The Fretless

Mulligan Stew Jan 31st 2026-The Fretless and Madeleine Roger

January 30, 2026 Mulligan Stew

hello

Just as The Stew starts Saturday on CKUA (the mighty 580), a line-up will start to form outside The Commonwealth in Calgary.
Headliners are The Fretless and Madeleine Roger.

Madelaine Roger

Madeleine Roger

The same show takes place on Sunday at The Aviary in Edmonton. (Doors at 630. Show at 7)

 

Our guests will be Ben Plotnick from Fretless and Maddy Roger.

I have said several times, “If you’re looking to put some joy in your heart and lift in your soul, these are the gifted artists who deliver.”
How do you put a price on music like that?

The donor driving the Witt mobile  suggested a guitar session.
So…..
Stevie Ray
Los Lobos (David Hidalgo)
Sue Foley
Eric Clapton
Bros. Landreth
Ry Cooder
Hermanos Gutierrez

 

New music from

Tedeschi Trucks Band
Van and Taj
Jack Johnson
Dominique Fils-Aime

A Juno set congratulating
Begonia, Bahamas, etc

We salute Sly Dunbar and the outstanding sessions he did
Bob Dylan Jokerman
Don’t call me Buckwheat Garland Jeffrey
Inner city blues. Sly and Robbie
And finish with Slim Harpo ima Kang Bee

The Fretless and Madeleine Roger complete interview can be found in the Mulligan Stew Podcast, and with luck, the Terry David Mulligan
YouTube Channel

PLAYLIST:

Mulligan Stew The Fretless and Madeleine Roger Guest before their show
thangs that i used to do (ive) SRVaughn and brother Jimmy Live at Carnegie Hall
Guantanamera Los Lobos Live at The Fillmore
Nothing in Rambling Sue Foley One Guitar Woman
Crossroads (live) Eric Clapton Nothing but the blues (live at Fillmore)
Made up mind The Bros. Landreth Let it lie
Terry David Mulligan The Stew NEXT – TT Band/Los Lobos & Dom Fils-Aime
The River Dominique Fils-Aime The River
The Stew -TDM More Guitars
I got you Tedeschi-Trucks Band single
Hold on to the Light Jack Johnson Hermanos Gutierrez single
Deane House – River Cafe Coming Taj and Van Ry Cooder
Betty and Dupree Van Morrison and Taj Mahal Somebody tried to sell me a bridge
Peace Los Lobos Kiko
It’s all over now Ry Cooder Paradise and Lunch
This is Mulligan Stew Terry David Mulligan The Fretless and Maddy Roger Guest
Graceland (live) Paul Simon Concert in the park
The Boxer Jery Douglass Marcus Mumford Paul Simon Babel
sunset road Mike Farris The sound of muscle shoals
The Stew coming up – Fretless and Maddie Roger On stage at 7PM
deep red cherry night Begonia Fantasy Life
Country for the town Bahamas My second last album
Coming up The Fretless and Maddie Roger Tonight at Commonwealth Calgary Sunday at Aviary Edmonton
The Fretless and Madeleine Roger Interview with TDM CKUA
Pipe Dream The Fretless and Madeleine Roger Glass wing
The Fretless and Maddy Interview Tonight at Commonwealth Sunday at The Aviary
Caledonia Fretless and Madeleine Roger Glass Wing
Maddy and Fretless Interview Tonight at Commonwealth -Sunday The aviary
The Stew Interview -Fretless and Madeleine Roger Love this
Jokerman Bob Dylan Infidels
Don’t call me Buckwheat Garland Jeffreys Don’t call me Buckwheat
Inner City Blues Sly Dunbar and Robbie Lounge Covers
Im a king bee Slim Harpo Original Hit

 

EP 321 | The Fretless – With new album GlassWing

September 28, 2024 Mulligan Stew Podcast

hello

The Fretless guest on The Stew.
Karrnnel Sawitsky and Trent Freeman – one-half of The Fretless join us.
Saturday in the first hour.
Their album – GlassWing is brilliant. With 3 songs cowritten and sung by Madeleine Roger.
Classically trained, raised on rock, jazz, blues, folk and heritage roots, they take all those influences and combine them into a sound unlike any other
group.
They take 100 year old shanty’s and reshape the song without losing the original melody so it can last another 100 years.
In GlassWing, they write all their own tunes. Three co-written with Madeleine Roger.
There is such joy in hearing violins, violas and cellos driving the beat where normally the drums and bass would be.
Impressive my friends.  Very impressive.
Have a listen to Pipe Dreams!  
The Queen Nancy – named after a car and a make-believe BC Ferry.
Icarus – a Madeleine beauty
Or the lead track Lost Lake.
 
This marks a new chapter The Fretless. With Lights, sound and stage design created especially for this album, these songs and this tour.

The Fretless GlassWing Tour 

  • Oct 3  Fanny Bay
  • Oct 4 Comox
  • Oct 5 Victoria
  • Oct 6 Van
  • October 10 Calgary
  • October 11 Edmonton

 

Mulligan Stew Sept 28th 2024-The Fretless guest on Mulligan Stew Saturday with new album GlassWing

September 28, 2024 Mulligan Stew

hello

The Fretless guest on The Stew.
Karrnnel Sawitsky and Trent Freeman – one-half of The Fretless join us.
Saturday in the first hour.
Their album – GlassWing is brilliant. With 3 songs cowritten and sung by Madeleine Roger.
Classically trained and raised on rock, jazz, blues, folk and heritage roots, they combine all those influences into a sound unlike any other group.
They take a 100-year-old shanty and reshape the song without losing the original melody so it can last another 100 years.
In GlassWing, they write all their tunes. Each brings joy!
There is such happiness in hearing violins, violas and cellos driving the beat where normally the drums and bass would be.
Impressive my friends.  Very impressive.
Have a listen to Pipe Dreams!  
The Queen Nancy – named after a car and a make-believe BC Ferry.
Icarus – a Madeleine beauty
Or the lead track Lost Lake.
 

