The Music Show

On stage at WOMADelaide, the world's festival on Kaurna Country, Andy hosts bands from Tanzania, Colombia, and India via the USA. The Zawose Queens, La Perla, and Ganavya demonstrate their diverse musical languages in front of a live audience. The Music Show is made on Kaurna, Gadigal, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country CountryTechnical production by Ann-Marie Debettencor

First discovered as a 17-year-old, Annahstasia found the music industry had a vision for her that she didn't recognise. Leaving the industry behind gave her a chance to find her voice - both metaphorically and literally, with months spent testing various mics and studios to get the right right for her latest album, Tether. While she points to influences like Nina Simone and Bill Withers, Annahstasia shares with the Music Show that it was schoolyard bullying that originally made her realise that she could sing.When four jazz students in Sweden developed an interest in Scandinavian folk songs, they blended those influences together into an a cappella group, Åkervinda, that pays tribute to the past, while creating something entirely their own. Iris Bergcrantz, Agnes Åhlund, and Linda Bergström talk about their love for traditional music.Title: Om Du är LedsenArtist: ÅkervindaComposer: ÅkervindaAlbum: Så Skall Hat och Avund SmältasLabel: NaxosTitle: VillainArtist: AnnahstasiaComposer: Annahstasia EnukeAlbum: TetherLabel: Drink Sum WtrTitle: Be KindArtist: AnnahstasiaComposer: Annahstasia EnukeAlbum: TetherLabel: Drink Sum WtrTitle: I Was Unhappy in My MarriageArtist: Bhutan BalladeersComposer: Bhutan BalladeersAlbum: Your Face Is Like The Moon, Your Eyes Are StarsLabel: Glitterbeat RecordsTitle: Jag Står Upp en MorgonArtist: ÅkervindaComposer: ÅkervindaAlbum: Så Skall Hat och Avund SmältasLabel: NaxosTitle: En MidsommaraftonArtist: ÅkervindaComposer: ÅkervindaAlbum: Så Skall Hat och Avund SmältasLabel: NaxosTitle: BlågetaArtist: ÅkervindaComposer: ÅkervindaAlbum: Så Skall Hat och Avund SmältasLabel: NaxosTitle: GuaracharArtist: La PerlaComposer: Diana Sanmiguel, Giovana Mogollón, Karen ForeroAlbum: GuaracharLabel: Independent releaseThe Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, Kaurna, and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country CountryTechnical production by Ann-Marie Debettencor

Ron Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter who more than earns the title of tunesmith with his melodies and storytelling. He's back on The Music Show to talk about his latest album Hangover Terrace, about finding his voice eight albums into his career, and being a songwriter's songwriter.Uncategorisable is how we like them on The Music Show and Mary Coughlan is certainly that. The Irish singer is headed to Australia for Port Fairy Folk Festival, and a run of other dates on what she says is her final Australian tour. Music heard in the show:Title: I'd Rather Go Blind (live)Artist: Mary CoughlanComposer: Ellington Jordan, Billy Foster, Etta JamesAlbum: Live & KickingLabel: Hail Mary RecordsTitle: Don't Lose Sight, It's Been A While, Angel on My Shoulder, Must Be Something Wrong With HerArtist: Ron SexsmithComposer: Ron SexsmithAlbum: Hangover TerraceLabel: Cooking VinylTitle: Repeat RewindArtist: Mary CoughlanComposer: Mary Coughlan, Pete GlenisterAlbum: Repeat RewindLabel: Hail Mary RecordsTitle: Marital BlissArtist: Mary CoughlanComposer: Mary Coughlan, Pete GlenisterAlbum: Repeat RewindLabel: Hail Mary RecordsTitle: God Only KnowsArtist: Mary CoughlanComposer: Brian Wilson, Tony AsherAlbum: Repeat RewindLabel: Hail Mary RecordsTitle: MaishaArtist: The Zawose QueensComposer: The Zawose QueensAlbum: MaishaLabel: Real WorldTechnical production by Simon Branthwaite and Emrys CroninThe Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country.

