Ann Delisi's Essential Conversations

Ted Hawkins: Folk Singer, Busker (Rare 1994 Interview)

In this rare 1994 interview with folk singer Ted Hawkins – recorded one year before his death – Ann Delisi speaks with Hawkins about going from busking on Venice Beach to

Ida Mae Brings British Americana Across the Pond

Husband and wife duo Ida Mae (Chris Turpin and Stephanie Jean Ward) join Ann Delisi to talk about their blues influences, relocating to the U.S. from London, and their 20

Joshua Henry: Tony-winning Performer on the Joys of Working with Lin-Manuel Miranda, and his Debut EP, "Guarantee"

Joshua Henry has been in every one of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musicals, starting with In the Heights (2008), and including his role as Aaron Burr in the first U.S.

Robert Stiles: Solving Mysteries in Music History

Nearly 20 years ago, Robert Stiles discovered 29 unknown works by virtuosic bassist and composer Serge Koussevitzky. Now, Stiles is the Principal Librarian for the Detroi

“Rough Cut Stone”: Family is Foundational for Gregory Porter

Gregory Porter is an accomplished singer and songwriter, but he didn’t do it on his own. In this episode of Essential Conversations, Ann Delisi talks with Porter about ho

Al Sutton: Award-winning Record Producer at Rust Belt Studios

Al Sutton talks with Ann Delisi about his award-winning career as a music producer. They talk about Sutton’s creative process working with some of rock music’s top talent

Joanne Shaw Taylor: British Blues Guitarist and Singer

British blues rocker Joanne Shaw Taylor spoke with Ann Delisi about being discovered by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, performing alongside Paul McCartney and Elton John

Ani DiFranco Is Still Fighting the Patriarchy With Her Music, 30 Years Later

Prolific musician and activist Ani DiFranco joins Ann Delisi to talk about her new single, “Do or Die,” how activism and social movements have defined her career, and why

EP 28: Laurie Anderson: Performance Artist, Author, Musician, Filmmaker

In this rare 1994 interview, Ann Delisi talks with avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson about her decades-long career as a performance artist, her love/hate relationship wi

EP 27: Jeff Mills: Electronic Music Pioneer and Co-founder of The Underground Resistance

Jeff Mills is one of the pioneers of electronic music. He talked with Ann Delisi about co-founding The Underground Resistance in Detroit, the early days of radio, and the

EP: 26 John Sinclair: Revolutionary activist, poet, and writer

John Sinclair co-founded the White Panthers, managed the MC5, and was at the center of a landmark 1972 wiretapping case that went all the way to the Supreme Court of the

EP 25: The War and Treaty

The War and Treaty are a vocal powerhouse with a story as moving as their music. The husband/wife duo spoke with Ann Delisi about how they met, writing music while deploy

EP 24: Remembering the day Jeff Buckley played at WDET

Since his tragic death in 1997, Jeff Buckley's music and legacy has only increased in popularity. Those who worked with him remember an incredibly talented, charismatic a

EP 23: Billy Mann

Billy Mann has worked with pop heavyweights like Carole King, P!nk, Cher, and Ricky Martin. In this episode of Essential Conversations, Ann Delisi talks with Mann about h

E22: Adam White, Author of “Motown The Sound of Young America”

Adam White co-wrote this book with Barney Ales, who was Berry Gordy’s partner at Motown Records. While Berry handled the artistic and creative side of Motown, Barney Ales

EP 21: Journalist, News Anchor, Documentarian Emery King

Emery King recalls covering the Carter and Reagan Administrations as the NBC White House Correspondent, how race played a role in the trajectory of his career and moving

EP 20: Tina Sinatra

In December of 2015, Frank Sinatra would have turned 100 years. His daughter, Tina Sinatra, talked with Ann Delisi about her famous father.

EP 19: Alice Cooper, Jack White and Detroit Tiger, Kirk Gibson

These 3 Detroiters sat down in front of an audience to talk with Ann Delisi about music and sports at the Shinola Hotel in Detroit to benefit the Kirk Gibson Foundation f

E18: Iggy Pop & Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch

In October of 2016, Ann Delisi talked with Iggy Pop & Jim Jarmusch in front of an audience at the Detroit Film Theater following the premiere screening of the film “Gimme

E17: Rock and Blues Guitarist Billy Davis

Ann Delisi talks with Billy Davis about his friendship with James Brown, his history working with Hank Ballard and the Midnighters and meeting an unknown aspiring guitari