This item is the Generic Folk Music Item in the Grex Folk Music Conference. It's a bit of a catch-all, since we'll have carved out little specialty items for things like British Folk or Continental European Folk or Celtic Music from Islands North of Scotland. We already have item:14 for arguing about "Defining Folk Music" so maybe that argument can stay there. This item continues from item #27 in the old music conference, music2 (item:music2,27).40 responses total.
The first thing I need to put in here is the rather breathless announcement that the concert film DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN is playing the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor on Saturday, September 8. This seems to be a one-night engagement. DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN is a movie of the Ryman Auditorium (Nashville) concert given by the musicians who performed in the film O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU. According to the NPR story on the film which we heard back in June, the late John Hartford is supposed to be the star. According to Current magazine, other performers include Emmylou Harris, Ralph Stanley, Alison Krauss, the Fairfield Four, and Gillian Welch.
Breathlessly I announce that this thing shows at 4:30 PM. THIS AFTERNOON.
((I'm home with a bad cold. Hope it's better tomorrow; I think there is a Sunday 4:30 showing as well.))
Indeed there was a 4:30 showing Sunday, and I was there. Spotted Ken there as well. Very well-attended; rather long line at the box office. Extremely enjoyable. John Hartford's fiddle+vocal version of "Big Rock Candy Mountain" was alone worth the price of admission.
I'm not sure what more I can add, other than complaining about the point that only one of the three? reels seemed to be correctly hooked up to the house stereo. Argh. Anyway, yeah, it made me regret all the times I missed seeing John Hartford at the Ark. I was surprised to realize that I saw Colin Linden -- playing second guitar and harmony vocals with Chris Thomas King -- at the Ark at some point, opening for somebody; I can't remember when this was, though. The size of the crowd startled me; it's not often I've seen the Michigan Theater so full for a movie. When MOUNTAIN was booked for just two afternoon showings, I figured it wasn't drawing well, so I was quite pleased at the turnout. (The original O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU soundtrack is now up to two million copies sold, which is rather amazing for a collection of oldtime country & bluegrass music.)
The Saturday afternoon show was a sellout too.
Elderly lists a bunch more yummy CDs -- voices from the past... The Horseflies release appears to be a new recording: "Two Traditions: Balafon, Banjo, Fiddle and Drum." The blurb says: The Horseflies and friends mix African and Cuban percussion with American old-time music. Maybe... the last Horseflies live album didn't do much for me, I preferred the Bubba George String Band. There's a new compilation of John Hartford's earliest albums, the ones on the RCA label which have never been issued on CD. And, at long last, Judy Collins has herself released a 2-fer disc with her first two studio albums on it, "A Maid of Constant Sorrow" and "The Golden Apples Of The Sun."
i wonder about the horseflies release, as far as how recent the recording is as their bass player died a couple of years ago...how is the hartfor stuff? the rca material is what i grew up with.
I don't have any of those items described in resp:7 yet, and I'm not sure when I will. But I thought you might want to know they were out.
DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN is showing again at the Michigan Theater on Sunday October 28. Showtimes 4:45, 7:15, 9:30 If you missed it last time, it's worth a special effort to be there day after tomorrow: THIS SUNDAY
Michelle Shocked played the Ark in July 2001, and at the time the word was that her new album DEEP NATURAL would be out in October. It's finally out this Tuesday, according to this review from the Los Angeles Times: http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Music-X!ArticleDetail-5 4851,00.html (sorry the URL is wrapped) In an interview I read on the web somewhere after last summer's concert, Michelle said she was not opposed to reissues of the 4 limited-edition CDs she put out after her split with Mercury Records. But she wanted a "real" record company to do it, she didn't want to be her own record company. The Times review, however, says that Michelle's new album is on her own new label, Mighty Sound; perhaps she'll be willing to reissue the limited edition stuff now. It sounds like the DUB NATURAL cd she was selling at last summer's concert is packaged as the second disc of the DEEP NATURAL album.
Gordon Lightfoot at the Michgan Theater April 27.
Let me guess, somebody's excited about Gordon Lightfoot. :)
And this is a problem...why? :) I'd like to see him one of these days...but this year isn't it. I'm already doing 8 concerts in 7 weeks.
I've heard virtually nothing about Michelle Shocked since everybody (it seemed) in ALPS dropped her in order to run after the Cowboy Junkies.
Some people here claim to be fans of "Great Big Sea", right? Anyway, I was watching CBC News last night and there was a commercial for an upcoming GBS television concert on CBC (channel 9 here in SE Michigan). Fans might want to check their TV Guides. (I thought they looked like N'Sync with acoustic guitars, myself. ;) )
I think it's June 2nd, but I'm not entirely sure. Is that Channel 9 cable?
