This week on Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music we’ll check out forthcoming music from Jack White, newly released work from Vince Staples, Sylvan Esso, Jesse Welles and much more…

Also this week, some Earth Wind & Fire for those who have (and haven’t) seen the new HBO doc, plus the Detroiter who taught EWF some valuable lessons!

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for June 20, 2026

HOUR ONE:

• “Gentle Reminder” – MT Jones
• “Pep Talk” – Death Cab For Cutie
• “Fallin'” – Alicia Keys (Songs In A Minor turns 25)
• “Cool Cat” – Us3
• “I Believe (Everything’s Gonna Be Alright)” – Thornetta Davis
• “The Ballad Of Big Balls” – Jesse Welles
• “Serpentine Fire” – Earth Wind & Fire
• “Uhuru” – Ramsey Lewis Trio
• “What You Won’t Do For Love” – Bobby Caldwell
• “Magic Island” – Kathy Kosins
• “Dollar Bill” – Jack White
• “Only In America” – Vince Staples
• “Ain’t No Man” – The Avett Brother (turned 50 at Hill yesterday!)

HOUR TWO:

• “Stranger Danger” – Infinity Song
• “Stay On That” – Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds
• “Right Action” – Franz Ferdinand
• “Burning Out” – The Linda Lindas
• “Black Cloud” – Rosetta Pebble
• “The World Moves On” – Michelle Held (Tiny Desk Detroit)
• “I Am Woman Again” – Vahn Black (Tiny Desk Detroit)
• “Fossils” – THAO
• “Hot Slob” – Sylvan Esso
• “How Come You Never Go There” – Feist w/Mountain Man
• “Run Baby Run” – Grace Potter
• “Funky Dollar Bill” – Funkadelic
• “Keep Your Head To The Sky” – Earth Wind & Fire

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

This week on Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music we feature songs about songs, singing about singing… basically, just music celebrating the joys and pains of making music! This is the second episode of these songs, and I suspect eps 3 and 4 will be coming soon

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for June 13, 2026

HOUR ONE:

• “Sir Duke” – Stevie Wonder
• “Old Songs Never Die” Rachael Baiman
• “I’m With The Band” – Little Big Town
• “Hip Hop Is Dead” – Nas
• “Crappy Love Song” – Theo Katzman
• “I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song” – Jim Croce
• “I’ve Got The Music In Me” – Kiki Dee
• “Uptown Funk” – Mark Ronson
• “Doo Wop (That Thing)” – Lauryn Hill
• “Rock And Roll” – Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
• “Max’s Kansas City, 1976” – Wayne County & The Backstreet Boys
• “Don’t Stop The Music” – Rihanna
• “Song For Sad Friends” – Feist

HOUR TWO:

• “Lovesong” – The Cure
• “Lovesong” – beabadoobee
• “Lovesong For No One” – John Mayer
• “Love Song” – Shemekia Copeland
• “Love Song 43” – Ryan Racine
• “Love Hate Song” – Alisa Amador
• “Put Your Records On” – Corinne Bailey Rae
• “Crazy About A Jukebox” – Taj Mahal
• “Life Is A Long Song” – Jethro Tull
• “Field Song” – Mon Rovia
• “Song For No One” – Shawn Mendes
• “A Great Idea For A Song” – Artichoke
• “The Entertainer” – Billy Joel
• “A Song For You” – Ray Charles

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

This week on Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music we jump into a new month with some classic June album releases from Aretha, Madonna, Patti Smith and more!

Also, a bit of Yacht Rock and fun new songs from Prince, Father John Misty and Jalen Ngonda.

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for June 6, 2026

HOUR ONE:

• “The Payoff” – Father John Misty
• “Get Go” – Arlo Parks
• “Stone” – Prince
• “Concept Of Love” – Ibibio Sound Machine
• “idea 1” – Kelela
• “Be Here” – Raphael Saadiq ft. D’Angelo
• “Gone Again” – Patti Smith (released June 1996)
• “Cry Like A Baby” – Aretha Franklin (released June 1966)
• “Play That Funky Music” – Wild Cherry (released June 1976)
• “Invisible Touch” – Genesis (released June 1986)
• “Burning Temptation” – Jalen Ngonda
• “Sweetheart” – Frankie & The Knockouts
• “Visions Of Johanna” – Bob Dylan (released June 1966)

HOUR TWO:

