Shows
TradCafeEpisode 71: Giovanni KiyingiThe Ugandan folk singer-songwriter and mult-instrumentalist sat down with Neil to share stories ranging from from his first experiences learning music to travelling to India to showcase Ugandan music and dance for millions of people. More info at tradcafe.org
2025-04-1151 minTradCafeEpisode 69: Esko JärveläFinnish fiddle powerhouse and founding member of the band Frigg, Esko Järvelä shares his journey from growing up in one of the most musical families in Finland to touring the world with Frigg, Baltic Crossing and Tsuumi Sound System. More info and links at www.tradcafe.org/blog-1/2024/4/3/episode-69-esko-jrvel
2024-04-0352 minTradCafeEpisode 68: Cameron DeWhitt (Crossover with Get Up In The Cool)In this special crossover episode, Cameron DeWhitt, the host of Old-Time music podcast Get Up In The Cool trades off the host and guest roles with Neil in between taking breaks to play tunes together. Listen to Cameron share some of their journey with the Old-Time clawhammer banjo while interviewing Neil about his background growing up in a family band playing Scottish and Cape Breton music. As always, more details and info can be found at tradcafe.org Check out Get Up In The Cool wherever you get your podcasts and follow up with Cameron's projects at...
2024-03-051h 13
Get Up in the CoolEpisode 379: Neil Pearlman (TradCafe Crossover)Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! AND welcome to Tradcafe with Neil Pearlman. Because this is a trad music podcast crossover episode! Haven’t done one in a while. We recorded this at my home in Portland, OR a couple weeks ago.
Tune in this episode:
Old Aunt Jenny with Her Nightcap On (0:54)
Booth (14:58)
Brushy Run (31:30)
Sandy River Belle (58:05)
Spotted Pony (1:05:17)
Bonus Track: Sullivan’s Hollow
Visit Neil Pearlman’s website
Subscribe to TradCafe wherever you get podcasts
Buy Neil’s new direct to vinyl in...
2023-11-291h 09TradCafeEpisode 66: Sam Sadigursky and Nathan KociIn a special edition of TradCafe Neil sits down with Sam Sadigursky and Nathan Koci to talk about their recent triple album release The Solomon Diaries and how their musical lives have let up to this collaboration. Featuring some clips from the new project as well as the usual live music collaborations. Check out the Solomon Diaries at bandcamp: https://samsadigursky.bandcamp.com/album/the-solomon-diaries-vol-i
2022-08-121h 02TradCafeEpisode 64: Becky TracyIconic New England fiddler Becky Tracy shares her journey through fiddling and folk dancing including her years as a core member of two of the most important bands in New England traditional music, Nightingale and Wild Asparagus. More info and links at tradcafe.org blackislemusic.com rachelbellmusic.com wildasparagus.com
2022-06-171h 03TradCafeEpisode 62: Alasdair WhiteAlasdair White kicks off the new season with a wide ranging conversation about growing up on the Isle of Lewis, touring the world with the Battlefield Band, developing his unique fiddle style and more! Opening Tunes: Keep the Country Bonnie Lassie, The White Houses of Shieldaig, Oran an Teine (Song of the Fire), Doctor MacPhail's Reel Closing Tunes: Trip to Jordan Jig and Trip to Jordan Reel by Alasdair White Alasdair's website: www.alasdairwhite.com More info and links at www.tradcafe.org
2022-04-081h 21Get Up in the CoolEpisode 195: Ruthie Dornfeld (Likes a Lot of Things)Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week’s friend is Ruthie Dornfeld. We recorded this back in February at her home in Seattle, Washington.
Tunes in this episode:
Piney Woods Gals
Broken Down Gambler
Ways of the World
Cowboy’s Dream
John Brown’s Dream
Bonus track: The Belled Buzzard
Check out Ruthie’s livestream concert with Covid Concerts II: Tradcafe Edition: https://www.fiddle-online.com/concerts/covid2.php
Visit Ruthie’s website for lessons and fiddle albums: http://rut...
