World Cafe

Hailing from Okemah, Okla., with a serious talent for writing Americana music, John Fullbright is often compared to Woody Guthrie. But Fullbright isn't riding on the coattails of the great folk artists who came before him; in fact, he describes himself as a songwriter, not just a musician, because he's determined to play his own music.

Many fans of American rock love Neal Casal's guitar work, whether they know his solo music or not. Primarily a solo artist and guitarist for Ryan Adams' backing band The Cardinals, Casal built his career on country-rock sensibilities and tireless output. His first solo album came out in 1995, and since then, he's kept up his solo work while playing with The Cardinals, Chris Robinson of Black Crowes and countless others.

Rodrigo y Gabriela plays everything from heavy metal to jazz to acoustic folk. The duo started out in a thrash-metal band in Mexico City, but moved to Dublin in 1999. From Ireland, its inventive instrumental music spread to the U.K., then to Europe and the U.S. before finally finding its way back to Mexico. Rodrigo y Gabriela's big break came in 2006, when the pair's self-titled debut topped the Irish charts.

Zeus' music sounds as if it's being beamed straight out of the '70s, but a shared interest in making music that recalls The Band isn't what brought the Canadian group together. Most of Zeus' members were brought into Jason Collett's backing band, and from there decided to play together outside of their work with Collett.

We've heard from Alt. Latino co-host Felix Contreras in the past, but here we'll hear from the show's other half, Jasmine Garsd. Garsd was raised in Buenos Aires and connected with the Argentine rock scene in her teens. She moved to the U.S.