• “Time Is A Bomb” – Metric
• “Superwoman” – Angelique Kidjo
• “Green Screen” – Cautious Clay
• “It Gets So Hot” – MUNA
• “Blues Shack” – James Cloyd
• “Fancy Dancer” – Commodores (released June 1976)
• “True Blue” – Madonna (released June 1986)
• “Un-Break My Heart” – Toni Braxton (released June 1996)
• “Singing Saw” – Iron & Wine (Acoustic Cafe performance)
• “It Only Takes One Lion” – Belle & Sebastian
• “This Is It” – Kenny Loggins
• “Turn Your Love Around” – George Benson
• “On The Radio” – Regina Spektor (released June 2006)

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

This week on Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music we take some time to hear some joyous musical moments from Sonny Rollins who passed this week at age 95… Also new music coming from former Detroiters Infinity Song, new Paul McCartney, Dames Brown and a couple Yacht Rock classics to get you ready for our June 7 Decks On Deck event!

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for May 30, 2026

HOUR ONE:

• “IN A MINUTE” – TOMORA
• “Growing Pains” – Blessing Jolie
• “Javelin” – Kevin Morby (in Detroit 6/4)
• “Top Shotta” – Brother Wallace
• “You’re Poison” – Nick Piunti w/Ayla Ottenbreit
• “Isn’t She Lovely” – Sonny Rollins
• “Neighbours” – Rolling Stones (ft. Sonny Rollins)
• “Masks Off” – Jesse Welles
• “Same Boat” – Katie Pruitt
• “Dirty Nikes” – Ruth B
• “Miami 2017” – Matt Nathanson
• “Kid Fears” – Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile, Julien Baker

HOUR TWO:

• “Time Out of Mind” – Steely Dan (Yacht Rock Cruise, 6/7!)
• “You Can’t Change That” – Ray Parker Jr. (Yacht Rock Cruise, 6/7!)
• “Just For Pleasure” – Young Gun & Silver Fox (Yacht Rock Cruise, 6/7!)
• “She Knows Too Much” – Thundercat (Yacht Rock Cruise, 6/7!)
• “Who Do You (Think You Are)” – Dames Brown
• “American Love Song” – Momo Boyd
• “Hurricane” – Infinity Song
• “Lost Horizon” – Paul McCartney
• “It’s Only Love” – ROZZI
• “Slave” – Rolling Stones (ft. Sonny Rollins)
• “There’s No Business Like Show Business” – Sonny Rollins

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

This week on Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music we celebrate MOVEMENT with some extended electronic music sets… plus a couple legends turning 80, new music from Arlo Parks, Jalen Ngonda, TOMORA and more!

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for May 23, 2026

HOUR ONE:

• “Meditation Four” – Carl Craig
• “In The Air” – Hot Since ’82
• “TRY” – sillygirlcarmen
• “Universal Soldier” – Depeche Mode
• “Atlantis” – Donovan
• “Doctrine Of Love” – Jalen Ngonda
• “Luck of Life” – Arlo Parks
• “Wannabeher” – MUNA
• “666” – Bon Iver
• “I Believe In Ghosts” – Kacey Musgraves
• “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man” – Cher

HOUR TWO:

• “Glory” – Dames Brown
• “Tantor” – Danny Brown
• “Coming In Heavy” – Eli Brown & Pan-Pot
• “All My Friends” – Barry Can’t Swim
• “Let It Ride” – DJ Minx
• “Lazy Nina” – Greg Phillinganes (Yacht Rock Cruise, 6/7!)
• “You Need A Hero” – Pages (Yacht Rock Cruise, 6/7!)
• “Hold Tight” – ROZZI (at The Leon Loft)
• “Gone With The Wind” – Brother Wallace
• “Stay In Your Lane” – Courtney Barnett
• “After All This Time” – Joe Jackson
• “A Wonderful Life” – Carl Craig

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

Big Sonic Heaven featured some bands hittin’ the road this year! Tricky is touring North America for the first time in eight years, and his first show is right here in Detroit at El Club on September 16. We heard his latest track “Out of Place” (feat. Marta).

Gene’s first American Tour in 24 years starts this November. The limited tour doesn’t include Detroit, but if you want to travel, they’ll be in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, DC, and NYC. The same goes for The Tear Garden. The closest shows to Detroit are Chicago on September 24 for the Cold Waves festival and Cleveland at the Grog Shop on September 26. 

