It’s true believers and hardworking troubadours. First, Lee Bains, Birmingham, Alabama’s post-punk folk singer whose songs seek social justice, inclusive humanity and protection of the environs as a sacred quest. Then, octogenarian Louisiana Swamp Pop hero Tommy McLain, who brought his classic ‘60s songs and music mix of country, blues, rock, and gospel to clubs and casinos, now recording with Elvis Costello and touring with Nick Lowe. Plus music from Nina Simone, Johnny Cash, Little Richard and Marcia Ball. 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream was first shared in words. We’ll hear it in music from the Staple Singers, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and Bob Dylan, plus classic jazz, reggae and a new generation of singers: the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Norah Jones and  Questlove. Then, songs, rhythms and histories from the Georgia Sea Islands Gullah Geechee Ring Shouters. 

It’s an American Routes Live session of New Orleans Traditional Jazz with Dr. Michael White, the beloved clarinetist leading the Original Liberty Jazz Band, in concert and conversation. Then, we explore the world of Jazz Manouche and its late leading influence, guitarist Django Reinhardt and his historic recordings with violinist Stepháne Grapelli from the Quintette du Hot Club de France. We also visit with a contemporary women's Jazz Manouche band from Quebec: Christine Tassan et les Imposteures. Plus music influenced by Django Reinhardt from Willie Nelson, Bob Wills, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and the Hot Club of Cowtown.

A conversation with a man of many talents: songwriter, actor, boxer, military man, among many titles, the late Kris Kristofferson, reflecting on his life in music, his songwriting craft, and the nature of gratitude for his life’s adventures.