A Meat and Potatoes World Music Show

Tinariwenmore photos

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And now, on the with the blog.

In perusing the set list for this week's show (4/21), there are a few major "must listen" to artists and bands. However, why pick just one or two? The whole two-hours is full of great sounds from all over the planet. In fact, you could say it'll be a real "Meat & Potatoes" kind of show--meaning the it's full of enough tasty goodness that will fill you up (sorry Vegans & Vegitarians, "Tofu & Veggies" kind of show doesn't have the same ring to it). 

The show will get going with some great guitar desert music--first by the band Tinariwen, who are from Mali. They're currently on tour, but their hearts are with the people of their homeland, who are in the midst of political turmoil. An estimated  200,000 Malians have fled their homes in the north. If you'd like more information about this, please visit this website: http://bit.ly/J0veeg by the record company Afropop.

In that same set, I'll also feature the lovely voice and ukelele playing of Malaysian Zee Avi. If you don't have her new CD "Ghostbird," I suggest you add it to your collection. Her voice and songs are sweet, uplifting and fun. Also in the first hour, I'll be re-playing a great song by Ladysmith Black Mambazo, that features Melissa Etheridge and Joe McBride. They do a fantastic cover of "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes."

And if you enjoy WCVE's "Time for the Blues," show with John Porter and Henry Cook (heard late Saturday nights/early Sunday mornings at 1am), then you may enjoy the couple of African blues tracks I play off a new CD from the folks at the Putumayo record label. You'll hear another version of the desert blues from Koudede, who is also from Mali. And, I'll also play another song featuring Tinariwen and the music ensemble that is Playing for Change (another great organization--they promote peace through music. Learn more, here: http://playingforchange.com

Other great African blues and rhythm music I'll feature in the first hour will be from the late Ali Farka Toure. And, I'll play some Juju music from King Sunny Ade and his African Beats--something that will get you tapping. I'll end the first hour with some nice acoustic French music from the artists Aldebert and the duo Presque Oui.

In hour two, I'll continue the mini-theme of featuring some songs from the Playing for Change people. This go-round you'll hear a great cover version of The Rolling Stones song "Gimmie Shelter," as well as a new song called "Satchita." In that first chunk of music, we'll also hear from Michael Franti & Spearhead with the song "The Sound of Sunshine," off his new CD of the same name.

Plus, in that first set, we'll also hear a track from an upcoming artist named Beatrice Kateme-Byakika. She's a singer-songwriter known for her eclectic interpretation of East African music. Though she's been writing songs since 2001 and her first official release, called “In my Blood," was released in 2005, her reputation and voice is being heard in more and more places around the world. Her next release, in 2009 was called "Coming Home." Prior to breaking out on her own, she was a backup singer for Uganda’s International diva Rachel Magoola. Her love for African music could be because of her varied upbringing in both Kenya and Uganda. In fact, her tales of life and love are sung in a variety of East African languages like Swahili, Lusoga, Samia and English. 

A fun chunk of music to be sure to turn the volume up for in hour two, will be a set of Reggae, Ska, Dub and Mento music--which all hail from Jamaica. I'll play songs from Peter Tosh, The English Beat, The Jolly Boys and the Dub artist called When Augustus Pablo Meets the Upsetter. Think about it, in one chunk of music you'll be able to do a few various styles of Jamacian dancing.

And to end this week's theme of "Meat & Potatoes," I'll cap off the show with songs from Pizzacato Five, The Beatles, The Talking Heads, Karsh Kale and the lounge band of one, called Ursula 1000. It's going to be a great show to check out this week, whether you're a meat-eater or a vegetarian. Because really, as Shakespeare once wrote, "If music be the food of life, play on." 

The World Music Show aires Saturday nights at 10:0 p.m. on WCVE Public Radio. You can follow me on Twitter, too, at: @wcveworldmusic. I live tweet during the show, offering up insight to the music or to what's going on in the studio.