Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – January 27, 2026: International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/73873.html

Theme: International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked annually on the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau on January 27, 1945. During the Holocaust, more than one million Jews were gassed to death at Auschwitz-Birkenau. In these times of exploding antisemitism and other forms of racism and hatred, it’s important for us to pause and remember the lessons of the Holocaust when Hitler’s Nazi Germany systematically murdered 6 million Jews – about two-thirds of the Jews who lived in Europe. Many of the lessons of the Holocaust, and what led to it, are sadly relevant to what’s going on in the world today.

SONiA disappear fear- By My Silence

By My Silence (Disappear)

John McCutcheon- MS St. Louis

Field of Stars (Appalsongs)

Brendan Nolan- Watching Myself Watch My Son

Beneath White Stars: Holocaust Profiles in Song (AlmondSeed Media)

Simon Spiro- Obodivke Camp (In Obodivker Lager)

Yiddish Glory: The Silenced Songs of World War II (Six Degrees)

Alice Zawadzki- The Sad Camp (Fun a Troyerikn Lager)

Yiddish Glory: The Silenced Songs of World War II (Six Degrees)

Cantor Allan Robuck- So the World Would Know

Beneath White Stars: Holocaust Profiles in Song (AlmondSeed Media)

Lee Oskar- Never Forget

Passages Through Music: Never Forget (Dreams We Share Productions)

Madeleine Peyroux- Dance Me to the End of Love

Careless Love (Rounder)

Leonard Cohen- Lovers

Six Montreal Poets (Folkways)

Leonard Cohen- Puppets

Thanks for the Dance (Columbia/Legacy)

Rod MacDonald- Auschwitz

The Man on the Ledge (Shanachie)

Tim Grimm- Anne in Amsterdam

The Turning Point (Cavalier)

Nefesh Mountain- Piece of the Sun (for Anne Frank)

Songs for the Sparrows (Eden Sky)

Brendan Nolan- Parallel Limbs

Beneath White Stars: Holocaust Profiles in Song (AlmondSeed Media)

Lenka Lichtenberg- Feel with Blood

Feel with Blood (Six Degrees)

Lenka Lichtenberg- Wintry Dusk

Feel with Blood (Six Degrees)

Psoy Korolenko- Transnistrian Lullaby (Transnistria Viglid)

Yiddish Glory: The Silenced Songs of World War II (Six Degrees)

Alice Zawadzki- A Girl from Kyiv (A Meydele from Kyiv)

Yiddish Glory: The Silenced Songs of World War II (Six Degrees)

Theodore Bikel- Partizaner-March (March of the Partisans)

While I’m Here (Red House)

Perla Batalla- The Partisan

A Letter to Leonard Cohen: Tribute to a Friend (Mechuda Music)

Noel Paul Stookey- Jean Claude

Just Causes (Neworld)

Frank London with Cantor Sveta Kundish- Minutn fun bitokhn (Moments of Hope)

Ghetto Songs (Felmay)

Next week: A Tribute to Jackie Washington.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – January 20, 2026: Duets

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/73740.html

Theme: Duets.

Odetta & Dr. John- Please Send Me Someone to Love 

Blues Everywhere I Go (M.C.)

Mike Regenstreif, Anne Hills & Tom Paxton (2001)

Tom Paxton & John McCutcheon- Pathfinder

Together Again (Appalsongs)

Mike Regenstreif & Arlo Guthrie (1996)

Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger- Midnight Special

More Together Again In Concert (Rising Son)

Mike Regenstreif & Priscilla Herdman (1978)

Utah Phillips & Mike Regenstreif (1976) photo: Felicity Fanjoy

Priscilla Herdman & Utah Phillips- I Remember Loving You

Darkness into Light (Flying Fish)

John Gorka & Mike Regenstreif (2012)

Anne Hills & John Gorka- Spoon River

Every Town: More Songs by Michael Smith (Hand & Heart Music)

Mike Regenstreif & Steve Gillette (1994)

Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen- Jay Gould’s Daughter

Live in Concert (Compass Rose)

Over the Moon- Darcy Farrow

Chinook Waltz (Borealis)

Martin Grosswendt & Susanne Salem-Schatz- How Can You Have the Blues

New Songs, Old Hats (Martin Grosswendt & Susanne Salem-Schatz)

Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris- Sisters of Mercy

Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions (Asylum)

