rish singer-songwriter Karan Casey has been blazing a trail for over 25 years. A lover of ballads, love songs and searing versions of social justice songs, fond of a good yarn, she has toured the world making deep connections with her audience connecting via Ireland’s past but crucially repositioning women and songs in a universal and a modern setting. 

Karan and Ron discuss and share songs from her new album "Nine Apples of Gold", which was released in February 2023.

KARAN CASEY on Traditions - March 12, 2023

Reggie Garrett visits with Ron Olesko to discuss his new album "York's Lament and Other Stories" an album that has been in the making Reggie’s entire life. Reggie takes us on an odyssey exploring various aspects of Black life in America. In keeping with his expansive approach to music, much of the subject matter and musical styles step outside genres usually associated with contemporary Black music.

Reggie has been performing throughout the U.S. and Canada for a number of years. Based in Seattle, Washington he performs mostly original songs mixed with pop covers and more traditional style folk ballads. He is the purveyor of a unique urban strain of (mostly) acoustic music incorporating a number of diverse influences, including: Folk, Latin rhythms, Blues, Gospel, Celtic, Rock, Jazz and more. The result is a musical blend that has excited and touched audiences throughout the U.S. and Canada.

REGGIE GARRRETT on Traditions March 19, 2023

Rik Palieri (www.rikpalieri.com) sits down with host Ron Olesko to share songs from his forthcoming album "Hands of Time" and to talk about his 50th anniversary as a performing artist.

RIK PALIERI on Traditions April 9, 2023

Ron Olesko visits with The Rough and Tumble, the duo featuring Mallory Graham and Scott Tyler, about their latest album "Only This Far". (www.theroughandtumble.com)

THE ROUGH AND TUMBLE On Traditions May 8, 2023

Ron Olesko welcomes Annie Bartholomew to the show from her home in Juneau, Alaska.  Annie has released her debut album "Sisters of White Chapel"

ANNIE BARTHOLOMEW On Traditions May 28, 2023

Singer-songwriter Stella Prince (www.stellaprincemusic.com)returns to Traditions to update us on her latest songs and projects.  Since her last visit with host Ron Olesko two years ago, Stella has moved to Nashville and created a new all-female singer-songwriter showcase series at a local venue, which she is now taking on the road to New York City and London.  Stella also shares some of her latest songs.

STELLA PRINCE on Traditions - September 17, 2023

Pete and Maura Kennedy (www.kennedysmusic.com)visit with host Ron Olesko to share songs from their new album "Headwinds", their first studio album of original songs in five years.  The Kennedys discuss creating music during the pandemic and now being able to tour again.

THE KENNEDYS on Traditions - September 10, 2023

Swedish born singer-songwriter Sofia Talvik (www.sofiatalvik.com) visits with host Ron Olesko to discuss her new album "Center of the Universe" and to share stories about life as a touring artist on two continents.

SOFIA TALVIK On TRADITIONS August 27, 2023

Catherine Miles and Jay Mafale visit with host Ron Olesko to discuss their latest album "Be Brave" and share their thoughts on creating music since the pandemic.

Miles And Mafale on Traditions 10-8-23

Buffalo born and bred singer-songwriter Davey O. (www.daveyo.com) visits with host Ron Olesko to share songs from his new EP "Some Days".   

Davey O. has been described by Buffalo News critic Jeff Miers as having "a journalist’s eye for detail and poet’s ear for the well-turned observation".  Embarking on a twenty year journey that has resulted in a collection of justly-earned, highly introspective songs, Davey crafts pure Americana that is not of the social and political consciousness, but drawn from the deep well of experience and human emotion - no hackneyed story lines, no insincere polish, just an unflinching poet's look at life.

DAVEY O. on Traditions 10-1-23

Host Ron Olesko visits with South African born singer-songwriter Sharon Katz who will share songs from the new album "For You" by Sharon Katz and the Peace Train. Take everything you love about South African rhythms and choirs; mix in some Cuban magic; add a dose of Philly jazz; tackle issues of love, loss, and adversity; and you get the latest album from global activists Sharon Katz & The Peace Train

SHARON KATZ on Traditions 10-15-23

Stella Prince visits with Ron Olesko to discuss and share songs from her latest EP "Dear Future Me". 

“No one sings like Stella Prince,” says Grammy-winning producer and steel guitarist Steve Fishell (Dolly Parton, John Prine, Mavis Staples). “I was transported the first time I heard her and I bet you will be too.”

Self-produced, Stella recorded a handful of songs for her Dear Future Me EP live at the legendary Sound Stage Studios where she worked with Fishell. Described by Nashville Scene as the artist “carrying the banner for a new generation of folk musicians”, Stella’s goal is to bring folk music to a new generation, describing her sound as “Gen Z Folk”. She recently made history as the youngest performer at this year’s Tin Pan South.  

