Culture
Suggested Listening 2025: Todd Burge
By: Todd Burge
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WOUB Culture’s Suggested Listening series highlights the music that resonated with WOUB Culture contributors and regional artists in 2025.
Todd Burge resides in Parkersburg, WV. He is a West Virginia–based singer-songwriter, playwright, and producer known for his witty, heartfelt storytelling and prolific catalog. His most recent work, One Vote! The Musical is a collaboration with Larry Groce. It will be hitting the stage in 2026.
I always appreciate being asked by WOUB to give a list of my most listened-to songs of the year. This year, I thought it might be shorter than this, as—much like many songwriters, I’m assuming—I mostly listen to myself.
That’s not an egotistical thing to say. The fact is, I spend a lot of time writing songs that aren’t very good. And on occasion, I accidentally stumble into something that I think I might venture out and play for someone.
This year, I’ve spent most of my time finishing up the music for One Vote! The Musical with Larry Groce (shameless plug), but as I look back, I did listen to a lot of music by others.
I’ll start by saying that maybe my two most listened-to songs this year would have to be, first, Aretha Franklin sing Natural Woman at the Kennedy Center Honors, when she paid tribute to Carole King. I’ve seen this on occasion through the years, and I’m always transfixed: Carole King’s reaction, Aretha’s amazing performance, a tear being wiped from the President’s eye. Whenever I land on it, I cannot quit watching it. There’s something about it. There’s a nostalgia to it from my childhood too. My mother used to listen to a lot of Aretha Franklin when I was growing up.
Secondly, I listened a lot to Gentle on My Mind, a John Hartford tune made famous by Glen Campbell. My daughter discovered the song this year and was fascinated by it and asked me if I’d ever played it. So, I made it my mission to get it down, learn it, really learn the lyrics, and play it live as a type of gift for her. It’s a masterpiece.
Jeff Tweedy put out an album this year—in case you didn’t notice, it’s actually three albums, a triple LP as they say. I saw Jeff say in an interview that he always thought he wanted to leave his audience wanting less. Twilight Override. I’m guessing the title comes from the fact that creating songs is a way of overriding the blues or melancholy. The song Lou Reed Was My Babysitter is worth the price of admission.
Bonnie Prince Billy put out an album called The Purple Bird this year. Let me quote some lyrics: We got the power, and it’s all off the grid. That’s how we make it at our home. I think this album is a masterpiece. I remember first discovering Will Oldham’s music, aka Bonnie Prince Billy, back in ’96, I think, with Palace Music. My wife was a huge fan when she and I were first dating. I had trouble at first listening to his odd way of singing, sometimes off-key. Eventually, after multiple listens, it became a beautiful thing, a natural thing—just the way it should be.
David Byrne released Who Is the Sky? this year. Speaking of odd singers who become part of your nervous system, David Byrne would be one of those. What a force. Listen to A Door Called No.
Madison Cunningham released a superb album this year called Ace. I love the unpredictability of her music and, for lack of a better word, the orchestration on this album.
Maddie Ashman: And speaking of unpredictability, I’ve been following Maddie Ashman and really digging into microtonal music. If you’re really into pop music, or any established genre for that matter, this will bend your ear into new territory.
Tyler Childers released a bone-crunching album this year, Snipe Hunter. Teaming up with the legendary Rick Rubin? Count me in twice. What’s your second favorite song on the album after Tirtha Yatra?
I was on a Bob Dylan kick this year—or I should say, yet another Bob Dylan kick. It all started Christmas Day of last year, when my son asked me if I wanted to go see the Bob Dylan biopic. I’m not much for biopics, but my son had never expressed interest in Bob Dylan, so I was in. After we went to the movie, this supercharged him—put him on a fast track to being a forever fan. (Link here to my review of the movie.) This got me listening to Infidels once again, which was my “gateway to Dylan” many years ago.
I was listening to Crossing Boundaries one night and heard a song I could not get enough of by Darrin Haquard—October Moon. I’m looking forward to hearing more from him. That’s a great recording.
Todd Snider passed recently. It’s hard for me to believe that I won’t be seeing him again on Mountain Stage, or at the Nelsonville Music Festival, or at Stuart’s Opera House. His shows were a master class in solo singer-songwriter performance. I hope you listen to some of his music.
West Virginia folk music legend Mike Morningstar finally had his music hit the streaming services, and we can now enjoy some of those older albums again. His first album was posted—and a live one too, I believe. You should check out the wonderful documentary on Mike Morningstar by Richard Anderson. Michael Lipton, director of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, says this is the best movie about West Virginia ever produced.
Speaking of Michael Lipton, his band of four plus decades, The Carpenter Ants from Charleston, West Virginia, have their first-ever Christmas album called There Ain’t No Sanity Claus. I highly recommend this for the holiday season. It features a dozen tracks performed by Don Dixon, John (Some Kind of Wonderful) Ellison, Larry Groce, Mary Hott, and Ann Magnuson.
Happy holidays and thank you Emily Votaw & WOUB.
– Todd