Martin Anderson
Music Director & HostEschewing his mother’s taste for easy listening music early on, Martin Anderson was raised on his dad’s love for jazz, his brother’s Beatles/classic rock LP’s, and the bluegrass and Top 40 radio of the D.C. area. He began volunteering for the University of Delaware’s WXDR/WVUD eclectic overnight and morning mixes in 1989. Upon graduating with an American History degree, he moved to Eugene, Oregon, he spent the 90’s working in natural foods, environmental causes, and above all, public radio. He hosted various folk, world, Triple-A, and other shows at KLCC, and started a “Miles of Bluegrass” show at KRVM.
After two years working underwriting sales and various music and public affairs programs at KHSU in Arcata, CA, Martin joined WNCW in 2001 as your weekday morning host. He loves interviewing the many talented musicians who come to Studio B, stretching out with the many styles ‘NCW embraces, and reflecting listener requests, events of the day, and our beautiful Southern Appalachian landscape. As Music Director, he books our live sessions, and keeps in touch with the record labels and promoters that send us new music. When not at the station, he enjoys gardening, hiking, traveling, history, and raising his daughter on good music and more.
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Alejandro Escovedo has been a pillar in the monumental music scene of Austin, TX since the ‘80s. In 1998, No Depression Magazine named him Artist of the Decade! Many artists retire some of their older songs as they move forward with their lives… Escovedo has decided to instead reinterpret them, breathing new life into them with radically different arrangements and revolutionary effect. “I always feel that that a well-written song can withstand a lot of abuse,”, he says. “Turning a past song inside out leads to discovery of new ideas you might not have understood about the song. The songs never seem to be complete. They are always evolving.” Check out these new versions of “John Conquest”, “Castanuelas” (“Castanets”), “Swallows of San Juan”, “Wave” and others with us. -
Pokey’s one of those musicians whose work transcends any one or two genres. After crisscrossing the nation for the last half-decade looking for a home, Pokey LaFarge found himself in Mid-Coast Maine. Upon arriving, the Illinois-born singer/songwriter/actor (who also lived in Asheville for a time!) pursued a major life change, working 12-hour days on a local farm. Through that shift, he felt inspired to dive into his love of music from far-ranging eras and corners of the globe, including mambo, tropicália, rocksteady, and mid-century American rock-and-roll. “The songs that naturally come to me are upbeat and make you wanna dance or at least bop your head—they’re all very colorful,” says LaFarge. “I used to think of my music in dark blue, but now I see it in technicolor.” -
Peak of the WeekWhen Cedric Burnside prepared to record Hill Country Love, the follow-up to his 2021 Grammy-winning album I Be Trying, he set up shop in a former legal office located in a row of structures in the seat of Tippah County, a town with 5,000 residents that’s known as the birthplace of the Hill Country Blues style. “That building was actually going to be my juke joint. Everything was made out of wood, which made the sound resonate like a big wooden box,” said Burnside. He called up producer Luther Dickinson (co-founder of the acclaimed North Mississippi Allstars and the son of legendary Memphis producer/musician Jim Dickinson), who brought recording equipment into the empty space. “We recorded in the middle of a bunch of rubbish – wood everywhere and garbage cans,” Burnside says. “We just laid everything out the way and recorded the album right there.” He’s currently on tour through the South with JJ Grey & Mofro. -
If you missed the session live on Tuesday, or just want to hear it again, join Martin Anderson as he hosted ISMAY for a live interview/performance, and some Guest DJ spins. It is well worth a listen! -
Their fifth studio album, and first in five years! It was inspired largely by various observations of New York City. “It’s a reminder that living is frequently messy, and you’ve got to learn to keep going. With Only God Was Above Us, Vampire Weekend have found the odd beauty inside that mess.” – Rolling Stone -
Songwriter, author, professor, and Black music historian Alice Randall has released a new book chronicling the Black history of country music: My Black Country. Randall celebrates the often-erased Black musicians who shaped the genre, including the influence of singing cowboys, Pullman porters, gospel choirs, and the women who served as mothers and midwives to the genre. We’ll enjoy spotlighting this companion soundtrack that features new recordings from Allison Russell, Rhiannon Giddens, Valerie June, and Rissi Palmer among others. -
It’s the 10th solo album from Englishman Mark Knopfler, following his great period fronting Dire Straits. You’ve also heard him providing soundtrack work for films like “The Princess Bride” and “Local Hero”. Mark of course handles the guitars on these new tracks, with Jim Cox and Guy Fletcher on keyboards, Glenn Worf on bass, Ian Thomas on drums, Danny Cummings on percussion, Richard Bennett on guitar and Greg Leisz on pedal and lap steel; Mike McGoldrick provides whistle and uilleann pipes and John McCusker plays fiddle, while the Topolski sisters Emma and Tamsin add backing vocals. All songs are written by Knopfler. -
Baltimore native Cris Jacobs has a collection of powerful songs and moving character sketches here. He’s also got quite the house band backing him up: The Infamous Stringdusters. They’re also joined by friends Billy Strings, Sam Bush, Lee Ann Womack, the McCrary Sisters, Lindsay Lou, and more. “I’ve always found so much comfort in roots music––in string band music,” Jacobs says. “There’s just something about the sound of all those instruments together that resonates with me to my core and brings me grounding and peace.” -
Peak of the WeekImagine that sweet, warm sound of Norah Jones recordings, with a psychedelic garage-soul sound this time. Fuzz guitars and other retro-60s sounds sync up wonderfully with Norah’s piano and voice here. “The reason I called the album Visions is because a lot of the ideas came in the middle of the night or in that moment right before sleep.” says Jones. “We did most of the songs in the same way where I was at the piano or on guitar and Leon was playing drums and we were just jamming on stuff. I like the rawness between me and Leon (Michels, the producer), the way it sounds kind of garage-y but also kind of soulful, because that's where he's coming from, but also not overly perfected.” -
One of our most anxiously awaited albums of 2024 so far is out! Across the 12 songs on Trail of Flowers, Sierra brings listeners on a beautifully-untamed, time-bending journey of resilience, rebirth and reflection, merging classic musicianship with decidedly modern concerns. In her transformation from train-hopping vagabond to viral sensation, she has honed her spellbinding style of storytelling in trailer parks, dive bars, truck stops and everywhere in between, but Trail of Flowers reveals the wealth of wisdom she has amassed along the way. Her extensive tour for it brings her and her band to The Fillmore in Charlotte on May 12th.
