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
World of Music in Detroit
April 23, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBFor the past 3 years, Joe Kidd & Sheila Burke have been awarded the Detroit Music Awards for Outstanding World Music. With 60's folk music roots mixed with Appalachian/Celtic/Bluegrass/Country/Middle Eastern/African/Native American spirituality, influences, and rhythms, Joe & Sheila make moving, meaningful, music.
Ballet & Shanty, Folk Troubadour
April 09, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBDavid HB Drake has deep Wisconsin roots, and deep knowledge of Wisconsin's music, wonderfully exhibited in his Wiscon-Sing history of the state's music. His decades of endeavors have included his years dancing with the Milwaukee Ballet & Betty Salamun's Dance Circus, and serving as shantyman on the tall ship, HMS Bounty. He leads music & worships with the Congregation of the Great Spirit.
One Wild Thing
April 01, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBMany people find an important piece of themselves in nature, but Deirdre Jenkins knows herself in oneness with nature at a whole new depth. Through her journeys with trauma, devotion, and remembering-the-self, Deirdre produces music that transports and transforms the listener. Contact her on Facebook.
Lumberjacks & Irishmen
March 26, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBBrian Miller has a great passion for the Irish music and traditional songs of Great Lakes workers. He knows the legends, people, & places, to a science, steeped in art. Raised in Northern Minnesota, enriched & deepened in Ireland and other lands, Brian plies his trade from St Paul, MN. Check out his TheLostForty.com collection recordings from 1924.
Called By Our Names
March 19, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBJ.E. Sunde is a sensitive, creative, inspired singer/songwriter who combines the influences of the folk greats of earlier generations with the broad indie canvass of his own. Currently a resident of the Twin Cities, J.E. does solo work now after 10 years with The Daredevil Christopher Wright.
The Buddha Would Dig It - Eve Decker
March 12, 2017 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBEve Decker weaves health and healing through her music, with a mixture all her own of Buddhist teaching and insights, plus Jewish wisdom and mysticism, and even modern psychological understandings. Combining her compelling voice with beautiful melodies and transcendent themes, Eve is a blessing in musical clothing!
You Cannot Hold the Flame
March 05, 2017 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBThe music of Joe Jencks burns in the heart of the listener, both with his lyrics and his powerful voice. The stories and poetry of his songs lift up a vision of love, compassion and solidarity without preaching or posturing - just solid, inspirational music. In addition to a wealth of solo performing, he's now part of a trio called Brother Sun. As Joe says in one of his songs, "You may hold the candle but you cannot hold the flame".
Iraq & Kevin Rocks
February 19, 2017 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBKevin Basl had 2 tours of duty in Iraq and in the course of the 2nd he wrote & recorded a CD capturing his frustration, doubts, & anger at the role he played in what he judges to be an illegal war. He currently does healing/empowerment work with 2 veterans' groups, Warrior Writers and Combat Paper NJ.
Kinship, Hope, & Beautiful Mother Earth
February 12, 2017 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBRadmilla Cody is firmly rooted in the Dine' musical & cultural tradition, and her songs come straight from the plateaus of the Navajo Nation, where she was the 46th Miss Navajo Nation. From her youth herding sheep, to her experience of domestic violence, to her activism work with social and environmental injustices, Radmilla seeks & sings beauty, balance, & harmony with our wide kinship and with Mother Earth.
Knowing What The River Knows
January 29, 2017 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBJim Bizer is a profound, engaging, talented lyricist, singer, & musician whose songs speak of our connection and the mind-blowing reality we live in. It's folk with some jazz touches, joyful with scattered clouds, deep with occasional dancing on the surface. Jim also performs frequently as part of a duo with Jan Krist, as part of the Yellow Room Gang and as a part of Floyd King and the Bushwhackers.
Alternative Christmas in January
January 15, 2017 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBChristmas songs you probably didn't hear leading up to December 25th - but which would have made the season so much more rewarding and meaningful. Instead of the old standards, how about new standards, but lesser-known, extremely wonderful musicians? Peace, justice, & growth at a dark time, growing lighter.
Heavy Meadow Music
January 08, 2017 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBDean Magraw is some kind of awesome on the guitar, not just technically, but spiritually. Dean defies labels and limites - musically & spiritually - with one review saying, quite accurately that Dean is a Jazz cat, a folkie, a rock star, a front-porch bluegrass picker, a bluesman, ... and more. He's located in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, but the universe is his oyster.
