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Soul music didn’t suddenly appear in the 1960s. Its roots were a product of decades in church pews, blues clubs, juke joints and beyond. This week, Deeper Roots begins a special two-part journey excavating the familiar classics to explore the fertile ground from which soul music grew. In this first of two episodes, we’ll hear the gospel quartets, blues shouters, rhythm & blues singers and vocal groups who provided the language: call and response, soaring falsettos, sanctified piano, hard backbeats and a delivery that could turn a song into testimony. From The Soul Stirrers, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and the Five Blind Boys to the 5 Royales, Clyde McPhatter, and Little Willie John we’ll help connect the dots. These are the sounds where Saturday night meets Sunday morning—and of gospel fervor, blues feeling and rhythm & blues, all coming together to lay the foundation for something new. Next week, we’ll follow those roots into the first flowering of soul itself.

Saddle up, but don’t expect the usual Hollywood version of the American West. We’re heading beyond the familiar standards to explore songs, stories and voices that grew out of bunkhouses, chuck wagons and wide-open country, reaching back nearly a century for early cowboy recordings, among them Carl T. Sprague, Billie Maxwell, Harry “Haywire Mac” McClintock and Jess Morris. Tales where ornery horses, stampeding cattle, lousy wages, worse cooking and lonely nights on the trail were simply part of the job. Along the way we’ll discover a West far more diverse than the one portrayed on the silver screen, with music touching on Black cowboys, Mexican and California traditions, ranch hands, buffalo hunters, outlaws and gunfighters. We’ll then follow those old trails forward and into the hands of later storytellers including Ian Tyson, Dom Flemons, and Colter Wall. Somewhere between history and mythology lies the West that survives in these songs — sometimes romantic, sometimes brutal.

No particular destination this week, although we’ll begin on an Island of Dreams. Deeper Roots is going free form once again, rummaging around in the dusty digital archives and following the music wherever it happens to lead us. We’ll start things off with a decidedly British flavor, with Nick Lowe, Martin Belmont & Geraint Watkins, Mickey Jupp and Dave Edmunds before crossing a few oceans, decades and musical boundaries. Along the way we’ll hear vintage country from Johnnie & Jack, Ernest Tubb and Faron Young and some newer music from Charley Crockett and Brandon Flowers. And because the blues are never very far from the heart of Deeper Roots, we’ll spend some time a roster of some of the greats as well as vocal sounds from the likes of the Donays and Cookie & The Cupcakes. It’s another musical road trip with no map and no particular reason to hurry. Join Dave Stroud for Island of Dreams, Friday morning at 9 Pacific on KOWS 92.5 FM in West Sonoma County—and streaming everywhere else on the planet.

Everybody loves a good story…and this week on Deeper Roots we’ll be spinning a few of them. Tall tales, fables, murder ballads, historical yarns, talking blues and outright stretchers are all part of the American musical tradition, and we’ll be digging into that tradition this Friday morning. Our stories come mostly from the years between 1925 and 1960, when an old tale might travel from a front porch to a 78, from a newspaper headline to a country ballad, or get passed from singer to singer until fact and folklore became pretty hard to separate. We’ll hear tales of outlaws and drifters, sinners and saints, disasters and deeds of questionable truth from the likes of Mississippi John Hurt, Woody Guthrie, the Golden Gate Quartet, Tex Ritter, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins and more. There’ll even be a few whoppers along the way. So pull up a chair and lend us your ears. Deeper Roots has a story to tell this Friday, September 11th, at 9 AM Pacific on KOWS 92.5 FM, streaming to planet Earth at kowsfm.com.

