response 26 of 35:

Jun 19 15:22 UTC 2008

Idle internet browsing led me to two more second-generation folkie/
acoustic musicians last night.  I have not heard the material from 
either of these yet, but there are samples on MySpace pages for when
I have some time.   Finding these just makes me feel old.  :)

Lucy Wainwright Roche, daughter of Loudon Wainwright and Suzzy Roche:

http://www.myspace.com/lwrlwr

Lucy is the half-sister of Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright.

-----

Kamila Thompson, daughter of Richard & Linda Thompson:

http://www.myspace.com/kamilathompson

I knew that Kamila was out there and I think she'd done a few guest
vocals with her mom, but I didn't know that she was seriously pursuing
performing.  Kamila is the sister of Teddy Thompson.

response 28 of 35:

Sep 18 16:52 UTC 2008

Great Lakes Folk Festival:  August 8-10, 2008.  East Lansing, Michigan

Friday evening:

The opening concert is always at the small M.A.C. stage, my favorite
stage, located right in the heart of downtown, and they start with
short speeches by the director of the MSU Museum, the mayor of East
Lansing, and local folk radio host Bob Blackman.

6 pm:  April Verch -- She's a fiddler from the Ottawa Valley in
Canada, an area with a mix of European traditions, without one
dominating.  She's also a very good stepdancer, maybe only so-so as a
singer though.   Her band included a guitarist and bass player, and
her husband on bodhran and other percussion.

7 pm:  Crooked Road Revue --Hike down to the Valley Court grassy main
stage.  The Crooked Road collection of old-time musicians was
assembled for a tour by the National Council for the Traditional Arts,
and they were planned to be the core of this year's festival.   The
Crooked Road refers to a highway running in the mountains near the
Virginia/North Carolina border;  the land of the Carter Family.

Guitar, banjo, fiddle, and a striking young singer named Elizabeth
LaPrelle.  The leads flowed from player to player, as if they were
sitting on a porch.  About half of Elizabeth's songs with the ensemble
were lightly accompanied.   More details on the performers when I
cover their solo sets.  But the ensemble performance convinced me that
these performers were worth following for the many hours they were
booked to sing and play for the weekend.   As a vocal ensemble, they
had a fine performance of "Bright Morning Star", and they closed with
a Carter Family medley.

8 pm.  (Back to the M.A.C. stage.)  Mamadou Diabate on kora, with a
scorching band of balafon, percussion and upright bass.  Totally
delicious.  This was not mentioned in the promo material, but I found
a claim on the web that Mamadou Diabate is Toumani Diabate's cousin.
Mamadou D. is now resident in Durham, North Carolina.

9:30 pm  Back to the main stage, by way of the Maria's Taco booth...
I missed a good deal of the Cephas and Wiggins set and will cover them
in their Sunday set.

10 pm:  Reveillons!  a Quebec quartet who I was trying hard to like.
They are very cheerful performers, great stage presence, but I'm
annoyed that they play a concertina rather than a big accordion, and
the vocal quality isn't what I want for what they are trying to do.
(I just played some of their CD, while writing this festival review,
and my wife asked me to take it out of the player because the voices
grated on her.)

(I am starting to suspect that understanding the French lyrical
content may be essential to appreciating this band.)

------

(( more to come... ))

response 30 of 35:

Aug 10 21:17 UTC 2009

Great Lakes Folk Festival was achieved -- two days of it, anyway,
and I have hopes of writing something up so it can be ignored.
Given the high level of activity in this conference, I probably won't
rush it -- but I need to write it anyway for a few other people, so 
something will trickle back in here eventually.

response 32 of 35:

Aug 11 01:39 UTC 2009

Some of us lurk here.

response 34 of 35:

Aug 24 13:09 UTC 2009

Your two weeks is almost up.