This week on The Sing Out! Radio Magazine we begin a two part feature Ballads Ancient & New. We’ll listen to ballads in many different settings and styles. Narrative songs have always been an important part of folk music whether … Continue reading →
TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD Portrait of an American Singer Bear Family 17332 www.bear-family.com Have you ever felt like – to paraphrase “Sixteen Tons” – you owed your soul to the company store? October 17th marks … Continue reading →
MAXEL TOFT 31 Self Released www.maxeltoft.com Toft’s 31 showed up at Sing Out!’s offices in a sandwich bag. Physically speaking, it’s a white CDR with “31” written in Sharpie and “Maxel Toft” written in … Continue reading →
PLAINSONG Reinventing Richard: The Songs of Richard Fariña Omnivore www.omnivorerecordings.com There is a clear line between recitation and interpretation. Interpretation, hopefully, takes a song someplace it hasn’t been before, someplace new. Iain Matthews and … Continue reading →
APRIL MAE & THE JUNE BUGS with MIKE METTALIA Grease It Up And Go! April Mae and the June Bugs www.aprilmaeandthejunebugs.com Pure fun end-to-end, April Mae & The June Bugs’ Grease It Up & Go! … Continue reading →
HILARY DIRLAM Tunes From Here and There Self-Released www.hilarydirlam.com Hilary Dirlam first visited Nepal, in 1993, to further her understanding of Buddhist practice. One of the impressions that most stayed with her from the … Continue reading →
DANNY SCHMIDT Owls Live Once www.dannyschmidt.com Schmidt’s smoky voice and rocking band make this an easy album to enjoy. Recorded at the Fire Station in San Marcos, Texas, the songs combine a rootsy feel … Continue reading →
This week we complete our two part feature focusing on family members who play music together. We’ll hear some Celtic family bands old and new, some classic Bluegrass families and some contemporary organizations. There’s something very special about playing music … Continue reading →
On September 23, the folk music community lost one of its guiding lights with the passing of Jerry Epstein. To sum up all the contributions and inspiration this man provided is an impossible task. Labels of folklorist, singer, arranger, conductor, … Continue reading →
“At first I suspected something” Tucked in between covers of Bruce Springsteen’s “Johnny 99” and Norman Blake’s “Billy Gray” on Mark Erelli and Jeffrey Foucault’s excellent murder ballad compilation, Seven Curses, is the short, mysterious “Tom Merritt.” It is a song of … Continue reading →
