In Review: Jim Blum Is Back To Celebrate 20 Years of Folk Alley

On September 8, 2003, Northeast Ohio’s flagship NPR station, WKSU in Kent, Ohio launched Folk Alley with the purpose of using the “power of the internet” to stream folk music to the world to anyone who wanted to listen. It was hosted by WKSU’s beloved weekend folk music host, Jim Blum. In fact, from 2003 to 2005, Jim was the only host on Folk Alley, until Elena See, Barb Heller, and Jeff St. Clair (also of WKSU) joined the team. Jim retired at the end of 2012, and while Folk Alley has continued to thrive, we’ve missed him!

On the occasion of our 20th anniversary, we decided to drag Jim out of retirement for this very special 6-hour show.

Enjoy!

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Playlist

Hour One

Heidi Talbot – Music Tree – In Love + Light – Compass
Mark Erelli – Call You Home – The Memorial Hall Recordings – Signature
Andrew & Noah Van Norstrand – Samuel Mason – All The Good Summers – Great Bear
Country Gazette – Uncle Clooney Played The Banjo – Hello Operator…. – FlyingFish
Trapezoid – I’ll Be Here in the Morning – Cool Of The Days – Sugar Hill
Pete Sutherland Trio – Let’s Go Out to Breakfast – 11/2002 36th KSFF – Folk Alley exclusive recording
The Stray Birds – Dream In Blue – The Stray Birds – The Stray Birds
The Horseflies – Hush Little Baby – Human Fly – MCA
John Jorgenson Quintet – Ghost Dance – Ultraspontane – John Jorgenson Quintet
The Waybacks – Motorway – From the Pasture to the Future – Compass
Ruthie Foster – Joy Comes Back – Folk Alley Exclusive – Live from the 30A Songwriters Festival – Folk Alley Exclusive Recording
Elephant Revival (live) – Go On – Exclusive Folk Alley Recording – Folk Alley exclusive recording
Cheryl Wheeler – Little Road – Defying Gravity – Philo

Hour Two

J.P. Cormier – Molly May – Another Morning – Borealis
Dave Moore – Mr. Music – Breaking Down To 3 – Red House
Dee Carstensen – By the Wayside – The Map – Exit Nine
Blue Highway – Boulder City Dam – Still Climbing Mountains –
Beppe Gambetta – Church Street Blues – Blu di Genova – Gadfly
Hank Dogs – Quality Time – Bareback – Hannibal
Habib Koite & Bamada – Woulaba – Baro – Putumayo
Andy Irvine – Rude Awakening – Rude Awakening – GreenLinnet
Carolina Chocolate Drops – Kerr’s Negro Jig – Leaving Eden – Nonesuch Records
Buffalo Springfield (Neil Young) – I Am A Child – Retrospective – Atco
Asylum Street Spankers – Mah Na Mah Na – 11/2002 36th KSFF – Folk Alley exclusive recording
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway – Crooked Tree – Crooked Tree – Nonesuch Records

Hour Three

I Draw Slow – Goldmine – Redhills – Pinecastle Records
Nanci Griffith – Listen to The Radio (Live – includes intro) – 42nd Kent State Folk Festival – Folk Alley Exclusive Recording
James Keelaghan – My Skies – My Skies – GreenLinet
The Wailin’ Jennys – The Devil’s Paintbrush Road – Firecracker – RedHouse
Brad Kolodner – Chimney Swifts – Chimney Swifts – Brad Kolodner
Alison Krauss – Too Late to Cry – Too Late to Cry – Rounder
Billy Strings – Watch It Fall – Home – Rounder
Laura Cortese – Just Like Heaven – Even The Lost Creek – Cortese
Pete Seeger (w/ B.Bragg – Ani D – S.Earle) – Bring Them Home – SEEDS:Songs of Pete Seeger Vol 3 – Appleseed
The Honeycutters – All You Ever – Me Oh My – Organic Records
The Hot Club of Cowtown – Pray for the Lights to Go Out – Ghost Train – Hightone
Eric Bibb (w/intro) – Saucer & Cup – Folk Alley exclusive recording, Cleveland Hotel Room 2/2005

Hour Four

Garnet Rogers, Greg Brown, Karen Savoca – I Still Miss Someone – Live at the Black Sheep – Alcove
Eddie From Ohio – Old Dominion – Looking Out The Fishbowl – VirginiaSl
Ricky Skaggs – Goin to the Ceili – Live at the Charleston Music Hall – Skaggs
Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem – Red Rocking Chair – Gambling Eden – Signature
Harry Manx – Shadow of the Whip – West Eats Meet – Dog My Cat
Slaid Cleaves – Lydia – Broke Down – Philo
Eliza Gilkyson – Think About You – Paradise Hotel – Redhouse
Bruce Cockburn – Slow Down Fast – “Life Short – Call Now” – Rounder
Chatham County Line – Country Boy/City Boy – IV – YepRoc
Peggy Seeger – Jane Jane – The Folkways Years 1955-1992 – Folkways
Catie Curtis – Water and Stone – Long Night Moon – Compass
Nashville Mandolin Ensemble – In Memory of Elizabeth Reed – Kent State Folk Fest 2001 – Exclusive Folk Alley Recording
Sharon Shannon (John Prine & Mary Staunton) – Love Love Love – The Diamond Mountain Sessions – Compass

Hour Five

Guy Clark – Mud – The Dark – Sugar Hill
John Hartford – Old Time River Man – Down on the River – FlyingFish
Uncle Earl – One True – “Waterloo – Tennessee” – Rounder
Pierce Pettis – Little River Canyon – State of Grace – Compass
Doc Watson – Life Is A River – My Dear Old Southern Home – Sunflower
Pharis & Jason Romero (in-studio) – Long Gone Out West Blues – Folk Alley Sessions – Folk Alley exclusive recordings
Mipso – Edges Run – Folk Alley Sessions – Folk Alley Exclusive Recording
Jimmy LaFave (live) – River Road – From Folk Alliance 2008 – Folk Alley Exclusive Recording
David Olney (in-studio) – My Lovely Assistant – Exclusive Folk Alley Recording –
Tony Elman – Raindance – Earth Tones – Acorn
Tift Merritt – In The Way – Traveling Alone – Yep Roc Records
Riders In The Sky – The Ballad of Palindrome – A Great Big Western Howdy – Rounder
Old and in the Way – The Hobo Song – Old and In the Way – Ryko

Hour Six

Sarah Jarosz – Take Me Back – Undercurrent – Sugar Hill
Old Man Luedecke – Send My Troubles Away – Proof of Love – Black Hen
Iris Dement – Our Town – Infamous Angel – Warner Bros
Oliver Schroer – Flowers – Hymns and Hers – Big Dog
Kris Delmhorst (in-studio) – Hummingbird – Exclusive in-studio performance – Exclusive Folk Alley recording
Tim O’Brien – Turn The Page Again – Traveler – Sugar Hill
Vienna Teng – Whatever You Want – Dreaming Through The Noise – Zoe
Sam Pacetti & Gabriel Valla – The Christians and the Outlaws – Union – Waterbug
Dirk Powell – I Ain’t Playing Pretty Polly – When I Wait For You – Compass Records
Eileen Ivers (feat. Tim Shelton) – Walk On – Beyond the Bog Road – Entertainment One Music
Sam Bush – Circles Around Me – Circles Around Me – Sugar Hill
Odetta – Jim Crow Blues – Looking For a Home (Leadbelly Tribute) – M.C.
The Hotfoot Quintet – Barbecue on Broadway – Barbecue on Broadway – Wildebeest

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