Minnesota's Twin Cities are teeming with musical talents, among them Curtis and Loretta. They've been making & performing fine mostly-folkish music for more than 3 decades. Loretta Simonet writes the lion's share of their songs, and her primary instrument is either the guitar or the folk harp, accompanied by Curtis' deep voice & rich instrumental skills.

Katie Dwyer is absolutely one of the top surprises & joys of 20 years I've been doing this program, no exaggeration. Katie is unassuming & modest, even though she has every reason to be proud of the wonderful music she creates & performs. She's all about real life, real pains and glories, all song with passion & compassion. Maybe it's fitting that she doesn't live among coastal elites, but right in South Dakota.

Though he tried a strenuous life on the music circuit in his 20s, Mike Green found a better path for him, at the time, was helping other musicians in organizing & scheduling their tours.

Lucy Kaplansky is, in some ways, very much a road-less traveled person. For example, after starting a successful career as performing Americana musician with the likes of Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega, and many more, she detoured through a decade as a clinical psychologist. Her own inner work led her back to the path she most loves, music, and she has released a total of 11 albums, I think, the last 4 on her own, including avoiding streaming services and other devices that impoverish most musicians - another road less traveled.

(From left to right: Annie Patterson, Wendi Bourne, Lauren Janson)

Today is the second time we'll have Jim Phillips with us, and this is kind of a new-and-improved-music of Jim Phillips, with significant overlap of songs from the last time, but with dramatically enhanced versions of some of his tunes.

Joanna Clare started her violin quite young on rather standard Suzuki method fare, but along the way Irish music captured her, both as a dancer & as a fiddler. And along the way, new Irish tunes began flowing out of Joanna's fiddle. Though she is a Philadelphia-based material science/engineer by day, music is inextricably linked to her mind & soul.

Rebecca Pidgeon brings to her music influences as disparate as her early years in Massachusetts, life through early adulthood in Scotland, professional decades in England, then more than 20 years in Los Angeles. In addition to her singing/songwriting, Rebecca is an actress, and her ability to inhabit diverse minds and persons is reflected through her incredibly versatile songs and styles, all compelling.

Linda Marks is an amazing creative woman and prolific singer/songwriter. I was drawn to her and her music by the image she shared online of dancing with God, something I've felt myself. In addition to music, Linda has impressive achievements as a body-centered psychotherapist, lifework counselor, social architect and author of two books.

Tret Fure, last with us for Song of the Soul in 2011, joins us to share her second sharing from the soul. Tret was among a group of women's music powerhouses of the 1970s and 1980s who were inspirational and transformational for the country, and for me, personally. With her gentle but resolute heart, and her deep musical talent, Tret calls listeners into community and growth. Tret joins us from Newport News, Virginia, for her second Song of the Soul.