On your radio February 1—Brooks Williams

Originally broadcast 4/10/16

“One of America’s musical treasures.”—Dirty Linen

Brooks Williams stands on tradition but he doesn’t stand still. His influences fly so fast and furious, they blur. Like drinking whiskey from a honey jar, you get both the sweet and the bite.

Born in Statesboro, Georgia (USA)—the town made famous by blues legend Blind Willie McTell’s song, Statesboro Blues—Brooks Williams got his start in the clubs and bars around New York and Boston. In 2013, the UK’s foremost roots-music mavens, Spiral Earth, nominated him best male vocalist. AmericanaUK says, “He has a beautiful voice that you just melt into.” He’s also one helluva good guitar player, ranked in the “Top 100 Acoustic Guitarists.” The San Antonio Light says that Williams is a “fret monster who has to be seen to be believed!”

With twenty-two albums to his name, including My Turn Now (2016) and Shreveport Sessions (2014), Williams’ music has featured on the BBC (UK), RTE (Ireland), CBC (Canada) and NPR (USA) and has charted on the FOLKDJ stations. WUMB-FM radio in Boston (USA) voted him one of their “Top 100 Artists.”

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On your radio February 8—
The New Cut Road String Band

Originally broadcast 12/8/2019

New Cut Road String Band is an old time string band that plays music from the southern Appalachian Mountains that became popular in this country from the mid-1920s through to the Great Depression. With John Hoffmann on fiddle, Steve Arkin on banjo, Jim Reidy on tenor guitar, Randi Beckmann on guitar, and Sally Freund on bass, they deliver fast and furious fiddle dance tunes as well as ballads that bring a tear to the eye.

John Hoffmann, the fiddler, played banjo for The Tompkins County Horseflies in the early 1980’s before he segued to fiddling. John has garnered a number of awards for his fiddle playing around the country.

Steve Arkin grew up in New York’s legendary Washington Square music scene, playing both old-time and bluegrass music in many bands. Bill Monroe said of him, “it takes backing to get that stuff going. Steve could play the best backup banjo I ever heard.”. Steve has won numerous banjo contests and has taught both bluegrass and old-time banjo. 

Randi Beckmann began her musical career playing classical flute and attended music school at Ithaca College. Randi happily switched to the Irish flute in the 1990’s and, after some arm-twisting, began playing Old Time backup piano and guitar. Her solid, powerful rhythm playing provides the groove to keep her rambunctious band mates in sync.

Sally Freund, the bass player, has become a trusted rhythm player on bass, guitar, triangle and scrub-board, backing up many of the great Old Time and Cajun/Zydeco musicians around western New York and beyond..

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Spring season of
Live Bound for Glory shows!

The new series of live Bound for Glory shows will be returning in January 2026 in our new venue—the Lansing Area Performance Hall. The shows are on the 4th Sunday of the month at 2 pm. Coming this Spring season:

February 22 — Mark Rust
March 22 — Low Lily
April 26 — Joe Crookston
May 24 — Rachael Kilgour
⭐️June 28 — Richie & Rosie⭐️

These once-a-month live shows, hosted by Travis Knapp, will be recorded for broadcast on a future Sunday’s WVBR’s Bound for Glory radio show.

Come be a part of Bound for Glory’s new series of live shows at the
Lansing Area Performance Hall
1004 Auburn Road, North Lansing, NY

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