Mando Saenz

This episode was originally aired on June 18th, 2021. After many years in celebrated roots music groups such as Po' Girl, Birds of Chicago, and Our Native Daughters, this songwriter has released a critically acclaimed debut album under her own name.

Our guest this week is one of Chicago’s favorite sons. Eric D. Johnson is the songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist behind Fruit Bats, which started in the late 1990s as a four-track recording project before growing into a full touring band. Over the years, Johnson has been a member of The S…

Our guest this week on the Working Songwriter hails from a small mountain town in California, but his music has now made it across the world. Jay Buchanan got his start in the early 2000s with a solo project before joining ranks with a rock band and forming Rival Sons. Since 2008, that group has bu…

Our guest this week is Cody Diekhoff, better known as Chicago Farmer. He grew up in the small farming community of Delavan, Illinois, before moving to Chicago in 2003. Over the past two decades, he has built a devoted following through relentless touring, first as a solo performer and more recently…