Rob Reinhart has the kind of voice — rich and resonant — that’s made for radio, which is where you’ll find the producer/host of the weekly, made-in-Ann Arbor, nationally syndicated radio program “Acoustic Café.”

Reinhart’s guests over the 15 years since the show launched have included top talent as well as up-and-comers from a variety of musical genres.

“Beck, Joan Baez, John Prine ... we consider Pat Metheny a singer-songwriter, even though he’s working in the jazz world. James Taylor; his brother, Livingston; his son Ben — all of those people are in that category. … Ani DiFranco was one of our earliest guests back in the ’90s. John Mayer was on the program, Norah Jones was on the program early on ... It's been fun to watch their careers launch over time.”

The show is heard on more than 75 stations, commercial and non-commercial, around the country. Voice of America carries the show worldwide to Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and South America. Acoustic Café can also be heard on the web, or fans can “friend” them on Facebook, where video is also included.

Reinhart said the definition of “acoustic” is intentionally broad.

“Acoustic just refers to real people playing real instruments. We don’t operate in any particular genre. We have rock bands who are here performing acoustically, we have jazz people, a lot of folk musicians, world music ... Acoustic is a pretty wide-open space.”

Reinhart, an Ann Arbor native, said the show — which also includes an interview with the performer — strives to keep the music as stripped-down as possible.

“We have people who come with prerecorded material that they can play along with. We are very much against that. They’ll bring in a six-piece band and 32 extra tracks of wizardry they did in the studio New York, and that’s not what we want them to do. What we really want them to do is play their song. The acoustic label is about getting to the most simplistic way of getting to their craft and what it is they do.”

Artists — especially those on the rise — are eager for the exposure "Acoustic Café" offers.

Boston-based country-folkie Eilen Jewell, who was a guest earlier this year, promoting her new CD, “Sea of Tears,” said a spot on the show is a huge honor.

“It’s right up there at the pinnacle of where you want to appear,” she said. “It’s hard for up-and-coming musicians to get their music out there into places they can’t physically go to. It’s hard to be everywhere at once. But with the radio and the Internet, you can be.”

Established singer-songwriter Susan Werner, who performs often at The Ark, said she appreciates the attention to detail that "Acoustic Café" offers.

“They take the time to set the mics up right and get the levels perfect, so it's like sitting for a very, very good portrait painting when you play that show,” Werner said. “For those of us who take pride and care in the music we make, we notice and appreciate the difference.”

Although one might think Ann Arbor, well outside traditional East and West Coast music hot spots, an odd place to base such a show, Reinhart says the Tree Town location is ideal. One of the country’s top singer-songwriter venues — The Ark — is located here, as is a world-class recording studio — Big Sky — on the south side of town.

“We have this beautiful grand piano, we have a Hammond B3 (organ), an isolation booth for the drums, these lovely microphones which cost more than my car ... we’ve been (at Big Sky) for five years,” Reinhart said.

And there’s one more thing: “People who are coming here on tour are not in media mode. When they are out here they relate differently, they are in touring mode and they’re used to talking to real people instead of media people.

“There are huge advantages to producing the program here,” he added.

Reinhart, a mass communications major who has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan, said the latter comes in just as handy as the former.

“We use the psychology stuff every day ... You have to juggle a tremendous amount of personalities and you have to motivate people hopefully to do their best work in a finite amount of time. Being able to recognize certain human behaviors is a really advantageous place to be when you are in a studio setting.”

Although radio has sometimes been written off as a relic of yesteryear, especially in this Internet era, Reinhart is still bullish on its future.

“(Radio) … is ubiquitous. It’s easy to use. You can tell me about streaming, you can tell me about all the Internet options, (but that’s) not as easy as turning the knob and turning it up. And it will be a long time until it is, especially in the car. … Whether it’s delivered on the Internet or delivered on a hand-held device, they are going to need people to create compelling content, and those who are trained in radio can do just that.”

He said it’s a question of quality and commitment.

“Radio is still relevant when it’s done well. Radio that is not done well is completely irrelevant. As long as there are people who are committed to doing it well — I’d like to think I am in that group of people, (WDET’s) Ann Delisi is in that group, as is (WQKL’s) Martin Bandyke — radio will remain relevant because they have a passion for it.”

Roger LeLievre is a free-lance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com.

Rob Reinhart Claim to fame: Creator and host of the made-in-Ann Arbor but internationally known radio show Acoustic Café, which features great singer-songwriter tunes in the rock, country, folk, blues and pop genres. Age: 48 Hometown: Ann Arbor. Background: Besides his involvement with "Acoustic Café," launched in late 1994, Reinhart has owned a small local ad agency and radio production company, written and produced syndicated comedy for radio, voiced thousands of radio and TV commercials, consulted on movie, television and Internet media projects and created and hosted “The No Depression Alt-Country Radio Hour.” He also co-hosts "Radio Free Bacon," the live radio show that's been broadcasting from West Park on Sunday afternoons in recent weeks. Family: Married, with two boys and “one slightly defective golden retriever” named Fibber. Catch A. Café: Ann Arbor’s 107.1 FM from 8-10 a.m. Sunday; 93.9 FM (The River) from 7-9 p.m. Sunday; on the Acoustic Café web site. The show’s archives are available on MLive.com's Acoustic Café page.