{"podcast":{"title":"Basic Folk","slug":"basic-folk-1030186","podcast_index_feed_id":1030186,"rss_url":"https://feeds.redcircle.com/aaf5e937-14de-4377-8d58-100b59a5150d","website_url":"https://redcircle.com/shows/basic-folk","image_url":"https://media.redcircle.com/images/2025/1/2/2/39e58f92-5091-43dd-b05e-40970bca1ffe_1-426f-94e7-bd417e8f3751_basic-folk-logo-final.jpg","author":"The Bluegrass Situation","episode_count":371,"summary":"Basic Folk features honest conversations with folk musicians hosted by Cindy Howes and Lizzie No. We approach interviews with warmth, humor and insightful questions. Since 2018, this podcast has dignified under the radar roots musicians by providing a platform that they might not otherwise have. You’ll hear interviews from Three-time Grammy-winning guitar gods like Molly Tuttle, Haitian American folk legends like Leyla McCalla and deep feelers like songwriter John Hiatt. Basic Folk is dedicated to showcasing the best in folk, bluegrass, acoustic and americana including Black, Brown and Queer folx who have been excluded, or felt like they did not belong, in the folk world. Cindy & Lizzie each bring a unique perspective to these honest conversations with folk musicians. We are equally dedicated to repainting the broad landscape of folk music as we are to tearing down the ivory towers of the music industry. What would Bruce Springsteen do if he ever got the keys to that mansion on the hill? Let's find out together on Basic Folk. Basic is an official production of The Bluegrass Situation. Thanks for listening. Welcome to Basic Folk. Follow Basic Folk on social media: https://basicfolk…","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/basic-folk-1030186"},"episode":{"title":"Club Passim's Matt Smith on 30 Years of Building Community, ep. 344","slug":"club-passim-s-matt-smith-on-30-years-of-building-community-ep-344","published_at":"2026-05-28T06:00:55+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/basic-folk-1030186/club-passim-s-matt-smith-on-30-years-of-building-community-ep-344","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/basic-folk-1030186","url":"https://basicfolk.com/","audio_url":"https://audio4.redcircle.com/episodes/a19f13d5-f15a-4335-9173-d4d049d6b3f2/stream.mp3","summary":"Matt Smith is a living legend with his unbelievable 30-year run at Club Passim, the historic folk venue nestled in a Harvard Square basement. Currently Managing Director at Passim, Matt is the most passionate music lover I know. He has used his platform at Passim to help establish artists like Lori McKenna, Anaïs Mitchell, Lake Street Dive, and so many more. I met Matt while working as a student at WERS 88.9FM, where he brought fantastic shows to a listening room filled with people who were clambering for honest music in an intimate space. He's been a very good friend and mentor to myself and thousands of musicians since he began his tenure at the club in 1995. In honor of Matt's 30th anniversary at Passim, we brought two longtime friends on the pod to talk to him about his role in the Passim community – and beyond. Musicians Edie Carey and Dinty Child join us in conversation with Matt; he shares advice he would give his younger self, we chat about what a vacation without music would look like and his incredible memory. That memory is tested in our lightning round where he answers Passim trivia (almost 100% correctly). There's also a discussion about what Matt is most proud of in all his years at the club: the campfire. festival, which takes place every Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends featuring sets in-the-round of mostly unknown new acts. I would imagine if you're listening to this episode of Basic Folk, you either know Matt or Club Passim. Hello to all our friends and I hope you enjoy this window into one of the best people we've ever known: Matt Smith! Follow Basic Folk on social media: https://basicfolk.bio.link/ Sign up for Basic Folk's newsletter: https://bit.ly/basicfolknews Help produce Basic Folk by contributing: https://basicfolk.com/donate/ Interested in…","meta_description":"Matt Smith is a living legend with his unbelievable 30-year run at Club Passim, the historic folk venue nestled in a Harvard Square basement. Currently Ma…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3922,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/basic-folk-1030186/episodes/club-passim-s-matt-smith-on-30-years-of-building-community-ep-344/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/basic-folk-1030186/club-passim-s-matt-smith-on-30-years-of-building-community-ep-344.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}