Let’s rewind the clock back to 2019 and check out a show featuring two amazing singer-songwriters John Butler travels to us from Australia to play some solo tunes as well as a rousing version of his hit “Better Than” with the inimitable eTones. And from New Mexico comes Eliza Gilkyson, a folk singer-songwriter best known for her heartfelt and socially conscious music. Nick also chats with Frank Anello, a Denver man who founded Project Worthmore in order to provide invaluable support to refugees.
John Butler
Born in California and of mixed Australian, Greek and Bulgarian ancestry, John Butler began his musical career in classic if tentative style. The narrative arc is well-known Down Under. An art-school dropout, he was ‘discovered’ busking in 1996, bystanders marvelling at ‘the sweat flying off his brow’ and ‘the holy madness in his eyes’. The tape of these early compositional soundscapes Searching for Heritage gave an inkling of where Butler was going, reaching as it did both forwards and backwards in time, conversant with all genres and yet somehow defining its own. The sound had, and still has, elements of folk, funk, reggae and rock all drizzled through the 90s Seattle sensibility. Behind all that there was a wistful Celtic ambience surreally counterpointed by a Jamaican roots/rudeboy vibe. What could have been a mess somehow made perfect sense, with the bluegrass fingerpicking, hip hop beats and psychedelic wig-outs proving not uneasy bedfellows but perfect complements.
Eliza Gilkyson
Eliza Gilkyson is a twice Grammy-nominated (2006/2014) singer-songwriter and activist who is one of the most respected musicians in folk, roots and Americana circles. Her songs have been covered by Joan Baez, Bob Geldof, The Conspirare Choir, Tom Rush and Rosanne Cash and have appeared in films, PBS specials and on primetime TV. A member of the Austin Music Hall of Fame, and an inductee into the Austin Songwriter Hall of Fame, she has won countless Folk Alliance and Austin Music awards, including 2014’s Songwriter of the Year and the “Song of the Year” Award at the Folk Alliance International Conference in 2021. Eliza is known for her compassionate take on the human condition and her story-songs that celebrate and grieve for the natural world and the critical times to which her music bears witness.
Frank Anello
Project Worthmore was founded in 2011 by Frank and Carolyn Anello as a response to the acute need for assistance of the refugee families in their community.
From their start offering makeshift English classes in living rooms, they now offer six comprehensive programs to thousands of refugee clients. Around half of their staff are from the refugee community, helping them to listen better, empower and support those who have come to the United States to rebuild their lives. Strategically located off of east Colfax in Denver, Colorado, Project Worthmore is in the heart of the refugee community and therefore easily accessed by their clients. Their team and impact continue to grow as they play a role in supporting people during the worst refugee crisis since World War II.