We’ve had an early Spring here in Music City, with nary a frost to bruise the jonquils nor storms to strip the cherry blossoms. I have a coating of pollen in my raspy throat but it’s a small price to pay for all this beauty. Baseball is underway. The Masters brought sweet Southern ritual to… Read more »

Italians with harmonicas. Memphians with ukuleles. Chicagoans with dreadlocks. We’re up for anything that swings at Roots, and this week we experienced all that and more, including an audience that came with open minds and big ears. This was one of those weeks where I showed up as curious as anyone, having researched the artists… Read more »

  I never thought much of the melody, but that Christmas hymn penned by John Jacob Niles called “I Wonder As I Wander” always struck me as a worthy sentiment; we should all wander and wonder a lot. Later I learned of J.R.R. Tolkein’s quote that “Not all those who wander are lost,” and I… Read more »

We’ve been having the kind of lovely days that used to inspire Chicago Cub great Ernie Banks to enthusiastically say “Let’s Play Two!” And even though it’s still only Spring Training for baseball, we had a rare MCR double header this week that encompassed our reasons for being as completely as any short stretch of… Read more »