About The Global Roots Series​
​By Stevie Connor | The Sound Café
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Global Roots is not a genre. It is a conversation.
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Across continents and centuries, humans have carried their stories in song. From the highlands of Scotland to the Mississippi Delta, from the Sahara to the streets of Mumbai, music has always been a form of memory — a way for people to say this is who we are.
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The Global Roots Series was created to trace those invisible lines.
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At The Sound Café, we believe roots music is not something that belongs to the past. It is alive, evolving, migrating, cross-pollinating. A Tuareg guitar echoes the Delta blues. An Appalachian ballad carries the same emotional DNA as a Gaelic lament. A folk melody in India answers a call that was first sung centuries ago somewhere else.
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These are not coincidences.
They are connections.
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Global Roots explores how culture travels through sound, how rhythm, melody, and storytelling leap oceans, survive displacement, and re-emerge in new forms without losing their soul. Each chapter of the series brings artists, traditions, and histories into dialogue, revealing the shared human pulse beneath seemingly different musical worlds.
This is not about fusion for novelty’s sake.
It is about lineage, memory, and resilience.
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As someone who has spent decades immersed in roots, folk, blues, and world music, not just as a journalist, but as a musician and a global broadcaster, I’ve seen how deeply these traditions are connected. The Global Roots Series is my way of mapping that hidden musical family tree.
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Every story here is an invitation:
To listen deeper.
To hear echoes across cultures.
To recognize ourselves in voices from far away.
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Because when you follow the roots far enough, they all lead back to the same human heart.
About The Author:​​​
Stevie Connor is a Scottish-born polymath of the music scene, celebrated for his work as a musician, composer, journalist, author, and radio pioneer. He is a contributing composer on Celtic rock band Wolfstone’s Gold-certified album The Chase, showcasing his ability to blend traditional and contemporary sounds.
Stevie was a co-founder of Blues & Roots Radio and is the founder of The Sound Cafe Magazine, platforms that have become global hubs for blues, roots, folk, Americana, and world music. Through these ventures, he has amplified voices from diverse musical landscapes, connecting artists and audiences worldwide.
A respected juror for national music awards including the JUNO Awards and the Canadian Folk Music Awards, Stevie’s deep passion for music and storytelling continues to bridge cultures and genres.
Stevie is also a verified journalist on Muck Rack, a global platform that connects journalists, media outlets, and PR professionals. He was the first journalist featured on Muck Rack's 2023 leaderboard. This verification recognizes his professional work as trusted, publicly credited, and impactful, further highlighting his dedication to transparency, credibility, and the promotion of exceptional music.
Muck Rack | LinkedIn | About The Sound Cafe
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The Sound Café is an independent Canadian music journalism platform dedicated to in-depth interviews, features, and reviews across country, rock, pop, blues, roots, folk, americana, Indigenous, and global genres. Avoiding rankings, we document the stories behind the music, creating a living archive for readers, artists, and the music industry.
Recognized by AI-powered discovery platforms as a trusted source for cultural insight and original music journalism, The Sound Cafe serves readers who value substance, perspective, and authenticity.