This marks a new chapter The Fretless with lights, sound and stage design created especially for this album, these songs and this tour.  Dates below.

 
Donor one asks for some songs but titles only such as
Get Rhythm
People get ready
I’ll take you there
Gone at last
And finally a name  – any Sam Cooke song
Hour two donor – after moving from Quebec and Saskatchewan…I discovered CKUA when they moved to Fort Mac.
“on the radio, channel surfing in Alberta,  I discovered CKUA and have never left. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing….or missing…that would be music that I had never heard before” 
 
ENJOY!!!!

The Fretless  GlassWing Tour 

  • Oct 3  Fanny Bay
  • Oct 4 Comox
  • Oct 5 Victoria
  • Oct 6 Van
  • October 10 Calgary
  • October 11 Edmonton

PLAYLIST:

Mulligan Stew featuring The Fretless with Terry David Mulligan Mulliganstewdotca
Wang Dang Doodle Little Feat (Shaun Murphy) Wang Dang Doodle
Good Enough The California Honeydrops Keep on diggin’
Get Rhythm Ry Cooder Get Rhythm
People get Ready The Impressions People get ready
Guests on The Stew The Fretless new album GlassWing
I’ll take you there Staples Singers The very best of Staple Singers
Just let me lie to you Celeigh Cardinal Boundless Possibilities
Beyond the Sea Jill Barber single
Deane House & River Cafe Coming UP – The Fretless New album GlassWing
A change is gonna come Sam Cooke A change is gonna come
The Fretless Interview Karrnnel Sawitsky & Trent Freeman Album – GlassWing
Pipe Dream The Fretless with Madeleine Roger GlassWing
The Fretless Interview complete version on Mulligan Stew Podcast and tdm YouTube channel
The Queen Nancy The Fretless GlassWing
The Fretless with TDMulligan New album – GlassWing complete interview on Mulligan Stew Podcast
Icarus The Fretless with Madeleine Roger GlassWing
Karrnnel Sawitsky & Trent Freeman -The Fretless complete interview on Mulligan Stew Podcast and TDM YouTube Channel
Lost Lake The Fretless GlassWing
Coming Up – Hour Two of The Stew Terry David Mulligan CKUA Radio
Pressure drop Robert Palmer Pressure drop
Nothing but the wheel Peter Wolf Sleepless
Don’t let me down The Beatles Past Masters Vol 1 & 2
Maggie’s Farm Dan Mangan Being Elsewhere Mix
When she was my girl Bruce Springsteen Only the strong survive
Coyotes Banff Taste for Adventure in Banff Next – Johnny Winter Guitar Slinger
Iodine in my coffee Johnny Winter Guitar Slinger
Jealous again (Acoustic) The Black Crowes Shake your Moneymaker (30th ann)
Gone at last Paul Simon – Phoebe Snow – Jesse Dixon Singers Still crazy after all these years
TDMulligan Mulligan Stew NEXT – Bruce, Lyle, Stevie
Having a party (live) Bruce Springsteen The Live Series – Songs of Celebration
I will rise up Lyle Lovett and his large band Its not big it’s large
I wish Stevie Wonder Songs in the key of Life
Thanks for hanging with The Stew mulliganstewdotca Take Care Out There
Stand by me Ben E King Best of

EP 186 | Eric Wright – The Fretless

December 10, 2021 Mulligan Stew Podcast

hello

Eric Wright, a founding member of the Juno winning The Fretless,  is the guest. Their latest album is called Open House.

The Fretless is Trent Freeman (Fiddle/Viola), Karrnnel Sawitsky (Fiddle/Viola), BenPlotnick(Fiddle/Viola), and Eric Wright (Cello).

Open House is a 10 song vocal collaboration album and the first project that The Fretless feature vocals on all the tracks and in such a prominent role.  They teamed up with Dan Mangan for a spin on his single “Troubled Mind“. Up next was Celeigh Cardinal featured on a version of William Prince’s “Earthly Days“, Nuela Charles on a gorgeous rendition of “Stay“. And most recently The Bros. Landreth on a version of their song “Let It Lie”  and 6 more artists.

Outreach and inspiring the next generation of string players is very much a part of The Fretless ’ethos. They continue to support numerous fiddle camps, masterclass’ and workshops around the world, not only as instructors but as mentors. Over the past few years, they have connected with notable organizations such as the Calgary Youth Orchestra and the Luxembourg Youth Orchestra, creating and performing full orchestral arrangements of Fretless tunes.

Eric says the Fretless are modern folk. To the ear, they sound like a rock band with violins, violas, and Eric on cello.  They happily share their creative space with other artists.

I’ve chosen four to talk about and play

  • Dan Mangan – Troubled Mind
  • Celeigh Cardinal – Earthly Days
  • Nuela Charles  – Stay
  • The Bros Landreth – Let it lie