Peace On Earth, Good Will To All
January 01, 2017 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBMany may be sick of the interminable string of Christmas music, but they might feel quite differently if they had been hearing these songs - seasonal music by relatively popular, mostly folk, artists that speak for a better world, performers like John Lennon, Dar Williams, Cris Williamson, John McCutcheon, John Prine, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, & Louden Wainwright III.
Rise Again - The People's Songbook
December 25, 2016 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBAnnie Patterson & Peter Blood have been encouraging group singing for the people, a la Pete Seeger, for almost 40 years, first with Winds of the People, then with Rise Up Singing, and now with 1200 more songs in Rise Again. They and other musicians are touring to share the music with their world premiere in Madison, WI, on 8/27/15, followed by a sing-along workshop on 8/29/15, 11am at the Great River Folk Festival, then off to Northern CA.
Under a Shining Owl Moon
December 18, 2016 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBOne of the best companions you could have at a protest, around a campfire or in a song circle is Bruce O'Brien. With his banjo and guitar (and sometimes mandolin or even violin), Bruce is completely in his element holding his ground or under a shining owl moon.
Just Be Nice, But Demand!
December 04, 2016 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBKristen Graves is a dynamo of wonderful music and good work in the world. With the talent of Tracy Chapman or Janis Joplin, and with seemingly boundless energy, Kristen was recently the Connecticut State Troubadour, she was founder of Simply Smiles and also The 'Just Be Nice' Party, has 8 recordings, and draws on a religious studies major and diverse spiritual influences. And makes awesome, heart-moving, music, available on CDBaby.com.
One Shining, Commercially Successful, Folkie
November 27, 2016 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBIt's rather seldom that a predominantly folk-oriented musician can be a commercial success, but such a one is David Barrett. Of course, it helps if you write a song like One Shining Moment that gets adopted by the NCAA as their anthem. But that is such a tiny scratch on the surface of David's creativity & artistry.
Country Flow
November 20, 2016 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBTime for some country-rooted music today with Fizz Kizer. Actually, he's been told that he's "too country for the cafes and too folkie for the taverns". When playing with his trio, they're called Fizz & the Farm Hands. His music sings of country things, like the rivers and the taverns and the hearts that grow deep away from the cities.
Calling Angels
November 13, 2016 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBJudy Kass took a long hiatus from sharing her music with the world, but was reignited in her zeal to share by the loss of almost 300 colleagues on 9/11. Judy's music draws on a deep exploration of our human condition, to find ways to call in angels to assist us.
Brain Rats & A Full Voice
October 30, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBIn her mission to model and teach the content, Barbara McAfee has produced 7 CDs plus a book, Full Voice: The Art and Practice of Vocal Presence. She also leads two other groups, The Morning Star Singers and The Flowering Women. Having found the path herself, she is devoted to guiding others to their full potential.
Heartland, Coast-to-Coast
October 23, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBMusic shared via video feed from all across the USA for Northern Spirit Radio's fun-raising event, Broadcasting From the Heartland, including Si Kahn, Peter Alsop, Magic Mama, Ken Lonnquist, and Tom Rowley with The Healthcare Blues. All of this, and more, was part of the NSR event!
Not Dead Yet
October 16, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBBrett Kemnitz does the booking for Milwaukee's The Coffee House. In addition to his solo singer/songwriter career, he has performed as part of the Plum Creek String Band and Pebble Creek Crossing - and with many other folks. Find his music on CDBaby.com.
Western Soul Landscapes
October 09, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBKate MacLeod was East Coast born, but Utah settled, capturing the beauty & stories of the Western landscape in her songs. With her powerful fiddle and magical voice, Kate transports everyone into the realities she's read and experienced.
The Blue Garden of Midwest Urban Folk
September 11, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBThe voice of Annie Capps transports the listener on a tour of her Midwest Urban Folk Blue Garden, filled with twang, jazz, soul,& hoochy coo flora, and more. With exquisite instrumentation by Rod Capps and others, Annie's songs are moving, joyful, fun, and powerful. Radiating from Michigan, Annie Capps shines a rich bouquet of music across the nation.
We Become Not War
September 04, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBMark Dvorak, in addition to his livelihood as a singer/songwriter, is a frequent teacher at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. With beautiful, soothing vocals, talented guitar or banjo fingers, and great songwriting, Mark will inspire and enchant you with his music.
