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Our guest, Lil Ray Neal, has been referred to by his fans as the “Gentle Giant of the Blues.” You may know his father, who he is named after, Baton Rouge blues giant, Raful Neal. Or you may have heard his brother Kenny Neal on a previous American Routes show. Born in Erwinville, LA, now based in Baton Rouge, Lil Ray Neal has been working as a blues guitarist and vocalist for over 40 years, playing with artists John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, Muddy Waters, James Cotton, Little Milton, Bobby Rush, Bobby “Blue” Bland, and B.B. King. Here on American Routes live, he’s taking the stage solo for a rare intimate performance at the The West Baton Rouge Museum, beginning with “Darlin’ You Know I Love You.”
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Singer Allison Russell is a native of Montreal with what she calls “Grenadian Canadian” roots of Afro-Caribbean and Scottish ancestry. You may know her recordings with Our Native Daughters and the Birds of Chicago, or back when with Po’ Girl. In her first solo recording, Outside Child, Russell addressed family abuse in her youth, followed by escape to the road: Vancouver, San Francisco, Chicago. Those early life experiences led Allison years later to make new, compelling songs, expressing freedom from trauma, to love and hope for better times. She lives now with fellow musician JT Nero and their young daughter in Nashville, but Allison Russell began the journey’s narrative in her beloved Montreal. -
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Eddie Cotton grew up in the Church of God in Christ in Clinton, Mississippi near Jackson. He heard guitar-playing deacons and preachers. His father was a preacher who bought Eddie his first guitar when he was six with plans for him to play for the congregation. After leading the church band, Eddie went on to study music theory at Jackson State University, where he realized that gospel and blues shared the same form, and developed a sound that incorporated blues, gospel, and soul. He continued playing music in church, but pursued a career in blues, opening for Ike Turner and B.B. King, while sticking with fellow musicians in Mississippi and his family. -
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This is American Routes for St. Patrick's, with singers, fiddlers and pickers from Ireland to Appalachia live in this hour, sharing Irish, bluegrass and country tunes with one another at the 80th National Folk Festival. Beginning with brothers Rob and Ronnie McCoury playing banjo and mandolin on stage in Salisbury, Maryland, 2021, with Ronnie's tune, " Quicksburg Rondevouz." -
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Singer/guitarist Charley Crockett plays what he calls "Gulf and Western” music, a combination of blues, R&B, soul, country and more found along the Gulf Coast from Texas to Louisiana. It makes sense, since that's where he grew up, living with his mother in a trailer. Charley’s lived many lives, hitchhiking with his guitar from coast to coast, playing in subways and city streets in New York City, New Orleans and Paris; working farms in California, running into trouble with the law and later his health with open heart surgery. He's recorded several highly acclaimed albums and is known for his takes on classic country tunes as well as original songs. But for Charley, the blues is where it all began. -
The Historic New Orleans Collection spotlights civil rights activist Carol L. LaMotte. -