Marisa Anderson says she learned to play the guitar three times. Once, as a young learner of classical guitar as a child. Then, being exposed to folk music at university, and, finally, when she threw away standard tuning about fifteen years later. On her latest album, The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music, she has taken inspiration from the record collection of Harry Smith and created her own version of music from countries that the USA has been at war with.And Éliane Radigue died this week at the age of 94. Radigue found her voice when she found the synthesiser, which enabled her to make long, pure, slow moving tones, and she leaves a remarkable legacy of sound. Two of her Australia collaborators, Cat Hope and Lawrence English, share what it was that made Radigue's music so special and what it was like to collaborate with her.Marisa Anderson's tour dates are hereTitle: KoumeArtist: Éliane RadigueComposer: Éliane RadigueAlbum: Trilogie De La MortLabel: Experimental Intermedia FoundationTitle: HamdArtist: Marisa AndersonComposer: Marisa AndersonAlbum: The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk MusicLabel: Thrill Jockey RecordsTitle: Waking/Cloud CornerArtist: Marisa AndersonComposer: Marisa AndersonAlbum: Cloud CornerLabel: Thrill Jockey RecordsTitle: Onward 38Artist: Éliane RadigueComposer: Éliane RadigueAlbum: Vice Versa, Etc…Label: Important RecordsTitle: KailashaArtist: Éliane RadigueComposer: Éliane RadigueAlbum: Trilogie De La MortLabel: Experimental Intermedia FoundationTitle: Occam Hex IIArtist: DecibelComposer: Éliane Radigue & Carol RobsinonAlbum: Live recordingTitle: Camelot TowersArtist: Ron SexsmithComposer: Ron SexsmithAlbum: Hangover TerraceLabel: Cooking VinylThe Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country CountryTechnical production by Emrys Cronin

It's the hundredth birthday of György Kurtág, one of the most revered and increasingly performed of living composers. Cellist Steven Isserlis and baritone Benjamin Appl have both worked closely with the Hungarian composer on his rarefied music, and they tell Andy about his humour, high standards and a commitment to work that finds him currently composing a new opera in between taking Latin and Mandarin lessons.Kurtág centenary celebrations at ANAM in Melbourne include Kurtág and Friends and the ANAM 30th Gala, conducted by Simone YoungÅkervinda are on tour now, starting with Perth Festival.The Music Show is live at WOMADelaide, 11:30am on Saturday 7 March

British Japanese composer Ben Nobuto's Hallelujah Sim. opened the BBC Proms in 2024, garnering a roaring, standing ovation (a rare feat for a world premiere). His musical vocabulary, which marries precise chamber music sensibilities with video game sound effects and electronic multitracking, is unique in the universe of contemporary composition. He joins Andy to unpack his composition process and the ideas behind a new composition called Hope Spiral. Black Country, New Road brings together six musicians, each with their own style and influences, and blends them all together on every song. What could have been chaos instead became some of the most critically acclaimed music of the decade. Bassist and co-vocalist Tyler Hyde shares the surprising turns that have led the band to where they are today.Black Country, New Road tour dates are hereTitle: The Big SpinArtist: Black Country, New RoadComposer: Black Country, New RoadAlbum: Forever HowlongLabel: Ninja TuneTitle: Hallelujah SimArtist: BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus and the BBC Symphony OrchestraComposer: Ben NobutoLabel: Independent ReleaseTitle: TrioArtist: Ellie Blamires, Mikołaj Piszczorowicz, Ben Nobuto Composer: Ben NobutoLabel: Independent ReleaseTitle: Hope SpiralArtist: Ben Nobuto, Ben Goldscheider, Brother Tree SoundComposer: Ben NobutoAlbum: Hope SpiralLabel: NMC RecordingsTitle: Echoes of the HeartArtist: Aaron ShawComposer: Aaron ShawAlbum: And So It IsLabel: LeavingTitle: BestiesArtist: Black Country, New RoadComposer: Black Country, New RoadAlbum: Forever HowlongLabel: Ninja TuneTitle: MaryArtist: Black Country, New RoadComposer: Black Country, New RoadAlbum: Forever HowlongLabel: Ninja TuneTitle: Up SongArtist: Black Country, New RoadComposer: Black Country, New RoadAlbum: Live At Bush HallLabel: Ninja TuneTitle: Salem SistersArtist: Black Country, New RoadComposer: Black Country, New RoadAlbum: Forever HowlongLabel: Ninja TuneTitle: Kafka-Fragmente, Op. 24; Pt. 1, BerceuseArtist: Anna Prohaska, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Camerata BernComposer: György KurtágAlbum: Maria Mater MeretrixLabel: AlphaThe Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country CountryTechnical production by Emrys Cronin

