Today It’s Our ‘Folk Music From A-To-Z’ EP, the Final Airing of The Kinks’ AOW and We Introduce Ray Davies as Our Featured Singer-Songwriter, August 19, 2023

Good morning, folk music lovers! We are back with our big, bad EP that delivers all things folk, from the early pioneers of the genre to those who pay it homage as part of their musical repertoire.

Here’s Saturday’s musical lineup:

Today we take you back to Woody Guthrie and bring you through the great folk renaissance of the sixties and seventies. 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, Phil Ochs, Harry Chapin, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, The Carter Family and more!

5:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Give The People What They Want by The Kinks FINAL AIRING!

Today we bid a fond farewell to The Kinks’ Album of The Week…on a day when we introduce the guiding force of the Kinks as our featured singer-songwriter! Tomorrow, we’ll have a brand new album in place.

Tonight we introduce The Kinks’ guiding force as our new singer-songwriter. Ray Davies was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for this great British Invasion band. It’s only fitting that he’s featured this week.

Our ‘Folk Music From A-To-Z’ EP, Smokey Robinson, and Al Green are in The Lounge on Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Good morning, music lovers! We are at midweek and we’ve got both the parents of folk and the members of the great folk revival in The Lounge today, along with Smokey Robinson and Al Green.

Here’s your midweek lineup:

9:00 a.m. Folk Music From A-To-Z: Various Artists

Folk is the original protest genre, and it made a huge revival in the sixties, particulary in the Greenwich Village music scene. Today we’ve got pretty much all the players who’ve contributed, including 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 (& The Stone Poneys), Phil Ochs, Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan and more!

4:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Smokey Robinson

Smokey Robinson drops by The Lounge for his second spin as our featured singer-songwriter today. Give a listen.

8:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of Al Green

The reverend Al drops by to give us a little soul and R & B to close out the formal programming for the day.

After today, it’s all downhill as we make our way to the weekend! We’ll help you get through the midweek morass with this great music today. And, as always, it’s 100% free of charge to all with absolutely no commercial interruption.

It’s Monday Again and We Start Off With New Playlist About Freedom, Followed by ‘Live’ Neil Young and a Jimmy Cliff Spotlight, July 3, 2023

Good morning, workers! Today we start off with a new playlist with the words ‘free’ and ‘freedom’ in the title, lyrics or both. And believe me, I’m not insinuating that we should be celebrating ‘freedom’ giving he current state of the nation.

Here’s your musical landscape:

9:00 a.m. Free As a Bird: Various Artists NEW!

We’ve had this one on the drawing board for a bit, and it has arrived today. You’ll hear Chicago, CSNY, The Byrds, Otis Redding, Steve Winwood, Cream, Jesse Winchester, Dave Mason, Van Morrison, Curtis Mayfield, Bob Dylan, Allen Toussaint, Elton John, Tracy Chapman, Emmylou Harris, Chicken Shack, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Pete Seeger, The Beatles and more!

4:00 p.m. Neil Young Live at The Cellar Door, Washington, D.C., November 30 to December 2, 1970

Some early Neil Young is in order this afternoon, recorded live at a series of concerts at the Cellar Door in D.C.

8:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Jimmy Cliff

Sometimes this guy gets lost in the reggae, ska, rocksteady shuffle, but he shouldn’t be. Tonight we put him In the Spotlight where he belongs.

I’m off to work shortly, working my usual day off because we are closed tomorrow. The Music Mermaid will be in charge until I return this afternoon. You will be in very good hands until then.

Monday Rears Its Ugly Head But Inside The Lounge It’s Sweet With Our ‘Folk Music From A-To-Z’ EP and Some ‘Live’ Guess Who Later, June 19, 2023

Good morning, folk musicologists! We celebrated McCartney’s 81st yesterday, so we’re treated to our big folk music EP today instead. Later on, it’s some rare ‘live’ Guess Who.

Here’s your Monday, Monday lineup:

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

We’ve got the old, the minstrels from the sixties folk revival, and those who keep the flame alive today with 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, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, The Carter Family, Harry Chapin, Linda Ronstadt, Phil Ochs, Townes Van Zandt and more! Five hours of uninterrupted folk!

7:00 p.m. The Guess Who Live at The Ambassador Theater, St. Louis, MO, May 6, 1974

One of Canada’s best in a live performance from The Ambassador Theater in St. Louis. This is a rare treat an we’re on the hunt for more live music from this band.

Before, in between and after we’ve got our big, wide Open Stream. The music never stops here in The Mermaid Lounge and the commercial advertising never starts. We’re all about the music 24/7, and we’ve got plenty to share.

We’re at Midweek With Our Great ‘Folk Music From A-To-Z’ EP, Karla Bonoff and a New Playlist Tonight, Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Good morning, music lovers! We’ve hit midweek once again and we’ve got a full slate lined up for you today, including a new playlist to wrap up the day about the rain.

Here’s today’s lineup:

9:00 a.m. Folk Music From A-To-Z: Various Artists

Folk brought us the music of both social justice and social unrest. In this EP you’ll hear from 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, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Townes Van Zandt, Phil Ochs and more!

4:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Karla Bonoff

The second airing of Karla Bonoff as our featured singer-songwriter for this week.

8:00 p.m. Looks Like Rain: Various Artists NEW!

Not quite an EP, but with a great selection of artists. You’ll hear The Temptations, James Taylor, America, Willie Nelson, The Rascals, Linda Ronstadt, The Lovin’ Spoonful, the James Gang, Joni Mitchell, J.D. Souther, Gordon Lightfoot, Poco, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Carole King, Melanie, Maria Muldaur, The Beatles, The Eurythmics, Tom Waits, Fats Domino, Valerie Carter, Electric Light Orchestra, Creedence Clearwater Revival and more!

