KEN WHITELEY – Keep Going

This week, KEN WHITELEY – Keep Going

Hard to believe that Ken Whiteley has been making music since the 1970’s and still presents a vital, riveting and compelling message to his loyal fans and new listeners alike. “Keep Going’ is an album for our times, filled with intellectual, emotional and spiritual resilience. Drawing on his own expansive artistry and the traditional music from which his enduring sapiential creativity flows, Whiteley takes us on journey of the heart to what is fundamentally essential in living right here, right now.

Backstage Pass Episode 95 is proud to bring this wonderful conversation to your podcast listening pleasure.

Ken Whiteley on making his 37th album, “Keep Going”

I broke a bone in my ankle in February, 2025 and wasn’t supposed to walk on it so I began sitting, playing guitar and writing the songs that became the album, “Keep Going”. As I was writing and compiling the songs for this recording, the theme of perseverance emerged. Keeping going in these troubled times is an expression of powerful determination and survival, tempered by the recognition of earthly transience. I immersed myself in old blues and gospel tunes and that message kept coming up. May listeners find the inspiration to themselves keep going!

“Keep going” is also symptomatic of where I’m at in my life and career. I began performing in public at the age of 14 and I’m about to turn 75. In those more than 60 years of professional music making I have done so many different things from producing recordings and accompanying other artists, writing film scores, making music for children and a long list of musical collaborations (including The Original Sloth Band, The Junior Jug Band, The Whiteley Brothers, Scarlett, Washington & Whiteley among others). These days I’m more likely to be performing at a yoga ashram than a bar, while drawing on the rich storehouse of blues, folk and gospel to make music that speaks to ways forward in this troubled world and brings people together.

https://www.kenwhiteley.com/

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2uIq5kxXDHDEk6D7OzZa6C?si=BCR-hEwAR1KEcqPHq7yJyw

This podcast is hosted by Canoe FM. https://backstage-pass.zencast.website/