Perla Batalla & David Hidalgo- Ballad of the Absent Mare

Bird on the Wire: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (Mechuda Music)

Jennifer Warnes & Leonard Cohen- Joan of Arc

Famous Blue Raincoat: The Songs of Leonard Cohen – 20th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

Willie Nelson & Kimmie Rhodes- I Just Drove By

Just One Love (Justice)

Tom Russell & Mike Regenstreif (2000)

Tom Russell & Ian Tyson- Navajo Rug

Cowboy’d All to Hell (Frontera)

Mike Regenstreif & Bill Morrissey (2005)

Bill Morrissey & Greg Brown- Summer Wages

Friend of Mine (Philo)

Laurie MacAllister & David Glaser- Birches

The Lies the Poets Tell (Laurie MacAllister)

Catherine MacLellan & John Connolly- The Call

If It’s Alright With You: The Songs of Gene MacLellan (True North)

Reggie Harris & Colleen Kattau- Maybe It’s Love 

On Solid Ground (Reggie Harris Music)

Mike Regenstreif & Rick Fines (2011)

Rick Fines & Suzie Vinnick- How’d You Know I Missed You

Nothing Halfway (Rick Fines & Suzie Vinnick)

John Prine & Dolores Keane- In a Town This Size

In Spite of Ourselves (Oh Boy)

Mike Regenstreif & Garnet Rogers (2006)

Archie Fisher & Garnet Rogers- The Outside Track

The Best Times After All: Live (Snow Goose Songs)

Eliza Gilkyson & Mike Regenstreif (2006)

Mike Regenstreif & JimmyLaFave (2017)

Eliza Gilkyson & Jimmy LaFave- Down by the Riverside

Secularia (Red House)

Michael Jerome Browne & Mike Regenstreif (2005)

Michael Jerome Browne & Mary Flower- I’ve Got the Big River Blues

Gettin’ Together (Borealis/Stony Plain)

Next week: International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – January 13, 2026: Lightfoot! Revisited and Kate & Anna McGarrigle Revisited

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/73656.html

Theme: Lightfoot! Revisited and Kate & Anna McGarrigle Revisited.

Lightfoot! Revisited

Gordon Lightfoot’s debut album – Lightfoot! – was released 60 years ago in January 1966. It was reissued as part of a 3-CD set called The Original Lightfoot.

Gordon Lightfoot- Rich Man’s Spiritual 

The Original Lightfoot – The United Artists Years: Lightfoot! (EMI)

J.P. Cormier- Long River

The Long River: A Personal Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot (Flash Publishing)

Julie Felix- The Way I Feel

Changes (Fontana)

Ian & Sylvia- For Lovin’ Me

Early Morning Rain (Vanguard)

Bonnie Dobson- The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

Philadelphia Folk Festival – 40th Anniversary (Sliced Bread)

Phil Ochs- Changes

Phil Ochs In Concert (Elektra/Rhino)

Rodney Brown- Early Morning Rain

The Gales of November: Songs of Gordon Lightfoot (Rodney Brown)

Spanky & Our Gang- Steel Rail Blues 

Live (Mercury)

Bill Hearne- Sixteen Miles 

Always Trust Your Cape (Howlin’ Dog)

Tony Rice- I’m Not Sayin’

Tony Rice Sings Gordon Lightfoot (Rounder) 

Hamilton Camp- Pride of Man

Paths of Victory (Collectors’ Choice Music)

Bruce Cockburn- Ribbon of Darkness

Rarities (True North)

Gordon Lightfoot- Oh, Linda

The Original Lightfoot – The United Artists Years: Lightfoot! (EMI)

Gordon Lightfoot- Peaceful Waters

The Original Lightfoot – The United Artists Years: Lightfoot! (EMI)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle Revisited

Kate & Anna McGarrigle’s self-titled debut album was released 50 years ago in January 1976. It was reissued as part of a 3-CD set called Tell My Sister.

