Paul Metsa and Mr. Charlie Pierce, had another great chat in our semi-regular episodes we call "Checkpoint Charlie." Charles Pierce writes a political column for Esquire.com, and Paul refers to him as his "psychological morphine drip for all things political." Besides discussing the state of our once-great nation, Charlie reminds us of the origin of the term "Gerrymandering." Always a hoot when Paul and Charlie chat!

Host Paul Metsa had a great chat with Ms. Ellen Stekert. Ms. Stekert has a long career as a folksinger, a folklorist, college professor and more. She's had a fascinating life and recently discovered a field recording of the late great Reverend Gary Davis that she and friends recorded in NYC in 1951. Paul and Ellen chatted about that as well as Alan Lomax, Woody Guthrie, and more. We played some of Ellen's music as well as a bit of the Reverend Gary Davis archival tape. It was a great interview, and if you listen closely, you can hear Ellen's 60 year old parrot chiming in.

Paul Metsa had a great chat with musician, songwriter and journalist Jeff Slate ahead of his appearance at the Music in the Park series in Silver Bay. They covered several topics including Slate's interview with Bob Dylan in the Wall Street Journal. We featured a couple of Jeff's songs as well.

 

Paul Metsa and Dr. Kristin Lyerly, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist from Green Bay, WI had a great discussion about the upcoming election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Dr. Lyerly lives in Green Bay, WI and also practices in Hibbing, MN where they both met while sitting next to each other at the MN Premiere of A Complete Unknown (the Bob Dylan biopic) on 12/20/24 in Hibbing. Dr. Lyerly spoke of the importance of the WI Supreme Court race and her strong support of Susan Crawford who is currently Circuit Court Judge and the political ramifications of the race. While Dr. Lyerly is also a former candidate for both the Wisconsin State Assembly and 8th Congressional District, she also told some funny tales about her time as Goldy the Golden Gopher mascot during her time at the University of Minnesota.

Paul Metsa and Mary Bue had a wonderful chat about Mary's dynamite new record The Wildness of Living and Dying and played several tracks off it. They also chatted about Mary's time in Duluth, her travels internationally leading yoga retreats, and more.

 



 

 

Paul Metsa and Mike Kappus had a great conversation about Mike's long history in the music business starting with his beginning in Eau Claire, WI booking music shows around town, getting his music bookers license at age 19, a short stint in Milwaukee, WI before moving to San Francisco to create and run the legendary Rosebud Agency for over 50 years. During that time, his agency booked thousands of show featuring a literal Who's Who of American roots and blues musicians. Some of these great musicians are pictured below including Mike with John Lee Hooker and B.B. King, Taj Mahal, Muddy Waters, and J.J. Cale. Learn more about Mike and his agency at www.rosebudus.com

 

 

Paul is joined today by fan favorite Checkpoint Charlie Pierce for the first time in 2025 to discuss politics, news, and music.

Paul Metsa is a renowned musician who hosts the Wall of Power on Saturday nights at 6 PM on AM950. Also, find his books wherever books are sold.

Paul Metsa had a great chat with Terri Thal, author of My Greenwich Village- Dave, Bob, and Me about her time growing up in Brooklyn, and then moving to Greenwich Village. She met, then married, folksinger Dave Van Ronk and also managed a young Bob Dylan when he first moved to NYC. She also taped him live at the Gaslight Cafe. She talks about this and more in this wonderful interview.

 

Paul Metsa and singer-songwriter Ike Reilly had a great chat about Ike's new documentary Don't Turn Your Back on Friday Night, which was produced by fellow Libertyville, Illinois native Tom Morello. Ike talked about his love of Minneapolis, First Avenue, Grumpy's Bar and more. We also featured several of Ike's songs. A great chat, just two songwriters talking shop and more.

This week host Paul Metsa was joined by AM950's weekday afternoon host, the one and only Matt McNeil! They talk about their experiences spending time on the Iron Range and election thoughts.

Paul Metsa was joined by Charlie Pierce for another episode in our “Checkpoint Charlie” series!

Paul makes his first visit to the AM950 studio in a few years on today's show!

We had a great chat with legendary folk singer Tom Paxton this week. Tom had a treasure trove of stories, and his story about hearing Bob Dylan's Hard Rain is Gonna Fall the day after he wrote it, is priceless!

 

We had a lovely chat with Kurt Nelson, a long time beloved member of the Twin Cities music community. We played several tracks from his music career and enjoyed Kurt's stories, his history, his sense of humor, as his personality shone brightly throughout!

Paul Metsa is an acclaimed musician and host of the Wall of Power Radio Hour on AM950 every Saturday night at 6 PM or podcast on am950radio.com.

Host Paul Metsa is joined by Charlie Pierce for another episode in our checkpoint Charlie series.