Backroads and Banjos

Grammy-award winning field recorder and archivist Art Rosenbaum joins us every Wednesday to recount some of the greatest moments in old timey music history.  In these 15-minute segments, Art uses his experience as a field recorder and vast knowledge of old-timey history to highlight the music and life of artists that may otherwise be lost in time.
Catch Backroads and Banjos every Wednesday at 8:30am, 1:20pm and 6:30pm.

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Backroads & Banjos is Brought to You by Community Music Centers.

Most Recent

The Jubilant Sounds of Zydeco

In this segment of Backroads & Banjos, Art begins a 2-part exploration of a style of American roots music that he realized he’s neglected on the show up until this point and that’s the jubilant sounds of zydeco. Art explains the unique origins of this French/African/Angelo strain of music and plays renditions of some of its classic repertoire as recorded by the Balfa Brothers and several others.

Backroads & Banjos - The Jubilant Sounds of Zydeco Part 1


    Recently Aired

    Omer Forster

    This week’s Backroads & Banjos segment is devoted to the music of little known banjo player Omer Forster. Forster was a Tennessee musician who developed his own two-finger style of picking the banjo that made for a very clean tone and great precision on the instrument.


    Earl Murphy

    For this segment of Backroads and Banjos, Art brings along his friend and fiddle great Earl Murphy for a session featuring Earl on fiddle and Art on guitar/banjo. Between songs, Earl recalls some of his time on the radio in the 1930s and 1940s, his musical upbringing in Missouri, and the origin of the Backroads & Banjos theme song


    The Art Show

    AM 1690, The Voice of the ArtsIn honor of “The Art Show” taking place at the Hotel Indigo in Athens, Art discusses how the field recorder/musician aspect of his work crosses over into the world of the paintings and murals he creates as a visual artist. The event will feature many of his works on display as well as performances by the Georgia Crackers, the Skillet Lickers, and the Around The Globe Sea Chantey Singers.


    Jug Bands

    The subject of this airing of Backroads and Banjos is the jug band, a genre not always well-received by the musical world, which originated in the late nineteenth century and was most popular in the seedier areas of society. This type of music is made by simply humming into the jug, which gives the needed resonance to make the signature deep sound.



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