Joan Baez

As one of the guiding lights of her generation, Joan Baez's music never fails to leave an impression. As the outspoken poster child for folk music during the 1960's folk boom, Baez lent her incomparable soprano to The Newport Folk Festival in 1959, and Martin Luther King's March on Washington, in 1963. From the beginning, Baez has remained an artist at the center of a rich musical heritage.

As long as she has been performing, Baez has featured the works of other socially conscious artists, definitively adding their songs to her repertoire. As one of the first established artists to champion the music of then folk bard Bob Dylan, Baez continues to perform the music of some of the greatest songwriters of her time. On this remarkable episode of Soundstage the legendary Baez interprets both old and new standards in the American folk songbook. On her latest effort, Dark Chords on A Big Guitar, Baez's stunning warmth and clarity shine through when interpreting songs by Steve Earle, Ryan Adams, Soundstage co-star Gillian Welch, and singer-songwriter Greg Brown, making for a night of music not to be missed.

Gillian Welch

The American urban landscape is not where you would expect to find an Appalachian-influenced songwriter like Gillian Welch. Yet despite growing up in Los Angeles, Welch has proven that not only can she perfectly induce the spirit of secluded 20th century Appalachia, but she also has proven herself to lie amongst the finest of young American songwriters. Hearing Welch perform, it's obvious that her heart and soul reside in the music, and with partner David Rawlings, the duo lays down a country groove reminiscent of The Band, paired with the sparse emotive quality of the father of country songwriters, Hank Williams. Welch and Rawlings' performance style, guided by Welch's unique voice, explore darker corners of the human condition usually left untouched in modern popular music. From the yearning of country musicians who want to play rock and roll, to mourning the death of Elvis Presley, Welch's sense of history comes across in songs delivered with a hard-won sound, murky, and full of soul.

Nickel Creek

Though still in their twenties, the members of Nickel Creek have been playing together for a decade and a half. Siblings Sean (guitar) and Sarah Watkins (fiddle) first met Chris Thile (mandolin) at a performance by a local San Diego bluegrass band. Not long afterwards, the pre-teens were playing together as a trio. Honing their talents on the festival circuit, the band caught the attention of fiddler Alison Krauss, who produced the group's first album for Sugar Hill Records, (home to bluegrass and Americana greats like Krauss and her band, Union Station, Doc Watson and Dolly Parton.) Slowly building a word-of-mouth fanbase with their instrumental prowess and their adventurous musical fusion, by 2002 Nickel Creek's self-titled debut was certified gold, just in time for the release of their follow-up album, the Grammy-Award winning This Side.