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Musician's Spotlight Today's most talented and compelling musicians visit Musicians' Spotlight to "talk shop" and give you a deeper insight into their music. Host and producer John Floridis brings his own musical expertise along with over a decade and a half of experience conducting interviews.Guests on the show have included legendary musicians like B.B King; Alison Krauss; Lyle Lovett; Wilco; Brandi Carlile; Daryl Jones of the Rolling Stones; The Cowboy Junkies; Richard Thompson; Mary Chapin Carpenter; Bruce Cockburn; Shawn Colvin; and Chris Hillman of the Byrds; along with talented Montana artists like Jeni Flemming, Tom Catmull, Martha Scanlan, John Dunnigan, Jenn Adams, Jack Gladstone and Eden Atwood.
Musician's Spotlight

Podcast Directory
Musician's Spotlight

Musician's Spotlight

From Montana Public Radio

Today's most talented and compelling musicians visit Musicians' Spotlight to "talk shop" and give you a deeper insight into their music. Host and producer John Floridis brings his own musical expertise along with over a decade and a half of experience conducting interviews.Guests on the show have included legendary musicians like B.B King; Alison Krauss; Lyle Lovett; Wilco; Brandi Carlile; Daryl Jones of the Rolling Stones; The Cowboy Junkies; Richard Thompson; Mary Chapin Carpenter; Bruce Cockburn; Shawn Colvin; and Chris Hillman of the Byrds; along with talented Montana artists like Jeni Flemming, Tom Catmull, Martha Scanlan, John Dunnigan, Jenn Adams, Jack Gladstone and Eden Atwood.

Most Recent Episodes

The Allman-Betts Band Forge 'The United States Of Americana'

When Duane Betts and Devon Allman decided to join musical forces, the collective heft of their last names served as an additional member of the Allman-Betts Band. Their dads, Dickie Betts and Gregg Allman, had co-founded the Allman Brothers Band.Duane Betts joins John Floridis by phone for a conversation about the band's most recent release, Bless Your Heart. The seven-piece thinks of this album as their "bonfire," built for the summer of 2020 and beyond. It's a double album follow-up to their 2019 debut, fueled by road-forged camaraderie and musical intensity, reflecting the individual and collective experiences of seven musicians, all of them drawing inspiration from the band's symbolic hometown - a place Devon Allman calls "the United States of Americana."

Clarence Penn, 'Rhythmic Intoxication' And Thelonious Monk

Faced with a guest's musical CV longer than his own arm, the wise radio host takes a tag-team approach to conversing with in-demand drummer, composer, bandleader, producer and teacher Clarence Penn. In this edition of Musician's Spotlight, John Floridis and Montana drummer and percussionist Ed Stalling hold radio rhythm-camp with the versatile, highly respected, chops-rich Penn.

Shawn Colvin's Voice Combines Sparkle, Strength And Vulnerability

How does Shawn Colvin stay busy during a pandemic? By pairing her own hits with classics of the silver screen. In Live From These Four Walls you'll hear a solo acoustic reinterpretation of her 1992 album, Fat City, and a second album of movie songs like "Edelweiss," "Beyond Thunderdome," "To Sir With Love" and "Everybody's Talking."

American Patchwork Quartet Weave Modern Immigrant Dreams Into Songs

In 2020, singer Falu Shah, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, drummer Clarence Penn and guitarist & vocalist Clay Ross teamed up to form American Patchwork Quartet. They're on a mission to reclaim the immigrant soul of American roots music, interpreting timeless songs through a 21st century lens.It's not an accident that the four members of the group, each with a thriving solo career, came together to start reinterpreting American roots music. The quartet's goal is purposeful: to unleash music's magic to help counteract pervasive prejudices around immigration and race. American Patchwork Quartet consists of an eleventh-generation classical Hindustani musician, a drumming protégée of the late Ellis Marsalis, a first-call Issei jazz bassist, and a co-founder of Ranky Tanky, a Grammy-winning group inspired by the Gullah musical culture of the Carolina coast.

Mette Kirkegaard's 'Simple Matters' Isn't So Simple

Is there such a thing as "Nordic Americana?" Host John Floridis has discovered at least one example: the songwriting team of Danish singer, Mette Kirkegaard and legendary Montana songwriter, Kostas Lazarides. Their collaboration forms the backbone of Kirkegaard's most recent recording, "Simple Matters."

Ranky Tanky's Songs Are 'Soulful Honey To The Ears'

"A people blessed by God" is how Gullah speakers translate their Afro-English dialect's name. Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA are hotbeds of Gullah language, songs and stories, and the rich repertoire of the Charleston quintet Ranky Tanky doesn't disappoint: "ranky tanky" is Gullah for "get funky." Singer Quiana Parler shares the band's origin story with John Floridis, and reflects on their 2020 Grammy win for Best Regional Roots Album.

Sharon Isbin Is A 'Master Colorist' Of The Classical Guitar

Sharon Isbin , "the Monet of the classical guitar," returns to Musician's Spotlight to talk technique, collaboration and guitar diplomacy with host John Floridis. Isbin's accomplishments involve big numbers: she has recorded more than 30 albums, premiered 80 new works by composers like John Corigliano, Joseph Schwantner and Lukas Foss, performed as a soloist with over 200 orchestras around the world, appeared on numerous television and radio programs, hit #2 on Billboard , and won dozens of

Josh Farmer Fashions Music Out Of Life's Hand-me-Downs

Missoula's Josh Farmer is a whirlwind of joyous musical creativity whose roles include but are not limited to: pianist, bandleader, performing singer-songwriter, teacher, choir director and community music organizer. With the album Mental Picture , Josh can add "solo recording artist."

Hilary Hahn's Violin Evokes The City Of Light

Acclaimed classical violinist Hilary Hahn returns to Musician's Spotlight on the heels of the release of her latest recording, Paris . She's won three Grammy awards, recorded twenty feature albums, commissioned several works (including a Pulitzer Prize-winning concerto by Jennifer Higdon), been featured on the Oscar-nominated soundtrack of the film The Village , collaborated with a who's who of ensembles, performed in unconventional venues like yoga studios and knitting circles, played for the

Jayme Stone's 'AWake' Synthesizes Kaleidoscopic Art Out Of Grief

Self-described "instigator" Jayme Stone returns to Musician's Spotlight to talk about AWake , a recording that "sings from a white-hot core of love and loss." It's accompanied by a lush, immersive website containing a virtual listening post, a visual art project and choreographic interpretations of the songs. Even accounting for the diverse range of Stone's previous collaborations, the sound palette and emotional landscape of "AWake" is a departure.

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