The Mulberry Tree

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...

07/16/2025

Hello,

I’ll primarily be focusing on songwriters and their offerings for this Sunday’s program, airing on July 20. Included in the list below is The Cactus Blossoms who perform this week’s sneak peek playlist video with “You’re Dreaming” which is part of their collection of the same name. Grateful to KDHX in St. Louis for making this video possible. As a side note, KDHX was a beloved community radio station in that city for decades. KDHX provided a myriad of music genres for all to enjoy, including live performances, one of which is this week’s video. Sadly, the station was sold but the memories remain.
Please enjoy the video and I’ll meet you around the tree Sunday evening at 9 pm with:
James Taylor
Kathleen Edwards
Willis Alan Ramsey- 2 tracks
Big Smith
The Shandies
Barak Hill
My Politic
Judy Collins, Jonas Fjeld and Chatham County Line
The Lonesome Heroes
Zach & Maggie
Josh Ritter – 2 tracks
The Cactus Blossoms
Carly Simon

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 Cactus Blossoms perform You're Dreaming live at the 88.1 KDHX Studios in St. Louis, June 17, 2016. Hosted by Jeff Corbin for The Back Country. Audio by J...

07/09/2025

Hello,

I’ll meet you around The Mulberry this Sunday, July 13 so we can enjoy my one-hour playlist of songs I chose just for you. Variety is the theme for Sunday evening, I’ve even thrown in a couple of incredible covers of songs written by the late Merle Haggard. I’m always fascinated with the spin that musicians put on a sometimes well-known song. It’s a big risk to take, but I believe you’ll really enjoy the selections I made.

Speaking of those Merle Haggard covers, let’s enjoy Dave Alvin with this week’s sneak peek playlist video as he puts his mark on “Kern River,” a song Merle wrote about a place he visited near his hometown of Bakersfield, California. Kern River was an actual place of solace and reflection for him, but also ended up being the site he chose to name as the place where a fictional tragedy occurs as the song lyrics describe. Dave Alvin does a great job on the song, which is found on a collection titled “Tulare Dust: A Songwriters' Tribute to Merle Haggard.” Dave has such a unique deep voice, which pairs so well with Merle's song. See what you think. Meet you around the tree with:

Emmylou Harris
Arnold McCuller
Rebecca Folsom
Mark Brown
Jason Isbell
Tish Hinojosa with Peter Rowan
Suzy Bogguss
Dave Alvin
Rhiannon Giddens
Alan Rhody with Maura O’Connell
Richard Shindell
Cave States
Zach Madden
Jake Shimubukuro
Ali Matthews

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

Dave Alvin plays Merle Haggard's "Kern River" from his tribute album to California songwriters, West of the West, for Sawyer Sessions. Grab West of the West ...

07/02/2025

Hello,

I would enjoy your company around The Mulberry Tree this Sunday, July 6 when I bring you an assortment of singer-songwriters and musicians in a playlist that will get our minds right for the week ahead. This week’s sneak peek playlist video features Steve Earle with “Love’s Gonna Blow My Way.” That song is included in Steve’s collection titled “The Low Highway.” Enjoy the video, and I’ll meet you around the tree Sunday with:

Keb Mo
Dan Cunningham
Joni Mitchell
Eric Bibb
Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway
Sari Andersen
James Taylor
Robert Earl Keen
Shelby Lynne
Steve Earle & the Dukes – 2 tracks
Dar Williams
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Patty Griffin
Danny Carter and Friends

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

Steve Earle and The Dukes - "Love Is Gonna Blow My Way" (eTown webisode #439)Subscribe To Our Weekly Podcast:Apple Music: http://bit.ly/eTown_PodSpotify: htt...

06/25/2025

Hello,

I have a very special program for us this Sunday, June 29. The first three-fourths of this edition of The Mulberry Tree will be an encore from September 18, 2010 when Larry Lee co-hosted with me. Toward the end of the program on Sunday, I will have a nice sendoff for Larry, who passed away on May 10 of this year. He was a founding member of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, a member of the Vinyl Kings, Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Re**er Band, and most recently, The HigLeeWils. Larry was an extremely successful songwriter and producer. To highlight his contributions to the music community, my program features tracks from albums that Larry produced while living in Nashville and Ozark, and some of Larry’s original songs. He introduces those tracks in his own words. I hope you will join me in keeping Larry’s spirit alive through his music.
There is no sneak peek playlist video this week. Instead, I offer up a photograph of Larry’s last band, The HigLeeWils trio (myself, Larry, and David Wilson). We made real fine music together, elevated each others' songs, and I am grateful for having that experience with two extraordinary musicians. Please join me around the tree with:

Danny Carter
Wil Maring & Robert Bowlin
Sally Barris – 2 tracks
Hugh Prestwood
Richard Leigh
Juice Newton
Larry Lee – 3 tracks
The HigLeeWils

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

06/18/2025

Hello,

It will be so good to gather with all of you around The Mulberry Tree this Sunday, June 22. We have a whole summer ahead of us now that it has arrived officially. I put together an hour of music for us where we can just kick back and enjoy the season. I prepared a playlist that has a wide variety of styles and arrangements, tempo and harmony. Please join me and the fine musicians and songwriters listed below. In the meantime enjoy this week’s sneak peek playlist video featuring The Riverside performing their song “Settlements” from their collection “Through Frontiers and Unlit Mines.” Meet you around the tree with:

Gordon Lightfoot
Punch Brothers
Mick McAuley & Winifred Horan
Lyle Lovett
Avett Brothers
Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch & Fats Kaplin
The Riverside
Allison Russell and Brandi Carlile
Redbird
Sara Jarosz
Son Volt
David Gray
Trout Fishing in America
Jay Ungar and Molly Mason

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

Anger has a way of building up around our hearts and after a good while causes us to struggle to hold ourselves and our relationships together.At times it fe...

06/13/2025

Hello,

It’s time for my annual acknowledgement of Father’s Day, and the arrival of summer. Summer solstice this year falls on June 20 at 9:41 pm. It’s my hope you can be outside that evening and see some fireflies. For this week’s sneak peek playlist video, you’ll have the pleasure to listen to and watch Lori McKenna perform “When You’re My Age” from her album “The Balladeer” released just a few years ago. Please join me around the tree this Sunday, June 15 at 9 pm with:

John and Jamie Hartford
Leon and Eric Bibb
Cat Stevens
Lori McKenna
John Prine
Amy Speace
Tim and Mollie O’Brien
Dennis Warner
Gillian Welch
Sky Smeed
Erica Wheeler
Marideth Sisco and Mary Alexander
Jay Ungar, Molly Mason

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

Lori McKenna - When You're My Age (Official Video)New single "When You're My Age" by Lori McKenna off her upcoming album, The Balladeer. Available everywhere...