Rufus Wainwright, Anna McGarrigle & Martha Wainwright- Kiss and Say Goodbye

Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle (Nonesuch)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle- My Town 

Tell My Sister: Kate & Anna McGarrigle (Nonesuch)

Kate McGarrigle- Blues in D 

Tell My Sister: Kate & Anna McGarrigle (Nonesuch)

June Tabor- Heart Like a Wheel

At the Wood’s Heart (Topic)

Wade Hemsworth- Foolish You

The Songs of Wade Hemsworth (Blackfly Music)

Priscilla Herdman- Talk to Me of Mendocino

Forgotten Dreams (Flying Fish)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Complainte pour Ste-Catherine

Tell My Sister: Kate & Anna McGarrigle (Nonesuch)

Peggy Seeger- Tell My Sister

Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle (Nonesuch)

Loudon Wainwright III- The Swimming Song 

Attempted Moustache (Columbia/Legacy)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Jigsaw Puzzle of Life

Tell My Sister: Kate & Anna McGarrigle (Nonesuch)

Linda Thompson & Richard Thompson- Go Leave 

Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle (Nonesuch)

Chaim Tannenbaum- Travelling On for Jesus

Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle (Nonesuch)

Next week: Duets.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – January 6, 2026: Remembering Tim Williams, Raul Malo, Steve Cropper and Joe Ely

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/73574.html

Theme: Remembering Tim Williams, Raul Malo, Steve Cropper and Joe Ely.

Remembering Tim Williams (1948-2025)

Tim Williams – who died on November 28, at age 77, following a short battle with cancer – was born in California and had already recorded his first LP before he moved to Canada in 1970. He was based in Vancouver for several years before moving on to Alberta, where he worked for a time as a cowboy and then began a long career as an acoustic blues and folk artist based in Calgary.

Tim Williams- Pallet on the Floor

Evenings Among Friends (Cayuse)

Tim Williams- Alberta In My Dreams

When I was a Cowboy (Cayuse)

Cindy Church- Trying to Rope the Wind

Just a Little Rain (Stony Plain)

Tim Williams- The Ones Who Made the Blues

Indigo Incidents (Cayuse)

Tim Williams- It’s Enough to Be Remembered

Songster, Musicianer, Music Physicianer (Cayuse)

Remembering Raul Malo (1965-2025)

Raul Malo – who died on December 8, at age 60, from cancer – was both a solo artist and the lead singer with The Mavericks.

Raul Malo- Early Morning Rain

The Nashville Acoustic Sessions (CMH)

Raul Malo- You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go

The Nashville Acoustic Sessions (CMH)

Raul Malo- I Guess Things Happen That Way

Dressed in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash (Dualtone)

Remembering Steve Cropper (1941-2025)

Steve Cropper – who died on December 3, at age 84 – was a guitarist, songwriter and record producer and as the guitarist in Booker T. & The MGs, was probably the definitive guitarist of Memphis soul music.

Booker T. & The MGs- Green Onions

Green Onions (Stax)

Wilson Pickett- In the Midnight Hour

In the Midnight Hour (Atlantic)

The Staple Singers- The Weight

Soul Folk In Action (Stax)

Otis Redding- (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay 

The Dock of the Bay (Atco)

Steve Cropper- Crop Dustin’

With a Little Help From My Friends (Volt)

Jesse Winchester- Club Manhattan

Gentleman of Leisure (Sugar Hill)

Remembering Joe Ely (1947-2025)

Joe Ely – who died on December 15, at age 78, from pneumonia after a battling Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia – was one of the great Texas singer-songwriters and song interpreters who recorded under his own name and as a member of The Flatlanders.

Joe Ely & Joel Guzman- Because of the Wind

Live Cactus (Rack ‘Em)

Ramblin' Jack Elliott- Me and Billy the Kid

Friends of Mine (HighTone)

The Chieftains & Joe Ely- The Moonshiner/I’m a Rambler, I’m a Gambler

Further Down the Old Plank Road (RCA)

Tom Russell- Indian Cowboy

Tonight We Ride: The Tom Russell Cowboy Anthology (Frontera)

Joe Ely- Gallo del Cielo

Letter to Laredo (MCA)

The Flatlanders- Right Where I Belong

Now Again (New West)

James Talley & Joe Ely- W. Lee O’Daniel and the Light Crust Doughboys

Touchstones (Cimarron)

Tom Russell & Joe Ely- Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues 

Folk Hotel (Frontera)

Joe Ely & Joel Guzman- Ranches and Rivers

Live Cactus (Rack ‘Em)

Next week: Lightfoot! Revisited and Kate &Anna McGarrigle Revisited.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – December 30, 2025: My top 10 folk-rooted and folk-branched albums of 2025

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/73491.html

Theme: My top 10 folk-rooted and folk-branched albums of 2025.

These are always hard choices. I started with a list of about 30 of my favorite albums for the year. I’ve been over the list several times in the past couple of weeks and came up with several similar – but not identical – Top 10 lists. This list is the final one. The order might have been slightly different and there are several other worthy albums that might have been included, had one of the other lists represented the final choice.

