Shemekia Copeland & Kenny Wayne Shepherd + Wolf Alice + Michigan Rattlers + Liz Phair + Crowded House = this week's New Music Picks

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Shemekia Copeland & Kenny Wayne Shepherd: Hit 'Em Back

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Contemporary blues singer Copeland asked lyricist John Hahn for a song to address anger and division in the blues community. "You can say ‘this is the blues and that isn’t’ - and I’ve been guilty of that, too, but as I’ve grown, I’ve seen it encompasses everything from rock and folk to you name it. Blues is the root of American music." The refrain - "Let ‘em scream and yell / Push and shove / You gotta hit ‘em back with love" - certainly also applies to society at large. Copeland recruited guitarist Shepherd to write the music and join her on the record. Within days they were in a Nashville studio putting it together with pedal-steel master Robert Randolph and drummer Tony Coleman. All proceeds will be donated to the non-profit Music Maker Relief Foundation.

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Wolf Alice: Smile

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The UK band's third album has drawn reviews bordering on the ecstatic. Paste Magazine writes that Blue Weekend "finds Wolf Alice at the top of their game, with each track memorable and each idea fresh and unique." NME calls it "a stone-cold masterpiece full of confidence and magic," and says of this track: "Over crunching riffs [vocalist Ellie Roswell] shoots down the world’s attempts to put her in a box and tell her how she should be." She does so mostly in a flat, talk-singing manner, in sharp contrast to her soaring vocals on the track we featured previously, "The Last Man on Earth."

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Michigan Rattlers: That Kind of Life

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New to our ears is this band from - well, the name tells you that. Graham Young and Adam Reed started playing together as an acoustic duo, with plans to evolve into a rock band. They've done that with the additions of keyboardist Christian Wilder and drummer Tony Audia. Their second album, That Kind of Life, is their first as a full band. Young told American Songwriter the title track is "about having this idea of what your life will be, what will happen. And how that doesn’t happen, it rarely works out. So then it’s like, how do you adjust and move forward? This is something we’ve all had to figure out this year. No one got out unscathed.”

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Liz Phair: The Game

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On her new album Soberish, Phair reunites with Brad Wood, the producer of Exile in Guyville, Whip-Smart and Whitechocolatespaceegg. She told Stereogum she considers this her first proper studio album since the last of those three came out in 1988, with everything since being a series of detours. We previously featured the single "Spanish Doors," and this is another song about a relationship on the skids: "Everytime I think we're solid / You change the game."

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Crowded House: Love Isn't Hard At All

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Neil Finn puts the band back together, more or less, on its first album in 11 years, Dreamers Are Waiting. He's joined by co-founder Nick Seymour on bass and original producer Mitchell Froom on keys - plus Finn's sons, Liam (guitar) and Elroy (drums). Glide Magazine calls the result a "solid collection of jangle pop," adding, "that core sound, anchored in deep harmonies and strong pop hooks [is] still there." This track is a multi-generational co-write, by Neil and Elroy.

Farewell, John Prine

Farewell, Gregg

Gregg Allman, Southern Rock Pioneer, Dead at 69 

Allman Brothers Band leader "passed away peacefully at his home in Savannah, Georgia"

Read full story from Rolling Stone

RS's 20 Essential Gregg Allman songs

Farewell, Gregg

Gregg Allman, Southern Rock Pioneer, Dead at 69 

Allman Brothers Band leader "passed away peacefully at his home in Savannah, Georgia"

Read full story from Rolling Stone

RS's 20 Essential Gregg Allman songs

Farewell to Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry, whose rollicking songs, springy guitar riffs and onstage duck walk defined rock & roll during its early years and for decades to come, died on Saturday. See CNN's report above; read Rolling Stone's report here.

We're currently featuring tracks from this collection on Birch Street Radio.

Farewell to Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry, whose rollicking songs, springy guitar riffs and onstage duck walk defined rock & roll during its early years and for decades to come, died on Saturday. See CNN's report above; read Rolling Stone's report here.

We're currently featuring tracks from this collection on Birch Street Radio.

We've changed channels. Have you?

It's been six weeks since we launched the "new and improved" version of Birch Street Radio. We hope you're enjoying our 24/7 commercial-free stream.

Birch Street Radio is now transmitted to the world by SoniXcast. We produce the program at Birch Street Studios in Beautiful Downtown Suburbia, and SoniXcast carries it on one of its channels, originating from Montreal, Canada.

