Ellen Stanley

Emily White is Memphis-raised, but Chicagoan as adult, self-describing as Southerner by heart, Midwestern by choice. While Emily's voice and music are beautiful and compelling, her lyrics elevate her to the top ranks of performers, touching the deep places and raising it all to golden heights. Her newest album is called Songs You Didn't Know I Wrote About You, and that's likely the truth you'll experience in Emily's music.

Kiran Ahluwalia was born in the Punjab, in India, but moved with her family to Canada when she was 7, well after she started training in the traditional music of her region. Kiran has continued her training, both deepening it and widening it. While her 8 albums are definitely rooted in the music and dance of her homeland, she has also enriched, extended, and diversified the songs she creates, most often carrying a message of connection and compassion.

Our guest is Nerissa Nields, who shares equal lead billing with her sister, Katryna, of the group known as The Nields. Their website proclaims them to be "equal parts Beatles, Cranberries and Joni Mitchell", and that description is admirably accurate and concise. It's hard to adequately capture the power of their songs and voices except to tell you that you need to brace yourself to be inspired, moved, and likely brought to tears.

Katie Dahl's music is spirit-laden, rooted in a religious past which no longer fits, but which Katie still copes with through new lenses. Katie has been described as “a songwriter and playwright whose work is as expansive as Lake Michigan and as deeply rooted as its rocky coastal bluffs”, and that fits her well.

Prepare to have your heart stolen by today's guest, Jaspar Lepak. Jaspar did not really get into music till post-college, but she burst into it full-bore, including producing 5 CDs in a very short time, 4 of which you won't find among the 5 releases that do show up on her site.

Minnesota's Twin Cities are teeming with musical talents, among them Curtis and Loretta. They've been making & performing fine mostly-folkish music for more than 3 decades. Loretta Simonet writes the lion's share of their songs, and her primary instrument is either the guitar or the folk harp, accompanied by Curtis' deep voice & rich instrumental skills.

Mother Banjo (Ellen Stanley) is wonderful. In addition to her musical career, she is executive director of the Minnesota Music Coalition, and does a weekly show on station KFAI called Womenfolk. She writes all kinds of great music, with a special gift for creating new & impeccable gospel songs. She's shared the stage with many folks, among them Robert Bly and Tracy Grammar, and is coming near the end of fund-raising for her 5th album with a Kickstarter Campaign.

A retrospective of many, but not all, of the Minnesota-based Song of the Soul guests of 2018. There's gospel, folk/Americana, country, blues, rock, and more from: Mother Banjo (Ellen Stanley), Sarah Morris, Charlie Parr, Annie Fitzgerald, Braden Canfield, Joyann Parker, Kristin Lems. Click on the date to listen to the full interview.

The 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.

Mother Banjo is Ellen Stanley, an incredible voice and talented songwriter of the folk/gospel/Americana/down-homey variety. When Ellen is not promoting other great musicians for Red House Records or being a DJ for Womenfolk on KFAI, you may be lucky enough to see her perform as Mother Banjo.