Carlo Gesualdo was a Renaissance composer, a prince, and a murderer. His sacred music, including his Tenebrae Responsoria, is a strange collection of settings full of dissonance and chromatic moving parts. AJ America is the Artistic Director of Luminescence Chamber Singers, and she joins Andy to talk about how the gory details of Gesualdo's life translate to the music.Blinky Bill is a Kenyan musician and producer who, as part of the group Just A Band, drove the development of alternative music in Nairobi and Kenya more broadly. His music draws from all over Africa and the diaspora, and he's about to come to Australia where he's performing at WOMADelaide... and you'll be able to see The Music Show in action there too!

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are one of the great couples of Americana, with a catalogue that stretches back decades. Along the way they've put their stamp on the classics of American folk, and created more than a few classics of their own. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of Time (The Revelator), they're heading back to Australia to show off their latest collection of new material: Woodland. They performed material from both albums live in the Music Show studios. Raphaël Pichon leads Ensemble Pygmalion, a French historically informed performance group which, unusually, is a choir and orchestra operating as one ensemble. They’re making their Australian debut at the Adelaide Festival with three programmes - including Monteverdi and Bach and, after 400 years, the Australian debut of Rossi's Orfeo.Gillian Welch and David Rawlings' tour dates are available here.And Ensemble Pygmalion are performing Bach, Monteverdi, and Rossi at the Adelaide Festival.Title: Requiem in D minor, KyrieArtist: Ensemble Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon, Ying FangComposer: Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlbum: Mozart: RequiemLabel: Harmonia MundiTitle: Empty Trainload of SkyArtist: Gillian Welch & David RawlingsComposer: Gillian Welch & David RawlingsAlbum: WoodlandLabel: Acony RecordsTitle: HashtagArtist: Gillian Welch & David RawlingsComposer: Gillian Welch & David RawlingsAlbum: WoodlandLabel: Acony RecordsTitle: Everything Is FreeArtist: Gillian WelchComposer: Gillian Welch & David RawlingsAlbum: Time (The Revelator) Label: Acony RecordsTitle: Missa Brevis in F major; II. GloriaArtist: Emiliano Gonzalez-Toro, Sydney Fierro, Magid El-Bushra, Eugénie Warnier, Raphaël Pichon, Ensemble PygmalionComposer: Johann Sebastian BachAlbum: JS Bach: Missæ BrevesLabel: AlphaTitle: Hymnus "Ave maris stella"Artist: Raphaël Pichon, Ensemble PygmalionComposer: Claudio MonteverdiAlbum: Monteverdi: Vespro della beata VergineLabel: Harmonia MundiTitle: Extract from the Tenebrae settings for Maundy ThursdayArtist: Luminescence Chamber SingersComposer: Carlo GesualdoCourtesy of LuminescenceThe Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country, and Turrbal and Yuggera CountryTechnical production by Ann-Marie Debettencor and Steve Fieldhouse