Check out the playlist below and listen to the episode on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Big Sonic Heaven playlist for May 18, 2026

• “Black Metallic” – Catherine Wheel
• “No One’s Listening” – Goodbye Ranger
• “Jovano” – Gergana Dimitrova & Lisa Gerrard
• “Jerusalem” – Sinéad O’Connor
• “Out of Place (feat. Marta)” – Tricky
• “This Far” – Cranes Come
• “wake up (clean version)” – The Haunted Youth
• “Michael” – Beachy Head
• “Next Life” – Mint Julep
• “Just One Kiss” – The Cure
• “Drink the New Wine” – Bauhaus
• “Olympian” – Gene
• “Mon Amour Sauvage” – Dead Can Dance
• “Lovelife” – Lush
• “Alfie” – deary
• “Long Distance Lover” – Locust
• “Souvlaki Space Station” – Slowdive
• “You Are The One” – Kilbey Kennedy
• “Slivered Kisses (feat. Danella Hocevar)” – She Shone
• “Pale Clouded White” – Cocteau Twins
• “Always There” – The Churchhill Garden
• “Floating” – Julee Cruise
• “8th Deadly Sin” – Miki Berenyi Trio
• “Pause The Rain” – Masal & Emma Anderson
• “This Life” – Mandalay
• “Além” – Summer of Hate
• “Ophelia” – The Tear Garden
• “Home” – Depeche Mode
• “One Day” – Future Islands
• “Untitled 8″ – Sigur Rós”

This week on Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Mac Saturn return, plus more Detroit tunes from Dames Brown, The Detroit Emeralds and Inner City!

Also this week, a couple advance performances from The Leon Loft (for Acoustic Cafe), classics from The Bar-Kays and ELO, plus forthcoming coolness from Kelela!

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for May 16, 2026

HOUR ONE:

• “Holy Ghost” – The Bar-Kays
• “Cold April” – Allison Russell
• “Takes Time” – Mac Saturn
• “Can’t Be Wrong” – Low Cut Connie
• “Eastside Girls” – MUNA
• “Need Your Love” – Inner City feat. Steffanie Christi’an
• “Fifty Mission Cap” – The Tragically Hip
• “Crawl Space” – Art Farmer
• “Moonflower” – Devon Gilfillian
• “Kiss That Frog” – Peter Gabriel

HOUR TWO:

• “Idea 1” – Kelela
• “When The Love Is New” – Shaky Graves
• “You Want It, You Got It” – The Detroit Emeralds
• “Why You Got Me Crazy” – Dames Brown
• “Poker” – E.L.O.
• “Blessings” – Chance The Rapper
• “Charlie Sheen Reaches Out to the Feds” – Mountain Goats
• “No Invite” – Tank & The Bangas
• “In Your Ocean” – Iron & Wine (at The Leon Loft)
• “Good News” – ROZZI (at The Leon Loft)
• “Sunlight To My Soul” – Angelique Kidjo
• “What Is Left To Say” – Thundercat
• “Lost In My Mind” – The Head & The Heart

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org

This week on Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music we introduce you to Detroit artists Ayla Ottenbreit, plus a new cover from Detroit favorite Jill Jack!

Also this week, new work released from The Womack Sisters, The Rolling Stones, Taj Mahal and Ziggy Marley… And there’s the (just announced) Sonic Lunch series coming to Ann Arbor this summer, and a fun Yacht Rock event on the Detroit River June 7!

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for May 9, 2026

HOUR ONE:

• “Chauffeur” – The Womack Sisters
• “You’re The Man” – Brother Wallace
• “Lie” – ROZZI
• “In The Stars” – The Rolling Stones
• “Slow Learning” – Aylah Ottenbreit
• “It’s A Shame” – Aaron Frazer
• “It’s A Shame” – The (Detroit) Spinners
• “It’s A Shame” – First Aid Kit
• “Show You The Way” – Thundercat
• “Nightshift” – The Commodores
• “Freaking Out” – Michigander (Sonic Lunch 2026)
• “Ready Set Go” – Grace Potter (Sonic Lunch 2026)
• “Chicago” – Mavis Staples (Sonic Lunch 2026)

HOUR TWO:

• “Soulshine” – Jill Jack
• “Senses” – Arlo Parks ft. Sampha
• “Spirit 2.0” – Sampha
• “Doom Mood” – Pearl & The Oysters
• “Yell Fire” – Michael Franti
• “Are You One Of Us” – Rodney Crowell ft. Guy Clark
• “Talkin’ Blues” – Taj Mahal ft. Ziggy Marley
• “Big Stick” – MUNA
• “The Payoff” – Father John Misty
• “Only You Do” – GoldFord
• “Darwin Derby” – Vulfpeck

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org