The annotated and illustrated version of this top 10 list is available on the Folk Roots/Folk Branches blog at … https://frfb.blogspot.com/2025/12/top-10-for-2025.html

10. Suzy Sings Siebel Volume One by Suzy Thompson

Suzy Thompson- Bride 1945

Suzy Sings Siebel Volume One (Suzy Thompson)

Suzy Thompson- Long Afternoons

Suzy Sings Siebel Volume One (Suzy Thompson)

9. Personal History by Mary Chapin Carpenter

Mary Chapin Carpenter- Girl and Her Dog

Personal History (Lambent Light/Thirty Tigers) 

Mary Chapin Carpenter- New Religion

Personal History (Lambent Light/Thirty Tigers) 

8. Field of Stars by John McCutcheon

John McCutcheon- Tikkun Olam

Field of Stars (Appalsongs)

John McCutcheon with Windborne- Blessing

Field of Stars (Appalsongs)

7. Woody At Home – Vol 1 + 2 by Woody Guthrie

Woody Guthrie- This Land is Your Land

Woody At Home – Vol 1 + 2 (Shamus)

Woody Guthrie- Peace Call

Woody At Home – Vol 1 + 2 (Shamus)

6. Hardscrabble Hope by Maria Dunn

Maria Dunn- Another Year

Hardscrabble Hope (Distant Whisper Music)

Maria Dunn- Leave It All On the Ice

Hardscrabble Hope (Distant Whisper Music)

5. unentitled by John Gorka

John Gorka- First Snow on the Mountains

unentitled (Red House)

John Gorka- Particle Wave (Goodness in the World)

unentitled (Red House)

4. Every Town: More Songs by Michael Smith by Anne Hills

Anne Hills- Crazy Mary

Every Town: More Songs by Michael Smith (Hand & Heart Music)

Anne Hills- Sure Has Grown

Every Town: More Songs by Michael Smith (Hand & Heart Music)

3. Bones of Trees by Tim Grimm

Tim Grimm- Broken Truth

Bones of Trees (Vault)

Tim Grimm- Up in the Attic

Bones of Trees (Vault)

2. Dark Ages by Eliza Gilkyson

Eliza Gilkyson- Times Like These 

Dark Ages (Realiza) 

Eliza Gilkyson- Holy

Dark Ages (Realiza)

1. David Amram Honors Guthrie and Ochs: Old Souls by The David Amram Quintet

The David Amram Quintet- Talking Subway

David Amram Honors Guthrie and Ochs: Old Souls (Guthrie Legacy)

The David Amram Quintet- When I’m Gone

David Amram Honors Guthrie and Ochs: Old Souls (Guthrie Legacy)

Next week: Remembering Raul Malo, Tim Williams, Joe Ely and Steve Cropper.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – December 23, 2025: A Christmas Concert with Odetta and More Songs for the Holiday

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/73359.html

Theme: A Christmas Concert with Odetta and More Songs for the Holiday.

Odetta – who died in 2008 less than a month before her 78th birthday – was one of the most influential folksingers of her time. In the late-1950s, a teenaged rock singer in Minnesota named Robert Zimmerman decided to pursue folk music after hearing an Odetta album, and later arrived in New York City calling himself Bob Dylan. Others, among many, who have cited Odetta’s influence include Joan Baez, Nina Simone, Janis Joplin and Harry Belafonte. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to Odetta as “the voice of the civil rights movement.

Odetta was accompanied throughout the concert by pianist Seth Farber and, on a couple of songs, by The Holmes Brothers.

Odetta with The Holmes Brothers- This Little Light of Mine

Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)

Odetta- Rise Up Shepherd and Follow

Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)

Odetta- Mary had a Baby

Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)

Odetta- What Month was Jesus Born In

Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)

Odetta- Shout for Joy

Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)

Odetta- Virgin Mary Had One Son

Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)

Odetta with The Holmes Brothers- Down By the Riverside

Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)

Odetta- Poor Little Jesus

Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)

Odetta- Freedom Trilogy: Oh Freedom, Come & Go With Me and I’m On My Way

Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)

Odetta- Somebody Talking ‘Bout Jesus

Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)

Odetta- Keep On Movin’ It On

Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)

Odetta- O Jerusalem

Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)

Odetta- If Anybody Asks You

Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)