STELLA PRINCE on Traditions 5-12-24

Host Ron Olesko welcomes singer-songwriter Teni Rane(www.tenirane.com) to TRADITIONS to talk about her new album.

Inspired by the stories of everyday life, Teni Rane is a folk-country singer-songwriter with a vintage vocal edge and a knack for capturing ordinary scenes in a way that is at once specific and widely relatable. Comfortable in everything from overalls to full-body sequins, Rane isn’t afraid to explore musical territory and synthesizes vocal and sonic influences into her own brand of country-infused, Americana-folk-pop with a jazzy vocal lean that feels simultaneously familiar and brand new. 

2024 sees her offer her first full length album to the world. Releasing in early August, listeners will find familiar a few of the tunes that were leading singles for the album in 2023, including the title track, “Goldenrod.” Taking shape at a time in Rane’s life when everything seemed to be up for re-negotiation, the arc of the album focuses on what it means to allow change to influence a life without eradicating the individual. Inspired by the shoulder season “as the summer fades into fall,” each track has a reflective bent that calls attention to the lessons, both cruel and kind, that are learned simply by looking around.

TENI RANE On Traditions 9-1-24

Jennifer Roe, Executive Director of Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org) sits down with Ron Olesko to discuss the role of FAI in growing and perpetuating the folk community.  Plans for the 2025 International conference as well as future conference locations are discussed, along with the challenges facing the folk music world in 2024.

JENNIFER ROE on Traditions 9-22-24

Host Ron Olesko sits down with Neale Eckstein to discuss and sample tracks from Neale's new album "Never Too Late".

Neale Eckstein has been chasing music his entire life. He started playing guitar with two friends in his basement  when the Peter, Paul and Mary album came out.  By the time he was in college, he was playing in rock cover bands, but still revered the singer/songwriter genre. He wore out vinyl by Tom Rush, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor.  (In the “pinch me, how did this happen?”, he became good friends with both Noel Paul Stookey and Tom Rush).

Neale became a pediatric dentist, but never lost his love for the singer-songwriter genre. With his wife Laurie, they hosted the Fox Run Concerts series in their home for over 20 years.
His interest in recording, photography and video led to a professional recording studio setup in his basement. Neale has produced many albums for others in his Fox Run Studio.

Realizing he was about to celebrate his 75th birthday and had never released a solo album, he asked his good friends in his writing group Fox Run Five if they would help him get it done they gladly agreed.  It’s Never Too Late.


NEALE ECKSTEIN on Traditions 10-27-24

With 14 albums in Steve’s catalog, film credits from Disney and MGM Studios, and live
performances in every state, most of Europe and even Japan; Steve is equally at home in
the campfire circles of the Kerrville Folk Festival or the Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center. His newly released CD is a “bucket-list compilation” contains a dozen of Steve’s best songs, some written with his talented co-writers. A dream team of seasoned session players have brought the songs to life with a new level of musicality, perfectly showcasing Steve’s expressive voice.

Steve Gillette on Traditions 6-22-25

Host Ron Olesko sits down with Judy Kass to discuss and share songs from her latest album "New Skin".  

New York based singer-songwriter, Judy Kass draws in her audience with soulful vocals, no-nonsense lyrical storytelling and genre-bending exploration of guitar and piano. Her original music blends generous amounts of folk, jazz and blues with songs covering the full gamut of mood and experience.

Her latest solo album release, "New Skin," is an eclectic mix of songs that speak to various aspects of navigating life during unprecedented times -- from reframing involuntary detours and moving through painful changes to poignant observations on the state of our fragmented world.

"New Skin" features co-writes with renowned artists Sloan Wainwright, Glen Roethel, Dan Berggren, Jon Shain and Kellie Lin Knott.


www.judykass.com

JUDY KASS  on Traditions 7-13-25

For nearly 50 years, Ron has been a radio programmer on WFDU-FM in Teaneck, New Jersey and in 2019, Ron launched a 24/7 Internet channel for folk music called FOLK MUSIC NOTEBOOK (www.FolkMusicNotebook.com).

Ron created WFDU-FM's TRADITIONS in 1980, a show that he continues to host and produce every Sunday afternoon from 3 to 6pm ETand as of 2023 the show moved to Sunday evenings from 10pm to 1am ET (www.wfdu.fm)and simulcast at www.FolkMusicNotebook.com where there is also an encore broadcast Mondays at 3pm ET.

He's the president of and booker for the Hurdy Gurdy Folk Music Club in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and is a regular contributor to Sing Out! as well as the host of a folk music blog at Sing Out! magazine's website  - http://ronolesko.singout.org .  

Ron can also be found emceeing concerts and festivals around the NYC/NJ area as well as the streaming Greenwich Village Folk Festival on the first Sunday of each month.

New tracks tagged #WFDU