The Mulberry Tree

10/29/2025

Hello,

Let’s enjoy an hour of songwriters and musicians who created music that somehow fit together just perfectly to create a Sunday evening mood. This program will air this coming Sunday, November 2. You’ll notice that the Haden Triplets are in the lineup, and that’s who is featured in this week’s sneak peek playlist video. The Haden Triplets are indeed triplets! They are the daughters of the late legendary double bassist Charlie Haden. You’ll see and hear just how perfectly the girls inherited music genes from their father. Also featured in the video is the triplets’ brother and Charlie’s son Josh, also a bassist and who obviously was graced with those music genes. Josh heads up the group Spain. I’ll meet you around the tree with:

Rosanne Cash
John and Jamie Hartford
Arlo Guthrie
Jakob Dylan
AJ Croce
Rufus Wainwright
Holly Williams
Tommy Prine
Air Loom
Melinda Mullins
The Haden Triplets
Eliza Gilkyson
Norah Jones
Sally and Ben Taylor
Emily Higgins (feat. Molly Healey)

The Mulberry Tree airs on Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. CST on KSMU 91.1 FM, Springfield Missouri's NPR affiliate station, and also at the following locations: Branson - 90.5, West Plains - 90.3, Mountain Grove - 88.7 Joplin - 98.9 and Neosho - 103.7. AND we also stream live at ksmu.org.
Meet you on the airwaves!
Emily

Petra, Rachel and Tanya Haden are three sisters in love with the art of singing. Born in 1971 to a famous musical father (Charlie Haden is a world-class upri...

10/22/2025

Hello,

I will start The Mulberry Tree this Sunday, October 26 with a nod to Halloween, then the remainder of the show will be focused on singer-songwriters. It’s good to be back with all of you after taking a few weeks to move. Below are the musicians and songwriters scheduled for this Sunday’s program. Included in the list is the Wailin’ Jennys who perform this week’s sneak peek playlist video with “Devil’s Paintbrush Road,” a Halloween favorite of mine! Enjoy the video and I’ll meet you around the tree with:

Jason Wilber
Amy Speace
My Politic
Wailin’ Jennys
Court Yard Hounds with Jakob Dylan
Judy Collins
Honey Dewdrops
Emmylou Harris
Robert Earl Keen Jr.
Suzy Bogguss
Jack Williams
Ray Bonneville
The Creek Rocks
Brandon Moore with Marcus Chatman
Ilace Mears

The Mulberry Tree airs on Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. CST on KSMU 91.1 FM, Springfield Missouri's NPR affiliate station, and also at the following locations: Branson - 90.5, West Plains - 90.3, Mountain Grove - 88.7 Joplin - 98.9 and Neosho - 103.7. AND we also stream live at ksmu.org.
Meet you on the airwaves!
Emily


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg5Ap_ZIYdg

The Wailin' Jennys at the 2006 Pickathon Roots Music Festival (www.pickathon.com) at Pendarvis Farm in Portland Oregon - Aug. 5th

09/28/2025

Hello,

For the next four episodes of The Mulberry Tree while I am on break, you will hear an encore four-part series with songs about each state in the United States. It seemed like a good time to unite us all in song. Since this series aired previously, I have made a few new song selections and tightened things up a bit. I think you’ll really enjoy every single song.
There is no sneak peek playlist video this week, but listed below are the musicians and songwriters who are occupying a seat around the tree for the next four weeks, in the order in which they will be heard. I’ll be tuning in along with you while I’m out on my adventure, so I’ll meet you around the tree with:

Jason Isbell
Livingston Taylor
Jeffrey Foucault
Lyal Strickland
Joni Mitchell
Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Shoregrass
The Duhks
Doc Watson and David Grisman
Eva Cassidy
Steve Forbert and the Rough Squirrels
Josh Ritter
Chad Elliott
Fred Stoneking
Tony Furtado
Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Melinda Mullins
Jesse Wi******er
Ellis Paul
Vonda Shepard
Arlo Guthrie
The Milk Carton Kids
Eddie from Ohio
Eric Weiler
Wil Maring
Kasey Rausch
Robin and Linda Williams
Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky, Dar Williams
Chad Elliott
Red Clay Ramblers
Bruce Springsteen
Rosalie Sorrels
Anne Hills
John Gorka
Roy Rogers
Simon & Garfunkel
John Hartford
Lyle Lovett with Rickie Lee Jones
Gillian Welch
Jimmy Lafave
Woody Guthrie
Dakota Jay
John Fahey
Louis Weeks
Ross Moore
The Floorbirds
Doc Watson
Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt
Rosalie Sorrels
Vance Gilbert
Justin Townes Earle
Steve and Kristi Nebel
Mollie O’Brien and Rich Moore
Cedarwell
Bill Staines
Brewer and Shipley
Mark O’Connor
El McMeen

The Mulberry Tree airs on Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. CST on KSMU 91.1 FM, Springfield Missouri's NPR affiliate station, and also at the following locations: Branson - 90.5, West Plains - 90.3, Mountain Grove - 88.7 Joplin - 98.9 and Neosho - 103.7. AND we also stream live at ksmu.org.
Meet you on the airwaves!
Emily

09/17/2025

Hello,

It will be both exciting and bittersweet to share my playlist with you this coming Sunday, September 21 on The Mulberry Tree. For this Sunday’s edition, I bid farewell to my home in the country to return to the city limits of Springfield. It’s been quite a happening in my life, and I wanted to share with you some of the highlights of the past seven years through song. Included in the list below is Tim Grimm and the Family Band who perform this week’s sneak peek playlist video with “Finding Home,” a song that’s part of the collection “A Stranger in this Time.”
NOTE: Since I'll be busy relocating the next several weeks, you can enjoy encore editions of The Mulberry Tree on Sundays, September 28-October 19.
Meanwhile, enjoy the video, and join me and the following songwriters and musicians for a special hour of music this Sunday:

Tim and Mollie O’Brien
Emmylou Harris
John Prine
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Hal Ketchum
Kate Wolf
Rain Perry
Wailin’ Jennys
Tim Grimm and the Family Band
Kevin Welch
Growling Old Men – 2 tracks
Jimmy LaFave
The Sandroids

The Mulberry Tree airs on Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. CST on KSMU 91.1 FM, Springfield Missouri's NPR affiliate station, and also at the following locations: Branson - 90.5, West Plains - 90.3, Mountain Grove - 88.7 Joplin - 98.9 and Neosho - 103.7. AND we also stream live at ksmu.org.

Meet you on the airwaves!
Emily

TIm Grimm Family Band "Finding Home" @ Meneer Frits Einhoven 15-5-2017

09/10/2025

Hello,

I’ve got the perfect lineup for a Sunday evening on September 14. I always strive to give you a good listening experience and a wide variety of sounds. Hope you like this Sunday’s show. In the lineup below you will see Elephant Revival who performs this week’s sneak peek playlist video with “Grace of a Woman,” composed by Daniel Rodriguez. Enjoy the video and I’ll meet you around the tree with:

Darden Smith
Brandi Carlile
JD Souther
Kevin Welch
Marideth Sisco
Austin Terry
Nanci Griffith
Steve Earle
Bob Schneider feat. Patty Griffin
Elephant Revival
Amy Helm
Chad Elliott
Eastmountainsouth
Mark O’Connor

The Mulberry Tree airs on Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. CST on KSMU 91.1 FM, Springfield Missouri's NPR affiliate station, and also at the following locations: Branson - 90.5, West Plains - 90.3, Mountain Grove - 88.7 Joplin - 98.9 and Neosho - 103.7. AND we also stream live at ksmu.org.
Meet you on the airwaves!
Emily

Elephant Revival performing "Grace Of A Woman" at Music City Roots live from the Loveless Cafe on 9.19.2013

09/03/2025

Hello,

Let’s get together around The Mulberry Tree this Sunday evening, September 7 to spend an hour with songwriters and their musical creations. The first set of the hour will be eight songs long and focus on the theme of kindness. It will be great to be there with you. During this Sunday’s program, you will hear Natalie Merchant perform “Kind and Generous” which is part of her album “Ophelia.” You can enjoy Natalie’s song even more by simply watching this week’s sneak peek playlist video. I will meet you around the tree with:

