Routes & Branches & Beyond, show # 232, 7 July 2022 by Ivan Emke

Summer is a time for many things, and one of those is meeting up with extended family - at reunions, for example. Most family members come out of hiding, at some point, while the sun is shining and the days are long. So what better to do these days than to have a short series on families - with songs and tunes that make reference to uncles, aunts, cousins, families and reunions. This episode of "Routes & Branches & Beyond" is the first of that series. I have jigging kin, wandering uncles, mountain tubthumping stringbands, sheep rustling, rodent courtship rituals, Irish Cajun cousins, alt-folk family planning, classic Irish trad reunions, obscure nonsense pop, Acadian kitchen stompers, autoharp reunions and Don Messer at a Jewish wedding. All with musicians like Shred Kelly, Oliver Schroer & the Stewed Tomatoes, La Famille Arsenault, Sharon Shannon, the Chieftains, Tony Allen, Shanneygannock, Bryan Bowers, Roger Miller, Còig, Danú, and the Kitgut String Band. Pack a salad and a dessert for the potluck and c'mon along.