{"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":"Naomi Westwater is Spiritually Creative, But Also Very Very Organized, ep. 336","slug":"naomi-westwater-is-spiritually-creative-but-also-very-very-organized-ep-336","published_at":"2026-02-05T07:00:08+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/basic-folk-1030186/naomi-westwater-is-spiritually-creative-but-also-very-very-organized-ep-336","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/basic-folk-1030186","url":"https://basicfolk.com/","audio_url":"https://audio4.redcircle.com/episodes/60b5ce84-ec0f-424a-9828-deda69369f71/stream.mp3","summary":"Something you might notice about Boston musician Naomi Westwater is that they have both sides of the brain on lock. They are very good at community organizing, grant applying, advocating, and other \"left-brained\" activities. However, they are also a creative, deeply spiritual, open-hearted person, traits typically associated with the right brain. That’s not always something that goes hand-in-hand, but it is a beautiful thing when it does! Westwater, who identifies as queer and Black-multiracial, grew up on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, where they never felt like they fit in. Thanks to their parents, there was a lot of music being played: reggae, jazz, funk, classic rock and '70s feminist folk. There was always a deep connection with nature, which plays into their spiritual practice and their songwriting, two areas they previously kept separate. On their new album, 'Cycle & Change,' Naomi made an effort to fully embrace her identity as a songwriter and a witch. She shares, “Each song ties back to its seasonal context, weaving a story that spans spring’s hopeful beginnings, summer’s vibrancy, autumn’s introspection, and winter’s quietude…” Right in the final stretch of preparing to release the album, all these very hard things happened: the sudden loss of Naomi's father; they went through a divorce; and they relocated. It was as if, with the album, they had created the blueprint for remaining grounded during these challenging life changes. We get into all of this on Basic Folk, as well as navigating self-advocacy while struggling to get their endometriosis and adenomyosis diagnosed and treated and the impact their father's death had on their creativity. Follow Basic Folk on social media: https://basicfolk.bio.link/ Sign up for Basic Folk's newsletter: https://bit.ly/basicfo…","meta_description":"Something you might notice about Boston musician Naomi Westwater is that they have both sides of the brain on lock. They are very good at community organi…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2612,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/basic-folk-1030186/episodes/naomi-westwater-is-spiritually-creative-but-also-very-very-organized-ep-336/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/naomi-westwater-is-spiritually-creative-but-also-very-very-organized-ep-336.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}