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
Compared to What?
April 22, 2026
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?
NEXT WEEK
Flying with the Byrds & the Burritos on American Routes Airlines
We get sonically aloft with musical memories of the Byrds and the Flying Burritos Brothers. The Byrds, the fabled folk-rock band known for their vocal harmonies and jangly guitar sound, gained huge fame between 1965-1968. We’ll hear music that influenced the Byrds from Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger. Plus conversation with Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers co-founder Chris Hillman about his bluegrass roots, the Byrds’ shift toward country music on Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and forming country rock band the Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram Parsons. We’ll also find out about songs in the land of love lost and found from Dr. John, Sam Cooke, Patsy Cline and Irma Thomas.
American Routes Live from French Quarter Fest
This week, we celebrate the cultural minglings in New Orleans with a visit to the 2019 French Quarter Festival: a free, homegrown, four-day annual event featuring a vast array of local music presented on stages throughout the city’s oldest neighborhood. We’ll hear from Soul Queen Irma Thomas, the late piano patriarch Ellis Marsalis, and the Preservation Hall Brass Band. We’ll also catch the French-Creole jazz of Don Vappie and Evan Christopher, Cajun dance music from Bruce Daigrepont, vaudeville and gospel from Topsy Chapman and Solid Harmony, Klezmerfunk fusion from the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars and traditional jazz from Dejan’s Olympia Brass Band.
Support Little Freddie King and Al “Carnival Time” Johnson
Two beloved New Orleans musicians, Al "Carnival Time"Johnson & Little Freddie King need support right now. They both recently had some health challenges and Freddie is working his way through some house challenges. 100% of all donations will go to the musicians. If you can support or share this fundraiser by Krewe of Red Beans, we'd appreciate it!