American Routes celebrates this Thanksgiving weekend with words and music from the National Heritage Fellows. Since 1982, the National Endowment for the Arts has presented the fellowships. It’s America’s highest honor in Folk & Traditional Arts. This year’s Fellows include soul singer and songwriter William Bell, Armenian folk and liturgical singer Onnik Dinkjian, West African diasporic dancers Zakarya and Naomi Diouf, Iroquois raised beadworker Karen Ann Hoffman, traditional religious dancers Los Matachines de la Santa Cruz de Ladrillera, founder of Radio Bilingue, Hugo Morales, old-time fiddler and banjo player John Morris, Anishinaabe birchbark canoe builder Wayne Valliere and Nueva Cancion singer and songwriter Suni Paz. Plus Fellows from years gone by: Mavis Staples, Ralph Stanley, Michael Doucet, Wanda Jackson, Doc Watson, Carol Fran, Flaco Jimenez, Andy Statman and Dr. Michael White.

It’s American Routes Live in concert and conversation with musicians from rural Cajun and New Orleans Creole life. Singer-songwriter Zachary Richard has been called the most American of French songwriters and the most French of American songwriters. We’ll visit with him and his band live at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana for a walk through his nearly 50 year catalog of songs. Then Creole jazz banjoman Don Vappie updates musical history while keeping the New Orleans traditional sound alive, live from Marigny Studios near the French Quarter.