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
Jerry Garcia
August 6, 2025
A tribute to the late guitarist Jerry Garcia, who passed away 30 years ago this August. Featured is an exclusive interview with Garcia made during his 1989 visit to the Smithsonian Institution. Roots and branches of the Grateful Dead's sound take center stage in this mid-summer celebration in music and memory.
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Compared to What?
We asked our listeners to help pick music and musicians that deal with the troubles we’re facing, and we added a few songs and singers that fit the mood as best we could, including the Staple Singers, Allen Toussaint, Woody Guthrie, Toots and the Maytals, Son Volt, Carole King, John Coltrane, Los Super Seven, Dr. John, and Tom Waits. So we’re just trying to make it real, and the big question remains: Compared to What?
Remake the World: Jimmy Cliff & Arturo O’Farrill
We travel to Jamaica and Cuba, with connections in NY and New Orleans. Singer Jimmy Cliff is the global reggae star whose career was launched a half-century ago by the iconic film and soundtrack, The Harder They Come. We talk with him about his start in the early days of Jamaican recorded music and his work to make the world a better place for everyone. Then, bandleader and pianist Arturo O’Farrill shares his family heritage in Afro-Latin jazz and a 2020 project playing music of all kinds on the US side of the Mexican border at the Fandango at the Wall. Plus music from around the Caribbean and Gulf South with Toots and the Maytals, Machito and Big Chief Donald Harrison Jr.
Remembering Flaco Jimenez
Flaco Jiménez, king of the conjunto accordion, passed away Thursday, July 31, at age 86.
Leonard “Flaco” Jiménez was the most influential Texas-Mexican accordion player of his time. Flaco’s father, Santiago Jiménez Sr., helped create the style called “conjunto” or “la música norteña,” from rancheras to polkas. Flaco Jiménez was born in 1939 in San Antonio and carried his father's sound forward. In addition to singing, Flaco became famous for his rhythmic drive, inventive solos, and stage antics. From his 1950s teenage days playing local dances, Flaco emerged in the early ‘70s to record with Doug Sahm and Ry Cooder, and later Linda Ronstadt and Los Lobos.