Odetta- Midnight Special

Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)

Chris White- That’s Christmas

That’s Christmas – single (Chris White)

Maggie’s Wake- It Ain’t Christmas Without You

Close to Home (Maggie’s Wake)

Chaim Tannenbaum- A Winter Tale

A Winter Tale – single (StorySound)

Good Lovelies- The Chipmunk Song

Under the Mistletoe (Good Lovelies)

Erik Frandsen- Christmas in Brooklyn

Antiques: New & Used (Erik Frandsen)

Shelley Posen- You are All the Christmas That I Need

Old Loves (Well Done Music)

Rosalie Sorrels- Hot Buttered Rum

An Imaginary Christmas in Idaho (Limberlost)

Stan Rogers- At Last, I’m Ready for Christmas

Songs of a Lifetime: From Coffeehouse to Concert Hall (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)

David Massengill- Jesus, the Fugitive Prince 

The Return (Plump)

Next week: My Top 10 Folk-Rooted or Folk-Branched albums of 2025.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – December 16, 2025: A Hanukkah Concert with Nefesh Mountain and More Songs for the Holiday

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/73256.html

Theme: A Hanukkah Concert with Nefesh Mountain and More Songs for the Holiday.

The airdate for this show falls on the second of the 8-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

During Nefesh Mountain’s Hannukah concert, you will not hear any applause because the concert was recorded during Hannukah on December 12, 2020, without a live audience, at the height of the Covid pandemic.

Nefesh Mountain- Hanukkah’s Flame

Live from Levon Helm Studios: A Hanukkah Holiday Concert (Eden Sky)

Nefesh Mountain- Kitchen Girl

Live from Levon Helm Studios: A Hanukkah Holiday Concert (Eden Sky)

Nefesh Mountain- Hanukkah Dance

Live from Levon Helm Studios: A Hanukkah Holiday Concert (Eden Sky)

Nefesh Mountain- Eretz’s Reel

Live from Levon Helm Studios: A Hanukkah Holiday Concert (Eden Sky)

Nefesh Mountain- The Narrow Bridge

Live from Levon Helm Studios: A Hanukkah Holiday Concert (Eden Sky)

Nefesh Mountain- I’ve Endured

Live from Levon Helm Studios: A Hanukkah Holiday Concert (Eden Sky)

Nefesh Mountain- Donna Donna

Live from Levon Helm Studios: A Hanukkah Holiday Concert (Eden Sky)

Nefesh Mountain- Calum Sgaire/You Can Close Your Eyes

Live from Levon Helm Studios: A Hanukkah Holiday Concert (Eden Sky)

Nefesh Mountain- The Great Circle Trail/Oseh Shalom

Live from Levon Helm Studios: A Hanukkah Holiday Concert (Eden Sky)

Nefesh Mountain- Banjo Medley: Ma’oz Tzur/ Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah

Live from Levon Helm Studios: A Hanukkah Holiday Concert (Eden Sky)

Nefesh Mountain- Happy Joyous Hanukkah

Live from Levon Helm Studios: A Hanukkah Holiday Concert (Eden Sky)

Nefesh Mountain- I Shall Be Released

Live from Levon Helm Studios: A Hanukkah Holiday Concert (Eden Sky)

The Klezmatics & Susan McKeown- The Many and the Few

Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah (Jewish Music Group)

Shelley Posen with Finest Kind- On Chanukah 

Mazel (Well Done Music)

Short Sisters- My Candles 

A Planet Dancing Slow (Black Socks Press)

Finjan- Haneros Haluli

Dancing on Water (Rounder)

Shelley Posen- The La-La-Latke Song 

Manna (Well Done Music)

Socalled with The Kaiser Quartett- Drei Dreidl

Di Frosh and other Yiddish Songs (Membran)

Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars featuring Michael “Meyshke” Alpet & Sarah Gordon- Topz (Sevivon)

Chronika (Borscht Beat) 

SONiA disappear fear- Light in You

By My Silence (Disappear)

Next week: A Christmas Concert with Odetta and More Songs for the Holiday.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – December 9, 2025: The Dark

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/73159.html

Theme: The Dark.

This time of year – the weeks leading to the winter solstice – is the darkest time of the year. As well, with the erosion of democracy and human rights, the spread of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia and homophobia, ongoing wars and the waning belief in proven science typified by climate change denial and vaccine conspiracy theories, we are living in dark times. So, these songs all relate in some way or another to the dark.