All the players and links on this website have been switched to the new channel. In a matter of days, our older stream on Radionomy will sign off for good. (The stream may continue to operate for a while, but it won't be carrying our program.)

So make sure you've updated your links to Birch Street Radio in your media players, mobile apps or web bookmarks!

In addition to the players on this page, you can tune in the SoniXcast stream of Birch Street Radio by:

• searching for Birch Street Radio in the TuneIn, Radio.net or Nobex mobile apps
• searching for Birch Street Radio at streema.com, radioforest.net, radioguide.fm, liveonlineradio.net
• searching for Birch Street Radio SX at shoutcast.com
• entering http://cabhs30.sonixcast.com:9506/stream in any media player - including iTunes and the ServeStream app for Android, among others.

We'll be added to more web-radio directories soon.

As always, the easiest way to find us is right here at birchstreetradio.com!

We've changed channels. Have you?

It's been six weeks since we launched the "new and improved" version of Birch Street Radio. We hope you're enjoying our 24/7 commercial-free stream.

Birch Street Radio is now transmitted to the world by SoniXcast. We produce the program at Birch Street Studios in Beautiful Downtown Suburbia, and SoniXcast carries it on one of its channels, originating from Montreal, Canada.

All the players and links on this website have been switched to the new channel. In a matter of days, our older stream on Radionomy will sign off for good. (The stream may continue to operate for a while, but it won't be carrying our program.)

So make sure you've updated your links to Birch Street Radio in your media players, mobile apps or web bookmarks!

In addition to the players on this page, you can tune in the SoniXcast stream of Birch Street Radio by:

• searching for Birch Street Radio in the TuneIn, Radio.net or Nobex mobile apps
• searching for Birch Street Radio at streema.com, radioforest.net, radioguide.fm, liveonlineradio.net
• searching for Birch Street Radio SX at shoutcast.com
• entering http://cabhs30.sonixcast.com:9506/stream in any media player - including iTunes and the ServeStream app for Android, among others.

We'll be added to more web-radio directories soon.

As always, the easiest way to find us is right here at birchstreetradio.com!

Our New & Improved stream is 'on the air'

It's New! and Improved!

Check out the "New & Improved" Birch Street Radio!

The players and links on this page have been updated to bring you Birch Street Radio on its new channel.

In our new arrangement with web broadcaster SoniXcast, we can bring you more music per hour - because we don't have to take breaks to allow for advertising.

Yes, the new Birch Street Radio is commercial-free. And it's still free to you - no sign-up required!

The new stream is also available on more sites and mobile apps, including TuneIn and Nobex.

The previous version of Birch Street Radio is still playing on Radionomy, which has been carrying our program since January. That channel will be phased out over the next several weeks -- so be sure to update your links and players! If you're listening to the old stream, you'll hear announcements asking you to come to this website and connect to the new one.

(We're planning to launch a spin-off station on Radionomy this fall. More on that later.)

The "new & improved" Birch Street Radio will continue to mix brand-new and classic rock, folk-rock, alternative, indie music and more. We hope you'll continue listening! Enjoy!

Our New & Improved stream is 'on the air'

It's New! and Improved!

Check out the "New & Improved" Birch Street Radio!

The players and links on this page have been updated to bring you Birch Street Radio on its new channel.

In our new arrangement with web broadcaster SoniXcast, we can bring you more music per hour - because we don't have to take breaks to allow for advertising.

Yes, the new Birch Street Radio is commercial-free. And it's still free to you - no sign-up required!

The new stream is also available on more sites and mobile apps, including TuneIn and Nobex.

The previous version of Birch Street Radio is still playing on Radionomy, which has been carrying our program since January. That channel will be phased out over the next several weeks -- so be sure to update your links and players! If you're listening to the old stream, you'll hear announcements asking you to come to this website and connect to the new one.

(We're planning to launch a spin-off station on Radionomy this fall. More on that later.)

The "new & improved" Birch Street Radio will continue to mix brand-new and classic rock, folk-rock, alternative, indie music and more. We hope you'll continue listening! Enjoy!

We're building a better Birch Street Radio

We're creating a new, improved, commercial-free version of Birch Street Radio.

Our "marvelous mix of music" is preparing to move to a new internet stream. You might say we're changing channels -- like when a TV series moves from one network to another.

