Ellen Stanley celebrates 20 years of her 'Womenfolk' show with an epic concert

[MUSIC - MOTHER BANJO, "EYES ON THE SKY"] MOTHER BANJO: (SINGING) It's easy to [INAUDIBLE]. Nod and comply. Going to shake my head no.

CATHY WURZER: Now, if you live in the Twin Cities metro area, I bet you recognize this voice. That's folk musician Mother Banjo, known as Ellen Stanley. Ellen is the creator and the voice of one of the longest-running radio shows in North America-- no lie. Ellen's show Womenfolk. It airs on KFAI, Fresh Air Community Radio in Minneapolis. It's carried on stations across the country, available via PRX. Oh, it's a great show.

Her show highlights women in folk music, and this month celebrates 20 years on the air with a special performance of folk musicians at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis. I am honored that Ellen Stanley is here to share more. Hey, congratulations.

ELLEN STANLEY: Thank you so much, Cathy. I kind of can't believe it's been 20 years. Wasn't that just yesterday I moved to Minneapolis? I don't know.

CATHY WURZER: I know, right? This is not an easy business. 20 years is a long time. What's the secret sauce for success?

ELLEN STANLEY: Well, passion. I'm just a big music nerd. I think everything I've done in music-- and I've worn a lot of hats as a musician, as you mentioned, and promoting other people's music, and just sharing it on the airwaves as a DJ. And I think it all stems from being a mega fan. I grew up making mixtapes for my friends and sharing music that I thought was cool. That's basically what being a DJ is, is sharing music that you think that other people would like and get enjoyment out of, and spreading the gospel of good music.

CATHY WURZER: You could have done any genre, but you focused on folk music, women in folk music. Tell me the story.

ELLEN STANLEY: Well, I got my radio start in college, at Oberlin College in Ohio, at WOBC. And again, sort of continuing that music nerdery, I was just interested in doing radio. I had no experience. But that's what college radio is for.

And there were a few folk shows that were already on the air on the station, but I just noticed that there just weren't many women being played on those shows. So really, it was just I saw a need, and I thought I'd apply to do a women's folk show. And I got it, and have been doing women's folk music programming ever since.

Now 25 years total of doing women's folk radio programming, people ask me, is it still necessary? And sadly, yes, because there are many artists who would not get the attention they deserve if it weren't for the show.

CATHY WURZER: What do women bring to folk?

ELLEN STANLEY: A different perspective. I think any time you have any kind of underrepresented voice shared on the airwaves, sharing different people's stories, and music is just an extension of that, right? And that's why I like folk music. It's about storytelling. And I think any time you do that, whether it's women, or people of color, or LGBTQ+, I think the idea that you're having other stories represented is really important. Because if it's only white men being represented, then you're missing out on the human experience.

CATHY WURZER: You know, I'm going to fangirl on you here right now and tell you that I listen, and I really love your interviews with-- so there you go. Especially those with the national folk musicians. What are your tips for connecting and getting the most out of a conversation?

ELLEN STANLEY: Well, obviously, if you can do it face to face, that's always better, which I know in radio is challenging, and you know all about this. But I think the main thing is to be able to just show, A, that you know the music and people feel more comfortable, but also to ask them questions that they don't normally get asked, and fun questions. And one of the things that I've found is great is to ask them, what are they reading, or what kind of food they eat on the road, or something that's not maybe out of their press kit, you know?

CATHY WURZER: Yes.

ELLEN STANLEY: That makes them just feel like, oh, this person is interested in me as opposed to just this person wants to promote my record.

CATHY WURZER: Of course, people ask me this all the time about memorable interviews. And I usually have no great answer because I can't remember. There's been so many interviews. Do you have one perhaps that sticks out in your mind for you?

ELLEN STANLEY: Oh, yes, Joan Baez-- hands down my favorite interview of all time. And I was pretty nervous about doing that. I didn't know her personally, but of course, was a big fan. And her manager told me-- this was before a show at the O'Shaughnessy Auditorium at Saint Kate's a bunch of years ago. And her manager said, yes, you can do this interview at the venue after her soundcheck, but you only have 10 minutes. So I was like, OK, so I was really trying to make the most of my 10 minutes with her.

And when the 10 minutes was about to be up, I said, I know we have to wrap things up. And she said, we don't have to wrap things up. I'd love to keep talking to you. And we talked for another 30 minutes. And she was so gracious and lovely.

And at the end of the interview, she said-- I asked her, is there anything else you'd like to share with KFAI listeners? And she said, well, first, I want to say you're an excellent interviewer. And I think I just about died on the spot. I was like, I don't care if she's just being nice. It was the fact that she even bothered to tell me that after all the interviews she's done was just like-- I'm like, I could just retire right now. But of course, I haven't.

CATHY WURZER: Wow. That is a great memory. And I bet you learned a lot from her about music.

ELLEN STANLEY: Yeah. And I think that's one thing that I really enjoy about doing the artist interviews is that I feel like I learn so much from the musicians about talking about them, how they do their craft, how they approach their careers. And I think that's what listeners enjoy, too, is that-- because I've worn a lot of different hats in the music industry, I think people like that I can bring some of that knowledge and sort of translate it for folks who maybe aren't musicians. And I think people really appreciate that, getting to see these musicians as people, but also get an insider's look into what it's like to create music in this day and age.