We’re halfway to the weekend again. They call this “hump day” for a reason. Great day to tune us in. No cost. No advertising. Just music.

It’s Sunday in The Mermaid Lounge and We’ve Got ‘Venus And Mars’ as Our AOW and ‘Folk Music From A-To-Z’ Later, on March 19, 2023

Good morning, music lovers and weekenders! Sundays are quite simple here as we give you plenty of wide Open Stream and some excellent programming.

Here’s your Sunday lineup:

11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Venus And Mars by Paul McCartney & Wings NEW!

This was the fourth studio album by Wings and McCartney’s sixth solo album after the breakup of The Beatles in 1970. It was a follow-up to the great Band On The Run album, and the first to be released on Capitol as opposed to Apple Records. It was recorded in London, New Orleans and Los Angeles, and released in May of 1975. It also resulted in the launch of a massive worldwide tour. I damned near wore this vinyl out, and my favorite song? Call Me Back Again, hands down.

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

Our big folk music extravaganza is back! We’ve got some classic folk artists as well as bands and artists who have embraced the musical genre and done their part to keep its spirit alive. You’ll hear Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, John Prine, Dave Van Ronk, Peter, Paul & Mary, Odetta, Cat Stevens, Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, Arlo Guthrie, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Linda Ronstadt, Phil Ochs, Townes Van Zandt, 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 and more!

What’s better than great music for free? It is true that we can’t accommodate requests, and you can’t build your own playlists here, but this is radio. You don’t know what song is coming next. It’s a throwback to my childhood without the commercial advertising. We’re not all things to all people, but we’re trying to be great music for all people.

It’s Saturday and We Start Out With Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Then It’s On To Our ‘Folk Music From A-To-Z’ EP and the Final Airing of The AOW, February 18, 2023

Good morning, folkies! We’ve got a real treat for you today as our programming is all folk with a little touch of the blues at the end. The big ‘Folk Music From A-To-Z’ EP is smack in the middle.

Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Kate & Anna McGarrigle NEW!

The Canadian-born musicians from Quebec are a true gift to the music world. While Kate was studying engineering and Anna was studying art, they began performing together and writing their own songs. It wasn’t until singers like Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and Judy Collins began covering their songs that they received their own recording contract in 1974. Not surprisingly, this was when Linda Ronstadt exploded onto the music scene in full force with her Heart Like A Wheel album, the title song being a McGarrigle composition. The sisters continued writing and making albums up until Kate McGarrigle’s death in 2010.

12:00 p.m. Folk Music From A-To-Z: Various Artists

Folk music gave birth to protest songs long before the sixties, and musicians from the sixties and subsequent generations have kept the folk music tradition alive. The artists featured in this EP include 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, Kate & Anna McGarrigle and more!

8:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Brother Johnny by Edgar Winter FINAL AIRING!

We bid a very fond farewell to this great album today, but it is in our standard rotation now and you will be hearing airings down the road. We promise. Tomorrow when you roll out of bed, there’ll be a brand new album waiting.

Yes, we’ll tell you to give us a listen again today. We’re on 24/7 and we’re totally free. We do not clog up the airwaves with commercial advertising or endless chatter. We’re all about the music.

It’s Sunday In The Mermaid Lounge, and It’s a Folk Music Kind of Day With Our ‘Folk Music From A-To-Z’ EP and Tim Buckley With the Album of The Week, December 18, 2022

Good morning, folk music lovers. We love this particular playlist here in the Lounge. Very eclectic and full of great classic folk along with musicians who have paid homage to the genre even while not calling themselves “folk singers.” See for yourself.

Here’s today’s musical journey:

11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Goodbye and Hello by Tim Buckley NEW!

A lot of people don’t really know Tim Buckley. It took me a while to discover him as well. He was one of those singer-songwriters we call a changeling. He began his career in folk music but spread his wings into jazz, psychedelic, funk, soul, avant-garde and more, before dying at the age of 28 in 1975 from a heroin and morphine overdose. Goodbye and Hello was Buckley’s second studio album released in August of 1967 and is a combination of folk-rock and psychedelic-folk.

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

The question you have to ask yourself is what kind of folk music best suits you? Because it’s a deep-rooted musical style that has changed and evolved over the years without losing its basic identity. I remember when Dylan took it electric. It created quite a stir. We’ve got it all here. You will hear Bob Dylan, 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, Townes Van Zandt and more!

This is a great day to join an international community of music lovers who enjoy the wide spectrum of stuff we play, and appreciate the fact that there’s some stuff we don’t play. We are not trying to be all things to all people; just some things to a lot of people. And we are totally commercial-free. We’re also completely free to you. Your money is absolutely no good here.

Friday Brings The ‘Folk Music From A-To-Z’ EP and John Prine’s Final Turn in This Week’s Singer-Songwriter Series, November 18, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! We’ve got a great day lined up for you as we keep the programmed parts of the day in the folksy genre with our great multi-artist EP and John Prine in the Singer-Songwriter Series finale for this week later.

Here’s your Friday lineup:

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

Folk music was the original vehicle for protest music and it was largely acoustic, until a guy named Bob Dylan turned it on its ear by electrifying it. 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. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of John Prine FINAL AIRING!

John Prine gets his final airing as our featured Singer-Songwriter for this week, and a fine choice he was. Nanci Griffith takes the spotlight on Saturday.

It’s a nice, low-programming day here in The Mermaid Lounge. Less programming = greater open stream. You’ll want to join your friends from around the globe as we bring you the finest sounds in classic rock with a focus on the sixties and seventies. No hip-hop, no disco, no rap, but we also have plenty of soul music and R & B because that’s the real stuff.

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.