Acoustic Café

Acoustic Café is an independent, syndicated radio program, produced in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Started in 1995, Acoustic Café presents singer-songwriters in various genres, playing songs in the Acoustic Café studio and chatting with host Rob Reinhart. A selection of current and past recorded material (on CDs) is also a part of each weekly program.

Over the years Acoustic Café has presented artists including John Prine, John Mayer, M Ward, Emmylou Harris, Beck, Tori Amos and Ani DiFranco (whose "Million Dollar Intro" is the music played at the program's opening and closing). New, up-and-coming talent remains a constant of Acoustic Cafe's mission.

Acoustic Café can be heard on commercial and non-commercial radio stations around North America, and worldwide on Voice Of America. Web broadcasts and a streaming archive are also widely available on the net.

In 2009, Acoustic Café began producing short films of their in-studio guest visits, which can be viewed through their Facebook "fan page." These films are being produced by Lucciana Costa for Costa Productions of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

By 2010, Acoustic Café had grown to 90+ terrestrial radio affiliates and expanded its online presence and archive (link below).

Acoustic Café began taping sessions on the road in 2012, with sessions held at both the national Folk Alliance convention (2/12, Memphis, TN) and Midwest Regional convention (10/12, St. Louis).

In 2013, Acoustic Café and SongCraft Presents in New York joined forces to create new songs at SXSW in Austin, TX. Songwriters were invited to a secret location in Austin to work with SongCraft Presents' Ben Arthur to create a brand new song in a 3-hour session. The demos were then taken back to New York for the creation of the finished song. Acoustic Café aired interviews with the artists, as well as extended segments about the creation of the new songs. At the end of 2013, SXSW announced that the Acoustic Café/SongCraft Presents sessions would be an official part of the 2014 SXSW.

2013 also saw Acoustic Café recording a special session with Billy Bragg onstage at Americanafest in Nashville, TN (9/13), and the launch of a new performance space called The Leon Loft, in partnership with Leon Speakers of Ann Arbor, MI. Leon Loft sessions from Fitz & The Tantrums, Mike Doughty, Lord Huron and more have been airing on the program in 2014.

Acoustic Café entered its 20th year of syndication in January, 2014. Also in 2014, Acoustic Cafe and SongCraft Presents returned to SXSW, where they partnered with Subway Restaurants to create The Subway Sessions. Additionally, Acoustic Cafe and SongCraft Presents presented a panel at the conference to discuss the creative process and debut some of the new songs created in Austin between 3/10 and 3/15, 2014. SXSW coincided with Acoustic Cafe's 1000th continuous weekly broadcast.

The Acoustic Cafe Amphitheater

(not affiliated with the radio program above) The Acoustic Cafe Amphitheater is an annual music festival put on by Steve Masterson over Memorial Day weekend in northern Alabama. The Acoustic Cafe has been taking place since 1996 and artists who have performed there include John Hartford, Doc Watson, Sam Bush, Tony Rice, Peter Rowan, Vassar Clements, Dread Clampitt, Norman Blake, Edgar Meyer, Mike Marshall, Brennen Leigh, The Red Stick Ramblers, The Hackensaw Boys, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Marcia Ball, Frankie Velvet and the Veltones, Herb Trotman, the Waybacks, the Dappled Greys, Uncle Bob's Band and many others.

The festival is known as the largest gathering of earthy tie-died people in Alabama and has been written up in local media including Wine Subllime and Birmingham News.

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