Acoustic

Russ Barenberg: Musical Dualities

Sarah
Russ Barenberg

Russ Barenberg

Today on the Music Room, we talked to Russ Barenberg, described by songwriter Jon Weisberger as “perfectly blend[ing] a mastery of roots music tradition with melodic originality.”  His music is exceptionally lyrical, relying primarily on composition rather than tempo to provide the energy, and incorporating various genres and instruments.

This energy and collaborative spirit carries over into his own life.  Starting in 1970 on the guitar with the bluegrass group Country Cooking in Ithaca, NY, by 1977 he’d joined the electric string band Carried Away on the electric guitar, and in 1979 moved to Boston and joined the triple fiddle band Fiddle Fever, but not before recording his debut solo album Cowboy Calypsocalypso.

While he settled in Nashville by 1986, he has only continued traveling, visiting workshops throughout the United States and Europe as a teacher and educational author, and he has participated in Transatlantic Sessions, an international collaboration by artists in both the US and Europe, produced in Scotland, and producing TV episodes, live performances, and series albums.

Speaking of television, he also did extensive work in Ken Burns features, including the critically acclaimed film The Civil War, and his most recent solo album When at Last, with the single “Little Monk,” nominated for a 2008 Grammy (Best Country Instrumental Performance).

 

The Interview

Russ Barenberg
(Recorded live, September 15, 2015; host, Mandorichard)
21:36
20.7 MB

The Music

Artist / Song / Album / Year / Notes
Russ Barenberg / Cowboy Calypso / Cowboy Calypso / 1979 / (Excerpt in podcast)
Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg, & Edgar Meyer / The Travels of Mr. Hulot / Skip, Hop, and Wobble / 1993 / (Excerpt in podcast)
Russ Barenberg / Halloween Rehearsal / Halloween Rehearsal / 1987 / (Excerpt in podcast)
Russ Barenberg / Magic Foot / Moving Pictures / 1988 / (Excerpt in podcast)
Russ Barenberg / When at Last / When at Last / 2007 / (Excerpt in podcast)

(Note: Due to copyright considerations, the podcast contains excerpts of the music included in the full radio program.)

Let’s Run Away: Hanna Paige Live

Sara
Hanna Paige at WVUD

Newark’s own Hanna Page performed live for The Music Room on July 14, 2015

Grounded in gentle song spinning and a keenness for acoustic guitar, Hanna Paige treated us to some of her original music on the Music Room. The sixteen year old Newark native is sweet and locally grown, a young talent that has frequented local cafes and festivals for the past three years. Hanna showcased her soft melodies live in studio, playing both guitar and ukelele and offering up thoughts on her lyrical choices, her love for Ed Sheeran, and the Delaware music scene in general.  She led us through her debut EP, Let’s Run Away, which is the published product of much tinkering and performing.

We were happy to be part of Hanna Paige’s first radio appearance and look forward to cheering her along as she continues to mature and produce songs for guitar… and maybe she’ll even tackle loop pedal soon.

The Interview

Hanna Paige
32:00
30.7 MB
(Note: Due to copyright considerations, the podcast contains an excerpt of the Ed Sheeran song Hanna performed.)

The Music 

The following music is heard in this episode of The Music Room:

Artist / Song / Album (or source) / Date / Notes

Hanna Paige / Without You/ Let’s Run Away EP / 2015

Hanna Paige / Alone / Live WVUD performance / 2015

Hanna Paige/ Even My Dad Does Sometimes / Live WVUD performance / 2015 / Ed Sheeran cover (Excerpt in podcast)

Hanna Paige / You and Me / Live WVUD performance / 2015

Hanna Paige / Your Eyes / Live WVUD performance / 2015

More about Hanna Paige:

https://soundcloud.com/hanna-paige-music

http://hannapaigemusic.com