Today’s Folk Espresso show is an inviting 90 minutes of eclectic music prepared especially for Presidents’ Day on KBOO. The first half of the program stirs together wit, protest, and history through songs that circle the American presidency from many angles. Arlo Guthrie’s sharp “Presidential Rag” squares off with Randy Newman’s working-class plea “Mr. President,” while Blind Willie Johnson’s “When the War Was On” reaches back to the Woodrow Wilson era. Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’” echoes the Kennedy years, and American Aquarium reflects on modern politics in “The World is on Fire.” There is humor too, from Na Fianna’s affectionate “There’s No One as Irish as Barack Obama” to the Coen Brothers inspired “Please Mr. Kennedy,” alongside Dion’s and Marvin Gaye’s folk-soul reflections on Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
After the headlines fade, the second half settles into straight ahead folk and roots music. Alicia Blue, Gram Parsons, and Stephen Stills share space with Steve Earle, and Tom Waits, while Bruce Cockburn and the collaborative Goat Rodeo Sessions add instrumental depth. The program serves as a reminder that beyond politics, folk music remains a living conversation about everyday people, restless roads, and the search for home.