Lachlan Skipworth, one of Australia's most beautiful compositional voices, has a very unusual new double concerto - for trumpet and clarinet - set to premiere with Omega Ensemble. He tells Andy how a series of 'joyful and uplifting' commissions added a new string to his bow.And Thomas William Smith & Mara Schwerdtfeger from the ambient collective Worlds Only share why they prefer to exist in the moment, creating live shows that are full of pieces of structured improvisation that might never be heard again. Omega Ensembles performance dates are available hereWorlds Only performance details hereMusic in this program:Title: Tarmac in the ProvinceArtist: Worlds OnlyComposer: Worlds OnlyAlbum: Raw & Hot & UncutLabel: Independent releaseTitle: Altiora Peto, Concerto for Trumpet and Strings; I. Moderato ritmico – Adagio – Tempo primoArtist: David Elton & Sydney String VirtuosiComposer: Lachlan SkipworthAlbum: Altiora PetoLabel: ABC ClassicsTitle: Quintet for Bass Recorder and String Quartet; II. TranquilloArtist: Genevieve Lacey & Australian String QuartetComposer: Lachlan SkipworthAlbum: Altiora PetoLabel: ABC ClassicsTitle: The Night Sky FallArtist: Ashley William Smith, Louise Devenish, Emily Green-ArmytageComposer: Lachlan SkipworthAlbum: Lachlan Skipworth: Chamber WorksLabel: Navona RecordsTitle: Song for Sad TimesArtist: GanavyaComposer: GanavyaAlbum: NilamLabel: LeiterTitle: SanctuaryArtist: Worlds OnlyComposer: Worlds OnlyAlbum: Raw & Hot & UncutLabel: Independent releaseTitle: TabbedArtist: Worlds OnlyComposer: Worlds OnlyAlbum: Raw & Hot & UncutLabel: Independent releaseTitle: Meteoric ChatArtist: Worlds OnlyComposer: Worlds OnlyAlbum: Raw & Hot & UncutLabel: Independent releaseTitle: The Bells And The BirdsArtist: Gillian Welch & David RawlingsComposer: Gillian Welch & David RawlingsAlbum: WoodlandLabel: Acony RecordsThe Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung CountryTechnical production by Ann-Marie Debettencor

Andrea Keller is not only a pianist, composer, bandleader and educator, she's also the Jazz Ambassador at this year's Clarence Jazz Festival, celebrating its 30th year. She joins Andy to talk about creating a web of collaborators in her Transients series. Ian Thompson's book, Synths, Sax and Situationists, examines the music of the French underground that began with the Paris 'events' of May 1968. For the next decade, bands such as Daevid Allen's Gong, Red Noise and Heldon were sometimes overtly political, but always subversive. Andy talks to Ian Thompson about the times and the music.

