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
New Orleans Jazz & Baton Rouge Blues…With an Ethio-Jazz Excursion
October 14, 2026
We’ve got New Orleans jazz, Baton Rouge blues and Ethio-jazz played on keyboard and accordion by a former Washington D.C. cab driver, Hailu Mergia, who mixes Ethiopian music with jazz, funk and soul. Then, it’s a rare, intimate solo performance by Baton Rouge bluesman Lil Ray Neal, live at the West Baton Rouge Museum. Plus, music by Dr. John, Etta James, the Meters, Aretha Franklin, Big Mama Thornton and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.
NEXT WEEK
New Orleans Jazz Banjo/Guitarist Danny Barker & American Routes Live with Detroit Brooks and his Syncopated Percolators
New Orleans musician and raconteur Danny Barker was a banjo and guitar hero—a major player in New York jazz who never forgot his French Creole roots in song and style. We look back on Danny's career, his life with wife and collaborator, the singer Blue Lu Barker, and his influence sustaining culture in the Crescent City. Then, current day guitar and banjo man, Detroit Brooks pays tribute to the Barker legacy with his band the Syncopated Percolators live at the New Orleans Jazz Museum.
LAST WEEK
Live with Piano Prince Davell Crawford and Native American Songs and Sounds from Pow-Wow to Pop
It’s an American Routes live session with the Piano Prince of New Orleans, Davell Crawford, a fine singer and wily raconteur who grew up in Lafayette and New Orleans. We’ll also hear some of his and our piano heroes from South Louisiana and beyond: James Booker, Professor Longhair, and Ray Charles, as well as Davell’s grandfather, Sugar Boy Crawford. Then, it’s our tribute to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the second Monday of October, with an array of Native American voices and music from the Black Lodge Singers, Dennis Banks, Link Wray, and Redbone. Plus archival and current conversations with Assiniboine Cree Singers from Montana, French-speaking Houmas from Louisiana and vocal harmonies from the women of Ulali.
Support Detroit Brooks
Our friend, guitar and banjo player Detroit Brooks, needs urgent support. Detroit is in the hospital with serious medical issues that have kept him from being able to play music, and he is now awaiting surgery.
Find out how you can help here.