Cliff Eberhardt
Patty Griffin
Natalie Merchant
Buffalo Springfield
Emmylou Harris
Amy Speace
Randy Newman
Jesse Colin Young
Keb Mo
Steve Young
Kate Campbell
Andy Mann
David Crosby
Greenwood Rye

The Mulberry Tree airs on Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. CST on KSMU 91.1 FM, Springfield Missouri's NPR affiliate station, and also at the following locations: Branson - 90.5, West Plains - 90.3, Mountain Grove - 88.7 Joplin - 98.9 and Neosho - 103.7. AND we also stream live at ksmu.org.
Meet you on the airwaves!
Emily

Music video directed by Mark Seliger and Fred Woodward.

08/27/2025

Hello,

Please join me around The Mulberry Tree this Sunday, August 31 so we can enjoy a playlist that includes 50% local and regional songwriters. It will be great to have you there with me, as usual. This week’s sneak peek playlist video features songwriter Sky Smeed with “Won’t Go to Work” which is a track that’s included on his self-titled album. That song is part of a four-song set where I will acknowledge the fact that it’s Labor Day weekend. In the video, you’ll also see Barak Hill sitting on stage. That’s a nice coincidence as Barak also contributes two songs for this Sunday’s playlist. Enjoy the video, and I’ll meet you around the tree with:

Joe Dillstrom – 2 tracks
Sara Hickman
Growling Old Men
Barak Hill – 2 tracks
Cindy Woolf
Chris Williamson, Tret Fure
Sky Smeed
Eugene Wolf, Mitya Kuznetsov
Chris Smither
Eddie Brown
k.d lang – 2 tracks
Chet Atkins, Les Paul

The Mulberry Tree airs on Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. CST on KSMU 91.1 FM, Springfield Missouri's NPR affiliate station, and also at the following locations: Branson - 90.5, West Plains - 90.3, Mountain Grove - 88.7 Joplin - 98.9 and Neosho - 103.7. AND we also stream live at ksmu.org.

Meet you on the airwaves!
Emily

Sky Smeed "Won't Go to work" Live at Knuckleheads Saloon. Filmed by Rick Groom at MidCoastLiveStream.

08/20/2025

Hello,

I’ll have a variety of songwriters lined up for us to listen to this Sunday, August 24 on The Mulberry Tree. This week’s sneak peek playlist video features Sarah Jarosz performing “Take Me Back” from her album “Undercurrent.” It’s a beautiful song, and Sarah’s trio delivers it perfectly and simply. Enjoy the video and I’ll meet you around the tree with:

Eliza Gilkyson
Tom Kimmel
Ben Harper with Jack Johnson
Neil Young
Tim O’Brien
Kim Richey
Williie Nelson with Sinaed O’Connor
Tommy Emmanuel and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Valerie June
Sarah Jarosz
Brian Capps
Rodriguez – 2 tracks
The Band
Shannon Stine

The Mulberry Tree airs on Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. CST on KSMU 91.1 FM, Springfield Missouri's NPR affiliate station, and also at the following locations: Branson - 90.5, West Plains - 90.3, Mountain Grove - 88.7 Joplin - 98.9 and Neosho - 103.7. AND we also stream live at ksmu.org.

Meet you on the airwaves!
Emily

When Sarah Jarosz came through Seattle, we were lucky enough to film her and her band backstage at the Neptune Theater. The tune she performed for us – “Take...

08/13/2025

Hello,

This Sunday, August 17 on The Mulberry Tree we’ll get to sit together to enjoy an hour of songwriters. In my list of songwriters and musicians below, you’ll see Three Tall Pines who perform this week’s sneak peek playlist video with “Stone Walls” which is included in their collection “Short While Ago.” Enjoy the video and I’ll meet you around the tree with:

Richard Shindell – 2 tracks
Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler
Ben Bullington
The Duhks
Gloria Attoun
Three Tall Pines
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Red Molly
Jakob Dylan
Eliza Gilkyson
James Taylor
Nickel Creek
100 Mile House

The Mulberry Tree airs on Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. CST on KSMU 91.1 FM, Springfield Missouri's NPR affiliate station, and also at the following locations: Branson - 90.5, West Plains - 90.3, Mountain Grove - 88.7 Joplin - 98.9 and Neosho - 103.7. AND we also stream live at ksmu.org.

