eTown » Broadcasts

This week, eTown brings back two of our favorite musical guests - multi-genre band Lake Street Dive and Americana musician Shakey Graves. While the show was recorded remotely, we do have a very special collaboration at the end featuring a duet between Rachel Price and Alejandro Rose-Garcia (Shakey Graves). Both artists open up about the new music on their latest records and the process of staying creative during a pandemic. Expect lots of good music and conversation this week . . . in eTown.\n 

On this week\'s eTown re-airing, we welcome neo-soul and modern R&B artist Allen Stone. We’re also joined bye Nashville-based American country and rock singer-songwriter Nikki Lane. Nick also has a conversation with a man who discusses how a regenerative agricultural revolution could be a solution to reversing climate change. Join us this week… in eTown!\r\n

This week's eTown re-airing features talented guitarist and young bluesman Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, a Mississippi-native guitar, vocal, and writing sensation. eTown also welcomes the vocally driven country duo Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms from Portland, Oregon. Plus, we’ll hear from Nona Yehia, a well-versed, passionate vertical farming advocate who co-founded the nonprofit Vertical Harvest. It’s a classic eTown broadcast/podcast you won’t want to miss!

On this week's eTown re-airing, we’re honored to welcome the rootsy super group Capitol Sun Rays. The group is made up by the talented Luther Dickinson, Amy Helm, Grahame Lesh along with the three core members of a real eTown favorite, Birds of Chicago: Allison Russell, JT Nero, and Drew Lindsay. We also welcome eTown friend and bluesman John Long, who became immersed in the blues scene at an early age, traveling and living with blues legend Homesick James starting in 1970. Also, we’ll hear from this week’s eChievement Award winner, who co-founded a nonprofit that is saving the lives of countless women around the world.

Ani DiFranco is one of the most prolific, focused, and issues-oriented songwriters in America today. She joins Nick from her home in New Orleans to discuss and play songs from her latest record. Ani also partnered with musician and activist Zoë Boekbinder on a remarkable project to bring the issue of restorative justice and prison reform to a wider audience through creativity and music. Zoe shares her stories of The Prison Music Project’s evolution, and we’ll feature some of the remarkable music that prisoners and former prisoners helped create.

Kenya-born Minneapolis resident, Ondara, shares his quarantine inspired songs and his remarkable story with Nick. Also, Nashville songwriting superstar, Gary Nicholson, talks about his release, “The Great Divide,” an ode to the common ground that can help heal a divided nation. Two thoughtful and talented singer songwriters have similar takes on what’s happening in America, despite their different backgrounds.

eTown’s new podcast, “Looking Back, Looking Forward: The eChievement Award” revisits a number of past eChievement Award winners featured on the eTown weekly radio program for the last several years. These are eTown listener-nominated individuals who’ve been doing inspiring work, benefiting folks in need or the planet itself. Podcast Host Helen Forster (professional actor, vocalist, writer, voiceover talent, producer and co-host of eTown) shares these interviews from the past, and, when possible, follows up with each winner to see what’s going on with them now. A mix of ordinary, everyday citizens, plus an occasional celebrity winner, fused with narrative from eChievement Award creator Helen Forster, this podcast is guaranteed to introduce you to some incredible and inspirational individuals. 

Host Helen Forster shares the 2006 interview with former Survivor Africa TV reality show winner Ethan Zohn, who used a good portion of his million dollar prize to help others, combining his love of soccer with a passion for preventing the spread of AIDS. Helen also talks with Ethan today about what’s developed since being on eTown, including expansion of his charitable work, personally dealing with a rare form of cancer, and his recent foray into the world of medical cannibas.

This week, eTown favorites The Milk Carton Kids, the dynamic American indie-folk duo, return to eTown. Also joining us is talented Canadian folk-pop singer-songwriter Rose Cousins. We’ll also hear from an eChievement Award winner who founded a nonprofit community furniture and some supplies “bank” to help those in need in the Portland community.

In this back-by-popular-demand rebroadcast, legendary singer, songwriter, actor, and author Steve Earle returns to eTown.  Rootsy folk singer and songwriter Joe Purdy joins us, as well.  Plus, our eChievement Award winner this week is a woman from North Carolina who’s come up with a unique way to feed the hungry and bring her community together at the same time.

