Tom Ball
Host and Marketing RepresentativeTom Ball is the host of 'Homespun' on WCMU, and is also a marketing representative for the station. He is responsible for securing program sponsorships for both WCMU Public Radio and WCMU Public Television.
Tom has been married for nearly 20 years to his lovely and talented wife Diana. They have one cat, and a yard full of beautiful flowers (no thanks to him!). Tom has been associated with WCMU for over 35 years, doing everything from fundraising, to filling in for vacationing staff members, to even taking out the trash!
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…On the next edition of Homespun, new music from Carson Peters & Iron Mountain, Benson, and Rodney Crowell are on the docket; Also some Gaelic sounds from Frankie Gavin, and Relativity; and a couple classics from John Gorka and Rosanne Cash round out the hour! Tune in Saturdays at 6PM! -
His rich baritone and gift for melodies made him one of the most popular artists of the 1970’s. On Homespun this week we’ll celebrate the life of Gordon Lightfoot who passed recently at age 84. We’ll hear songs performed by him and covered by Ian & Sylvia, The Country Gentlemen, Tim O’Brien, Marty Robbins, Tony Rice, and others who were influenced by him and he by them! Tune in Saturday at 6PM! -
Birthdays are always a time for celebration, and on the next edition of Homespun we’ll celebrate Folk Singer, and Social Activist Pete Seeger’s birthday coming up next week! We’ll hear music from Seeger, The Weavers, The Byrds, Magpie, and much more! Tune in Saturdays at 6PM ! -
Spring is for FOLK MUSIC! Michael Cleveland, Nickel Creek, John Hartford, The Double Deckers, Mac Benford, and others will represent folk music on the next Homespun! Tune in Saturdays at 6pm for this representation, plus the release this week (in 1969!) of Bob Dylan’s “Nashville Skyline”! -
Easter is nearly upon us, and Homespun celebrates this most holy time of the year with the Gospel sounds of The Nashville Bluegrass Band, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Mahalia Jackson, The Soul Stirrers, Johnny Cash, and much more! Tune in Saturdays at 6PM! -
As we ease into April, Palm Sunday arrives on the way to Holy week and Easter. On the next Homespun, we’ll get there with help from Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers, The Gibson Brothers, Larry Sparks, Mindy Smith, Gary Nicholson, John Hiatt, and more! Tune in Saturdays at 6PM on WCMU! -
…October means gathering leaves, drinking Apple Cider, and generally settling in for a change of season. I’m Tom Ball, and those things all go with new music from Laura Orshaw, Kenny and Amanda Smith, along with the classic Country sounds of George Jones, Carl Smith, and Leon McAuliffe! Tune in Sundays at 3PM for all this and more !! -
….Mary McCaslin and Loretta Lynn were two outstanding singers and songwriters in their respective fields. We lost both of them recently, and on the next episode of Homespun, we’ll celebrate their lives through their music, along with the old time sounds of Jody Stecher, Bob Carlin, Big Hoedown, and much more! Tune in Sundays at 3PM! -
…The changing of the seasons are upon us, and Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, Flatt & Scruggs, and Alison Brown ushers us along. Erynn Marshall refers to Old Barns and Cheryl Wheeler drives us home! Check all that out and more on Homespun Sundays at 3PM! -
…The Year 1972 was an outstanding time for music-especially live music. On the next Homespun, we’ll celebrate the 50- year Anniversary of The Band’s seminal live album “Rock of Ages”-recorded at the Academy of Music in New York City on the eve of 1971-72. We’ll also hear a track from Ry Cooder’s 1972 masterpiece “Into the Purple Valley”, and much more!