Tim Finn and Neil Finn have worked together in a number of guises over the years: Crowded House, The Finn Brothers, and guesting on each other’s solo projects. But it all began with Split Enz, and there’s something about that music that keeps bringing them back together. Neil and Finn reminisce about their early collaborations, explain how a setlist comes together, and share how The Eagles were a surprising influence on the band.Back in 1948, a major scientific expedition travelled to Arnhem Land to catalogue that place and its people, including recordings of the music and ceremony they witnessed there. Those recordings drew the ethnomusicologist Dr Reuben Brown to Arnhem Land many decades later and, on that trip, Reuben met senior western Arnhem Land songmen who invited him to make recordings of his own - to document their songs for future generations. It also led to a book, The Gift of Song.Andy Irvine is on tour now - Newcastle, Bathurst, Sydney. And next week, Andy (Ford) will be in conversation with him at the Gaelic Club in Sydney, at 6pm - all welcome.Split Enz's Australian tour dates are available here.Listeners are advised that the episode discusses people who have died. The music in this episode is the Indigenous cultural intellectual property (ICIP) of Bininj/Arrarrkpi ceremony leaders and custodians. Use without proper attribution of the ICIP owners may breach customary laws as well as copyright and moral rights under the Copyright Act 1968 (Australian Govt).Reuben Brown wishes to thank the people of Gunbalanya, Warruwi, and Jabiru and surrounding outstations who have hosted him on their Country and to the Bininj and Arrarrkpi ceremony leaders, custodians, and knowledge holders who generously contributed to the book and knowledge discussed in this episode.Music in this program:Title:  Nganaru songset Artist: Billy NamunurrAlbum: Archival recordingTitle: Give It A WhirlArtist: Split Enz Composer: Neil Finn, Tim FinnAlbum: FrenzyLabel: MushroomTitle: Late Last NightArtist: Split EnzComposer: Phil JuddAlbum: Second ThoughtsLabel: MushroomTitle: I Got YouArtist: Split Enz Composer: Neil FinnAlbum: True ColoursLabel: MushroomTitle: One Step AheadArtist: Split EnzComposer: Neil FinnAlbum: WaiataLabel: MushroomTitle: Missing PersonArtist: Split EnzComposer: Neil FinnAlbum: True ColoursLabel: MushroomTitle: Six Months In A Leaky BoatArtist: Split EnzComposer: Split Enz, Tim FinnAlbum: Time and TideLabel: MushroomTitle: Spellbound (Eddie Rayner remix)Artist: Split EnzComposer: Phil Judd, Tim FinnAlbum: Enzyclopedia: Volumes One & TwoLabel: Warner Music AustraliaTitle:  Marrwakara ‘goanna’ and Mularrik Mularrik ‘green frog’ songsetArtist: Harold Warrabin & Micky YalbarrAlbum: Archival recordingTitle:  Inyjalarrku ‘mermaid' songArtist: Rupert Manmurulu, Renfred Manmurulu, Solomon NangamuAlbum: Archival recordingTitle:  Mirrijpu ‘seagull’ songset featuring the Nigi or ‘mother’ song Artist: Solomon Nangamu, Russell Agalara, Rupert ManmuruluAlbum: Archival recordingTitle: My Heart's Tonight In IrelandArtist: Andy IrvineComposer: Andy IrvineAlbum: Rain On The RoofLabel: AK RecordsThe Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung CountryTechnical production by Ann-Marie Debettencor

Lucy Dacus is now perhaps best known for being one third of boygenius, one of the great sad girl groups of all time. But her latest album, Forever is a Feeling, is bursting with romantic joy. On her way to Australia for a series of shows, she talks to Andy about finding its lush sound, performing it live, and about singing for Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral inauguration in New York City.Útóipe Cheilteach (Celtic Utopia), a film by Dennis Harvey and Lars Lovén, explores what has happened to Irish folk music in both the south and north of the island in the century since independence, how it keeps alive tradition, history and grievance, while also encouraging conciliation and healing. Andy speaks to the film makers.

Singer and actor Ursula Yovich joins Andy to talk about Nina Simone. Yovich has been taking on Simone's music for a show at Sydney Festival and she explores what set Simone apart, what part of her story she wanted to tell, the continuing importance of Simone's politics, and the cost to an artist to perform and share themselves on the stage.And Toshi Maeda, from the Australian punk band Mach Pelican, shares the band's first new music in almost two decades, and explains how he got involved in tour promotion - bringing Japanese bands to Australia and vice-versa.Music in this program:Title: Born to DeliveryArtist: Mach PelicanComposer: Mach PelicanAlbum: Mach PelicanLabel: ShagpileTitle: I Put a Spell on YouArtist: Nina SimoneComposer: Jalacy Hawkins, Herb Slotkin; Arranged by Hal MooneyAlbum: Feeling Good (The Very Best Of Nina Simone)Label: MercuryTitle: You Can Have HimArtist: Nina SimoneComposer: Irving Berlin; Arranged by Nina SimoneAlbum: Nina Simone At Town HallLabel: Spectra RecordsTitle: SinnermanArtist: Nina SimoneComposer: Les Baxter, Will Holt; Arranged by Nina SimoneAlbum: Feeling Good (The Very Best Of Nina Simone)Label: MercuryTitle: Strange FruitArtist: Nina SimoneComposer: Lewis Allen; Arranged by Nina SimoneAlbum: Feeling Good (The Very Best Of Nina Simone)Label: MercuryTitle: Four WomenArtist: Nina SimoneComposer: Nina SimoneAlbum: Ultimate Nina SimoneLabel: Verve RecordsTitle: Partita no 6 in E Minor - AirArtist: Vikingur OlafssonComposer: Johann Sebastian Bach; Arranged by Vikingur OlafssonAlbum: Opus 109Label: Deutsche GrammophonTitle: Dance In ChicagoArtist: Mach PelicanComposer: Mach PelicanAlbum: Mach PelicanLabel: ShagpileTitle: Remember ItArtist: Mach PelicanComposer: Toshi MaedaAlbum: A Secret SessionLabel: Cheersquad Records & TapesTitle: Just Another DayArtist: DYGLComposer: DYGLAlbum: Who's In The HouseLabel: Easy EnoughThe Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung CountryTechnical production by Mickey Grossman

