Song of Cedar Knob

It's another day on the range here at Routes & Branches & Beyond.  Saddle up and join us for Atlantic Coast blues, middle-aged musicians playing tues from the Middle Ages, Donegal neo-pioneers, the dark soul of Americana, the community of Klezmer, Ukrainian nu-folk from former street buskers, Estonean accordian-driven folk orchestras, bluegrass from the Cloak and Dagger, Cape Verdean island blues, Appalachian friends, everyday kindnesses, and Venezuelan harp from Newfoundland.  All from musicians such as Altan, Hot Toddy, Ensemble Anonymus, Mary Gauthier, Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band, Ludy Dobri, Tuulelõõtsutajad, The Barrel Boys, Gabriela Mendes, Si Kahn, Joël Fafard, and Gayle Tapper.  Get your sunglasses and join me.

Routes & Branches & Beyond show # 382 2025 09 04

What do windy mornings, farmer's daughters, shepherd lads, lemon trees, hedgehogs, beau gallants, shetland reels and the end of summer have in common?  All are on this episode of Routes & Branches & Beyond.  It is now the dozenth show of our Summer on the Range series for 2025.  (I'm not sure if "dozenth" is a word, but I trust that you'll let that slide through.)  To help us with this, we have music from Rawlins Cross, Skye Consort & Emma Björling, Heidi Talbot, Daoirí Farrell, Njacko Backo & Kalimba Kalimba, David Celia, Dave Swarbrick, Old Blind Dogs, Capercaillie, Heron Valley, Les Mechants Maquereaux, and Silly Wizard.  Pack up those cricket bats and join me.


Routes & Branches & Beyond show # 384 2025 09 18

Original song featuring samples of Nimrod Workman, a coal mining Appalachian folk singer from Kentucky, USA.  Track includes original banjo by me and sound design in Ableton with a few other gadgets here and there.

Throughout his coal mining career, Workman was active in union politics and United Mine Workers of America organizing. In 1920–1921 he worked alongside the union activist Mary Harris "Mother" Jones in West Virginia, and participated in the Battle of Blair Mountain uprising. In later years, he advocated on behalf of black lung victims, and was able to receive union compensation for his own health problems in 1971.

This track was created for debut live at the All Souls Music event November 1, 2025 exclusive collaborative performance with headliner DrumSpyder

Oh, Death

This week on "Routes & Branches & Beyond," we acknowledge the season with a show called "Songs of Turkey and Pumpkins... and Beyond." I have tunes for turkeys (the bird) that are blythesome, with an Irish swagger, or a gypsy jazz finish. I have tracks from Turkey (the country), including a band whose members have been arrested over 400 times (must be some kind of a dubious record), as well as the Paul Anka of Turkey. Songs of pumpkins, both frosty and funky. Also, an Algerian version of a Clash song that was likely inspired by Algerian music (did you follow that?). And electric ceilidh music, Swedish fiddle music to cook to, and celtic-american songs about bad news at the best of times. Whew! All from musicians such as Máire ní Chathasaigh & Chris Newman, The Albion Band, The Foggy Hogtown Boys, Ian Tamblyn, The Shuffle Demons, Grup Yorum, Mustafa Sandal, Rachid Taha, Random, Plommon, Maura O’Connell, and Joe Craven.   Join us.

Routes & Branches & Beyond for 2025 10 02

Here's my soulful rendition of the Crowbar Classic PLANETS COLLIDE

Planerts Collide (Crowbar Acoustic)

Have you ever noticed that in many thrift stores the shelves of CDs are almost entirely inaccessible? They may be behind a table that is filled with extremely fragile glassware of no apparent function whatsoever. Or else they are on a bottom shelf in a corner where you'll need a flashlight and a magnifying glass to see the titles! If you think of the demographics of people who buy used CDs - old folks like me - they should display them at eye level near a bright light source!