2020-05-2031 minTradCafeRoger TallrothThere's no better way to reach our 50th episode than with the third and final member of Väsen, legendary 12-string guitarist Roger Tallroth. Roger has developed his own style, sound and tuning for playing Swedish music on the 12-string guitar and has composed some of the most popular melodies played by fiddlers around the world, including Josephine's Waltz. More info on Roger: http://tallroth.se/ and https://vasen.se More info on this episode: www.tradcafe.org
2019-02-2056 minTradCafeBonus Episode: 2018 RetrospectiveNeil looks back on some of the great music created in the TradCafe episodes that came out in 2018 while looking forward to the next year of episodes. This episode features Allison DeGroot (Ep. 44), Don Roy (Ep. 34), Soo Yeon Lyuh (Ep. 45), Kevin Henderson (Ep. 37), Hadith Bani-Adam (Ep. 26), Brittany Haas (Ep. 41), Andrea Beaton (Ep. 36) and a short preview of the music from Mikael Marin's upcoming episode. For more information on each of these, head to TradCafe.org and look them up in the archive.
2018-12-1234 minTradCafeOlav MjelvaA great player of the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle and the standard fiddle styles of his native Røros, Norway, Olav Mjelva is the third and final member of Nordic Fiddlers Bloc to be featured on the show and the third member of Sver (out of five). He takes Neil along for his journey through Norwegian traditional music from picking up the fiddle by the chance of a random childhood choice to mastering the regional style of his home town and writing some of the best new Scandinavian tunes being composed today. Tunes on this episode: Opening is "Th...
2018-06-1353 minTradCafeBrittany HaasA legend of American fiddling already at a young age, Brittany Haas chats with Neil about her musical journey, from touring with Darol Anger at the age of 13 to breaking new ground in the neo-Bluegrass band Crooked Still to playing regularly with Chris Thile on his NPR show "Live From Here" (formerly Prairie Home Companion). This episode also features Brittany's answers to listener questions submitted through Patreon. Music: opening tune is Calum Finlay and closing tune is Booth Shot Lincoln. The next several episodes of TradCafe will come out every 2 weeks to accommodate busy summer...
2018-05-3048 minTradCafeAnders HallThe Swedish third of the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc, Anders Hall sits down with Neil to talk about getting all of his gigs as a result of late night parties, living on the farm where his family has lived as far back as anyone can trace, and the intricacies and history of the Polska. Music in this episode: Troll Kärrings Låten, march from right where Anders' family farm is located, and Polska after Jonny Schönning. More info at http://www.tradcafe.org/blog-1/2018/5/16/episode-40-anders-hall
2018-05-1659 minTradCafeAlasdair FraserMaster Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser kicks off Season 3 of TradCafe, sitting down with Neil for a wide ranging conversation about the variety of approaches he has taken over the years to playing traditional Scottish music and the new horizons he is looking towards, exploring new music styles and traditions. www.alasdairfraser.com
2017-09-201h 00TradCafeEpisode 20: Greg BoardmanGreg Boardman is the founder of Maine Fiddle Camp and a captivating performer and teacher whose influence on traditional music in Maine cannot be overstated. For the twentieth episode of TradCafe, Neil and Greg met in the Trinity Church of Lewiston, Maine to talk about the search for personal identity through music, how musicians are uniquely suited to build community and Greg's cross-cultural explorations with the Somali immigrant community in town.
2017-03-1551 minTradCafeEpisode 5: Natalie HaasTrailblazing cellist Natalie Haas talks about her creative process with fiddler Alasdair Fraser, how she finds musical inspiration in collaboration across the globe, and how her sister's classical violin teacher mistakenly thought that sending the girls to Valley of the Moon Fiddle Camp would keep them on the straight and narrow! All this, plus tunes from Scotland and Galicia on this week's episode of TradCafe.
2016-10-0543 minTradCafeEpisode 2: Nic GareissThe second episode of TradCafe features visionary percussive dancer Nic Gareiss. Nic talks with Neil about finding new ways to express himself in the ways different cultures approach dance and shares the unlikely origin story of his experimental trad band This is How We Fly.
2016-09-1454 min