News, Culture and NPR for Central & Northern Michigan
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Homespun
Saturdays from 6pm - 7pm

'Homespun' is a program that focuses on the "traditional" side of music, although that can stretch from very old 78 rpm reissues to the contemporary music of today. Host Tom Ball says there are only two kinds of music: good music and bad music, and he strives to focus on the good each week!

Latest Episodes
  • …On this week’s special 4th of July edition of Homespun, Old Glory will fly with the sounds of Woody Guthrie, The Staple Singers, Johnny Cash, Pete Seeger, Rhiannon Giddens, plus Simon & Garfunkel, as they honor our Independence and Freedom!
  • …On the next edition of Homespun, we’ll spend some time with new music from Jason Isbell, The North Mississippi All Stars, James McMurtry, and Route 23! We’ll also slide down to Louisiana with Clifton Chenier, Sonny Landreth, plus Octa Clark and Hector Duhon.
  • …The Summer Solstice is upon us, so on Homespun this week we’ll hear the breezy sounds of The Rockinghams, Ashleigh Graham, Adam Hurt, Eiaza Carthy, new James McMurtry, and many others!
  • ….This week’s edition is a special “fundraising” broadcast as we finish out our fiscal year on a high note! Some old favorites like JD Crowe & the New South, Mike Seeger, The Country Gentlemen and much more to inspire you to pledge support for WCMU!Try it! It’s fun!! AND, you keep great traditional music alive on your favorite Public Radio station!
  • ….This past week marked 2 milestones: The birth of Hazel Dickens (6/1/25) and the passing of Jean Ritchie (6/1/15).The next edition of Homespun recognizes both with the music of Dickens and Ritchie along with friends The Johnson Mountain Boys, Sally Rogers & Howie Bursen, Phyllis Boyens, and others.
  • The days are getting longer and nicer, so on Homespun this week, we have some long and nice pieces of music from Danny Paisley, Shawn Lane & Richard Bennett, Ry Cooder, Sonny Terry, Mindy Smith, and more!
  • On this week’s edition of Homespun, we’ll be celebrating Bob Dylan’s birthday with songs from the bard himself, plus Joan Baez, Ian & Sylvia, The Country Gentlemen, The Brothers and Sisters, plus more covering his music!
  • …Barry Poss started the independent record label “Sugar Hill” in the early 1980’s and proceeded to become a very important part of the Folk and Bluegrass music scene. He recently passed away, and this week on Homespun we spend the hour celebrating his life through the music he produced and distributed!
  • …Well, we’ve had some rain, and as flowers begin to grow, new music sprouts up this week on Homespun from Suzy Thompson, plus Tim O’Brien and Jan Fabricus. We’ll also dive deep with tracks from Flatt & Scruggs, along with Don Stover, and a previously unreleased cut from Richard and Teddy Thompson!
  • …This week on Homespun we’ll visit some of Bluegrass Unlimited’ s Top 30 Survey Chart! We’ll hear from Woody Platt, Red Camel Collective, and the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys. We’ll also check in with some new Midwest Old Timey music from Kettle Bog, and spin a rare live track from Ry Cooder ca. 1972!