Guy Clark- The Dark

The Dark (Sugar Hill)

Steel Rail- Darkest Night

Coming Home (Crossties)

Kate Campbell- Dark Night of the Soul

For the Living of These Days (Large River Music)

Slaid Cleaves- Through the Dark

Together Through the Dark (Candy House Music)

Ana Egge- Ready for the Darkness

Sharing in the Spirit (StorySound)

Arlo Guthrie- Darkest Hour

Amigo (Rising Son)

Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris- In My Hour of Darkness

Grievous Angel (Reprise)

Tuba Sknny- Echo in the Dark

Some Kind-a-Shake (Tuba Sknny)

Eliza Gilkyson- Dark Ages

Dark Ages (Realiza)

Caroline Doctorow- Children of Darkness

Another Country: The Songs of Mimi and Richard Fariña (Narrow Lane)

Eric Andersen- Darkness

Eric Andersen in (Spoken) Pieces (EARecords)

Leonard Cohen with Cantor Gideon Zelermyer & The Shaar Hashomayim Choir- You Want It Darker 

You Want It Darker (Columbia)

Chris Rusin & Katie Wise- The Dark

Songs from a Secret Room (Rushing River)

Michael Jerome Browne- The Road is Dark

The Road is Dark (Borealis)

Clela Errington- Full Moon Dark Time

Walkin’ Each Other Home (Clela Errington)

Tom Russell- Darkness Visible

Blood and Candle Smoke (Shout! Factory)

Jamie Anderson- Run to the Darkness

The Truth Appears (Tsunami)

Johnny Cash- I See a Darkness

American III: Solitary Man (American)

Rob Lutes- Walk in the Dark

Walk in the Dark (Lucky Bear)

Carrie Newcomer- Singing in the Dark

A Great Wild Mercy (Available Light)

Chris Rawlings- Lifting the Darkness 

Two Sides to Your Story (Cookingfat Music)

Dave Clarke- In the Falling Dark

The Healing Garden (Crossties)

Next week: A Hanukkah Concert with Nefesh Mountain and More Songs for the Holiday.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – December 2, 2025: Many Rivers to Cross

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/73081.html

Theme: Many Rivers to Cross.

Jimmy Cliff- Many Rivers to Cross

The Harder They Come (Island)

Veronneau- River

Blue Tapestry (Antidote Sounds)

Tom Russell- Down the Rio Grande

Borderland (HighTone)

Kurt Anderson- Kern River

Life on Interstate 40 (Riverlark Music) 

Ronney Abramson- Purify My River

Ronney Abramson (Capitol)

J.P. Cormier- Long River

The Long River: A Personal Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot (Flash Publishing)

Steve Gillette- That Song About the River

Best of (Compass Rose) 

Steel Rail- Flow River Flow

Coming Home (Crossties)

James Keelaghan- Sweet Thames Flow Softly

A Few Simple Verses (Jericho Beach Music)

Tamarack- The Grand River Canal

On the Grand: The Story of a River (Folk Era)

William Pint & Felicia Dale- The Essakeeba River (Essequibo River)

Hearts of Gold (Waterbug)

Peter, Paul & Mary- Bamboo (River Come Down) 

Peter, Paul and Mary (Warner Bros.)

Happy Traum- Boat’s Up the River

Relax Your Mind (Kicking Mule)

Sean Gagnier- Big River

Circle Harbor (Sean Gagnier)

Sheesham & Lotus & ‘Son- Mississippi River Blues

The High Stepping Music of Sheesham & Lotus & ‘Son (Sepiaphone)

Leon Bibb- Ol’ Man River

Praising Peace: A Tribute to Paul Robeson (Stony Plain)

Jane Siberry- O Shenandoah

Hush (Sheba)

Bill Staines- So Sang the River

One More River (Red House)

Tom Paxton- Deep Fork River

How Come the Sun/Tom Paxton EP (BGO)

Eliza Gilkyson- Before the Great River was Tamed

Songs From the River Wind (Howlin’ Dog)

Mia Kelly- Kitchissippi

Garden Through the War (Mia Kelly)

The Persuasions- Black Muddy River

Might as Well: The Persuasions Sing Grateful Dead (Grateful Dead)

Mason Daring & Jeanie Stahl- River

Recordings Celebrating 50 Years of a Musical Partnership (Mason Daring & Jeanie Stahl)

Next week: The Dark.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – November 25, 2025: If It Wasn’t for the Work of the Weavers

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/72951.html

Theme: If It Wasn’t for the Work of the Weavers.

