As I get older, I notice the apparent “graying” of the folk music audience. As soon as I label myself a “moldy fig,” a great new young artist gets my attention.This week on the SORM we’ll feature some young musicians … Continue reading →
“Prepare to take a ride …” I‘m just shy of fifty years old. My father died at ninety-one a month ago, and my older brother, tragically, three months before that. My mother passed less than two years ago, just a … Continue reading →
& WFDU-FM’s TRADITIONS Playlist for June 26, 2016 Justin Timberlake, who earned dubious street cred in the folk community for his role as a folksinger in the Coen Brothers film Inside Llweyn Davis, found himself in deeper hot water last … Continue reading →
ANNA & ELIZABETH Anna and Elizabeth Free Dirt Records www.freedirtrecords.com Multi-instrumentalist and singer Anna Roberts-Gevalt and Appalachian singer Elisabeth LaPrelle have combined to produce a beautifully crafted collection of songs of sorrow, survival and … Continue reading →
Various Artists Dear Jean: Artists Celebrate Jean Ritchie Compass Records #7 4631 2 www.compassrecords.com There are two things any and every true aficionado of folk music should know full well about Jean Ritchie: … Continue reading →
Introduction We here at Murder Ballad Monday are soon fixing to close our second year of writing about our topic of choice! Don’t worry; we have a few more weeks to go before we get to our holiday hiatus, and … Continue reading →
Friends, I’ve got a confession to make. I’m white, but I love Stagolee. And I don’t just mean the Grateful Dead’s “Stagger Lee”, which was my gateway to the story – I love to hear them all. I’ve been too … Continue reading →
For the fourth time this week we embark on an exploration of the ballad “Young Emily” – Laws M34 or Roud #182 – and in Appalachia today we’ll finish our trek. We introduced the ballad with Natalie Merchant singing an … Continue reading →
Another year has come and gone. I’m beginning to set my calendar to coincide with the Old Songs Festival. The event has become my annual booster shot that reminds of why “folk” music is so important – the festival displays … Continue reading →
Before I hit the pillow, I just want to jot down a few thoughts about the first night of the 30th Annual Old Songs Festival. It took me nearly 20 years to check out Old Songs, but for the last … Continue reading →