Labor Day weekend may mark the unofficial end of summer, but around here, summer isn’t going quietly. In this week’s show, we’re giving the season one last fling with a free-form romp through songs of summer nights, summer rain, summer romance, warm breezes and those memories that seem to linger long after the days begin getting shorter. And, as is the common theme, we’ll be traveling all over the musical map. There’s the timeless “Summertime” alongside the cool breeze of Sinatra, some summer soul from Stevie Wonder and War, and plenty of pop memories from Johnny Rivers, Rick Nelson and the Beach Boys. We’ll also wander off the beaten path for some country, rockabilly and Americana from Roger Miller, Dale Hawkins, and the Desert Rose Band. There are lazy nights, lost loves, blackberry summers and even a few reminders that summer isn’t always sunshine and good times. So before we put away the lawn chairs and start thinking about autumn, we’re squeezing every last drop out of the season. Join us for Summer’s Last Stand, Friday morning at 9 Pacific on Deeper Roots—two hours of American music from across the decades, right here on KOWS Community Radio.

There's a certain kind of poetry in country music that only it seems to understand. This week on Deeper Roots, we're embracing one of the genre's oldest companions: lonesome. From the high, mournful harmonies of Bill Clifton, The Delmore Brothers, and The Country Gentlemen to the heartfelt storytelling of The Louvin Brothers, Hank Williams, James Hand, George Jones, and Don Gibson, we'll spend two hours exploring songs of lonely roads, broken hearts, and the weary blues that have shaped country music for generations. Don't let the theme fool you, though. There's comfort in these songs, too—a reminder that no one has ever been truly alone in feeling lonesome. Join Dave Stroud Friday morning at 9:00 Pacific on KOWS Community Radio. Listen live at kowsfm.com/listen or on the Radio Rethink app, and let the music carry you from heartache to hope, one classic country song at a time.

What did America sound like in 1925? Join us for a special episode of Deeper Roots as Dave welcomes Josh Rosenthal, founder of Tompkins Square Records, into the studio for an extraordinary musical deep dive. Josh takes us inside the newly minted anthology, Dick Spottswood & Tompkins Square Present…1925 Songs. This 32-track collection spotlights a pivotal, watershed year in American music history—the moment electrical recording began replacing acoustic horns, allowing the vibrant, raw sounds of early jazz, country blues, and hillbilly music to reach a coast-to-coast audience for the very first time. Deeper Roots may be about a century of America’s music… but this week, we’re taking you back a century plus one! Don’t miss it.

No theme this week. No genre studies. No artist retrospectives. Just two hours of great American music. We're in a free-form mood, wandering once again through the dusty digital archives of the past century in search of songs that simply deserve to be heard. Pour yourself a favorite morning libation and settle in as we journey from the elegant dance band sounds of George Olsen to the gypsy jazz brilliance of Django Reinhardt and the unmistakable blues of Memphis Minnie. Along the way, we'll kick up a little country dust with Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Marty Stuart, and plenty of other musical companions. There may not be a formal theme, but don't be surprised if the songs begin talking to one another. You'll hear stories of good news and bad news, bad blood, hard luck, redemption, resilience, and the enduring hope that seems to find its way into the best American music. That's the beauty of community radio. Sometimes the best discoveries happen when you stop looking for a destination and simply enjoy the journey. Join us Friday morning at 9:00 Pacific on KOWS Community Radio, streaming worldwide at kowsfm.com, and spend a couple of hours exploring the music that shaped where we've been—and still has something to say about where we're going.

This Friday on Deeper Roots, we’re tipping our hats to some of the finest country artists of the 20th century with a journey far beyond the familiar hits. From the outlaw spirit of Waylon Jennings and the wit of Roger Miller to the Bakersfield fire of Dwight Yoakam, the timeless charm of Little Jimmy Dickens, and many more, we’ll dig into the deep tracks, hidden gems, and overlooked performances that helped define country music’s rich legacy. If you enjoy discovering songs that deserve another listen—or hearing legendary artists from a fresh perspective—this is a show you won’t want to miss. Join us Friday morning at 9:00 AM on KOWS Community Radio for two hours of classic country, unexpected favorites, and the stories behind the music. Come along as we celebrate the deeper roots of country music, one great song at a time.