The Weavers – who came together in 1948 – were Pete Seeger (1919-2014) and Lee Hays (1914-1981), who had sung together earlier in The Almanac Singers, Ronnie Gilbert (1926-2015) and Fred Hellerman (1927-2016). Despite being victims of the McCarthy Era blacklist, The Weavers were the folk group that inspired The Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul & Mary, and all the other folk groups of the 1950s and ‘60s who fueled the folk boom. Pete left the group in 1958 and was replaced by Erik Darling (1933-2008) for four years, and then briefly by Frank Hamilton (1934-) and Bernie Krause (1938-) before disbanding in 1964. The original Weavers continued to come together occasionally – most notably in 1963 and 1980 – for reunion concerts.

The Weavers- Kisses Sweeter Than Wine

The Weavers at Carnegie Hall (Vanguard)

Bruce Springsteen & The Sessions Band- When the Saints Go Marching In

Live in Dublin (Columbia)

The Travellers- Lonesome Traveller

The Travellers 1960-1966: This Land is Your Land (Sony)

The Balladeers- Darlin’ Corey

It’s About Time (The Balladeers)

The Weavers- Erie Canal

Traveling On with The Weavers (Vanguard)

Peter, Paul & Mary- If I Had a Hammer

Peter Paul and Mary (Warner Bros.)

Chaim Tannenbaum, Dane Lanken, Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Dig My Grave

The McGarrigle Hour (Hannibal)

The Wainwright Sisters- Go Tell Aunt Rhody

Songs in the Dark (MapleMusic)

The Weavers- Wasn’t That a Time

The Weavers On Tour (Vanguard)

Kim & Reggie Harris- Follow the Drinking Gourd

Steal Away: Songs of the Underground Railroad (Appleseed)

John McCutcheon with Finest Kind- Die Gedanken Sind Frei

To Everyone in All the World: A Celebration of Pete Seeger (Appalsongs)

Perla Batalla- Guantanamera

Discoteca Batalla (Mechuda Music)

Weavermania- Wimoweh

Live (Depot)

Bruce Cockburn- Twelve Gates to the City

Bone on Bone (True North)

Arlo Guthrie- Run Come See Jerusalem

Precious Friend (Warner Bros.)

The Weavers- Wreck of the “John B”

The Weavers On Tour (Vanguard)

Lead Belly- Old Riley

Where Did You Sleep Last Night: Lead Belly Legacy, Vol. 1 (Smithsonian Folkways)

The Wailin' Jennys- Bring Me Little Water Sylvie 

Live at The Mauch Chunk Opera House (Outside Music)

Long John Baldry- Rock Island Line

Remembering Leadbelly (Stony Plain)

Odetta- Midnight Special

Lookin’ for a Home: Thanks to Leadbelly (M.C.)

The Weavers- Goodnight Irene

The Weavers at Carnegie Hall (Vanguard)

Woody Guthrie- Jackhammer John

Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection (Smithsonian Folkways)

Ramblin' Jack Elliott- Hard, Ain’t Hard

Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard)

James Talley- The Sinking of the Reuben James

Woody Guthrie and Songs of My Oklahoma Home (Cimarron)

Work O' The Weavers- Roll On, Columbia

Live in Concert (WorldWind)

The Weavers- So Long, It’s Been Good to Know Yuh

Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard)

The Weavers- Michael Row the Boat Ashore

The Weavers On Tour (Vanguard)

Next week: Many Rivers to Cross.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – November 18, 2025: Toms, Dicks and Harrys

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/72868.html

Theme: Toms, Dicks and Harrys.

Tom Paley- Hello Stranger

Beware Young Ladies (Gravitational)

Dick Annegarn- Worried Man Blues

Folk Talk (tôt Ou tard)

Harry Manx- Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues

Live at the Glenn Gould Studio (Dog My Cat)

Tom Russell & Mike Regenstreif (2018)

Tom Russell- Into the Wild

Mount Olive (Frontera)

Dick Curless- Rovin’ Gambler

Don’t Fence Me In: The Early Recordings 1956-1960 (Jasmine)

Harry Belafonte- Jamaica Farewell

Belafonte at Carnegie Hall (RCA)

Tom Northcott- Dance Me to the End of Love

Joyful Songs of Leonard Cohen (Full Circle)