We’re excited to bring you this brand new eTown episode! Uber-talented performer Margo Price and Nick discuss her latest work, “That’s How Rumors Get Started,” an album of ten new, original songs due out soon (we’ll share some of those songs with you, too!). And Jerry Williams Jr., who performs under the name Swamp Dogg, is an American soul and R&B musician, singer-songwriter, and producer. Swamp Dogg, a psychedelic soul superhero, is often known as one of American music’s greatest cult figures of the 20th century. Plus, Nick interviews Roger Duncan, a decades long advocate for reducing our carbon footprint and co-author of a new book called ”The Future of Buildings, Transportation and Power.” All this, this week, in eTown.

In this encore broadcast/podcast, we welcome folk-pop singer-songwriter Laura Veirs. A prolific songwriter for nearly 20 years, Veirs has garnered praise throughout the years with her exquisite folk-pop sound. Also joining us is a truly gifted, one-of-a-kind singer-songwriter, Aaron Lee Tasjan. And we’ll have a conversation with this week’s eChievement Award winner, Peter Mui of California, founder of the Fixit Clinic network, an empowering and sustainability-based grassroots effort that shows regular folks like you and me how to repair and reuse equipment and appliances that we normally would think need to be thrown away.

Shemekia Copeland returns to eTown for her second visit, in this (first time aired!) new eTown episode. As an award-winning vocalist (daughter of famous jazzer Johnny Copeland), Shemekia started recording in 1998 at the age of 18 and is recognized as one of the most talented artists in today’s blues and roots scene. Also joining us is Kelsey Waldon, a gifted and seasoned American country singer and songwriter. And Catherine Coleman Flowers, a recent MacArthur Fellow, is the author of new book called "Waste: One Woman's Fight Against America's Dirty Secret." She’ll speak with Nick about her efforts to bring attention to failing water and waste sanitation infrastructure in rural areas, perpetuating health problems and economic injustice

Musical guests Valerie June and Mick Flannery join us - plus eChievement Award winner Anne Rolfes discusses her Louisiana B ucket Brigade initiative.

This week, we welcome Rising Appalachia, led by sisters Leah and Chloe Smith. It’s worth tuning in just for those incredible sibling harmonies alone; but you’ll also be moved by our other musician guest, Egyptian rock musician Ramy Essam, known as “The Singer of the Egyptian Revolution.” The finale collaboration between Nick, Helen, and our musical guests this week is one of the most inspiring ever done on eTown. We round things out with an eChievement Award story about a man who’s helping folks in ‘food desert’ designated neighborhoods to obtain healthy food by establishing their own gardens.

Talented singer/songwriter Ron Pope joins us, bringing some of his more recent original songs; plus the elegant performer and singer Pieta Brown returns to eTown after several years to share some of her well-crafted tunes. And a golden eagle named Scout appears on the eTown stage in person with his “personal human” (and dear friend) who has been single-handedly saving injured wildlife in Utah for decades.

It’s eTown’s brand new Holiday Special: to get you in the mood for the holidays! A look back on performances by the likes of The Indigo Girls, Robert Earl Keen, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Subdudes and many more. Join Nick and Helen Forster for some holiday cheer and memories!

eTown welcomes Grammy-nominated artist Rufus Wainwright, who’ll talk with Nick and also share songs from his latest album release (nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album) called “Unfollow The Rules.” Other musical guests include the remarkable singer/songwriter Joan Osborne. Plus, we’ll feature a special one song collaboration between Rufus and Brandi Carlile. And our accomplished filmmaker friend Jeff Orlowski (of Chasing Ice and Chasing Coral fame) returns to etown to talk with Nick about his newest film The Social Dilemma.

Longtime eTown friend and talented artist Nathaniel Rateliff joins us for a stunning private performance at eTown Hall, featuring several beautifully written songs from his most recent musical project. Plus, he and Nick have an up close and personal conversation. We’ll also feature musical samples from various iconic New Orleans artists from a Soul Jazz Records compilation that Nathaniel highly recommends. And Nick chats with Colin Butfield, WWF’s Executive Producer of the Our Planet documentary project. Colin is also a member of the WWF UK executive team. He shares information about The Earthshot Prize, a new global project designed to incentivize innovative environmental change to help repair the planet over the next ten years.

One of our all time favorites, Strand of Oaks, returns to the eTown stage this week. This dynamic, gifted writer and singer (and one of the genuinely nicest people you’ll ever meet) brings his full band this time around. Coming solo to play with the eTones and Nick for the rest of the musical portion of the show is talented young Anna Burch of Detroit, Michigan. And, for this encore broadcast, we’ll have an eChievement Award story of a young man who’s come up with a truly unique and natural way to involve kids of all ages in cleaning up the polluted waters of New York Harbor.