Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations

Don’t be Hindered

Local musician Angelica Garcia is only one of the great musicians you'll hear on this week's World Music Show. (Photo: Crixell Mathews/VPM)

I’m going to keep this short and sweet, even though many of us have plenty of time to dive into things such as longer reads. But, sometimes I find it easier just to dive in and get it done.

In the first hour, we’ll have a few “twofers” as they say in radio lingo, from a few amazing musicians, starting off with RVA’s adopted hero Angelica Garcia. Her new album “Cha Cha Palace,” is an incredible journey into an artist who is ready to tell her story of what it’s like to be a Latinx woman in the age of Trump. 

In a 180-twist in terms of genres or style, we’ll hear a “twofer” from Dan & Claudia Zanes. You may know Dan Zanes as a kid’s musician who plays a mix of American folk or Americana with a mix of world beats. Or you may remember him as the leader of the 80s band Del Fuegos. In any way you know him, or don’t, he’s an incredibly talented musician and musical historian. Like many of us, he’s been living at home for a few weeks. 

To pass the time and spread good cheer, he and Claudia, have been posting a daily music video on their Instagram page called “Social Isolation Songs.” The couple pull songs from all over the place (and even do one while Claudia cuts his grey mop of hair). 

Now for other duos of music, you can’t really call the rest “twofers,” because they’re not songs from the same artists. But they are off the same collections, mostly they’re culled from the Putumayo catalog. We’ll hear some fun kids music (paired with those two Dan Zanes songs), including one from Johnny Dread; as well some groove music, including one from Organic Grooves; and in hour two, some tracks off their Gardens of Eden CD. 

New music won’t be forgotten this week. We’ll check out a new song from Cheo, who was part of the Latin band Los Amigos Invisibles as well as a member of the band Los Crema Paraiso. 

If “twofer” was a theme in hour one, in the second hour, I’ve created a chunk o’ love, as in a set of love songs. We’ll hear from KoKoKo, Mr. Pauer, Moken and Bob Marley--all to remind us that Love is all we need or that it greatly helps us through tough times. 

Added to Love, we’ll also dip into a theme of Riddem, with songs from Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers and Michael Franti and Spearhead, as well as another “twofer” (I forgot, there were two more) from The English Beat

Not anchored to any theme but still fun and mixed in throughout the show will be tracks from Latin Playboys, Bomba Estereo, the 70s Highlife band Super Eagles, some classic Ska from Nicky Thomas, some Latin rock from Diamente Electrico and a great track from Joe Strummer called “Global a Go-Go.” 

The World Music Show hits the airwaves on 93.1 or 107.3FM on VPM Music in the Richmond, Va region. And it can be streamed via this website, where you can also check out live, streaming track listings. 

Follow me on Twitter @VPM_IanStewart and on Facebook at The World Music Show on

 

Ian M. Stewart is the transportation reporter and fill-in anchor for VPM News.