Listen to “The Kingston Coffeehouse” with tributes to Sonny Curtis and David Bromberg

The Kingston CoffeeHouse WRIU 9/23/25

PLAYLIST:

  • JESSE WELLES “War Isn’t Murder” (J Welles)
  • I’M WITH HER “Send My Love (To Your New Love)” [Adele]
  • NORA BROWN “Jenny Put the Kettle On” (Traditional)
  • BELA FLECK & THE FLECKTONES “Sunset Road” (Fleck)
  • LEO KOTTKE “In Christ There Is No East or West” (Alexander R. Reinagle)
  • LEO KOTTKE “You Don’t Have to Need Me” (Kottke)
  • I’M WITH HER “Ancient Light” (Jarosz, O’Donovan, Watkins)
  • THE McCRARY SISTERS “What Good Am I?” (Bob Dylan)
  • JESSE WELLES “The Great Caucasian God” (Welles)
  • PAUL SIEBEL “My Town” (Siebel)
  • MJ LENDERMAN “You Don’t Know the Shape I’m in” (Lenderman)
  • SIERRA FERRELL “Jeremiah” (S. Ferrell)
  • GILLIAN WELCH & DAVID RAWLINGS “Empty Trainload Of Sky”
  • GILLIAN WELCH “Dear Someone” (Welch/Rawlings)
  • CAT CLYDE & JEREMIE ALBINO “Been Worryin'” (Clyde/Albino)
  • WILLI CARLISLE “Beeswing” (R Thompson)
  • RICHARD THOMPSON “1952 Vincent Black Lightning”
  • GWENIFER RAYMOND “Jack Parsons Blues” (G Raymond)
  • CERYS HAFANA “Helynt Ryfeddol”
  • ZOE BASHA “Dublin Street Corner Blues” (Z Basha)
  • SYMBIO “Soul Siblings”
  • OLAF ARNALDS “Tar i Morgunsario”
  • JOSIENNE CLARKE “Most of All” (J Clarke)
  • JOAN SHELLEY “Everybody” (J Shelley)
  • JOAN SHELLEY “The Fading” (J Shelley)
  • JOAN SHELLEY “Haven” (J Shelley)
  • BONNIE PRINCE BILLY, DAWN MCCARTHY “Kentucky” (Karl Davis)
  • JAKE XERCES FUSSELL “Love Farewell”
  • THE EVERLY BROTHERS “Walk Right Back” (Sonny Curtis)
  • THE CLASH “I Fought the Law” (Sonny Curtis)
  • SONNY CURTIS “Love Is All Around” (Sonny Curtis)
  • SONNY CURTIS “Straight Life” (Sonny Curtis)
  • NANCI GRIFFITH with SONNY CURTIS “Well, Alright” (Sonny Curtis)
  • BUDDY HOLLY “Rock Around with Ollie Vee” (Sonny Curtis)
  • DAVID BROMBERG “The Joke’s On Me” (Bromberg)
  • DAVID BROMBERG “Spanish Johnny” (Paul Siebel)
  • DAVID BROMBERG “Mr. Blue” (Dewayne Blackwell)
  • SIERRA FERRELL “Seven Spanish Angels” (Troy Seals, Eddie Setser)

Folk Musicians Nora Brown & Stephanie Coleman Protest Trump’s Takeover

One of President Donald Trump’s most intense fixations since returning to the White House has been to take over and overhaul the Kennedy Center, the national arts and culture institution in Washington, D.C. Trump fired the president of the Kennedy Center, replaced the bipartisan board of trustees with loyalists and made himself chairman of the organization, vowing to shift programming away from “woke” art and toward more patriotic themes.

On Monday, he visited the Kennedy Center to personally preside over a board meeting. Numerous artists have cut ties with the Kennedy Center since Trump’s takeover, but folk musicians Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman performed a concert at the Kennedy Center last week and used the opportunity to protest Trump’s policies from the stage. “We were considering what the most effective method of protest was” and decided “our voices would be loudest on the stage,” says Brown. “The arts are a fundamental way for people to express ourselves and for us to recognize other people’s stories and experiences and struggles,” adds Coleman.

Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.

Tiny Desk Concert with Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman

The Hobbledehoy attended a short but wonderful performance by Nora Brown & Stephanie Coleman at last year’s Jack Kerouac Festival which takes place annually in Lowell, Massachusetts. We’re thrilled to see Nora and Stephanie featured on NPR’s terrific “Tiny Desk” program.

“There’s a sweet moment between songs when Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman reminisce about their love for traditional banjo and fiddle tunes. Speaking about “Across the Rocky Mountain,” banjo picker Nora Brown says she first heard the song when she was about 10 or 11. That puts a grin on fiddler Stephanie Coleman’s face, as she chimes in to say, “I had the same experience; we both were middle schoolers who were obsessed with old banjo players.” It’s this passion that these two have for traditional tunes that sparks me as a listener, and the audiences that come to see them. It’s a body of work that’s been handed down from player to player for centuries.”

– Bob Boilen

TINY DESK SET LIST

  • “Across the Rocky Mountain”/”The Old Blue Bonnet”
  • “Lady of the Lake”
  • “Copper Kettle”

As for the Kerouac Festival – it takes place annually in October featuring panel discussions, readings, jazz and folk music, films, open mike events, as high poetry competition, book signings, and more.

Kerouac fans and scholars from across the United States and around the world travel to Lowell for the festival. Writers, musicians, and scholars who have participated over the years include Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Robert Creeley, David Amram, Gregory Corso, Anne Waldman, Patti Smith, Michael McClure, and Ray Mazarek.