Every Sunday evening on NHPR, Kate McNally brings three hours of folk music, in-studio performances and artist interviews to New Hampshire’s airwaves.
Kate has hosted The Folk Show since 1995 and this year marks its 30th anniversary. She spoke with NHPR’s All Things Considered host Julia Furukawa.
Transcript
So Kate, folk music has always been a huge part of your life. You've hosted multiple folk music programs throughout your decades-long radio career. What drew you to folk music in the first place?
When I got to college, I started dabbling in college radio. No one else was hosting an acoustic music show. So I went through the library and I was finding some of those old Appalachian tunes and familiar tunes that may have been redone and updated throughout the course of time. I loved being able to assemble playlists that included some of the old music performed in new, contemporary ways. So I guess that's kind of what drew me to it. I really enjoyed the acoustic sound. I really love that you can hear lyrics and that oftentimes, folk music tells a story.
How do you continue to find musical inspiration after 30 years doing this show?
You know, someone asked me that the other day, “How can you do this week after week?” And it's because there's so much music out there. The libraries are full. There are so many great old tunes and young performers coming about that are resurrecting a lot of the old music. There's never a shortage of things to play. There's [always] something there to pique my interest.
What's that like for you when you discover a new, younger artist who you're like, “Oh wow, they're really doing something special here?”
That happened to me with Billy Strings, he's really gained popularity and really brought bluegrass music to a new audience. He performed with another man named Don Julin before he was out on his own. When I drive home at night, oftentimes I'll be digging into my bag [for] the music that I've received in the mail. And I never see it necessarily in the dark. I just rip it open and pop it into the CD player. His sound with Don Julin at that time just really, really captivated me. And so that's just one way.
At the festivals that I go to, there will be young bands playing, emerging artists playing, and there's just a sense of, I don't know, showmanship and technique and master workmanship on the instruments that really does keep me engaged.
So let's peel back the curtain a bit for our listeners. How do you prepare for one of your shows? Can you walk us through how you choose the music?
Oh, boy. Preparing for a show? Well I'm listening all the time. I'm listening throughout the week. Sometimes something will capture my interest lyrically and I'll say, “I've got to put that on my show.” Or I'll get an idea and inspiration from a walk I'm on. A tune might go through my head or a memory might happen. And so I'm like, “Oh, I've got to do something with that song.”
Sometimes there's a theme involved. Not that I announce that we're going to have a theme on the show, but just like I feel like playing something about colors today. I feel like playing something about trains. So I might just look up all I can on those particular themes. Sometimes there's a lot of themes happening in one night. It also could be something that's happening in our community – like we have a folk music and dance calendar that we collect. And so sometimes I build the show around people that are coming to a venue near us.
When it comes to themes, are you able to use music on your show to address or talk about issues you care about?
Absolutely. That's probably one of the best parts of what I do. I have an opportunity to play what I'm thinking sometimes, or play what I think my community of listeners is thinking. And so there's a connection there.
If you were to create a short playlist – three songs of your life – what would they be?
Of my life? Oh my goodness. One song I really, really like is a song called “Second Effort.” It was written by Stan Rogers, and it's about a young champion who feels defeated. And I felt that defeat in my life, and I just had a hard time accepting being wrong or making a mistake. Over time I've definitely softened up.
There's a song by Kate Wolf called “Give Yourself to Love.” Love is just — to me, it's underrated. Because there’s so many things to love.
Another song that I really, really appreciate — and that I hope that when I pass, somebody will play it for me — it's a song that The Mammals recorded and it's called “When My Story Ends.”
I guess the three songs that I've mentioned are kind of mellow, so maybe I should think of one [that isn’t]. I think the Grateful Dead song “I Need a Miracle” was one that used to be my anthem for a while. I guess those are a few that I would have on my playlist.