CATHY WURZER: I need to talk about this live performance coming up at the Parkway to celebrate the 20th anniversary of women folk. So you've got a long lineup of musicians, which is great. And we're going to have to listen to some of the music, too. I want to play a little bit by Becky Schlegel right now. This is called "Red Leaf," and then we'll talk about it.

[MUSIC - BECKY SCHLEGEL, "RED LEAF"]

BECKY SCHLEGEL: (SINGING) Little red leaf fallen on the ground. Little red leaf, time's all run out. Sunshine be damned. The air is crisp. I didn't know it was going to feel like this.

CATHY WURZER: Ooh, her voice is just so clear. I love that. Tell me more about Becky.

ELLEN STANLEY: Well, Becky has been a part of Womenfolk ever since I have started hosting the show. In fact, she was one of the first Minnesota artists that I heard when I moved to the Twin Cities. She was playing at the Minnesota Folk Festival in Mounds Park in Saint Paul. And I'd just moved to town. And I said, who is that voice? And I ran over to the stage. And it was Becky Schlegel. And she might have even been singing this song. This record came out around that time. So she was definitely singing this song.

I was just struck by her. I was like, oh, she's kind of like an Alison Krauss style voice, but this incredible songwriter. And she just has a ton of them. But this song felt like an appropriate one because it feels like it marks the beginning of Womenfolk for me, because it was not only just come out around that time, but it also was one of the first Minnesota artists I discovered when I moved here.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, she's got a gorgeous voice, a gorgeous voice. You're going to hear from Mary Cutrufello fellow next. We're going to hear "Rollin' and Tumblin'."

ELLEN STANLEY: Hmm, yes.

[MUSIC - MARY CUTRUFELLO, "ROLLIN' AND TUMBLIN'"]

MARY CUTRUFELLO: (SINGING) Well, I don't need your bad advice. I heard it once. I don't need to hear it twice, baby. All your talking brings me down. I won't be coming back around, baby. I'm just rollin', rollin' and tumblin'.

CATHY WURZER: She reminds me of Janis Joplin. I'm just going to say that out loud. What do you think?

ELLEN STANLEY: Yeah. Well, she definitely has that sort of the crossroads of like rock and blues.

CATHY WURZER: Yes.

ELLEN STANLEY: And roots music, American roots music, which certainly Janis had. And Mary-- it's funny. Mary lived for a while in Texas-- lives in Minnesota and has for a bunch of years now, but she's originally from my home state of Connecticut, but we didn't actually meet until we both were in Minnesota. And I probably met her in the halls of KFAI when she was actually on someone else's show. And I was like, you're awesome! And I've been playing her music ever since.

Mary also does a ton of country stuff. So she just she brings a-whole-nother element. And I think one of the things when I was thinking of this lineup for the November anniversary concert at the Parkway Theater was to have artists that represented not only different flavors of folk music, because I consider that folk music as well. It's not just acoustic singer/songwriters. But I wanted to have different flavors, but also folks that I had kind of a personal connection to in my tenure of hosting Womenfolk, and different generations of songwriters, too, so people who are of different ages. And it's impossible to do all of those things, but I tried my best. And Mary was one of those artists I really wanted to have on the show.

CATHY WURZER: Terrific. Say, 20 years, how long do you want to keep doing this? Another 20?

ELLEN STANLEY: I don't know. I keep saying that-- because I've been asked this not just now. I've been asked this for many years, again, because often people ask me whether, again, they think the show is still relevant, and all these things. And I keep saying, well, as long as you know KFAI and these other stations still want to carry the show, show an interest, then, of course. But at any time, KFAI could be like, we need to make way for something else, and I would totally understand that.

Or if I get bored. That's probably the other thing. But for now, I'm having a blast. And I think actually syndicating the show, which is a product of the pandemic-- beefing up my home studio, and learning how to do that stuff-- I think has really been an exciting new chapter for Womenfolk. So I am energized for a while. So I have a feeling there's still a lot of new things for me to do.

CATHY WURZER: Good! I'm glad to hear that. So are your fans. You know what? This has been an absolute delight. I'm so happy you had time to join me. Thank you so much, Ellen. And congratulations.

ELLEN STANLEY: Thank you so much, Cathy. It's such a treat to talk to you.

CATHY WURZER: I think, Ellen, we should go out to a song that you want to play. Do you want to introduce it, too? Because I can't-- I'm not a DJ, so I think you should take the mic right now.

ELLEN STANLEY: OK. We're going to hear something from Molly Maher's latest album Follow. Molly has been a big part of the show, a big part of the music scene, not just as a musician, guitarist, songwriter, but as a curator, community supporter of local musicians. I think I bought one of my DI boxes for my banjo from her at Willie's Guitars. So she's been a big part of the music scene. We're going to hear something from her latest album Follow. This is "Run Run Run."

[MUSIC - MOLLY MAHER, "RUN RUN RUN"]

MOLLY MAHER: (SINGING) Run, run, run. You take it to the heart. Don't know how it started or how it came apart. Run, run, run. You take it on the chin. Don't know where it came from or where it's going to end. You think you're all about it. What did you know?

CATHY WURZER: That definitely was one of my favorite interviews of the whole year. I tell you what, Ellen Stanley is amazing. She's the host of the radio program Womenfolk, which airs on KFAI, Fresh Air Community Radio in Minneapolis and across the country through PRX. The 20th anniversary performance of her show will take place at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis this coming Sunday, November 20. You can find tickets at theparkwaytheater.com.