Nevertheless, today on "Routes & Branches & Beyond" I have another crop of used CDs from this Autumn's harvests. There's Irish slippery sliding, Scottish fishwives, Newfoundland bakery shanteys, southern sad songs, Italian everlasting accordions, Sami yoik dancing, Cuban Convent jazz, wise old market women, cheesy chord organ swing, perilous gravel roads and cowboy songs of the Wild East. With bands like Matt Cranitch & Jackie Daly, Malinky, Dave Penny, Alison Kraus & Union Station, Filippo Gambetta, Moenje, Bomba!, Teresa Doyle, Arrandale, Steve Palmer, Horse Radio, Steve Dawson, Tom Leighton and Trio Dhoore. Don't look at the price, just join us.


Routes & Branches & Beyond for 2025 10 09

Like a deep river lazily running off, this warm, lilting song speaks of passion, its ethereal qualities, and ties to nature.

Moonlight Fey Darling

God Bless the Old Home Place is an upbeat bluegrass gospel celebration of faith, family, and God’s unshakable presence in the Smokey Mountains. Inspired by the spirit of Appalachian roots, it honors grandparents whose humble lives reflected the power of prayer, gratitude, and grace.

With joyful banjo and fiddle runs echoing across the hills, this song reminds us that God’s blessings aren’t found in riches but in love that endures through generations. Every meal began with prayer, every storm was met with faith, and every song carried Heaven’s harmony.

This is more than a memory—it’s a testimony that God still dwells in the simple places, where hearts are thankful and His name is praised.

Psalm 127:1 – “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.”

Proverbs 22:6 – “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Joshua 24:15 – “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Deuteronomy 6:6–7 – “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children…”

Psalm 100:5 – “For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”

God Bless the Old Home Place

Budd gets a new job, Charlie Kirk's assassination, 3I Atlas is coming to town, hellfire missile versus UAP, live action Snow White, & are 2 legged Hominoids the delicacy of the Universe?

Ep. 139 - Appalachian AI Boyfriends

performed on an Oscar Schmidt 21 chord autoharp. Using Studio Artist 6

In The Bleak Midwinter

Performed on Oscar Schmidt 21 chord acoustic autoharp. Recorded using Studio One Artist v. 6

See Amid The Winter's Snow

The Veil

When I Have Fears That I May Cease To Be

© 2025 WhoaProductions – All Rights Reserved
Lascivious
To suspicious
The mind not free
Filled with greed
Anger and infatuation,
resulting in fear
in what they see.
Misguided by the night
Innocence 
Holding onto fright.
Deflector
To the shepherd 
Misunderstanding
How to bring forth
The requester.
Is the path
In the words?
Amida Buddha
Singleness of mind
Or
Father.

Let not 
your holy world
escape my sight.
Let it shine.
The absence of light
brought to the mind
and its fright.
Metaphorically
Making the mind.
The world’s reflection
From bright hindsight
To foresight.

Vision set right.
The empirical form
to its own delight
out of the night
adjusted to be right.
Is it a fight
or attrition
By accepting the light.

Let not 
your holy world
escape my sight.
Let it shine.
The absence of light
brought to the mind
and its fright.
Metaphorically
Making the mind.
The world’s reflection
From bright hindsight
To foresight.

Free to roam
Free to return home.
Surrounded by my own.
Once again, I walk
In the light.
As my mind is atoned.
Specialness alone
or the light 
From my home.

Foresight

In 2022, Liam Purcell shook the bluegrass world by sweeping the Rockygrass Instrumental Championships in Colorado, taking home first place honors on mandolin, banjo, and guitar. He is the only person to ever achieve a simultaneous victory in multiple championships.

Growing up less than a mile away from the legendary guitarist Doc Watson, Liam Purcell was steeped in Appalachian Old-Time and Bluegrass traditions from an early age. Taking inspiration from the local Deep Gap legacy, Liam began writing, performing, and storytelling from an early age.

Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road are playing at the Florence Winter Music Festival this January in Florence, Oregon. Join Featured Artist host Dina Pavlis for a fun and enlightening conversation with Liam. 