From a teenage band driving up and down the coast in a station wagon to one of the biggest Australian bands of all time, Midnight Oil survived on the backbone of drummer, founding member, and songwriter Rob Hirst. Hirst, who has died at the age of 70, was a frequent guest on The Music Show, both as an Oil and with his blues band the Backsliders, and we remember him with a selection of appearances, including his demonstration of the musical washboard.And Pinchgut Opera remembers three great opera performers with a new release of the 2019 production of Vivaldi's Farnace. Featuring stunning performances by Taryn Fiebig (1972-2021), Max Riebl (1991-2022), and Jacqueline Dark (1967-2023), it's a vivid record of the production in its own right, but also a memorial to the memories of three artists gone too soon. Pinchgut artistic director and conductor Erin Helyard joins Andy to listen to their voices. Music heard in the program:Title: Beds Are BurningComposer: Hirst, Rob; Moginie, Jim; Garrett, PeterArtist: Midnight OilAlbum: Diesel and DustLabel: ColumbiaTitle: Feeling BlueComposer: John FogertyArtist: BackslidersAlbum: Starvation BoxLabel: Fuse MusicTitle: US ForcesComposer: Hirst, Rob; Moginie, Jim; Garrett, Peter, Rotsey, Martin, Gifford, PeterArtist: Midnight OilAlbum: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1Label: ColumbiaTitle: Sinfonia. Allegro (1)Composer: Antonio VivaldiArtist: Taryn Fiebig, Pinchgut Opera, Orchestra of the Antipodes, Erin HelyardAlbum: FarnaceLabel: Pinchgut LiveTitle: Tito Manlio, RV 738, Act II Scene 18: Aria. Fra le procelleComposer: Antonio VivaldiArtist: Max Riebl (Gilade), Pinchgut Opera, Orchestra of the Antipodes, Erin HelyardAlbum: FarnaceLabel: Pinchgut LiveTitle: Farnace Act III Scene 1: Aria: Non trova mai riposo Composer: Antonio VivaldiArtist: Jacqueline Dark (Berenice), Pinchgut Opera, Orchestra of the Antipodes, Erin HelyardAlbum: FarnaceLabel: Pinchgut LiveTitle: Ottone in villa, RV 729, Act II Scene 6: Aria. Leggi almeno, tiranna infedeleComposer: Antonio VivaldiArtist: Taryn Fiebig (Selinda), Pinchgut Opera, Orchestra of the Antipodes, Erin HelyardAlbum: FarnaceLabel: Pinchgut LiveTitle: Don't Let Me Be MisunderstoodComposer: Bennie Benjamin, Horace Ott, Sol MarcusArtist: Nina SimoneAlbum: Broadway-Blues-BalladsLabel: PhilipsThe Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country. Technical production by Micky Grossman.

The bouzouki has been a feature of Irish folk music since the mid-1960s, and one of the instrument’s finest modern exponents is Daoirí Farrell. He’s also a singer and a song collector, and he's brought his instrument into our studio to demonstrate how the three things fit together.Post-post-modern chanteuse Meow Meow returns to The Music Show to talk about The Red Shoes, the third show in her series of Hans Christian Anderson adaptations. She goes into both the music and the research behind the show, including the revelation of a Danish ballet dancer whose "feet ran away with her", that may have inspired the tale. 

