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American Songcatcher

Nicholas Edward Williams
American Songcatcher
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  • ANNOUNCEMENT // Béla Fleck Banjo Raffle
    Get your raffle ticket here!For just a moment, put yourself in the shoes of a person who plays music, whether they’re professional, amateur or just getting started. Imagine what it would be like to lose the instrument that helps you understand your life, to make sense of the world. Now, imagine losing it and most of what you own during the most traumatic event of your life. Who is going to help you get music back? This is the mission of ReString Appalachia. An initiative that started with American Songcatcher after Hurricane Helene, ReString is now a 501(c)3 nonprofit who has given over 800 instruments to musicians from natural disasters in Appalachia and Los Angeles, and soon, the Texas Hill Country. You can help us accomplish this by buying a raffle ticket to win a signed, one of a kind bluegrass banjo from world renowned banjoist Béla Fleck. This fundraiser is in partnership with the Henhouse Prowlers, their nonprofit Bluegrass Ambassadors, ReString Appalachia, and American Songcatcher.   Raffle ends Sept 1st! www.ReStringAppalachia.orgWe’ll be back VERY soon with a few interviews, and we’ll have a very special field recording and feature on the Earl Scruggs Music Festival and his legacy. See you next time, on American Songcatcher. 
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  • Talkin' Blues // Buffalo Nichols
    Today, I’m sharing a conversation I had with one of today’s most eclectic roots musicians, Buffalo Nichols. Since his earliest infatuations with guitar, Carl, who goes by the name Buffalo Nichols has asked himself the same question: How can I bring the blues of the past into the future? A student of African traditions and its roots in the blues, as well as the black influence on “white” music in country, bluegrass, old time and folk, the depth and airy nature of his voice lends itself to all these traditions, as represented in his music. We talked about his trajectory as a musician early on, being picked up by labels, and now being independent, the misinformed music history narrative that’s been pushed on all of us since the 1920’s, and many things in between. Enjoy! TourListenInstagramPatreon___Support Educational Programming:Tax-Exempt DonationsJoin our Patreon CommunityOne-time donation via Venmo or PayPalFollow American SongcatcherCredits: Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, editing, recording and distribution
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  • ANNOUNCEMENT // American Songcatcher's Future
    Over the last 5 years, we have had the privilege of bringing you stories of Pioneering musicians such as Bill Monroe, Sam Cooke, Johnny Cash, Lead Belly, Dolly Parton, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Pete Seeger, Jean Ritchie and so many more.However, a recently shift was forced upon the American Songcatcher program. Our distributor, Spotify for Podcasters/Creators, has taken down 1/4 of our episodes on all platforms, with more likely to follow, as they have began to crack down on the rights and usage of songs. Although this program is strictly education-based, and we don’t sell products or produce any notable revenue from these episodes, they don’t see what we do as fair use. It’s a big blow, as over a year’s worth of our work is now gone from the convenient places to listen to them.And so, our standstill for the last 5 months has been one of great pondering, and a lot of work with our nonprofit ReString Appalachia, where we have just surpassed 700 instruments given to those who had them taken away from natural disasters. It’s been decided that from now on, American Songcatcher will strictly focus on traditional song history, field recordings, and interviews. We embrace our new direction, and we hope you will too. All of the episodes will be available on our website, AmericanSongcatcher.com in the next month. We’ll be back with some new content soon, thank you for your patience, see you next time on American Songcatcher.__Support Educational Programming:⁠Tax-Exempt Donations⁠Join the⁠ Patreon Community⁠One-time donations:⁠ Venmo⁠ or⁠ PayPal⁠Follow ⁠American Songcatcher⁠ on ⁠Instagram⁠ Credits: Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, editing, recording and distribution
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  • Bonus: Moses Asch & Folkways Records
    A few years back, we had the pleasure of partnering with Smithsonian Folkways for a special two part series on Folkways Records founder Moses Asch, who was born 99 years ago earlier this month. To honor his legacy, we combined these two pieces and re-releasing them today. We’ll traverse Moe’s early career, bankruptcy, and the tumultuous yet tantalizing 40 years of iconic recordings with pioneering and lesser known artists of Folkways Records. You’ll find out how what Moe accomplished became so woven with the cultural footprint of American Music as we know it today. Now… here’s the story of Moses Asch. __ Support Educational Programming: ⁠Tax-Exempt Donations⁠ Join the⁠ Patreon Community⁠ One-time donations:⁠ Venmo⁠ or⁠ PayPal⁠ Follow ⁠American Songcatcher⁠ on ⁠Instagram⁠  Credits:  Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, writing, editing, distribution Collaboration Credits: Smithsonian Folkways  Full Moses Asch interview with Arhoolie Records’ founder Chris Strachwitz Interviewees: Richard Carlin - Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways - Book Michael Asch -  Dom Flemons - Black Cowboys from Smithsonian Folkways Websites: Smithsonian | SF2 | NY Times | Redalyc | Arhoolie | Jstor.com | NPR | Routledge | AllPurposeGuru | NY TIMES 2 | University of Alberta | Haaretz | Folkworks Videos:FAI  Folkways: World of Sound Documentary  Books: Making people's music : Moe Asch and Folkways records - Peter D Goldsmith 
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  • WNC Roots Music History LIVE!
    Back in July of 2024, I had the pleasure of bringing the first LIVE American Songcatcher podcast experience to the historic Graham County Courthouse in Robbinsville, NC. This time, I can't edit out all of my stumbles. The multimedia presentation traverses Western North Carolina music history starting with the native Cherokee, first settlers and immigration, African American influence on Appalachian music, and short stories of obscure and well known musicians from North Carolina. Attendees had visuals of photos and videos that you'll have to experience at the next live episode. The very end features a short concert with history behind a few songs that come from North Carolina. This presentation was made possible by ⁠Graham County Travel & Tourism⁠ __ Support Educational Programming: ⁠Tax-Exempt Donations⁠ Join the⁠ Patreon Community⁠ One-time donations:⁠ Venmo⁠ or⁠ PayPal⁠ Follow ⁠American Songcatcher⁠ on ⁠Instagram⁠  Credits: Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, editing, recording and distribution
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About American Songcatcher

Tracing the roots of American music from its cultured past to artists playing it forward, folk musician, musicologist and host Nicholas Edward Williams takes listeners on a unique documentary-style podcast experience. Dive into the stories of centuries-old Traditional songs and migrants who carried their musical heritage here, and uncover the lives of pioneers and integral musicians who created and shaped styles such as Bluegrass, Ragtime, Jazz and Swing, Country, Gospel, Blues, Old-Time, and the Folk music that's derived from it all. Here's to the songs of old, may they live on forever.
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