Learn more about the Florence Winter Music Festival at WinterMusicFestival (dot) org.

Liam Purcell of Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road

Performed on OS 21 chord electric acoustic autoharp. Recorded using Studio One Artist v. 6

Good King Wenceslas

We write musical poetry - a form of abstract realism - our intention is to provide our listeners with a cadence, a path to peace of mind. Stand on your purpose, Live through each day, Rest, Listen and pray. Pray for the meditative rhythm as we work and play.

Forged in the heart of a dying star and sent back through time to fuck around and find out.

Modern Appalachian troubadour from the heart of the Shenandoah Mountains. Keep on howlin’ 🌄🐾

Most of my music centers on Jesus Christ and God’s amazing grace. I primarily write in the Country Christian style, but every now and then I like to branch out when the mood strikes. You might hear touches of alternative Christian rock (I did grow up in the ’60s and ’70s), contemporary gospel, or even a hint of bluegrass gospel along the way. From time to time, I also step outside faith-based music into modern bluegrass or country.

One of my current projects is an album inspired by poems I wrote to my wife while she was deployed during Desert Storm in 1991. After all these years, I’m finally adapting them into songs — a project that’s been close to my heart for decades.

I was fortunate to play bass and sometimes piano in my late teens and early twenties for a country gospel group known as The Gospel Crusaders. We performed primarily at churches across Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Then life happened, and I stepped away from performing for almost 50 years. During this time, I started focusing more on writing lyrics and music. In 2017, I picked up my mandolin and joined God’s Country in Largo, Florida. The group disbanded in 2023 when several members moved out of state, but we’re planning a reunion performance in 2026.

Even when I venture beyond my main focus of sharing the gospel through song, I strive to keep my lyrics honest, heartfelt, and sometimes just plain fun. Believe it or not, I’m not in this to make money — I write as an outlet to share the stories and experiences of life over the past 70 years. I write the lyrics for most of my songs, though I’ve been blessed to collaborate with a few talented friends along the way.

I use Studio One to produce my music and have built a large library of loops over the years. Some vocals are mine; others are performed by friends. And yes, I also use AI-generated voices or enhancements to vocals when needed.  I am in my 7th decade on earth and my voice doesn’t have the range it once had, plus I don’t have immediate access to female vocalists.  There’s a lot of debate about AI in music, but for me, the goal has never changed — to spread God’s love and joy. Technology is simply a tool, much like the studio innovations that have shaped music for the past fifty years.

In today’s music, many well-known and touring artists now use pre-recorded tracks and digital stems during live concerts to fill out harmonies, recreate orchestral parts, or trigger sound effects — it’s all part of modern performance. Whether it’s a backing track on stage or an AI vocal line in the studio, the heart behind the music still matters most.

I don’t believe AI will ever replace real musicians, but those who learn to embrace it and use it to enhance their craft will continue to flourish in the music industry.

I play bass, trumpet, guitar, piano, mandolin, and I’m currently working to get up to speed on the fiddle. You may not agree with my take on AI, and that’s okay. My purpose isn’t profit — it’s to share the message of God’s love through whatever tools I have, whether that’s a guitar, a loop, or an algorithm that helps me clean up a mix.

As W. Edwards Deming once said,
“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”

Technology will keep evolving, and so will we. My greatest hope is that one of these songs touches someone’s heart or makes a difference in their life. If God can use even one of them to do that, then I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.

God bless you all.

Home of the #RoomToTalk & #BuddTalks Podcasts 🗣🎙 
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KXCR
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We strive to educate, inform and entertain. We strive to reflect the diversity of our local and world
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KXCR welcomes community input and involvement. As a volunteer operated radio station, we offer
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Currently a solo project, only recording music. I’m looking for anyone in the Morgantown, WV /Pittsburgh, PA area to fill out a live band to start playing live. 
Check out my YouTube page for more URSUS related content. 
https://youtube.com/channel/UC_NHQB_hekqxpUpYV9fQruw

New tracks tagged #appalachian