On our new stream, we'll continue playing new & classic music by bands & singer-songwriters from the '60s to today -- and more music, because we won't have to take station breaks to allow for advertisements.

We'll make the switch gradually, At the moment, we're simulcasting the same program on both channels. The new one is available on TuneIn, Radio.net, Radioforest,net, Streema.com and certain other sites, as well as the mobile apps from TuneIn, Radio.net and Nobex. The original stream continues on Radionomy,com and certain other sites. Both can be found on Shoutcast.com by searching for Birch Street Radio.

Once we're sure things are working well, we will split the programming. The new stream will drop the station breaks. The older stream will keep running for a while, but with a smaller playlist and commercial breaks. If you're listening to the older stream, you'll hear announcements asking you to come to this website and connect to the new stream. Eventually the older stream will be discontinued.

The internet-broadcasting landscape has been going through a lot of change lately, and there's always a chance we'll have to make further moves or changes in the future. But we plan to do whatever's best to keep the music playing -- and we hope you'll continue listening to Birch Street Radio.

Remember, you can always find the latest links & players here at birchstreetradio.com

Image: RCA Victor inspector tests frequency alignment of a radio at factory in Camden, N.J., circa 1936. Source: National Archives.

We're building a better Birch Street Radio

We're creating a new, improved, commercial-free version of Birch Street Radio.

Our "marvelous mix of music" is preparing to move to a new internet stream. You might say we're changing channels -- like when a TV series moves from one network to another.

On our new stream, we'll continue playing new & classic music by bands & singer-songwriters from the '60s to today -- and more music, because we won't have to take station breaks to allow for advertisements.

We'll make the switch gradually, At the moment, we're simulcasting the same program on both channels. The new one is available on TuneIn, Radio.net, Radioforest,net, Streema.com and certain other sites, as well as the mobile apps from TuneIn, Radio.net and Nobex. The original stream continues on Radionomy,com and certain other sites. Both can be found on Shoutcast.com by searching for Birch Street Radio.

Once we're sure things are working well, we will split the programming. The new stream will drop the station breaks. The older stream will keep running for a while, but with a smaller playlist and commercial breaks. If you're listening to the older stream, you'll hear announcements asking you to come to this website and connect to the new stream. Eventually the older stream will be discontinued.

The internet-broadcasting landscape has been going through a lot of change lately, and there's always a chance we'll have to make further moves or changes in the future. But we plan to do whatever's best to keep the music playing -- and we hope you'll continue listening to Birch Street Radio.

Remember, you can always find the latest links & players here at birchstreetradio.com

Image: RCA Victor inspector tests frequency alignment of a radio at factory in Camden, N.J., circa 1936. Source: National Archives.

We're testing new transmission methods

We're working on ways to improve Birch Street Radio and how we bring it to you.

We're making arrangements with a new streaming service to carry our Marvelous Music Mix without commercial interruptions. It would also make Birch Street Radio available on more sites and apps.

If all goes as planned, we'll make the switch in the coming days. We'll update all the players on this website and our listings on other internet radio sites so you can easily switch to our new "channel."

Stay tuned for further updates. We don't want you lose us when we move!

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Image: British Post Office engineers inspect Marconi's radio equipment during demonstration on Flat Holm Island, 13 May 1897. Source: Wikipedia. Used with permission.

We're testing new transmission methods

We're working on ways to improve Birch Street Radio and how we bring it to you.

We're making arrangements with a new streaming service to carry our Marvelous Music Mix without commercial interruptions. It would also make Birch Street Radio available on more sites and apps.

If all goes as planned, we'll make the switch in the coming days. We'll update all the players on this website and our listings on other internet radio sites so you can easily switch to our new "channel."

Stay tuned for further updates. We don't want you lose us when we move!

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Image: British Post Office engineers inspect Marconi's radio equipment during demonstration on Flat Holm Island, 13 May 1897. Source: Wikipedia. Used with permission.

More trouble for webcasters? Stay tuned!

There's new uncertainty in the air about the future of internet radio stations. Our streaming host -- home to tens of thousands of independent broadcasters like us -- may be going through some changes in the coming days.

We plan to do our best to keep on keeping on! If anything changes about ways to tune in our Marvelous Music Mix, we'll let you know on this page and on Facebook and Twitter. And if you have any questions or problems, please let us know.

