Episode Details

It's National Park Week! Every fourth Sunday, Joey Stuckey joins Lisa Smith on Big Blend Radio's Music Talks — and this time they're diving into the music inspired by America's national parks and public lands. Recorded right at the start of National Park Week (August 22–30, 2026), the conversation marks the National Park Service's 110th birthday and the 250th anniversary of American independence.

Joey and Lisa dig into seven songs, starting with Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" and moving through Doreen Taylor, John Denver, longtime Big Blend guest Wally Lawder, Joey's own "Oceanside," Ed Tree's "Chaco," and closing with Yusuf/Cat Stevens. 

Along the way they talk studio gear, accessibility in the parks, bald eagles and the Endangered Species Act, the Gila Cliff Dwellings, and Hawaii memories — but they also get real about what's currently threatening these places: renewed oil, gas, and mineral leasing pressure around Chaco Canyon, a mining threat facing one of the largest bald eagle gatherings in the world near Haines, Alaska, and the border wall construction fight at Big Bend National Park.

📖 Read the full episode write-up with action links, songs, and more: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/music-for-our-parks-joey-stuckey 

🎵 Listen to the full "Music for our Parks" playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6td2w1P7IEUuyVSYsjEvyz 

🌐 Visit Joey Stuckey's website: https://joeystuckey.com/ 

🎙️ Joey Stuckey joins Big Blend Radio every fourth Sunday for Music Talks. Listen to more episodes: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/t/joey-stuckey