I used to do a lot of live concert trading. I got rid of quite a bit of my collective over the years, but I did keep a few personal favorites for the treasure box.

Here we have three different radio appearances by Nebraska’s Josh Rouse. Two from 1998 and one from 2000, which also includes a couple of interview segments.

Originally from Nebraska, Rouse mined that heritage for his 1998 debut Dressed Up Like Nebraska, of which Allmusic says:

“Josh Rouse plays it straight like the roads and byways which criss-cross the Great Plains. This music is the no-frills variety that takes a bit of getting used to, but once acclimated, listeners start to feel like they've come across something real. The songs which comprise Dressed Up Like Nebraska sound like they've really happened, if not to the artist, then to those near and dear to him.”

21 years and 13 albums later, Rouse has left Nebraska but continues to play earnest Americana Folk Rock Pop(™).

Josh Rouse Live at Mountain Stage (The Culture Theatre, Charleston, WV, 08/22/98)

1. Introduction

2. Dressed Up Like Nebraska

3. Late Night Conversation

4. Suburban Sweetheart

The introduction has some static and unfortunately, there is what sounds like a CD skip during the first few seconds of “Suburban Sweetheart.” I have had this disc since approximately 2001 and have just never tried to fix it. Sorry about that, but hey, otherwise this is a fantastic early acoustic set. Enjoy.

Josh Rouse Live at E-Town (Boulder Theater, Boulder, CO, 11/22/98)

1. Introduction

2. Everybody Knows What’s Going On

3. Interview

4. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want

5. Little Know It All

6. Interview

7. Dressed Up Like Nebraska

8. White Freightliner

Josh Rouse Live at NPR’s World Cafe (Cafe Studios, Philadelphia, PA, 08/14/00)

1. Introduction

2. Marvin Gaye

3. Interview

4. Laughter

5. Interview

6. Direction

7. Interview

8. 100M Backstroke

9. Interview/Closing

• Visit Josh Rouse’s official website.

• Follow Josh Rouse on Twitter.

• Follow Josh Rouse on Twitter.

• Purchase Rouse’s music at Amazon.