Currently it seems that some parts of the world are having trouble connecting. If that includes you, please try this YourMuze player, which seems to be getting through whatever is causing the problem. Click the image and a pop-up player will open.


Click to open popup player


So, what's going on? Continue reading for more details.

First, a little background: We at Birch Street Radio produce our program under an agreement with Radionomy, which distributes it worldwide as one of its tens of thousands of radio streams. Radionomy is responsible for the technical, legal and financial aspects of the service. It sells advertising spots and inserts them into our program. In its agreement with program producers, it pledges to cover all costs, including music royalties.

Radionomy is majority-owned (since December 2015) by Vivendi S.A., which also owns record-company and music-publishing giant Universal Music Group. Currently it's facing a lawsuit in a U.S. court brought by another major record-company group, Sony Music Entertainment, over royalty payments. We have no knowledge of the merits of the case, but have continued our programming in good faith that Radionomy is working to resolve any issues and fulfill its obligations. Given that its parent company is a major owner of music rights, that would be the logical course.

With the legal matter pending, two companies that carry webcasts -- TuneIn and Nobex -- have temporarily removed Radionomy stations from their platforms and apps. (Birch Street Radio is still available on the various other players shown on our web page.)

There are indications that some kind of announcement is planned for Monday, May 9. We are hoping it won't involve any serious disruption to our broadcasts. However, we are also looking at contingency plans in case it becomes necessary for us to move our program to another host. (This is deja vu for us, since we jumped to Radionomy in January when our original host, Live365, shut down.)

Again, please follow us on this page and/or on Facebook and Twitter to keep updated. Thanks for listening!

More trouble for webcasters? Stay tuned!

There's new uncertainty in the air about the future of internet radio stations. Our streaming host -- home to tens of thousands of independent broadcasters like us -- may be going through some changes in the coming days.

We plan to do our best to keep on keeping on! If anything changes about ways to tune in our Marvelous Music Mix, we'll let you know on this page and on Facebook and Twitter. And if you have any questions or problems, please let us know.

Currently it seems that some parts of the world are having trouble connecting. If that includes you, please try this YourMuze player, which seems to be getting through whatever is causing the problem. Click the image and a pop-up player will open.


Click to open popup player


So, what's going on? Continue reading for more details.

We're brewing up some "Special Blends"

If you enjoy our Marvelous Mix of Music, we think you'll like a new feature we've added. We call it "Special Blend." It's just a cute name for a couple of songs that we think go together well. They might have similar themes in their lyrics, or similar musical styles, or flow nicely from one to the other. The connection might be obvious or subtle.

We'll drop these mini-sets into the mix every now and then - and we'd love to get your comments on them. You can post comments on this page or our Facebook page, or tweet us @BirchStRadio, or email us.

We're brewing up some "Special Blends"

If you enjoy our Marvelous Mix of Music, we think you'll like a new feature we've added. We call it "Special Blend." It's just a cute name for a couple of songs that we think go together well. They might have similar themes in their lyrics, or similar musical styles, or flow nicely from one to the other. The connection might be obvious or subtle.

We'll drop these mini-sets into the mix every now and then - and we'd love to get your comments on them. You can post comments on this page or our Facebook page, or tweet us @BirchStRadio, or email us.

We're glad you're listening. Let's hear from you!

We're pleased to see that new listeners are discovering Birch Street Radio. We hope you're enjoying our marvelous music mix. And we want to know what you think.

What do you like about our music mix and presentation?

Do you have suggestions for improving it?

How did you find out about Birch Street Radio?

Have you had any difficulty playing our stream?

Are there bands or singers you think we should consider adding to the mix?

Please get in touch! You can

• leave a comment on this page
• email us at birchstreetradio@gmail.com
• follow us on Twitter
• find us on Facebook 

Thanks, and please keep listening!

We're glad you're listening. Let's hear from you!

We're pleased to see that new listeners are discovering Birch Street Radio. We hope you're enjoying our marvelous music mix. And we want to know what you think.

What do you like about our music mix and presentation?

Do you have suggestions for improving it?

How did you find out about Birch Street Radio?

Have you had any difficulty playing our stream?

Are there bands or singers you think we should consider adding to the mix?

Please get in touch! You can

• leave a comment on this page
• email us at birchstreetradio@gmail.com
• follow us on Twitter
• find us on Facebook 

Thanks, and please keep listening!