Travel Notes

Today's musical guests on Travel Notes are two lovely humans and fantastic musicians: Eleanor Dubinsky & Darío Acosta Teich. Eleanor is a USA-born vocalist, guitarist and cellist who sings in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Her music is open-hearted and culturally fluid, connecting underground tributaries between languages and world rhythms in uplifting, soulful compositions that explore the fragile links between human emotions and responsibility. Dario, a guitarist, composer and master of Latin folk instruments, combines his deep knowledge of classical and South American vocabularies with his passion for jazz harmony and free improvisation.Together, we explore their music, expansive respective and shared musical journeys and discuss how music connects us as all as human beings.Learn more about their work & music here

This week on Travel Notes, Grace talks with the groundbreaking Gambian kora virtuoso, Sona Jobarteh! Sona is breaking barriers as the world’s first professional female kora virtuoso from the West African Griot dynasties. With a lineage of renowned Kora masters, including her grandfather Amadu Bansang Jobarteh and cousin Toumani Diabaté, Sona's talent is unmatched. Her distinctive voice, infectious melodies, and onstage grace have garnered international acclaim. Beyond music, Sona is a dedicated humanitarian, founding The Gambian Academy and advocating for social change on global platforms. Join us as we dive into Sona's inspiring journey and discuss her impactful work as a global changemaker. This is an episode you don’t want to miss!

Travel Notes highlights the LEAF Global Arts retreat happening May 9-12 in historic lake Eden, NC and talks with special guests, Jennifer Pickering who is the co executive director of LEAF Global Arts non-profit based in Asheville NC and Adama Dembele, LEAF Cultural Ambassador who is also a talented djembe and balafon player from the Ivory Coast. They listen to some of Adama’s music and dive into everything you need to know about LEAF Global Arts Retreat and the organization as a whole!

In today’s episode of Travel Notes we are talking with Derek Gripper who has been on the show before and a renowned South African guitarist, whose love for the kora set him to transcribing and recording some of its greatest works. He is joined by Malian kora virtuoso, Ballaké Sissoko for their upcoming performance at the Savannah Music Festival this weekend, March 30th at 5:30 PM and 8PM. For their performance, Sissoko and Gripper explore the ancient musical traditions of the griots of Mali in their performance titled: The Art of the Kora.This episode features an unreleased bonus track at the end of the program which will be on Derek & Ballaké album, 'Derek Gripper & Ballaké Sissoko' coming out in early May 2024

Join us on today's episode of Travel Notes as we journey to Uppsala, Sweden to chat with folk musician Gabbi from the Nordic folk/rock band, FRÄNDER.I was lucky enough to catch FRÄNDER live at the Scandinavia House in New York City earlier this year and I can tell you first hand that you guys are in for a treat. Not only is their music dynamic and fantastic live, it’s also very thoughtfully rooted in Nordic folk music traditions which we dive into in more detail in today’s show.

On today’s episode of Travel Notes, we are featuring a musical group that had humble beginnings on a farm in South Africa some 63 years ago. Today, they are living legends whose music has played a pivotal role during the apartheid in South Africa. Nelson Mandela listened to their music while he was imprisoned during the apartheid citing their music carried a powerful message of peace. Today’s featured guest is the legendary group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo  We dive into their origin story, the style of music they sing, their new 2023 album ‘Soothe My Soul: Songs From Our South African Church’ and revisit some of their most memorable moments throughout their incredible six decade long career. They’ve won more grammys than any other world music group in recorded music history - and today I’m honored to have Albert Mazibuko who is celebrating his 55th year as a member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo on the show.

Drum roll….it’s the first episode of Travel Notes for 2024! I’m so excited about this year’s first guest - Clay Ross, a multi-grammy award winning guitarist/vocalist, composer and educator about his group American Patchwork Quartet or APQ. I saw the American Patchwork Quartet perform at the APAP conference in NYC this past January and was absolutely blown away by their live performance and music.This dynamic and virtuosic group binds timeless American folk songs with jazz sophistication, country twang, West African hypnotics, and East Asian ornamentation on their debut self titled album which comes out Friday, February 9th. Throughout the album, we find potent symbols of unity in diversity, exploring universal truths through a range of musical languages and cultural lenses - themes like longing, heartbreak, desire, fulfillment, tranquility and love...ultimately revealing the joys, sorrows, and unwavering hope of a nation crafted by shared dreams and diverse histories.

In this episode of Travel Notes we are exploring the current political and cultural dynamic in Cuba through the eyes and upcoming album of Grammy nominated powerhouse duo, Elizabeth Rodriguez and Magdelys Savigne’s who perform under the name OKAN. Fusing Afro-Cuban roots with jazz, folk and global rhythms in songs about immigration, resistance and love, OKAN takes their name from the word for heart in their Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria.