This week we celebrate the simple joys that have always bound American music together. Deeper Roots travels back nearly a century—from the roaring jazz of Ethel Waters, Fletcher Henderson, and Coleman Hawkins to the contemporary wit of Kacey Musgraves—finding common threads of laughter, resilience, friendship, and the everyday pleasures that make life worth living. Along the way we'll make a party heavy stop in New Orleans with Aaron Neville, Fats Domino, James Booker, Dr. John, Irma Thomas, and Art Neville, then head into the hills with bluegrass, country, and Appalachian traditions as the road we ride takes us from Oklahoma to Kentucky. With deep blues, gospel, western swing, big band classics, and timeless folk ballads all sharing the same stage, our show this week revels in music that reminds us there's always another reason to celebrate the journey.

Free form and completely eclectic—that is the absolute best way to introduce this week’s episode of Deeper Roots. Every so often, we love to shake things up by forgoing our usual archival explorations of specific genres, artists, or historical themes. Instead, Dave is opening up his personal vault for a special curation of deep tracks and personal favorites that he has been setting aside over the past couple of months just to share with you.  We are bridging eras and styles in a way only Deeper Roots can. Expect a magical blend of sounds, including early Cotton Club sounds of Cab Calloway alongside beach music from The Catalinas, rocking guitar fuzz with Grady Martin paired with the Buckaroo guitar sounds of Don Rich, and some Dylan, Merle, Berigan and Clooney. Join us for a scenic, unpredictable journey through the back roads of American music each and every Friday morning at 9am Pacific on KOWS Community Radio, streaming 24/7 at kowsfm.com/listen.

This Friday, Deeper Roots presents an encore broadcast from February 2020, exploring the rich intersection of gospel, blues, and tradition through the theme of the “Travelin’ Blues.” Whether the journey leads down the King’s Highway toward salvation or along a lonely back road toward temptation, we’ll steer clear of the toll roads and follow the winding paths where sacred and secular music have traveled side by side for generations. Along the way you’ll hear performances from Rory Block, Chris Smither, Eric Clapton, Freddie King, The Golden Gate Quartet, and many more. Originally conceived as the first installment in a series of programs about songs of the road, this episode explores highways and journeys through the language of the blues and gospel.  Join us for two hours of American roots music where every mile has a story to tell.

Tomorrow isn’t a guarantee; it’s a promise we keep to one another. In times when the airwaves and headlines feel crowded with division, hatred, and the loud noise of demagoguery, all in reaction to barbarous and vile language from the highest quarters, the antidote has always been found in the music. This week on Deeper Roots, we are celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary by stepping directly into the storm with a playlist designed to uplift, fortify, and remind us of what’s worth fighting for.  Count on sounds from Gillian Welch, Willie Nelson, Sam Cooke, Chet Baker and a few dozen more as we dive deep into a century of American music, bringing you powerful songs of the spirit from the gospel canon alongside timeless anthems of resistance that call on us to rise above the attacks on our shared democracy. This isn’t just a look back at history—it’s a toolkit for the present.

We revisit a show from ten years back that focused on R&B, sax, and a time before rock 'n' roll shook the world. A time of honkers and shouters. This week on Deeper Roots, we dig into the wild, joyful, and groundbreaking world of mid-century rhythm and blues through the lens of Arnold Shaw's classic book Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues. From the jump bands and saxophone blowouts to the gospel-fueled vocalists and hard-driving dance records that packed juke joints and ballrooms, we'll explore the artists, producers, and cultural forces that gave birth to modern popular music. Join us for two hours of the sounds and stories that laid the foundation for rock 'n' roll and changed American music forever. We’ve got a wild one in store for you, one that we first tackled a decade ago here on Deeper Roots.

This week on Deeper Roots, we’re celebrating the women who helped shape Americana music. From pioneering artists who blazed trails through country, folk, blues, and gospel to the remarkable performers carrying those traditions into the 21st century, we’ll spend two hours exploring voices that transformed the sound of American roots music. We’ll begin with some of the giants of the genre—artists such as the Carter Family, Patsy Cline, and Dolly Parton—women whose talent, determination, and vision helped create the foundation upon which generations would build. Then we’ll follow the road they paved through the work of contemporary Americana artists including Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, Margo Price, Sierra Ferrell, and others who continue to redefine and expand the genre today. Join us for a journey through the past, present, and future of Americana music, celebrating the women whose stories, songs, and spirit remain at the very heart of the American musical experience.