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The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of those enslaved in the Sea Islands of Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina. Because of the remoteness of the plantations, the Gullah Geechee were able to retain some of their African traditions, including the ring shout. It’s a ritual in which participants move counterclockwise in a circle while shuffling and stomping their feet and clapping their hands, in call and response fashion. The tradition is rooted in West African culture, mixed with elements of Christianity. The Gullah Geechee Ring Shouters from Darien, Georgia have preserved this ancestral heritage through performance and education since 1980. They joined us on stage at the New Orleans Jazz Museum where they started with a song you will probably recognize, that came from the Gullah Geechee culture.

This is American Routes, remembering Flaco Jiménez, who passed away in July. Leonard “Flaco” Jiménez was the most influential Texas-Mexican accordion player of his time. Flaco’s father Santiago Jiménez Sr. helped create the style called “conjunto” or “la música norteña,” from rancheras to polkas. Flaco Jiménez was born in 1939 in San Antonio and carried his father's sound forward. In addition to singing, Flaco became famous for his rhythmic drive, inventive solos and stage antics. From his 1950s teenage days playing local dances, Flaco emerged in the early ‘70s to record with Doug Sahm and Ry Cooder, and later Linda Ronstadt and Los Lobos. I talked to the squeezebox king about his sound and his name.

Jimmy C. Newman grew up in French Louisiana, hearing Cajun music as well as Gene Autry and other country musicians. He began playing with Chuck Guillory’s Rhythm Boys. Later he played on the Louisiana Hayride, and in 1956, he joined the Grand Ole Opry. Even with commercial success as a country music star, Newman recalled his roots, introducing a wider audience to Cajun sounds. After his passing in 2014, producer and musician Joel Savoy teamed up with Jimmy’s son Gary Newman, to record a tribute, Farewell, Alligator Man, released on Valcour Records in 2017. Here’s Gary:

The weather is cooling down here in Louisiana, which means outdoor events are heating up across our state. Out on the Cajun Prairie, Le Grand Hoorah, a festival dedicated to the music, food, and culture of the people of Acadiana, is coming up November 1st. The annual event turns 10 this year – and to celebrate, Louisiana Eats brings you highlights from our road trip to attend Le Grand Hoorah in 2017. We also learn about NOLA Nite Market, an evening bazaar featuring a plethora of authentic Asian street foods created by local mom and pop restaurants, which will take place November 14th and 15th in Westwego.

In honor of the harvest and hallows, we travel down the bayou in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, to visit wood carver and Houma Indian Ivy Billiot. Ivy learned the Houma tradition of basket weaving from his father, and although the wood is scarce these days, Ivy still crafts hunting blow guns, violins, and painted carvings of animals. He tells host Nick Spitzer about his relationship to the natural and supernatural worlds.

The Quebe Sisters grew up in Burleson, Texas near Dallas-Fort Worth. Grace, Sophia, and Hulda were homeschooled and largely sheltered from the outside world. At a young age, their attention moved from violin lessons to fiddle contests, immersing themselves in traditional Texas swing. While the 1940s fiddle music was little known to their peers, it was the Quebe Sisters’ ticket to ride. They have since shared the stage with country legends Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Ricky Skaggs. Here’s Sophia Quebe:

Castro Coleman, also known as Mr. Sipp, was born in McComb, Mississippi. He grew up hearing his parents, grandfather, uncles, aunties, and cousins playing and singing music at home and in the church. He was also influenced by professional gospel groups, as well as the bluesman B.B. King, who inspired Mr. Sipp to pick up the guitar at age six. Sipp would go on to play B.B. King in the CMT network’s series, Sun Records. Mr. Sipp has gone on to receive many blues and gospel awards, but he has never let his music be defined by one style.

This week we remember the late Raul Malo, who passed away on December 8, 2025. Raul Malo was born in Miami to Cuban parents. In 1989, he started The Mavericks. Named for going against the grain, the Mavericks began in the punk and alternative scene and eventually found great success in country music, incorporating Latin, rockabilly, and pop sounds. By 2000, the group parted ways and Raul Malo pursued a solo career in LA. He joined Los Super Seven with Joe Ely, Freddy Fender, members of Los Lobos, Max Baca, Doug Sahm, and others. In 2012, Malo reunited with the Mavericks, releasing several albums and touring widely. In 2020, they released En Español, an album entirely in Spanish. Making a record like this took Raul many years of listening within and outside his family.

The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of those enslaved in the Sea Islands of Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina. Because of the remoteness of the plantations, the Gullah Geechee were able to retain some of their African traditions, including the ring shout. It’s a ritual in which participants move counterclockwise in a circle while shuffling and stomping their feet and clapping their hands, in call and response fashion. The tradition is rooted in West African culture, mixed with elements of Christianity. The Gullah Geechee Ring Shouters from Darien, Georgia have preserved this ancestral heritage through performance and education since 1980. They joined us on stage at the New Orleans Jazz Museum where they started with a song you will probably recognize, that came from the Gullah Geechee culture.

Singer Allison Russell is a native of Montreal with what she calls “Grenadian Canadian” roots of Afro-Caribbean and Scottish ancestry. You may know her recordings with Our Native Daughters and the Birds of Chicago, or back when with Po’ Girl. In her first solo recording, Outside Child, Russell addressed family abuse in her youth, followed by escape to the road: Vancouver, San Francisco, Chicago. Those early life experiences led Allison years later to make new, compelling songs, expressing freedom from trauma, to love and hope for better times. She lives now with fellow musician JT Nero and their young daughter in Nashville, but Allison Russell began the journey’s narrative in her beloved Montreal.