In February 1975, Keith Jarrett turned up at the Cologne Opera House to play a solo concert. He was tired, hungry and in pain, and the Bösendorfer piano was falling apart. Technicians worked on the instrument before and after that night’s opera performance, and the 18-year-old promoter talked Jarrett into going on. Still tired, still hungry (dinner arrived too late), still in pain, and very much against his better judgement, Jarrett took the stage at 11.30pm and played what we now know as The Köln Concert, the biggest selling solo jazz album and biggest solo piano album of all time. Jazz pianist and composer Matt McMahon joins Andy at the ABC’s well-maintained Bösendorfer to talk us through that night and its resultant music.

Lajamanu is one of the most remote places in Central Australia, and it’s where we meet Wanta Jampijinpa Pawu-Kurlpurlurnu, his father Jerry Jangala Patrick OAM, and the music producer Marc ‘Monkey’ Peckham. Crown & Country is a new album and film that’s come out of more than a decade of friendship and collaboration between Wanta, Jerry and Monkey. Blending Warlpiri Jukurrpa (Dreaming) songs, cultural stories, soundscapes from the desert, and electronic beats, it’s a compelling and immersive way of sharing Warlpiri culture with new audiences.The Shangri-Las were responsible for hits like Leader of the Pack and Remember (Walkin’ in the Sand), teenage soap opera songs that sounded like nothing else on radio at the time. Melbourne historian and musician Lisa MacKinney has written the first full-length history of 1960s New York pop group.MacKinney’s book Dressed In Black: The Shangri-Las and their Recorded Legacy flips a lot of the accepted narrative about the group on its head, and argues that their talent and musicality has been overlooked due to their age and gender, and that the emotional impact of their (relatively small) collection of songs is of lasting importance.

On the 25th of August, 1975, Bruce Springsteen released Born to Run, the "dividing line" of his career. Starting with the title track, written on the edge of his bed in a rented cottage in New Jersey, Born to Run signalled the arrival of Springsteen, and the E Street Band. A child of the Kennedy, King, and Malcolm X assassinations, Springsteen transformed classic rock and roll images - the road, the car, the girl - into something potent and virile that reflected the sense of dread in the air. Musician and academic Toby Martin and writer and critic Kerryn Goldsworthy join Andy to trace the arc of Born to Run's story through one violent night in the city, and the root system of its influences, from Roy Orbison, to the Bible, and West Side Story. 

The Glasgow-based singer Quinie travelled across Argyll on her horse Maisie to collect old Scots songs for her new album Forefowk, Mind Me. On this record, Quinie (whose real name is Josie Vallely) pays tribute to her ancestors as well as Scots Traveller singers like Lizzie Higgins, whose deep connection to the land has been expressed beautifully in song for generations. She speaks to Andy about arranging ballad and piping traditions, the melodic influence of the Irish uilleann pipes on this record, and why travelling across the landscape on a horse changes one’s perspective and approach to music.For a band that weren't around very long and only really put out one studio album, the cultural and musical impact of the Sex Pistols is staggering. Guitarist Steve Jones opens up to Andrew Ford about starting the group when he was just a kid, how it feels to be considered a guitar hero now, and why he thinks we're still talking about the band fifty years on. 

“Ships become obsolete; fine furs are ravaged by moths, faded by the sun, worn by rubbing against show cases; garments go out of style; the gold watch grandfather handed down is replaced by a thin one. Change and decay is all around — except in violins. Death rarely comes to the violin.” So wrote Arland Weeks in 1929, in The Scientific Monthly.Dr Laura Case gives Andy a potted history of the violin in Australia, from 1788 to 1914 – and beyond. It's a history of class and gender lines in the colony but it's also about how the violin has been an instrument of both assimilation and resistance by First Nations violinists.