Mulligan Stew

An artist who blends Americana, folk, gospel, soul, and blues to create something she calls "organic moonshine roots music," June grew up in western Tennessee, a part of the world where different musical traditions meet, something that is reflected in her special sound. She was raised in a musical family where everybody sang.
She is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who plays banjo, guitar, and ukulele. She's also an author, a poet, and a certified mindfulness instructor who sees joy as something fierce, powerful, and radical—a form of resistance. She told The New Yorker, "I'm basically an ambassador for joy, and people are oftentimes like, 'That's so fake, you're bypassing shit.' But that's not my truth. My truth is understanding the darkness and understanding the night and the hard times and choosing to be in a place of joy."
 


 
"Valerie June has built a devoted following by ignoring expectations. She is simultaneously
rural and cosmopolitan, historically minded and contemporary, idiosyncratic and fashionable, mystical and down-to-earth." — New York Times
 
Valerie June


 
She's playing some great shows and festivals, making stops:
July 16 – Toronto, ON – TD Music Hall
July 17 – Ottawa, ON – Ottawa Bluesfest
July 19 – Vancouver, BC – Vancouver Folk
July 22 – Edmonton, AB – Horowitz Theatre
July 23 – Calgary, AB – Calgary Folk
 
Valerie June-Owls, Omens and Oracles


Valerie's critically acclaimed sixth studio album, Owls, Omens and Oracles, came out last summer on Concord Records. It was produced by M Ward and included one of the best songs of 2025, "Joy Joy"!
 
"Getting the courage to do something small
Lifting the spirits of all that you saw
Feeling the tiniest spark in your heart
Only an ember can light up the dark
Are you ready to see
A world where we could all be free
As branches of an endless tree?"
 
One of a kind and driven by writing songs of truth and justice.
 
We welcome back Valerie June.

This week's Mulligan Stew podcast features our own Leeroy Stagger. He's the host of Dirty Windshield Radio Hour on Saturdays on CKUA Radio.
His latest album is about to be released. It's called Pilgrimage.


 
Leeroy found inspiration by reading Alister McIntosh's brilliant  book "Soil and Soul."
 
"I wanted to write on the Highland Clearances of the 1700s that pushed my ancestors from Scotland to Northern Ireland and ultimately Nova Scotia. The repercussions of colonialism that  shake the branches of my family tree and sadly still ring  out throughout my home country of Canada today."
"It was always so strange to me that I felt more at home in Scotland than in my own country; it makes perfect sense to me now. There is a deep ancestral grief for where we once called home."
 
Key to these songs and the entire album is the partnership Leeroy entered into with East Coast legend Joel Plaskett. They played, wrote and produced together.
Joel suggested to Leeroy that they use his  Tascam 388, an old 1/4" 8-track machine. Joel convinced me on the magic, and I  started to see the humanness of  tape, in all of its warm and unpredictable glory."
 
"At this point, we have to ask ourselves what kind of world we want to live in. Digital isolation or a community forward offering of storytelling, of truth in the natural world, of something tangible and real; a bit of the old ways."
 
[caption id="attachment_32453" align="alignnone" width="512"] Leeroy Stagger -Pilgrimage[/caption]
 
Pilgrimage might just help us find it

This week's Mulligan Stew podcast features our own Leeroy Stagger. He's the host of Dirty Windshield Radio Hour on Saturdays on CKUA Radio.
His latest album is about to be released. It's called Pilgrimage.


 
Leeroy found inspiration by reading Alister McIntosh's brilliant  book "Soil and Soul."
 
"I wanted to write on the Highland Clearances of the 1700s that pushed my ancestors from Scotland to Northern Ireland and ultimately Nova Scotia. The repercussions of colonialism that  shake the branches of my family tree and sadly still ring  out throughout my home country of Canada today."
"It was always so strange to me that I felt more at home in Scotland than in my own country; it makes perfect sense to me now. There is a deep ancestral grief for where we once called home."
 
Key to these songs and the entire album is the partnership Leeroy entered into with East Coast legend Joel Plaskett. They played, wrote and produced together.
Joel suggested to Leeroy that they use his  Tascam 388, an old 1/4" 8-track machine. Joel convinced me on the magic, and I  started to see the humanness of  tape, in all of its warm and unpredictable glory."
 
"At this point, we have to ask ourselves what kind of world we want to live in. Digital isolation or a community forward offering of storytelling, of truth in the natural world, of something tangible and real; a bit of the old ways."
 
[caption id="attachment_32453" align="alignnone" width="512"] Leeroy Stagger -Pilgrimage[/caption]
 
Pilgrimage might just help us find it

Once again, I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time and got to experience the lift off of the first Canadian artist to hit #1 in the USA.
Before they became world famous, they were another prairie band trying to get the bosses in Toronto to notice them.
I was at CJME and CKCK in Regina, and over one early 60's summer, they spent the hot months playing at beach parties and small halls.
One after the other.

Then the hits started to roll, and I ended up going to London, UK, with them, to cover the story.
Except the story was a bust.
 Poorly planned on the London end, they played a couple of tv shows and came home.
Then came These Eyes,  American Woman and fame.
After the Guess Who split up, another set of musicians decided to take the name and run with it, for 13 years.
Legalities carried on for many years, but eventually Randy and Burrton Cummings..the two original guys, got the name back and that's why the upcoming Guess Who Tour is called the " taking it back tour."
Taking it back tour dates
June 8 – Saddledome Calgary
June 10 – Rogers Place, Edmonton
Aug 23 PNE Freedom Mobile Arch
August 25 Memorial Arena Victoria

Big fan of Medeski. Martin and Wood.
Then followed the Wood  Brothers through 9 albums.
The media and music fans painted the brothers as a Jam Band. They are anything but.
Jazz and roots/ blues driven with themes and lyrics that dive into human behaviour.
Almost all songs are wrapped in a sensual groove.
All songs written and created by an amazing trio. Chris's brother Oliver and Jano Rix, who'll play any instrument put in front of him.
New album - Puff of Smoke is the best yet.
The Brothers are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut album Ways not to Love.

Chris's personal journey has taken him to a beautiful Wilder Wood farm on Pender Island, one of the best in the Gulf Islands on the West Coast.
He and his biologist wife farm organic vegetables and sell them at the Pender Farm Market on the island.
A percentage of the brothers' ticket sales goes to helping farmers. On both sides of the border.

I caught up with Chris in an airport heading for an opening tour gig in Scottsdale, Arizona.
In the complete interview on the podcast, he finished the chat walking to the gate.
The Wood Brothers play the Hollywood Theatre in Vancouver on May 9.