The American Spirit (Is Trapped in the Ice)

The story The American Spirit is a Lake Erie ore boat that had one more trip in January 2026 before docking for the winter. As it made it's voyage west to Toledo, the lake began to freeze with 40 knot gales spraying lake water that would soon freeze to the side of the boat causing instability.Meanwhile a little further north in…

By admin February 13, 2026New MixFARM, Folk Alliance International, folk alliance region midwest, folk music, great lakes, human rights, Ice, ore boat, protest, roots of american musiic, Ships, songwriting, topical musicNo Comments

New Mix trad.

The Water Is Wide

The Water Is Wide is a traditional British folk song also known as Waly Waly.I developed my version from Avin Baird. I always loved when she performed it and eventually developed my own with her help. As my finger picking became more intentional, this song became a staple in my sets. Today it appears from time to time in my live…

By admin December 1, 2025New Mix, trad.british folk song, carla bonoff, FARM, Folk Alliance International, folk alliance region midwest, folk music, james taylor, roots of american musiic, stop the hateNo Comments

New Mix trad.

I Bid You Goodnight

I bid You Goodnight is a Bahamian spiritual by Joseph Spence. It's origins go further back than that, but his take on the song was picked up by a string of others. Mine mostly resembles the Grateful Dead or Aaron Neville versions because that is what I was listening to when I first heard it. The song quickly became my automatic…

By admin November 24, 2025New Mix, trad.aaron neville, American Folk Life, coventry Arabica, FARM, Folk Alliance International, folk alliance region midwest, folk music, goodnight, grateful dead, joseph spence, open mic, roots of american musiic, trad., traditional spirituals, We bid you goodnightNo Comments

New Mix

Finding joy in the ukulele

This CD has been in the works for a long time. It began with a trip to Maui with my wife's family. Before we left, we decided to borrow a guitar while we were visiting. Instead I was lent an Ukulele. An instrument I had never tried previously. I started fooling around with it and ended up coming home with anew…

By admin August 10, 2025New Mixetty hillesum, Folk Alliance International, roots of american musiic, singing for justice, stop the hate, ukulele

New Mix

Rebuilding

I just returned from a few days in New Orleans. When I arrived snow was melting and the city was recovering from a rare snowstorm that left more than 10 inches throughout the area. By the time I left, everything was normal and the temperatures were in the 50s. I would soon return to Cleveland, where normal was the abnormal in…

By admin January 30, 2025New MixFAI, Folk Alliance International, Louis Armstrong, mailing list, NOLANo Comments