Last Forever (Dick Connette & Sonya Cohen)- Buddy’s Blues

No Place Like Home/Last Forever (2nd Story Sound)

Harry Chapin- Cat’s in the Cradle

Story of a Life (Elektra/Rhino)

Tom Chapin- Broadside

Hold Our Ground (Sundance Music)

Dick Nolan- Maritime Farewell

Best of Dick Nolan (Sony BMG)

Harry Nilsson- Everybody’s Talkin’

Personal Best: The Harry Nilsson Anthology (RCA)

Mike Regenstreif & Tom Paxton (2009)

Tom Paxton- Central Square

Redemption Road (Pax)

Dick Weissman- Banjo in the Mist

No Ceiling (Dick Weissman)

Harry Tuft- Sweet Substitute

Across the Blue Mountains (Folk-Legacy)

Tom Mitchell & Mike Regenstreif (1999)

Tom Mitchell- Wasted Rose

Tom Mitchell (Philo)

Dick Hyman- The Entertainer

Scott Joplin: Greatest Hits (RCA)

Harry Connick, Jr.- You’re Sensational

True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter (Verve)

Tom Rush- San Francisco Bay Blues

Blues, Songs and Ballads (Fantasy)

Dick Justice- Old Black Dog

The Rough Guide to Ragtime Blues (World Music Network)

David Johansen & The Harry Smiths- Richland Woman

David Johansen and the Harry Smiths (Chesky)

Tom Waits- Martha

Closing Time (Elektra)

Harry Van Walls (AKA Van “Piano Man” Walls)- Tee Nah Nah

Atlantic Rhythm and Blues 1947-1974: Volume 1 1947-1952 (Atlantic)

Next week: If It Wasn’t for the Work of the Weavers.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – November 11, 2025: Remembrance Day; Remembering Archie Fisher

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/72781.html

Themes: Part 1 – Remembrance Day; Part 2 – Remembering Archie Fisher (1939-2025).

Part 1 – Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day, the anniversary of the end of the First World War in 1918, is observed annually in Canada on November 11.

Garnet Rogers- 11:11

Sparrow’s Wing (Snow Goose Songs)

Eric Bogle- In Flanders Fields 

A Toss of the Coin (Greentrax)

Jimmy Rankin- Missing at the Somme

Harvest Highway (Song Dog Music/Linus)

Bobby Watt- Remembrance Day/Flowers of the Forest

Watt Next? (Glenashdale Music)

Priscilla Herdman- No Man’s Land 

Forgotten Dreams (Flying Fish)

Mason Daring- The Great War

The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century (Daring)

Part 2 – Remembering Archie Fisher (1939-2025)

Archie Fisher, who died on November First at age 86 from lung cancer, was one of Scotland’s greatest and most influential interpreters of traditional and contemporary folk songs and a great songwriter whose original material was decidedly in the tradition. He was also a folk music radio host for many years on the BBC.

Archie Fisher- Reynardine

Archie Fisher (XTRA)

Andrew & Casey Calhoun- Open the Door Softly

Skeins (Waterbug)

Small Potatoes- The Terror Time

Time Flies (Folk Era)

Archie Fisher- Farewell She

Archie Fisher (XTRA)

Eva Cassidy- Dark Eyed Molly

American Tune (Blix Street)

Stan Rogers- The Witch of the Westmorland

Between the Breaks…Live! (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)

Maria Dunn- Jock Stewart

Gathering (Distant Whisper)

Red Horse (John Gorka, Eliza Gilkyson & Lucy Kaplansky)- Coshieville

Red Horse (Red House)

Archie Fisher- South Wind

The Man with a Rhyme (Folk-Legacy)

Archie Fisher & Garnet Rogers- Borderland

Off the Map (Snow Goose Songs)

Archie Fisher- Gunsmoke & Whisky

Sunsets I’ve Galloped Into… (Snow Goose Songs)

Archie Fisher & Garnet Rogers- Make and Break Harbour

The Best Times After All: Live (Snow Goose Songs)

Archie Fisher & Garnet Rogers- The Final Trawl

The Best Times After All: Live (Snow Goose Songs)

Bill Staines- Bill Hosie

Looking for the Wind (Red House)

Archie Fisher- Windward Away

Windward Away (Red House)

Archie Fisher- The Parting Glass

A Silent Song (Red House)

Next week: Toms, Dicks and Harrys.

--Mike Regenstreif