From shouters to chanteuses, R&B melisma to the high lonesome sound of bluegrass, this week we bring you some of the biggest voices on the American soundscape. Neo-retro vocalist k.d. lang comes by to talk about her loves and influences from ’50s country to smoky lounge music. New Orleans singer Topsy Chapman tells us how a stint as a singing waitress on Bourbon Street and growing up with 15 siblings led her to an international career as a song stylist.

It’s summertime and the living’s easy. Jump in as we hit the road in search of new faces and places. Head north out of New Orleans, across Lake Pontchartrain, to the Abita Mystery House at UCM Museum in Abita Springs. And a refreshing visit to a local New Orleans favorite, Hansen’s Sno-Bliz, servin’ up the best sno-cones you’ve ever tasted. Finally, we remember the late Secretary of the Interior and noted conservationist Stewart Udall as Routes digs into the archives for a raft run on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

Follow American Routes as we travel the back roads for some new Southern sounds. The Drive-By Truckers have been up and down the highways since the mid-90s, delivering their unique mix of social commentary, old-fashioned storytelling and rock n’ roll, between stops in their hometowns of Muscle Shoals, AL and Athens, GA. We sit down with the band in uptown New Orleans to learn more about their journey in music and fascination with the South. Then we head backatown to catch up with New Orleans’ own Troy Andrews, a.k.a. Trombone Shorty, to hear about how he mixes trad jazz, rock and hip-hop to create ‘Superfunkrock.’