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While Mardi Gras parades, gatherings, krewe balls and house parties are not permitted this year due to Covid, we look back to celebrate the music, people…

Singer/guitarist Charley Crockett plays what he calls "Gulf and Western" music, a combination of blues, R&B, soul, country and more found along the Gulf Coast from Texas to Louisiana. It makes sense, since that's where he grew up, living with his mother in a trailer. Charley's lived many lives, hitchhiking with his guitar from coast to coast, playing in subways and city streets in New York City, New Orleans, and Paris; working for farms in California, running into trouble with the law and later his health with open heart surgery. He's recorded several highly acclaimed albums and is known for his takes on classic country tunes as well as original songs. But for Charley, the blues is where it all began.

At American Routes, we like to think that we never phone it in; each show is an original. And this one is no exception, but we did make a phone call, back when, to the late country pioneer, Loretta Lynn, to talk about songs and women’s lives, including her own.

Each week, American Routes brings you Shortcuts, a sneak peek at the upcoming show. Pianist, songmaker, and performer Heath Allen has built a career as a cabaret band leader, in musical theater, and creator of the Popera, Andy, an opera about Andy Warhol. Heath has worked with performers ranging from singer-songwriter Susan Werner to a legendary troupe called the Bearded Ladies. Nick Spitzer visited Heath Allen at home in West Philadelphia for conversation and a cabaret piano performance.

In 1941, Emily and Dooky Chase, Sr. opened Dooky Chase Restaurant, a sandwich shop on Orleans Avenue in New Orleans. Under the leadership of their daughter-in-law Leah Chase, the simple shop grew into one of the first African American fine dining restaurants in the country. Today, Leah's legacy lies in the hands of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Now, that crew, which Leah always referred to as "the grands," are debuting their own TV series, produced locally by WYES-TV and airing on PBS affiliates throughout the country. We sat down with the younger generations at the restaurant during the taping of The Dooky Chase Kitchen: Leah's Legacy. On this week's show, we hear not only those young, ambitious voices, but we've dug into our archives to bring you material that never previously aired from the late, great Leah herself.

Each week, American Routes brings you Shortcuts, a sneak peek at the upcoming show. Shemekia Copeland's dad, Texas guitarist Johnny Copeland, moved his family to Harlem, where Shemekia was born and grew up surrounded by hip-hop, but dedicated to the blues. She's been in the blues scene since she was a little girl singing at her dad's shows. We began back in those early days, on stage, with her father.

This is American Routes live for Labor Day weekend with some favorite performances from our series of concerts created with the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. To kick it off, we asked the Pine Leaf Boys to make a big journey across the Atchafalaya swamp from Lafayette and their South Louisiana Cajun prairie homeland down the Mississippi River to New Orleans to play on a live stream as the pandemic closed the dancehalls of French Louisiana. It’s “Pine Leaf Boy Two-Step” on American Routes.

Yvette Landry wears many hats: musician, songwriter, educator, author, and record producer. Hailing from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, Yvette grew up listening to music but wasn’t interested in playing music until later in life. After her dad was diagnosed with cancer, Yvette bought a bass for Cajun jam sessions with the Lafayette Rhythm Devils. She went on to join the female-led Cajun band Bonsoir, Catin, and now fronts the Yvette Landry Band. Though she’s performed internationally, Yvette has stayed close to home, teaching American Sign Language and songwriting at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette.

Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers co-founder Chris Hillman is a musician, singer, songwriter, and author. A third generation Californian, Hillman grew up hearing Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, all on his parents’ hi-fi. He discovered bluegrass and picked up mandolin by way of Bill Monroe and the New Lost City Ramblers. At seventeen, Hillman joined his first band, the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers, a bluegrass group that included Eagles’ guitarist Bernie Leadon. He later played with the Golden State Boys, the resident bluegrass band for Los Angeles television’s Cal’s Corral, which became the Hillmen. I spoke to Chris Hillman over Zoom, where he told me how he was recruited to play bass for the Byrds at a studio rehearsal in L.A.

Los Cenzontles means “the mockingbirds” in the indigenous Nahuatl language. The band mixes traditional Mexican music with contemporary sounds including American rock and soul. They’ve collaborated with Linda Ronstadt, Taj Mahal, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, and Jackson Browne, but their main collaborators are children. Los Cenzontles is also a community-based arts academy that teaches music, dance, arts and crafts to its young students. We sat down with Los Cenzontles’ founder and guitarist Eugene Rodriguez and with singers Lucina Rodriguez, and Fabiola Trujillo.