek musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Water, Water Everywhere: Various Artists

Today we start out with songs about water in all its forms with Paul McCartney, Deep Purple, Joe Cocker, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Otis Redding, The Doobie Brothers, Valerie Carter, Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Al Green, Loggins & Messina, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Linda Ronstadt, Spirit, Bonnie Raitt, The Grass Roots, Carole King, Tom Rush and more!

4:00 p.m. J. J. Cale Live at Hammersmith Apollo, London, UK, October 6-8, 1994 NEW!

We’ve got some vintage J. J. Cale on a 1994 tour from Hammersmith Apollo in London coming up this afternoon.

8:00 p.m. Stephen Stills in Session at A & R Studios, New York, NY, April 26, 1968

Legend has it that Stills was accompanying Judy Collins to her recording session at A & R, but she finished with time left on the clock. Stephen Stills is rumored to have paid the engineer privately to help him cut this album full of demos, later called Just Roll Tape.

Here we are at midweek and tomorrow we start the downslide to the weekend once again! We’re on here 24/7 and we’re totally free. We’re also free of commercial advertising. Just use the handy button below!

The Handy Button.

Today It’s Our ‘Travelin’ Fever’ EP, a Phoebe Snow Spotlight & Live Heartbreakers, on Saturday, September 7, 2024

Good morning, weekenders! Once again, we start the weekend off with a bang, including a brand new Spotlight featuring the late, great Phoebe Snow that has been a long time coming.

Here’s your Saturday lineup:

9:00 a.m. Travelin’ Fever: Various Artists

Life on the road is a popular music topic of note. You’ll hear Canned Heat, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Steve Miller Band, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Dan Fogelberg, Bruce Springsteen, Linda Ronstadt, Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney & Wings, The Doors, The Eagles, Little Feat, The Band, Willie Nelson, Edwin Starr, Janis Joplin, The Byrds, Guy Clark, Joan Baez, Asleep At the Wheel, The Traveling Wilburys, Mudcrutch, Loggins & Messina, Buffalo Springfield, Ray Charles, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Del Shannon and more!

4:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Phoebe Snow NEW!

Phoebe Snow was an amazing singer, songwriter and guitarist who shot into the public sphere with her song Poetry Man back in 1974. She released a series of great albums before fading from the music scene to take care of her daughter, who was born with severe brain damage. She cared for her daughter until her death at the age of 31. While this undoubtedly nearly ended her career, Snow left a legacy of great music behind.

8:00 p.m. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live at The Docks, Hamburg, Germany, April 23, 1999

The Heartbreakers tear it up at The Docks in a performance recorded for the German TV show, Rockpalast.

Hey, it’s the weekend. There’s absolutely no excuse for not tuning us in. We’re totally free 24/7 and circulate 27,000 music files on a continuous basis. We break that up a bit with some great programming. The button’s below.

New Phoebe Snow!

We Celebrate The Labor Movement With ‘Working Songs’ Then It’s The Beatles Top 100 Songs, Monday, September 2, 2024

Good morning, work-a-day people. It’s our day here and we’re celebrating in style with our expanded ‘Working Songs’ playlist. It’s not quite an EP. Yet. Then it’s on to The Beatles Top 100 songs at mid-afternoon!

Here’s your Labor Day lineup:

9:00 a.m. Working Songs: Various Artists UPDATED & EXPANDED!

Today we celebrate the American worker and the labor movement that gave us the weekend, worker protections and collective bargaining with Van Morrison, The Staple Singers, The Beatles, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Elvis Costello, Jim Croce, Little Feat, Woody Guthrie, Mudcrutch, Dolly Parton, Bachman Turner Overdrive, the J. Geils Band, Slim Harpo, Marvin Gaye, Lee Dorsey, Todd Rundgren, Sam Cooke, Neil Young, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band.

3:00 p.m. The Beatles Top 100 Songs

From the slums of Liverpool to laboring in clubs throughout Europe to becoming the greatest rock band on the planet. There’s no better story in music. It’s a great way to celebrate Labor Day.

Before, in between and through the night we give you our big, wide Open Stream. We’re on 24/7 and the Music Mermaid is on duty all day long. There’s no commercial interruption and no endless DJ chatter. The button is below.

Celebrate Labor Day!

It’s The Sixties at Midweek Along With The Boss and a Very Consequential Joni Mitchell Concert, Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Good morning, musicologists! We’ve got a great lineup today and once again it’s all begins with the sixties. We’ve also got Springsteen and the concert that launched Greenpeace.

Here’s your midweek musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. The Sixties Rotation, Volume Two: Various Artists

We’ve got volume two of our big sixties rotation today with The Mamas & The Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Buffalo Springfield, Sly & The Family Stone, The Temptations, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Roy Orbison, The Yardbirds, The Animals, Wilson Pickett, The Band, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, The Kinks, The Ronettes, Velvet Underground, Jimmy Cliff, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Byrds, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Blind Faith, The Four Tops, CSNY, Marvin Gaye, The Doors, The Box Tops, The Beatles and more!

4:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Bruce Springsteen

This afternoon we put The Boss squarely In the Spotlight, the man who pioneered working-class heartland rock.

8:00 p.m. Joni Mitchell with James Taylor and Phil Ochs, Live at The Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, October 10, 1970

This is the concert that launched Greenpeace. The concert featured Joni Mitchell with her boyfriend at the time, James Taylor, and folk legend Phil Ochs in a performance that funded the organization’s protests of the 1971 nuclear weapons tests conducted by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission at Amchitka Island, Alaska.

It’s a good day to be here, people. We have what we hope to be one final summer gasp today as the temps have finally begun to moderate back into the seventies. Inside, however, we bring the heat from a musical perspective. The button’s below.

The Concert for Amchitka

It’s Sunday Funday With Live Bonnie Raitt, an Etta James Spotlight, and the ‘Color My World’ EP Tonight, August 18, 2024

Good morning, weekenders! We hope you’re enjoying your time off as much as we are, although my weekend is actually a Sunday-Monday combo. Today we start off with Bonnie Raitt and Etta James before we get into Open Stream with a theme this evening.

Here’s your Sunday Funday lineup:

10:00 a.m. Bonnie Raitt Live at The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA, February 15, 1972

We kick off the festivities with an iconic performer in an iconic venue. There have been so many who have passed through the doors of The Troubadour on their way to fame. Bonnie Raitt is no exception.

2:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Etta James

In my mind, Etta James is a contemporary of Aretha Franklin in so many ways. Over a six-decade career she has put her stamp on gospel, soul, jazz, R&B and rock and roll. Today she’s In The Spotlight.

5:00 p.m. Color My World: Various Artists

Tonight we give you Open Stream with a Theme as this playlist takes you late into the night. You’ll hear The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, James Taylor, Donovan, Booker T & The MG’s, Electric Light Orchestra, Procol Harum, Joni Mitchell, The Who, Amy Winehouse, Sam & Dave, Badfinger, Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, Jefferson Airplane, The Hollies, Elvis Presley, Lucinda Williams, Janis Joplin, John Hiatt, J.D. Souther, Linda Ronstadt and more!

Come and get it. It’s free. Every single day of the year. All of them. And we’re open all night; round the clock. Did I mention there’s no commercial advertising?

What are you waiting for?

Heading To the Weekend With ‘A Little Bit O’ Soul’, Little Feat’s AOW, and ‘Live’ Music From The Band, Thursday, March 21, 2024

Good morning, musicologists and welcome to the downslide to the weekend. We are opening up the festivities this morning with our big, bad soul and R&B EP!

Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. A Little Bit O’ Soul: Various Artists

This is the big one; not just the sound of Motown, but also Atlantic, Stax and more with Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Ronettes, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Jimmy Ruffin, The Drifters, Chuck Berry, Stevie Wonder, Carla Thomas, James Brown, The Shirelles, Etta James, Curtis Mayfield, Sam & Dave, The Staple Singers, Nina Simone, LaVern Baker, The Supremes, Sam Cooke, Edwin Starr, Fontella Bass, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Irma Thomas, The Four Tops, Jr. Walker & The All Stars, Eddie Floyd, Percy Sledge, Joe Tex, Wanda Jackson, Ann Peebles, Al Green and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Feats Don’t Fail Me Now by Little Feat

We’re winding down on this one. The final airing will be sometime on Saturday. Get it while you can!

7:00 p.m. The Band Live at The Carter Baron Amphitheatre, Washington, D.C., July 17, 1976

From Bob Dylan’s backup band to one of the most influential musical acts in popular music history. The Band was nothing short of fantastic. In my mind, there wasn’t either a bad song or album these guys ever released. This was also broadcast live on the famous King Biscuit Flower Hour.

Just do it, people. We’re on 24/7 with no interruption from any kind of commercial advertising, and at no charge to anyone.

A Little Bit O’ Soul!

The ‘What’s In a Name’ EP and Music From Two Guys Named Tom are On Tap for Saturday, November 4, 2023

Good morning, weekenders! We are starting off the weekend with some fine music as we play our ‘What’a In a Name’ EP, bid farewell to Tom Rush and his AOW, and introl Tom Waits as our new featured singer-songwriter.

Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. What’s In a Name: Various Artists

What’s in a name? Ask William Shakespeare. Or you can ask Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Them, Janis Joplin, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Donovan, Steve Winwood, Bonnie Raitt, Shawn Colvin, Carly Simon, Warren Zevon, Laura Nyro, Bobbie Gentry, The Kinks, Three Dog Night, The Association, Joni Mitchell, Badfinger, Linda Ronstadt, Steely Dan, Chi Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, Tony Joe White and more.

