You Gotta Have Faith...Boblett

by Doug MacRostie

It's a pretty good deal, hosting a MN music program; not only do I have access to some excellent tunes, but the creators of the music come and join me in studio from time to time. This Thursday night at 6 on Centerstage MN I'll be joined in-studio by singer/songwriter Faith Boblett from Outing. Just out of High School, Faith has a beautiful voice and she'll bring her guitar along for some live music! She is in a continuous process of writing music, releasing new material to her fans by posting home-recorded videos of new songs on her YouTube channel. I'm really excited to have Faith on and hear her sing in person, and I'll try to get inside the head of an 18 year old songwriter.

I'll also be talking with Janiva Magness, a Blues and R&B singer with a rich and soulful voice that can lead an audience from deep sorrow to overwhelming joy. Originally from Detroit, she spent much of her youth in the Twin Cities area after both her parents commited suicide (there is a lot of tragedy in her past, you can read more about it here - she definitely has the "street-cred" to sing the blues...). While in MN, she got to spend some time in the great blues clubs of the era, which is when she hitchhicked across Minneapolis to see Otis Rush, an experience that opened her eyes to being a singer and performer. Janiva now has 7 full length albums to her credit and at the Blues Music Awards last month she recieved both Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year & B.B. King Entertainer of the Year awards. Janiva is also National Spokesperson for Casey Family Programs, promoting National Foster Care Month, and I'm honored to have her on the show.

I'll be playing some new music from Russ Brown, a singer/songwriter out of Minneapolis who just released his debut CD "The Fugitive Peace," and Marcy Playground's new CD "Leaving Wonderland...in a Fit of Rage," another excellent release from the New York/Minneapolis trio.

Last week my guest was Jason Edmonds of The Magic Castles, a highly creative and wonderfully unique psych-pop band out of Minneapolis. I had Jason back on the show to talk about their excellent new sophomore release "Dreams of Dreams of Dreams;" you can hear our conversation and some of the tunes by clicking here. It's like Jason said, "I've taken so much from the art community [in MN]...all my life I feel like I've been surrounded by awesome artist and I had a real desire to give back to that pool of art in a meaningful way and it's a real blessing to be able to do it w the Magic Castles."

Centerstage MN is Thursday evening's at 6, streaming live online at www.KAXE.org; or 91.7 Grand Rapids, 89.9 Brainerd and 105.3 Bemidji. All interviews are archived at www.KAXE.org and the show is rebroadcast Sunday mornings at 6.