Meet you on the airwaves!
Emily

Three Tall Pines performs at the Strawberry Park Bluegrass Festival, Preston, Conn., on June 2, 2013. For more information about Three Tall Pines, visit http...

08/09/2025

Hello,

I’ve got a brand new edition of The Mulberry Tree ready for us to enjoy together this Sunday evening, August 10. My first set of four tracks will be extra special as it showcases the talents of multi-instrumentalist Cindy Cashdollar. Cindy provides lap steel and pedal steel on each track in the first set and you can really hear how she enriches each song. For this week’s sneak peek playlist video, I looked a bit further down the list below to find the Wailin Jennys, who perform band member Nicky Mehta’s song “Arlington” from their collection “40 Days.” It’s an exquisite song and showcases their perfect three-part harmonies quite amazingly. Enjoy the video and I’ll meet you around the tree with:

RJ Cowdery – 2 tracks
Eliza Gilkyson
Cindy Cashdollar
Rosanne Cash
The Undergrass Boys
Karla Bonoff
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band feat. John Denver
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band & Friends
Wailin’ Jennys
Betsey Mae
The Northwoods
Christopher McMahon
Alan Munde

The Mulberry Tree airs on Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. CST on KSMU 91.1 FM, Springfield Missouri's NPR affiliate station, and also at the following locations: Branson - 90.5, West Plains - 90.3, Mountain Grove - 88.7 Joplin - 98.9 and Neosho - 103.7. AND we also stream live at ksmu.org.

Meet you on the airwaves!
Emily

The Wailin' Jennys - Live at Boulder Theater, Boulder, CO - November 20, 2017

07/30/2025

Hello,

This Sunday, August 3 on The Mulberry Tree we will take an hour to hear a variety of songwriter selections. It all seemed to flow very well and I think you will enjoy the ride. This week’s sneak peek playlist video is the extremely talented Brandi Carlile with “Wasted,” a song you can find on Brandi’s collection “The Story.” Enjoy the video and I’ll meet you around the tree with:

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell
Brandi Carlile
Greg Brown
Kris Delmhorst
John Prine
Sky Smeed
The Creek Rocks
Tim Grimm and the Family Band
Lori McKenna
Gregory Alan Isakov
Tyler Childers
Shawn Colvin
The Cactus Blossoms – 2 tracks
Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins
Barb Barton

The Mulberry Tree airs on Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. CST on KSMU 91.1 FM, Springfield Missouri's NPR affiliate station, and also at the following locations: Branson - 90.5, West Plains - 90.3, Mountain Grove - 88.7 Joplin - 98.9 and Neosho - 103.7. AND we also stream live at ksmu.org.

Meet you on the airwaves!
Emily

The Fox Theater. Atlanta, GA. 30 Apr 2016.

07/23/2025

Hello,

On The Mulberry Tree this Sunday, July 27, I will spend the first few songs of the hour bidding adieu to the month of July. After that we’ll enjoy a great selection of various songwriters and musicians. I know you’ll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you.
This week’s sneak peek playlist video features John Prine performing “Clay Pigeons” from his collection “Fair and Square.” John Prine rarely covered other songwriters’ tunes, but in this case, he tapped into the library of Blaze Foley and came up with that special song. Meet you around the tree with:

Ray Bonneville
John Prine – 4 tracks
Del Barber
Geoff Bartley
Kevin Faherty
Carlene Carter
David Gilmour
Tommy Prine
Jerry Garcia & David Grisman
Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg, Edgar Meyer

The Mulberry Tree airs on Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. CST on KSMU 91.1 FM, Springfield Missouri's NPR affiliate station, and also at the following locations: Branson - 90.5, West Plains - 90.3, Mountain Grove - 88.7 Joplin - 98.9 and Neosho - 103.7. AND we also stream live at ksmu.org.
Meet you on the airwaves!
Emily

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0TOuVVAwQI

Song begins at 1:20"Clay Pigeons" (written by Blaze Foley, first on Foley's 1989 Live At The Austin Outhouse (...And Not There) cassette, covered by John Pri...