It’s been two years since we updated our list of the essential podcasts in our part of the musical forest, and as podcasts do come and go on occasion, it seemed like a good time before the summer holidays to point you towards some good listening. We will of course assume you already have the Americana UK podcast hosted as your number one listening choice, but here are some more that you may like to add to your list. We’ve tried to search out some stations and podcasts you may not have found, but if we haven’t featured your favourite, drop a comment with a link.
Number 10=. Americana Podcast: The 51st State
Hosted by Robert Earl Keen, this pod is dedicated to sharing and expanding the roots, reach, and definition of the genre. Keen interviews legendary and rising musicians, exploring their creative processes, songwriting crafts, and histories. Recent episodes feature chats with artists like Billy Strings and James McMurtry. He missed all of 2025, returning with half a dozen episodes so far this year. With episodes going back to 2019, Keen has never interviewed the obvious people, but the shows are never less than interesting and have certainly pushed me to listen to new artists on occasion
Ben Fanning’s podcast is all about stories, and the journeys artists make to find their music. He doesn’t often cover the usual suspects, preferring to talk with people whose story teaches us something about them and the americana world in general. His strapline is “the podcast that unearths hidden americana gems, shares untold stories from legends, and proves music still has the power to move us all.” Having said that, his recent episode, which crossed over from his equally good business podcast lead The Team, was an interview with CEO and author Andy Freed where they talked about Bruce Springsteen’s leadership style, which was fascinating. Oddly, the YouTube feed is not as up to date as Spotify or Apple, so best to follow the pod on Instagram for the latest update.
Number 9. Freight Train Boogie Show
We featured this one back in 2024, but since then it has grown from around 100 episodes to over 500. Hosted by Bill Frater, use this pod as an audio diary focusing strictly on the music rather than heavy host chatter. As we suggested last time, it is the ideal place to discover independent artists, offering a “grab bag” of music from across americanaland.
Number 8. The Working Songwriter
We included this in our 2020 round-up, and it’s still one of the best podcasts on our sort of music. Hosted by singer-songwriter Joe Pug, this podcast takes a “talking shop” approach. Because Pug is a touring musician himself, he can dig into the practical realities, creative drives, and psychological hurdles of his peers in the americana world. Visiting the website gives the impression that it is behind a paywall. It is still available on Apple, Spotify and the rest, but Pug’s Vault is worth signing up for. His albums are consistently great, and at $4.99 per month you get access to everything, including the podcast.
Number 7. NPR’s Mountain Stage
Podcasts and radio shows tend to come and go, so one that has 40 years of history like Mountain Stage is unusual. A podcast version of the live radio programme. It features complete, unedited recordings of live performances that often include songs cut from the standard radio broadcast. It is a brilliant way to hear established stars and new acoustic talent in a live setting. The recent archive special from 2006 was a great place to start if you’re new to the show. The April feature on Emily Scott Robinson backs up our 8/10 album review and puts her among my new favourite artists for 2026. Their next show has The Jayhawks; what more do you need?
Produced by One Southern Man, and hosted by Shelby Morrison, this podcast highlights Southern culture, literature, and music. It regularly features interviews with musicians and songwriters “defining the modern sound of the American South.” More than that, though, it is a little window into a very different part of the world. This may be what podcasting was like in 1873. Their website offers this caveat. “Although men are our focus, we always welcome belles and take pleasure standing as you enter our room.”
Number 5. Walking the Floor with Chris Shiflett
Hosted by Foo Fighters guitarist and solo country-roots artist Chris Shiflett, this series features casual, musician-to-musician chats. Shiflett speaks with a wide array of guests across country, rock, and americana, focusing heavily on their gear, touring life, and musical influences. Not exclusively americana, (Suggs from Madness was featured recently), but always interesting and a nice complement to Joe Pug’s series. Shiflett gets quite focused on the minutiae of music tech and technique, to the extent that he started a second podcast called Shred with Shifty where he learnt famous guitar solos with their creator. Not currently releasing new episodes, but with over 200 episodes, Walking the Floor is worth sipping into for your favourite artists.
Number 4. The Big Fat Wide Americana Hour
You’ll have to dig into the Podbean platform for this one. It promotes the idea that most strands of American music are related to each other. So, the show features americana, country, blues, soul, bluegrass, folk, R&B and doo-wop. But a typical show recently included Etta James, Emmylou Harris, Rhiannon Giddens, Randy Newman and Aaron Neville. Host M.D. Spenser is a bit of an acquired-taste presentation-wise, but has a mostly impeccable selection of music. A great alternative to a playlist from the dreaded S*****y.
Number 3. Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch
Jorma Kaukonen introduces a series of concerts recorded at the Fur Peace Ranch guitar camp in Meigs County, Ohio. An eclectic blend of performances including blues, folk, americana, rock, and bluegrass, with some quite brilliant performances. Recently, the two-part show from Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore was a highlight, as was Peter Rowan’s from 2024, recently rebroadcast. Nearly 600 shows to listen to online, with new ones added most weeks. Audio quality is mostly excellent, but as these are live, they can occasionally be a bit raw, but the music is worth it every time.
Number 2. American Songcatcher
With a mission statement that says: “American Songcatcher is an educational documentary-style podcast that preserves and connects the cultural heritage of American roots music through stories and song,” you may expect something rather dry. Fear not; this documentary series is anything but. Featuring the artists who played integral roles in the many different forms American traditional music takes: blues, country, jazz, bluegrass, western, gospel, old-time, and the more current music that is derived from it. Run over 3 seasons and completing about a year ago. If you want to know where the music we listen to now came from, this is where to learn.
Number 1. The Americana UK podcast
Leaving the best until last? But of course. Hosted by our very own Keith Hargreaves. Americana old and new, with news from the website and interviews with movers and shakers in our world. Need we say more?
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