American Routes is blues and jazz, gospel and soul, rockabilly and country, Cajun and swamp pop, Tejano, Latin… and beyond. Songs and stories from musicians describe a deep and diverse nation with sounds and styles shared by all Americans. From the bayous to the beltways, from crossroads to crosstown, on interstates and city streets, turn up your radio for the sonic journey!
American Routes—produced in New Orleans since 1998
Musical Memories with Joe Ely & Roscoe Robinson
January 28, 2026
We reach for “mystic chords of memory” with the late singer-songwriter Joe Ely and gospel/soul man Roscoe Robinson to hear about the ground they’ve covered as veteran touring musicians. Joe starts us off in Lubbock, Texas, where he grew up, and tells of railroading across America, running off with the circus, musical explorations with the Flatlanders, and his role in Austin’s Cosmic Cowboy scene. Roscoe Robinson remembers his childhood in Dermott, Arkansas, the family’s north migration, traveling the gospel circuit through the Jim Crow South, taking the stage at the Apollo Theater, and his life-long spiritual journey. We spin travel tunes from artists’ influences like Buddy Holly, Flaco Jimenez, and the Staple Singers.
NEXT WEEK
Cosmic Saxophones: Charles Neville and Charles Lloyd
This week on American Routes, we give voice to the saxophone – an instrument revered by everyone from free jazzmen like Charles Lloyd to soul rocker Charles Neville, of the Neville Brothers. The late New Orleanian Charles Neville tells us how music carried him through his family, his neighborhood and a segregated South. Charles Lloyd, a real California dreamer, traces the roots of his modern, free style and musical collaborations back to the blues of Memphis. From the archives, we hear words and music of saxophone honker Sam Butera (Louis Prima), bebopper Sonny Rollins and modernist Yusef Lateef; plus recordings from Sidney Bechet, Lester Young, Louis Jordan, John Coltrane, and King Curtis.
North American Routes from South Louisiana to Cape Breton with the Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band and Beòlach
We’re rolling out New Orleans Creole and Cajun Francité and soul. We’ll hear music from The Meters, Kid Ory, and Carol Fran… plus the Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band live at the French Market in New Orleans. Then, we head to Cape Breton Island in Maritime Canada for a visit with fiddler Wendy MacIsaac of the band Beòlach, along with other Nova Scotia Scots Gaelic classics… and finally some down home American folks.
Remembering Joe Ely & Raul Malo
Joe Ely, the West Texas songmaker and seminal figure of the Austin Cosmic Cowboy scene, passed away on December 15, 2025.
Raul Malo, the Miami-born and Cuban-descended singer and leader of The Mavericks, known for country, pop and roots rock, passed away on December 8, 2025.