Camp A Little While In The Wilderness
August 28, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBRhonda Rucker is most often heard performing as part of Sparky & Rhonda, with a strong flavor of Southern Appalachian music, but also Civil Rights folk music, old hymns, and a number of songs by Rhonda. She was a medical doctor for 5 years, cares deeply about our Earth, and her writings include a recent novel called Swing Low, Sweet Harriet.
Everything You Need
August 21, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBTonia Hughes brings us music of and for the soul, taking us through a journey of faith and fruits in the face of true hardships, like the early death of her husband. Raised in St Louis, for the past 20 years Tonia has been blessing the Twin Cities with her music. You can find her Gospel, Blues, Jazz, R&B, Rock and Worship music on CDBaby.com.
No Dust Bowl on Vashon Island
August 14, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBThough the music of Kat Eggleston shines its light widely, it strongly reflects the light & love passed on from her parents, particularly her Dust-Bowl-raised father. He bequeathed to Kat loads of creativity and his eventual home on Vashon Island, in the rainy Northwest. Kat's guitar, lyrics, and voice are all first rate and, as Jonathan Byrd comments, 'She kicks so much ass she has to buy new shoes.' Kat & others will be performing The Cyclone Line, a musical dedicated to her father, presen...
God is Still Speaking
July 31, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBAfter 27 years devotion as a grade school teacher, Heather Jerrie has now freed up more of her time for her musical passion. As a cancer survivor, 12-step fan, and very engaged UCC member, Heather's beautiful voice sings of hope, service, depth, & devotion.
Simply Flying On Dakota Breezes
July 24, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBChuck Suchy balances a life stretched between two callings, one as a singer/songwriter, and the other as a farmer, tied to the land of the Northern Great Plains - specifically, North Dakota. His music often emerges from his connection to the place of his roots, but can also fly to romance, joy, and the freedom of spirit. See Chuck on Prairie Public
My Child, Accordion, & Goat Songs
July 17, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBMicah Sommersmith follows his nose into great music, letting the lyrics lead him into deep meaning. Although accordion is his weapon of choice, he also plays/has played piano, trumpet, euphonium, guitar, and the organ (required for his job as music director for a Methodist church). He joins us before a live audience to share music today, nearing the birth of his first child.
At Whole In the Universe: From Sweden, Brazil, & Nashville
July 10, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBIda Kristin's latest release, along with David Llewellyn, is Songs Around the Kitchen Table. Hailing from Sweden, with maternal Brazilian influences, and living part-time in Nashville, Ida leads hearts and souls to stir, ponder, & laugh, even more potently when paired with Welshman David. Inspired by biological science, tried by hardship, and rooted in meditation, Ida sings a powerful song of the soul.
Standing Ovation for Freebo
July 03, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBFreebo has an impressive musical pedigree, having recorded, performed & toured with oodles of luminaries, including Ringo Starr, John Mayall, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Maria Muldaur, and including 10 years playing bass with Bonnie Raitt. After decades doing other people's music, he found his calling to write his own songs, and it has fueled a rich collection of musical styles united by a strong spiritual undercurrent and, sometimes, overcurrent.
Poet Laureate & Eggplant Heroes
June 26, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBMax Garland is a professional backslider, was Wisconsin's Poet Laureate 2013-2015, and makes music as part of Eggplant Heroes. With deep roots in Western Kentucky and a 'lover's quarrel' with the religion of his childhood, Max retired recently from teaching in the UW-EC English Dept.. Look for the bonus song & excerpts!
Critter in the Choir - Bill Staines
June 19, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBAfter 4 decades, Bill Staines continues to produce some of the best folk music of our times, some well-known like All God's Critters and River, hundreds more less-known. With inspirational, heartfelt, and sometimes just fun themes, Bill's music has reached folk devotees everywhere. Having logged more than 3 million miles while touring, Bill takes his musical gifts virtually everywhere, constantly adding to all the critters in the choir.
Worldly Australian Rant and Romp
June 12, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBConsider the names of Doug Kelly's bands over the past 35 years: Tansey's Fancy, Churinga, Sirocco, and Simple Folk, and you've got to suspect that there's something different going on here. Australian-based, Doug plays passionately and provocatively on a wide array of instruments from around the world, wedding traditional forms and tunes to evolving creativity.