Today on Travel Notes Grace is joined by special guest is Kurtis Lamkin, a Philadelphia born and Charleston based poet and musician specializing in the west african kora and an instrument called the jinjin. In true griot fashion, he blurs the line between poet, musician and storyteller. Kurt has performed on stage, radio, film, and television, and was one of the featured poets in the Bill Moyers documentary, Fooling With Words. He also hosted MultiKultiMove, a reading series featuring writers from around the world; and produced a radio series called, “Living Proof: Contemporary Black Literature.”And as Mark Nepo, NYTimes best selling author puts it - “Kurtis Lamkin is a singular talent of our generation entering his years of mastery. He is an innovator, a storyteller, a musician, a poet and a moral historian who has studied and mastered the kora, a West African bridge harp with twenty-one strings...And in the tradition of Homer he travels the country singing the truth of our history, the hope of our humanity, and the imagination of our community…”

In this part II episode of Venezuelan music on Travel Notes, we go live from the Ohm Radio studio with Charleston based group, the Venezuelan Sound Ensemble to bring you live Venezuelan folk music and conversation. We dive into the rich and multifaceted history and musical traditions that connect Venezuela to other countries near and far.

In this episode of Travel Notes, we embark on the first leg of a journey through Venezuela's rich musical landscape with award winning Venezuelan born Toronto based musician, Eliana Cuevas. Her most recent album, Seré Libre, blends together classical, jazz, Afro-Venezuelan rhythms and folk music to create a seamless reflection of the multifaceted music of Venezuela.

Join host Grace McNally for an all new Travel Notes episode on Native American music and culture featuring Cathy Nelson from Keepers of the Word, an organization that works to preserve South Carolina Native culture and Two Piece, a Charleston based musical duo comprised of Delia Chariker and Bill Whittaker.

Today on an all new Travel Notes, Grace talks with Osei Chandler host of Roots Musik Karamu - one of the longest running radio shows on SC public radio. They talk about the African roots of Caribbean music, Osei’s contributions to South Carolina’s cultural and music landscape and more.

Today on Travel Notes, Grace talks with award winning Brazilian guitarist and songwriter, Badi Assad about her creative process, current projects, mindfulness practice, challenges she’s overcome during her career and more.

Happy Holidays from Travel Notes! Join me and special co host Ryan Lareau for a special holiday edition of Travel Notes, A Christmas around the World where we find out how the world sings about Christmas.

Inspired by my brother who is living and working in Japan, tune in to explore the ancient and immersive art form of Taiko Drumming!

In this episode of Travel Notes we are going to travel across the ocean and through time as we discuss Canadian musician, Lenka Lichtenberg’s latest project, ‘The Thieves of Dreams’ which features songs inspired by her grandmother’s notebooks from while she was in Theresienstadt concentration camp during WWII. This story is about women, strength, loss, human tragedy and family.Tune to hear our conversation and Lenka’s beautiful music at

In this episode of Travel Notes, Grace McNally talks with Sicilian folk musician Michela Musolino about her music and musical journey as a Sicilian American. Together they discuss the rituals, traditions, people and idiosyncrasies surrounding Sicilian folk music. Now a resident of Memphis, Tennessee - Michela illustrates the similarities she hears between Sicilian folk music and the blues from the American Southeast.

In this episode of Travel Notes Season 2 Episode 2, I’m joined by Dan Rosenberg, a Toronto based journalist and music producer. He has traveled to more than 40 countries producing reports for the Rough Guides, The Times (UK), The Huffington Post, plus Cafe International, Toronto’s Classical FM, Afropop Worldwide, NPR’s Artbeat, CBC News and other radio programs. He has produced over 60 critically- acclaimed recordings, including Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II.Thanks to the incredible compilation of Ukrainian music and interviews Dan has collected, we were able to discuss the current war through the eyes of Ukrainian musicians.

Season 2 of Travel Notes is officially here! I can't think of a better way to kick off season 2 than with the wonderful Ukrainian classical guitarist, Ulyana Machneva.Ulyana began playing classical guitar at age six and she currently teaches, composes and performs in Charleston, SC. Her career has taken her around the world and her pieces have been performed in numerous countries. We talk about Ukrainian music, its role for the Ukrainian people in today's current conflict & its influence on American composer George Gershwin and much more. Ulyana performs a beautiful Ukrainian folk song on the larharp and we listen and chat about the inspiration behind a few of her original compositions and arrangements.