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Merrimack County by Tom Rush FINAL AIRING!

Today is the final airing of Tom Rush’s great album, Merrimack County. Tomorrow we’ll have a brand new album featured here.

8:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Tom Waits NEW!

Tom Waits brings his signature gravelly voice to The Mermaid Lounge as he sings about the underbelly of society (most of the time). Tonight he becomes our featured singer-songwriter.

We’re officially at the weekend. What could be better? What we’ve got right here. Great music 24/7 at no charge and with no commercial interruption. No shit.

What’s In a Name?

It’s Simply Sunday in The Lounge with Steve Winwood and Our ‘Folk Music From A-To-Z’ Multi-Artist EP, October 22, 2023

Good morning, weekenders! As you know, we keep Sunday’s simple here in The Mermaid Lounge and today is no exception. Steve Winwood owns our AOW and we follow that up with our ‘Folk Music From A-To-Z’ multi-artist EP.

Here’s your Sunday Funday lineup:

11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Roll With It by Steve Winwood NEW!

Steve Winwood is a legend in these here parts. He spent his early musical years in the Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith and Traffic before embarking on a successful solo career. I saw him live at what was then called The Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts, many years ago out in the open air and it was a fantastic show. This was Winwood’s fifth solo studio album and it was his most commercially successful. It went to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and sold three million copies. It’s our Album of The Week.

3:00 p.m. Folk Music From A-To-Z: Various Artists

We’ve got them all for you today, from the pioneers of the genre to those who pay homage to the genre. You’ll hear John Prine, Dave Van Ronk, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul & Mary, Odetta, Cat Stevens, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty & The Hearbreakers, 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, Phil Ochs, Harry Chapin, Bob Dylan Townes Van Zndt, Neil Young, The Carter Family and more!

We are workin’ it here all day in The Mermaid Lounge. The Music Mermaid has the situation in complete control and is ready to roll. It’s a beautiful fall day here in the Boston area. This is undoubtedly my favorite time of year. Time to kick back and take it in. Who knows what the climate’s future status will take.

Folk Music From A-To-Z

The Ladies Own The Lounge at Midweek, We’ve Got Sam Cooke and New ‘Live’ Neil Young Later, Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Good morning, musicologists, we’re at midweek here in The Mermaid Lounge and the women of music are in control starting at 9:00 a.m. today.

Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Ladies Day Out: Various Artists

The ladies are in control and we’ve got all genres here for you today with Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Carly Simon, Emmylou Harris, Petula Clark, Laura Nyro, Cilla Black, Irma Thomas, Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Etta James, Janis Joplin, Carole King, Maria Muldaur, Lucinda Williams, Rosanne Cash, Eva Cassidy, Wendy Waldman, Shawn Colvin, The Ronettes, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Norah Jones, Phoebe Snow, Nicolette Larson, Sheryl Crow, Susan Tedeschi, Valerie Carter, Dusty Springfield, Dolly Parton and more!

4:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke is back for his second spin as this week’s featured singer-songwriter. An amazingly talented and respected artist, Sam Cooke was often called “The King of Soul.”

8:00 p.m. Neil Young Live at Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, January 19, 1971 NEW!

This was Young’s solo Journey Through The Past tour as he played in front of his native countrymen in Toronto. It’s a great performance and we’ve got it to close out the day’s programming.

We’re at midweek, kids, and everything from here on out is a downslide to the weekend. We’ll get you there with some great music, including more this week as we celebrate Tom Petty Month.

Welcome to Midweek!

Onward With the ‘Color My World’ EP, Jimmy Buffett’s AOW and CSNY In the Spotlight, Thursday, September 7, 2023

Good morning, musicologists and welcome to the downslide to the weekend! We start it all off with our ‘Color My World’ multi-artist (and very musically eclectic) EP today!

Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Color My World: Various Artists

Songs with colors in the title, lyrics or both. Even the whiff of color puts it on this list with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Donovan, Booker T. & The MGs, Electric Light Orchestra, Procol Harum, Joni Mitchell, The Who, Amy Winehouse, Sam & Dave, Badfinger, Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, Jefferson Airplane, The Hollies, Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin, Cream, Marvin Gaye, Lucinda Williams, John Hiatt, J.D. Souther, Linda Ronstadt and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Changes In Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes by Jimmy Buffett

We’ve got one more airing for you after today and that’ll be sometime on Saturday. Get on it while you can!

7:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Right there behind The Traveling Wilburys on my Supergroup Meter, although quite dysfunctional compared to The Wilburys. They are the original drama llamas of music, but that didn’t stop them from making some of the best stuff on the planet.

We’ve passed the midweek point now. It’s all downhill to the weekend from here. This is your opportunity to get there in style. We’re on 24/7 at no charge and turning on the tunes is hassle-free. Just push play.

PLAY.