Eats and Beats

Flagstaff photographer Mike Frankel has had experiences that most any rock ‘n’ roll fan would envy: he shot the Beatles on their first U.S. tour and turned his lens on the Who, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, and David Bowie, among many others. Now he's compiled dozens of never-before-seen images into a book called “Hurricanes of Color.”

For more than two decades, Old Crow Medicine show has been a bona-fide institution in the traditional music world. But their appeal has expanded well into the mainstream, partially due to their modern-day classic song “Wagon Wheel” that’s been covered the world over. In the latest installment of KNAU’s series Eats and Beats, we hear from Old Crow’s leader Ketch Secor about the unifying power of folk music and its raw, visceral energy that transcends generations.

Flagstaff folk-rock band Tow’rs recorded their new album live in studio, forcing them to abandon their quest for perfection. Like so many others during the pandemic, front couple Kyle and Gretta Miller felt like parts of their lives were out of control. Their new album is an intimate, yet brutally honest examination of the life they’ve built together and letting go of what doesn’t serve them.

The musical duo Sway Wild is scheduled to perform in Flagstaff on Saturday. It’s a homecoming of sorts for musicians Mandy Fer and Dave McGraw, to the place where they formed their band more than a dozen years ago. They have a passionate following of fans and are known for their ethereal vocal harmonies and heartfelt live shows. In the latest installment of KNAU’s series Eats and Beats, Sway Wild talks about their longtime musical partnership and artistic evolution.

Guitarist Nels Cline is best known for his work with the band Wilco. But one of his free-form side projects, the Radical Empathy Trio, couldn’t be more different and focuses on pure improvisation.

Music can tap hidden wellsprings in the mind and help listeners solve problems that once seemed insurmountable. That’s the idea behind a unique collaboration called Rising Tide: The Crossroads Project. It mixes original music by composer Laura Kaminsky with the science of climate change. The Fry String Quartet brings the performance to Northern Arizona University tonight. In KNAU’s latest installment of Eats and Beats, stories about food and music, Melissa Sevigny spoke with a scientist and a violinist about how the project was born.

Blues is at the very core of the music made by famed rockers Gov’t Mule. For the first time they’ve recorded an entire album of traditional blues songs. In the latest installment of KNAU’s Eats and Beats, frontman Warren Haynes talks about the band’s bluesy exploration ahead of their show in Flagstaff this weekend.

One in six people in Coconino County experienced food insecurity before the pandemic. Job loss, inflation, and the nationwide shortage of baby formula have all made things worse for families struggling to make ends meet. A group of students at Flagstaff Arts & Leadership Academy decided to address the problem…. in a practical and artistic way. In KNAU’s latest installment of Eats & Beats, stories about food and music, Melissa Sevigny reports on a class project to install a Little Free Pantry.

Last week, Raven Chacon became the first Indigenous composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for music. The musician and educator grew up in Chinle on the Navajo Nation and was recognized for a piece called “Voiceless Mass.” He composed it specifically to be played on a pipe organ housed in a church in Milwaukee and premiered the work during Thanksgiving weekend last year. The music has an unsettling quality that, as Chacon says, reflects marginalized communities that served as the inspiration for the piece. In this installment of KNAU’s series Eats and Beats, he talks about “Voiceless Mass” and how it could serve as a touchstone for the under-heard and overlooked.

The acclaimed Americana band Son Volt is on tour in support of their 10th studio album, "Electro Melodier." For bandleader Jay Farrar, the pandemic was the backdrop for the songs and the social justice movements of 2020 served as a primary inspiration. Much of the album rambles through the American experience with lyrics ripped straight from the headlines.