I’m Back
It has been way too long since I last posted in this blog, but I intend to make up for lost time. I’ve added a couple of entries featuring some recent guests on my radio show. There will be more!
So what have I been up to? I launched a 24 hour Internet radio channel devoted to folk music – Folk Music Notebook. Catchy name, isn’t it? Yes, I used the name of this blog for the channel, and like this blog (which I started back in 2006, click here to read that first entry), Folk Music Notebook was conceived to provide music and news of the folk community.
Folk Music Notebook – the Internet radio channel – launched on May 3, 2019 which was the 100th Anniversary of Pete Seeger‘s birth. We celebrated our first day by offering a remote from the Towne Crier in Beacon, New York with performers a bevy of performers including Christine Lavin and Tom Chapin. Since then, we have been operating around the clock every single day presenting a diverse selection of folk music, old and new. We’ve done live remotes from the Old Songs Festival (which we will do again in 2022!), the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, NERFA (the North East Regional Folk Alliance conference) and several local venues as well.
The heart of the channel is built around our diverse playlist, sharing music of young artists who are carrying on and creating traditions as well as the songs of the artists from the Folk Revival who opened the doors that enable this community to continue to thrive.
Each evening, we offer up some of the finest folk radio hosts in the business – hosts like Matt Watroba, Marilyn Rea Beyer, Rich Warren, Angela Page, Joltin’ Joe Pszoneck and more. Singer-songwriters like Joe Jencks, Joel Raphael, James Lee Stanley and Robert Sarazin Blake host outstanding programs with their unique perspectives and styles. We also bring in shows from Israel with Menachem Vinegrad and from England with the legendary Mike Harding.
I have so much to tell, but I will save it for another day. In the meantime, check us out at www.FolkMusicNotebook.com. Listen online, download our free apps, or tune in through third party devices like TuneIn, Roku and Amazon Alexa (with our free downloadable Alexa skill).
I hope you will continue to check out this blog, housed here on the website of the iconic Sing Out! Magazine. My goal is to support this community, introduce listeners and readers to new music, and honor those who blazed trails to make it possible. I hope you will enjoy!
Ron Olesko