Channel 9 broadcast. I don't know what cable channel it would be.
I'll have to do some looking....and now that I think about it, I think that I'm mixing the daye up with a concert I'm going to.
Ah, here we go, courtesty of http://www.cbc.ca : Sunday 2/6/2002 20:00 21:00 Great Big Sea Live Now it's an issue of deciphering the Candian date and time formats, so I went to my usual TV listings site, http://www.zap2it.com and looked at June 2nd. Um. Not much listed at all, for any channels. Oh well, it's probably 9:00pm on Sunday, June 6th.
CBC is Channel 21 on Cable (see? Hockey fans CAN be useful! :) )
YEAH!!!!! Thanks! :) Of course, I'm going to a concert that day....but that's what VCR's with timers are all abou!!!!!
Seems like as Newfoundlanders they should start their concert on a half hour, rather than on the hour..
What's on the half-hour to them is on the hour to us, so perhaps they do ...
(A friend of mine who tends to oversleep likes to joke that he runs on Newfie time.)
The Great Big Sea concert on CBC is Sunday, June 2, at 8pm Eastern. CBC is Channel 9 broadcast, 21 cable (if you're in Ann Arbor)
This coming weekend, August 9-11, is the Great Lakes Folk Festival in downtown East Lansing, Michigan. This is the successor to the National Folk Festival's residency in East Lansing for the previous three years. I was really looking forward to this, but I don't think I can navigate it on crutches. Web page for the festival is: http://www.greatlakesfolkfest.net Performers include Chicago-Irish fiddler Liz Carroll and Quebecois band Matapat, plus former Solas singer Karan Casey.
Today's broadcast of "The Folk Show" on WCBN was being announced as the last one. Carol Mohr was named in the roll of former program hosts. Today's host suggested that gentle prodding of the radio station might encourage them to bring "The Folk Show" back at a future date, but it's definitely gone for the summer.
Wow, this item has barely moved since I announced *last* year's festival... Downtown East Lansing hosts the Great Lakes Folk Festival this weekend, Friday August 8 through Sunday August 10. The biggest names at the festival will be bluegrass/old-time legend Ralph Stanley (one performance only, 8 pm Saturday), the Barra MacNeils (Scottish folk/pop from Cape Breton), Irish-American singer Cathie Ryan, and African thumb-piano player Stella Chiweshe. There's also Scandinavian music, Cajun, traditional American folk, and probably more. http://www.greatlakesfolkfest.net The festival is located in the heart of downtown East Lansing; its east edge is approximately where El Azteco is, and it stretches west towards the bus station and Valley Court Park. Four stages, and some craft and food areas. The festival is free, though roving gangs of official fundraisers will try to get you to donate some money.
((Quite a wonderful festival. I scribbled some notes and will hope to enter them here in a couple of days.))
Bummed I missed it, but Bruce was feeling less than willing to drive. :-(
I remember, when passing through Banff (or maybe Canmore, AB) earlier this summer that they were advertising a folk festival with several performers I've heard Ken write about (although right now Mary Gauthier is the only one who springs to mind..) However, the festival's probably over by now..
Dunno if anyone else has found this yet, but I thought some of you would dig it: http://www.folkalley.com/
I fouind it about a year ago, and I adore it. Mostly. I'm still a little irritated with how repetitive it gets with some of its songs, but I have found several cool artists. Funny...I found them, listened for quite a while, and then suddenly stopped. Right about the time I dumped a bunch of cds onto the computer and hit random....:)
So who are your favorite folk-music artists?
The same group that organizes "The Monthly Grind", our favorite monthly musical event herre in Ketchikan, is apparently coordinating a concert next month by American folksinger Gordon Bok. Since we get a fairly limited number of outside performers travelling through and since this sounds potentially interesting I'm planning on buying a couple of tickets but I wonder if anyone here is familiar with his music and can tell me anything about it.
Gordon Bok does wind-swept folk music from the coast of Maine. I love his songs. Big on meaning, and sailing, and water, and other cool stuff.
That sounds like what the poster promised, and it should go over big here in SE Alaska, where boating is a very popular pastime and many of the residents have worked one or more jobs aboard a boat of some sort (usually a fishing vessel) at some time in their lives.
By all means go to the Bok concert. I don't know the Maine coast, but I have been to SE Alaska's, and his songs would go very well with it. Enjoy!
He had alot of stuff in the 70's based on Irish folk.
You have several choices: