Song of the Soul
656 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsSong of the Soul invites you to a soul-level encounter. Music has the ability to proclaim the soul's language beyond what mere words can speak. That's what we seek as we invite our guests to share their Song of the Soul. You will hear the music that has charted the steps of their spiritual journey, that has provided a touchstone in the soul's dark night, and sung the hearts awe and joy when come to the Light. As you listen to Song of the Soul, you are both witness and companion to our guest's spiritual path and sacred testimony.
Song of the Soul guests provide about 25 minutes of the music that speaks of their spiritual path, beliefs or journey, and Mark Helpsmeet explores with them the relevance and meaning of this music to their experience. Some guests are musicians, perhaps sharing their own music, but most guests are simply sharing music they've been impacted by, written and performed by others.
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Episodes
(Extra-)Ordinary Folks
August 11, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBJan Krist and Jim Bizer make music that is fun, profound, quirky, insightful, and moving. As a duo their creative name is Jan Krist & Jim Bizer, but they also perform in a number of other groups & configurations, with Diamonds in the Rust, The Yellow Room Gang, Floyd King & The Bushwackers, and more.
Self-Realization & Songs for Social Change
August 04, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBThe mission of Ananda Marga is self-realization & service to humanity, and one of the ways they do this is the work of RAWA (Renaissance Artists and Writers Association). They hold an annual contest of Songs for Social Change and today we look at the fruits of their 2017 submissions & CD with Dada Veda who oversees the contest.
Enchanting Voice for Sustainability
July 14, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBEncinitas is home to Ashley Mazanec whose passion for earthcare merits her the title of "A Voice for Sustainability". Living in a tiny house on an urban post-organic farm, attending San Diego 350 activities for fun, passionate about water protectors - this only scratches the surface. She runs, yogas, and surfs - and wait 'til you hear her sing in a perfect marriage of art and activism! Ashley has toured with Inspired Flight and currently performs with The Altruists and solo.
Peace of Pakistan
July 07, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBIrfan Ali Taj left the business world to follow his passion, making music full of peace, understanding, & spirit. Originally from Chitral in the north of Pakistan, living in Karachi, Taj loves passing Chitrali folk culture forward. You can catch Taj on YouTube and on Facebook.
Folk Music's Simple Faith
June 15, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBDavid Tamulevich's life is folk music, in various configurations. He's been performing for more than 40 years with Michael Hough as Mustard's Retreat, been writing songs and performing with a group called The Yellow Room Gang for about 12 years and, on top of that he puts in a full week plus overtime as booking agent & manager services as Tamulevich Artist Management.
Standing & Swingin' in the Light
June 09, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBCathy Reitz is a musicpaloosa and it's a gift she shares abundantly. Sometimes she's front-and-center like with her Cathy Reitz & 7 Swing, or when performing the blues, but she also brings out the music in all kinds of people, like the Stand in the Light Memory Choir, the Chippewa Valley Community Chorus, the Valley Gospel Choir, and the Chippewa Valley Youth Chorus, to name only a few.
With Tarzan, Jesus, & Jim
May 26, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBJan Krist creates stunning songs of the human condition, sometimes with deep pathos, sometimes with a wry eye, always with superb lyrics and voice. She often takes the stage solo, but also commonly with Jim Bizer, and sometimes with the Yellow Room Gang.
Sublime Thunder
May 19, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBBraden Canfield loves inner exploration & conveying the power of the experience through his music. He pays attention to the details and the transformation. While after-hours he's a singer/songwriter, in the light of day his joy is the good he can do as a counselor in the Indian Education department of the Minneapolis School System.
Grounded Like the Trees, Flying Like the Breeze
May 12, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBAnnie Fitzgerald is a beautiful voice & songwriter from among the riches of the Twin Cities of MN. Her songs are deeply-rooted and high-flying, centered on connection, relationships, belonging, and home. Back to the Midwest after 10 years in Brooklyn, NY, Annie is releasing her new CD, You & Me & the Sun, on June 1st, 2018. See a fun video of her 'Toilet Tune' with Sarah Morris.
Playing With Wolves
April 28, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBCollectively, Kai Ulrica & Nikk Wolfe are Wolves At The Door. Their collective music combines Nikk's lyrics and musical framework with Kai's melodies and arrangements. With a frequent strong rock edge, Nikk is often tugged toward blues and slide guitar, while Kai's tendency is harmonies, like when she performs as part of RavenWolf or Girl Band.
Musical Goulash with Eggplant
April 21, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBBy day Daniel Zerr is a mild-mannered Natural Resource Educator with the UW Extension here in Eau Claire, but other times Dan makes music in a variety of configurations, including his solo act. One of his common bass & vocals gigs is with Eggplant Heroes, and you will find him mixing other strange incredients, hence his 2014 release, Guacamole, Macaroni and Cheese.
Tiny Tim Meets Mother Jones Meets Jean Redpath
March 31, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBMaria Dunn is a passionate and inspired storyteller and songwriter with a voice to charm us all. Born in Scotland but having lived almost all of her life near Edmonton, Alberta, Maria combines old world music and roots with Canadian life and people to produce beautiful, moving music.
Chicago Farmer
March 24, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBCody Diekhoff is Chicago Farmer, a consummate story-teller combined with heartfelt tunes & evocative voice. Coming of age when punk/grunge rock was the alternative thing, he got hooked on an alternative to the alternative by Hank Williams, leading to a kind of alt-country/folk/Americana style all his own. Cody is from a farming family in small-town Illinois, did good time in Chicago, and has settled in between with his wife, the artist creator of Twice Upon A String who makes Upcycled Instru...
Alt-country from Liverpool & Berlin
March 17, 2018 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBGem Andrews is born & raised in Northeast England, around Liverpool, so it was a bit of a surprise to find that the beautiful music she makes owes much to Americana and Alt-country influences. All the more since she's spent the last few years in Berlin, Germany. Honesty, vulnerability, and twang come powerfully through Gem's music.
Like Nashville but North-er
March 10, 2018 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBThe Minnesota Music Coalition is a statewide network of artists, industry professionals and music supporters who care about creating and sustaining a vibrant popular music community. Ellen Stanley, aka Mother Banjo, is their executive director and shares samples of the wonderful work & music across genres from the coalition.
Musical Alchemist & Lunchroom Royalty
February 24, 2018 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBMindy Dillard is so many things, besides being an enchanting singer/songwriter. She's a Musical Alchemist, Body Image Activist, and sometimes she's Princess Fearless. And that's just a start. She created a one-woman folk rock opera called How to Survive a Poison Apple, combining mythological scholarship and soul-deep whimsy. She operates out of Salt Lake City, Utah.
2017's Musical Finale
February 03, 2018 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBA revisit to 6 powerful performers from the end of 2017, sampling some of the musical styles we heard, including kirtan, pop, folk, rap/hip-hop, and country, and you'll encounter stories and songs from folk like Heidi Kalyani in Nova Scotia, Laura Joy in Chicago, Jen Hazen in Eau Claire instead of prison, Alex Mead in Buffalo, NY, Dawud Wharnsby in Kitchener, Ontario, and Elizabeth Erin Kemler, with a cowgirl heart in New York. Click on their names to listen to the full interviews.
Tunes in the Belly of the Year
January 20, 2018 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBA Song of the Soul collage from mid-2017 full of folkies, young & old, with tributes to Pete Seeger by Charlie King and Pete's sister, Peggy Seeger, a Quaker ballad by Paul Tinkerhess, a sing-along song with Peter & Annie, Anishinabe-rooted music with Bill Miller, and an heartful journey across America in song with Robinson & Rohe.
Soul of 2017 Starter Kit
January 13, 2018 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBA rich sampling of the wonderful songs & guests of the first half of 2017, including Radmilla Cody, Irfan Ali Taj, Ashley Mazanec, Nici Peper, Billy Jonas, and Jean Rohe. An incredibly rich potluck of musical dishes!
Roaring for a Revolution
January 06, 2018 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBErika Kulnys is out to change the world, sometimes by tackling the "big issues", but also by inspiring the listener to heal themselves and therefore get out of the way of change. Operating from Nova Scotia, and with an enchanting voice, piercing lyrics, and great instrumentation, Erika takes the heart and soul flying into a better future.
We're All In Heaven
December 30, 2017 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBSarah Vos is a founder and lead vocalist of Dead Horses. With poise, depth, and beauty, she and the band take listeners on a sensuous and soulful glide through layers of experience and meaning. With language that is evocative and comforting, Sarah welcomes you into a piece of heaven. They appeared at the Great River Folk Festival in LaCrosse, WI, August 27, 2016.
Manifestive: Musical Food for the Community Table
December 22, 2017 13:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBManifestive: The Holiday Album is a fund-raising gift to The Community Table from a generous flock of musicians in the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin. Masterminded and led by Anastasia Vishnevsky and Danno, the songs include work by 12 other musicians.
Star by Moon
December 16, 2017 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBIdris Phillips has been making superb music with wonderful artists for close to 40 years, and finally he's released his first CD, Star By Moon, this one emphasizing his folk roots, but promising his jazz, blues, and other styles in future recordings. His guitar & keyboards are magic, and his lyrics triple-deep, in the listener's ear, in Idris' personal experience, & in the mystical truths they name.
Manifest Buddhist Amen
December 02, 2017 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBAnastasia Vishnevsky shares her Buddhist soul locally as Manifest Eau Claire and as part of RavenWolf (with Kai Ulrica). Stasia does alchemy, mixing pain, errors, injury, blessings, & vision into golden music. Her CDs Trigger and She are planned for release in 2018, but you can see & hear her music on Bandcamp.
Seattle's Busker King
November 18, 2017 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBJim Page has been a fixture of Seattle's folk music scene since the early 1970's, including his successful campaign to legalize street performing through the city in 1974, and as one of the founder of the Pike Market Performers Guild, and their Busker Festival. In addition to strong folk roots, Jim has spent years in Ireland, and he's produced 23 records, the latest being A Hand Full of Songs.
My Rap Name is Alex
November 11, 2017 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBAlex Mead isMy Rap Name Is Alex, and he makes world-healing rap/hip-hop music in Buffalo, NY. A year-round bicyclist in a snowy land, a member of Bloodthirsty Vegans, and a reformed computer programmer, Alex combines tech savy with peace-justice-environmental passions to create absorbing music & videos. Subscribe to his YouTube channel here.
America's Troubadour, Larry Long
November 03, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBLarry Long is the kind of great musician who brings musicians together, hence his collaborations known as the American Roots Revue. Studs Terkel called Larry America's Troubadour. With flavors of folk, soul, blues, rock, and Native American music, and as a deeply passionate activist, Larry helps transport hearts and create programs like Elders' Wisdom Children's Song. Larry & the American Roots Revue will be performing on Weds, July 6, 2016, in St Joseph, MN, at the annual Friends General Co...
Angelic Desperado
October 28, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBJen Hazen has deep honesty and an awesome laugh, and both come through in the way she lights up the stage as part of the many constellations of music she occupies: Jenny & the Lost Boys, Jenny & the Jets, Girl Band, Milk & Whiskey, and Weapons of Brass Destruction, among others. In Jen's blog, you can learn more about Jen and her Music Heals recovery work with music at Arbor Place (and get the CD too).
Sailing on a Slow Movin' Train to Nowhere
October 21, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBWeekdays, Jim Phillips is a mild-mannered Chemistry prof at UW-EC, but after hours to transforms into a singer/songwriter, well-favored bass guitarist who has found a reborn calling to music after dramatic changes in his life.
Renegade Revelations Revolution
October 14, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBJeff White wants musical revolutions constantly, and some non-musical revolutioning too. His style, self-dubbed, is Alt Country and Western Folk, but that's the tip of the iceberg. He's toured in 4 countries, recorded with Greg Brown, and opened for a Bernie Sanders rally, and he hosts a weekly open mic gathering for musicians 7 pm on Tuesdays at the Tomahawk Room in Chippewa Falls, WI.
Taste the Light
September 29, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBDavid LaMotte is rich in music, and bountiful in living out what he sings about. With 12 recordings, 3 books, founding credits for Abraham Jam and a Rotary World Peace Fellowship, there is so much to rhapsodize about. Situated in Black Mountain, North Carolina, David has voice, lyrics, & guitar to charm you deeper.
Indigie Femme & Navajo Nation
September 23, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBTash Terry is half of Indigie Femme, a confluence of two powerful, spiritually-rooted, women of native tribes of the global north and south. Tash is from the Dine/Navajo Nation, roots she draws on to express identity, love, connection, gratitude, & joy.
Worldwide in Nova Scotia
September 16, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBArt and music suffuse the work & play of Heidi Kalyani. Her musical collaborations are wide-ranging, including Turko-Balkan music with ORO! Orkestra, kirtan with Blue Lotus Trio and her Heart Wide Open Project, and Indonesian music as part of the Mindful Flower Gamelan. Heidi is Canadian, occupying a small town called Wolfville in Nova Scotia.
Neo-tribal Hootenanny
September 15, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBBilly Jonas is more fun and spiritual depth than you can hardly imagine. Sometimes described as doing neo-tribal hootenanny, industrial re-percussion, and soul-spelunking, he started as part of the Oberlin College Big Bang Theory performance art collective, was part of The Billys, sometimes shares as part of the Abraham Jam, and is at the core of the Billy Jonas Band.
Old Turtle and Earthsongs
September 09, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBDouglas Wood has produced at least 8 CDs & is author of Old Turtle and at least 31 other books, often on themes of deep connection & respect for the Earth. These passions also guide his work as a wilderness guide. In addition to his solo music, he performs as part of the Wild Spirit Band.
Life, Death, Rock & Roll
September 02, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBA self-proclaimed "Budd Lite" (as in Buddhism), Catholic-raised, Americana musician, Joe Fahey lives the questions through his music. Today the questions include life & death, but there are no definitive answers on tap here, just experiences, feelings, & some whimsy, from this Twin Cities-based artist.
Simple Aussie Folk
August 26, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBMandy Breeze and Doug Kelly take traditional folk tunes, mostly, and transform them into vibrant, living stories and culture. With rich, beautiful vocals and creative, engaging instrumentals, you'll discover a love for traditional songs with modern impact.
American Hunger
August 19, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBLiam Robinson & Jean Rohe largely birthed their Hunger EP at the Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology in Bellaire, Michigan, and a creative threshold was crossed into the duo called Robinson & Rohe. Their collaboration is a crucible for refining the American experience from many vantage points and creating a musical edifice of powerful lyrics, evocative harmonies, and consummate skill.
The Red Road (to Nashville?)
August 12, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBBill Miller is a 3-time Grammy Awards winner, a Mohican Indian from Northern Wisconsin, and a Nashville-based singer-songwritter of incredible & diverse musical talents. He'll be the headliner at LaCrosse, WI's Great River Folk Festival Sunday afternoon concert, August 27, 2017.
Hope & Change Rise Again
August 05, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBAnnie Patterson & Peter Blood support hope & change through their world-famous group singing books, Rise Up Singing and Rise Again. For close to 40 years they have been nurturing & leading group singing. Peter was editor for Pete Seeger's autobiography, Where Have all the Flowers Gone, and Annie performs in multiple configurations, including with Girls From Mars.
Whistling in the Womb
July 30, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBJuliana MacDowell is sure that she was making music before she ever saw the light of day, and her music will make you believe it. A soul-deep voice and wide-open heart, you'll want her for your new best friend, singing in your ear every day.
Ann Arbor's Banjo-toting Shoemaker
July 23, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBIn the hours when Paul Tinkerhess is not repairing Birkenstock footwear for the people of Ann Arbor, he finds other ways to nurture his town - by organizing the Water Hill Music Fest, by keeping winter sidewalks walkable with Snow Buddy, and by sharing his banjo-playing and song-writing talents generously in the cause of community. A CD of the live music from this interview will be available for sale at NorthernSpiritRadio.org, the only current source of Paul's music!
Charlie King - Reprise
July 09, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBAn old friend of Northern Spirit Radio, Charlie King, returns for the first time in nine years. Join us as this talented troubador shares his songs, stories, and trenchant wit with us and our listeners on Song of the Soul, tales from becoming a concientious objector as a Roman Catholic to being told by Pete Seeger to write a Woody Guthrie song.
Pete Seeger's Bountiful Harvest, Part 1
June 25, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBPete Seeger planted seeds of music & change everywhere he went, and some of that harvest is shared today (& next week) by a visit with Leda Schubert, author of Listen: How Pete Seeger Got America Singing (and also The Princess of Borscht), and musician friends of Pete's, Joe Jencks, Charlie King, and Pat Lamanna (and several more folks next week!). Pete was inspirational & transforming for so many people!
Hobo & Deserter, Jersey & Heartland
June 18, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBA long-ago migrant from the Jersey Shore to the Heartland, Ian Alexy and his brother have been the Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank, while his own band is Ian Alexy & The Deserters. It's driving rock, it's folk, it's real, it's great.
Punk-Jazz-Haiku Bodywork
June 11, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBLet him near a guitar and Ned Brown transmutes the punk rock of his youth, mixed with ingredients of jazz and word play, into something new for the planet, though most days he's just a mild-mannered, meditating, Tai Chi, bodywork professional with Earth & Sky Bodyworks, Who is the real, who the fakir? A question beyond our pay grade!
Whisper Behind the Light
June 04, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBMichael Smith is the face and guitar of Whisper Behind the Light, drawing on the deep place to speak messages of power and transformation. Michael has found a life of rootedness and simplicity - as much as that happens with 5-plus kids - away from the squirrel!!! of big city life, and in the community of the Catholic faith of his upbringing. Check him out on Soundcloud and his musings on Blogspot.
Humble Stumble Hymnbook
May 28, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBJ. Brent Bill is the author of Life Lessons From a Bad Quaker: A Humble Stumble Toward Simplicity and Grace, reviewed in Friends Journal to much acclaim. He's also been an avid consumer and creator of music, and joins us this week to discuss one section in particular of his book, the Humble Stumble Hymnbook.
White Buffalo Quest
May 21, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBRod MacDonald spins deeply emotional tapestry with his songs, a sort of emotional journalism, powerfully capturing the aspirations and angst of the listener. He was a principle in the 1980s folk revival in Greenwich village, co-founding the Greenwich Village Folk Festival. You'll find a couple of his songs in Rise Up Singing because of their penetrating & enduring power. Follow him on FaceBook.
Well Met Howling Moon
May 07, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBMichael Hough has been making music with Mustard's Retreat since 1974, and as part of The Yellow Room Gang for the past decade. Michael is honest. He's straightforward. He's got a good heart. And he's talented. You will surely find both depth & enjoyment in his songs.