KASU will offer 'American Routes' with Nick Spitzer as part of new format change

"In the history of American radio, no series has come close to Nick Spitzer's American Routes in exploring the many streams of this nation's music."
—Nat Hentoff, Wall Street Journal

June 30, 2009 -- American Routes is a weekly two-hour public radio program produced in New Orleans, presenting a broad range of American music—blues and jazz, gospel and soul, old-time country and rockabilly, Cajun and zydeco, Tejano and Latin, roots rock and pop, avant-garde and classical. Now celebrating in our 9th year on the air, American Routes explores the shared musical and cultural threads in these American styles and genres of music—and how they are distinguished.

The program also presents documentary features and artist interviews. Our conversations include Willie Nelson, Tom Waits, B.B. King, Dr. John, Dave Brubeck, Abbey Lincoln, Elvis Costello, Ray Charles, Randy Newman, McCoy Tyner, Lucinda Williams, Rufus Thomas, Jerry Lee Lewis and many others. Join us as we ride legendary trains, or visit street parades, instrument-makers, roadside attractions, and juke joints, and meet tap dancers, fishermen, fortunetellers and more.

The songs and stories on American Routes describe both the community origins of our music, musicians and cultures—the "roots"—and the many directions they take over time—the "routes."

There are stops along the way from rural crossroads to crosstown, from coast-to-coast, departing each week from our studio at Basin Street Station, a historic, renovated railroad station. Programs sometimes examine a topic, such as Mardi Gras, Musical Families, or Jews and Blues—the latter in which we plumb the historic relationships between Jewish music makers and African-Americans in popular and sacred music. We pay tribute to historic heroes like Johnny Cash, Ray Charles and George Gershwin through a special "Routes to Genius" series. It's a musical romp and road map to the cultures, people, places and sounds of America.

Nick Spitzer, creator and host of American Routes, is an internationally recognized folklorist. Nick has served as host and producer of the award winning Folk Masters and American Roots 4th of July concert series; documentary, record, film and festival producer for the Smithsonian Institution and PBS; and independent cultural producer for NPR's All Things Considered. He is currently on faculty at the University of New Orleans.

--information provided by the staff of KASU 91.9 FM radio
 

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