World Famous in Bloomsburg
May 29, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBPaul Loomis spreads his time between teaching Math at Bloomsburg (PA) University, traveling in South America, raising 2 kids, and making music. His latest CD is World Famous in Bloomsburg, just like him.
The Great Mystery
May 08, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBArthur Davenport currently hails from Hilo, Hawaii, where he found Northern Spirit Radio through the Friends Journal and tracked us down to share his rich, diverse, profound, and fun music, not to mention his Arthurisms!
Into Beauty
May 01, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBLaurie Childers lives out a stunning world of art and activism in Corvalis, Oregon. She performs both solo and with her band, the River Rocks, and her activism takes a number of forms, including her work as chair of the National Council of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Beautiful music from a beautiful spirit.
Folks Like Us - Matt Watroba
April 24, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBMatt Watroba has been deeply immersed in folk music since 9th grade, including hosting the Folks Like Us show on WDET in Detroit and Folk Alley on WKSU at Kent State University, for a combined 26 years or so. With more than 3 decades performing, Matt is a master of the folk music genre, both as a performer and as a leader of group singing.
Milwaukee's Singing Lawyer
April 17, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBMike Plaisted lives out multiple passions, in part through his work as a lawyer performing a vital role in the lives of his clients, especially with folks in Drug Court, but also through his performing music, something that deeply feeds Mike. He's a member of the Milwaukee Musicians Co-op, and performs regularly on Riverwest Radio.
Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Man from Berkeley
April 03, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBPatrick Landeza is passionate about the music of his Hawaiian roots, though he's Berkeley, CA, born & raised, and a special man. He was awarded the Musician of the Heart award as part of the Listen for Life concert for peace at Carnegie Hall, and he's the first mainland artist to win the Na Hoku Hanohano Award for Slack Key Album of the Year, Hawaii's equivalent of the Grammy. Catch him on the radio regularly with hisAloha Everywhere program.
Barreling Down a One Lane Bridge
March 27, 2016 05:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBA.L. Williams leads Milwaukee's One Lane Bridge and broadcasts his music Friday night ever 5 weeks on Riverwest Radio. Enjoy some creative themes, diverse music styles, and stanch advocacy of cooperative local music.
34 Years of Cooperative Music
March 13, 2016 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBThe Milwaukee Musicians Co-op is celebrating 34 years of upholding one-another as of 3/12/2016, at the 19th Street Coffeehouse. We talk to 5 long-time Co-op members to explore some of the soul of the group: One Lane Bridge/A.L. Williams, Rick Kokan, Mike Plaisted, Friar Otto/Michael Hoppe, Mud River Lee
Northwest Passage Revisited
March 06, 2016 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBEvalyn Parry mixes music, spoken word, with writing, directing and performing theater. With beautiful vocals, wide-ranging thoughts and creativity, and lots of engaging attitude, Evalyn makes magic, including her musical theater production, Spin, concerning the early feminist movement & biking.
A Hell of a Time
February 21, 2016 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBSteve Carlson doesn't really think that PleasantVille is all that pleasant and he associates Christmas with A Hell of a Time, so this is a world view with some spice in it. With country roots and under a folk canopy, Steve makes beautiful music filled with lots of social commentary.
Kirtan From the Temple of Light
February 14, 2016 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBFrank Florin began with hard rock music, but along the way he found his spiritual and musical appetite filled exclusively by the Hindu devotional practice called kirtan. Frank now passes on his love for this special music through performances with the group called Temple of Light kirtan.
Goat Songs
January 31, 2016 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBMicah Sommersmith has a real range to the music he's involved in. Part of his work is as a church music director, but he's also the kind of creative, quirky, musician you'd expect of someone who has played piano, trumpet, euphonium, guitar, and accordion, and who'd write a Song about Glass. He mixes deep and playful, and profound and surprisingly profound, lyrics.
White Pines Open Mic
January 17, 2016 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBA different format for Song of the Soul - we sit in on the quarterly open-mic experience known as White Pines. In a low-tech, high-personality event, folks come out to share their down-home skills and creativity for a special community-building opportunity, 26 years into its life.
Strokin' Them Strangs
January 09, 2016 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBDarrell Smith's day job is with Purple Cow Organics, which tells you something significant about one of Darrell's passions, and in his other hours he plays with Embedded Reporter and The Pardee Boys, using his skillful voice and fiddle.