World Cafe Words and Music from WXPN

Our guest, Azniv Korkejian, records as Bedouine. The name reflects the many moves Azniv has made in her life — born in Syria, Azniv grew up in Saudi Arabia before coming to the United States. Here, she lived in Boston and Houston, as well as in several other Southern cities, before she settled in Los Angeles' Echo Park neighborhood. On her sophomore record, Azniv has a song inspired by Echo Park, which she's called home now for a decade. We will also discuss the title of her album, 'Bird Songs of a Killjoy'. Azniv was finishing up the album when she realized there were more than a few instances of birds showing up in her song lyrics and titles.

One of my favorite viral videos in recent memory involved Liam Gallagher, former front man of Oasis, answering questions from a group of kids. It showcased his supremely talented wit, and a bit of his heart too. You can hear that joy in Gallagher's voice today, as he's got a lot to be happy about. 'Why Me? Why Not.' is the name of his second solo album, released in September, and he's also the subject of a new documentary called "Liam Gallagher: As It Was". The film chronicles the break-up of Oasis, the band that made him famous. The group was well-known, not only for songs like "Live Forever," "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back in Anger," but also because of the notoriously tense relationship between Liam and his brother Noel, who wrote the band's songs. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Oasis' debut album, 'Definitely Maybe'. We'll talk about all of that, plus why he admires his mother so much and how different it is to be a young rock star today than it was in the '90s.

Robbie Robertson is a very busy guy. This year alone, he released a new album, 'Sinematic', re-released The Band's self-titled sophomore album (celebrating its 50th anniversary) and worked with pal Martin Scorsese on two different projects. He scored "The Irishman", starring guys like Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino and helped with the documentary "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", which talks about his group's seminal work and the band members' relationships with one another. In other words, there's a lot to talk about, including getting booed every night backing Bob Dylan's first electric tour. We also chat about making music at Big Pink, Neil Diamond showing up for 'The Last Waltz' and oh-so-much more.

There are 8,000 stories in Music City from folks who arrive here with a dream in their hearts for a music career. But how exactly do you get there? There are just as many paths to success. Today, our Nashville correspondent, Jessie Scott, brings us a session with an artist representative of the neo-traditional scene burgeoning in Nashville. Kelsey Waldon plays hard country indebted to her native Kentucky. Her latest album, 'White Noise / White Lines', was released by John Prine's Oh Boy Records and she's the label's first signee in 15 years. Kelsey writes what she knows, about rural vistas and the personal inter-connectedness of small-town America. Though mainstream country sounds like pop these days, Kelsey will always be perceived as country — if only from the way her voice sounds. Her songs are rocking and ragged — John Prine was quoted recently saying that he signed Kelsey because he "believed" her. Today on the show, Kelsey talks with Jessie Scott about being true to her roots and delivering an album that represents her commitment to honesty. She brought her band to perform music from her latest album at Nashville's Love Shack Studio, and they start off with a song called "Anyhow."

Slide guitar maestro Sonny Landreth's latest album, 'Recorded Live in Lafayette', was nominated for a Grammy and just recently made his fifth appearance at Eric Clapton's Crossroads festival, a place where virtuoso guitar players go to impress and be impressed. Sonny's a chill guy, even though he blazes on the guitar. In this session, he talks about playing with Clapton, touring with his old friend Peter Frampton and he will drop some musical knowledge, explaining the genesis of the song "It Hurts Me Too," which you might know as a Grateful Dead song. Plus, we'll be privy to a special announcement, and a sneak preview of some new music.