Folk

Album Review: Furnace Mountain’s Shadow of Plenty Lifts the Spirits

Album Review: Furnace Mountain’s Shadow of Plenty Lifts the Spirits

Posted October 10, 2023 at 3:42 pm | No comments

The ironclad heft of Furnace Mountain’s talent shows up shining on every track of their release, Shadow of Plenty. The quartet of masterful musician’s hail from Loudoun County, Virginia’s Piedmont area where iron ore was extracted and formed into muskets, wagon wheels and more, all part of the Industrial Revolution.

Posted in: Acoustic News, Bluegrass News, Country, Country News, Folk, Folk News, Reviews, Singer Songwriter, Uncategorized, World Music

Review: Master Banjoist Stephen Wade’s “Hands on the Tune”

Review: Master Banjoist Stephen Wade’s “Hands on the Tune”

Posted October 1, 2023 at 10:00 am | No comments

by: Rick Landers Decades ago, banjo man Stephen Wade made an indelible mark on stage performing his now legendary one-man act, Banjo Dancing, or the 48th Annual Squitters Mountain Song, Dance, Folklore Convention & Banjo Contest and How I Lost, in Chicago (1979), and later scored a major coup at Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage, where I […]

Posted in: Acoustic News, Bluegrass News, Country News, Folk, Folk News, Guitar News, Singer Songwriter News, Uncategorized

Folk Legend Sylvia Tyson Looks Back at A Life Well-Lived on At The End of The Day (Bonus Video)

Folk Legend Sylvia Tyson Looks Back at A Life Well-Lived on At The End of The Day (Bonus Video)

Posted September 19, 2023 at 10:50 am | No comments

 Today – on her 83rd birthday – after a decade lay-off from recording on her own, Sylvia Tyson ,announces the release on November 3rd, 2023 of her most powerful, and most incisive recording to date, At The End Of The Day, on Stony Plain Records – and shares that this will be her final a

Posted in: Acoustic News, Folk, Folk News, Guitar News, Singer Songwriter News, Uncategorized

The Legendary Jesse Colin Young Talks About His Life and His Music (Part One of Three)

The Legendary Jesse Colin Young Talks About His Life and His Music (Part One of Three)

Posted September 5, 2023 at 2:38 pm | No comments

Prolific singer-songwriter, Jesse Colin Young, and his contributions to music are forever woven into the fabric of the American Dream, where the fundamental elements of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are rooted in song gifts bestowed by him to all of us.

Posted in: Folk, Guitar Hero Interviews, Industry Interviews, Interviews, Legends Interviews, Singer Songwriter Interviews, Uncategorized

Bob Melissinos – Leader of Shenandoah Run Talks About Greenwich Village to D.C. Days

Bob Melissinos – Leader of Shenandoah Run Talks About Greenwich Village to D.C. Days

Posted August 7, 2023 at 10:34 am | No comments

Shenandoah Run is the brainchild of Bob Melissinos who founded the group decades ago. Over the years members of the group have come and gone, and come back again. Today, the group includes: Bob who plays guitar; Jill Nelson (mandolin), John Werntz (bass); Joe Dickey (banjo), Leslie Smile Hoyle (violin), Jim Johnson (guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, banjo), Ben Hamblin (guitar), and Renee Moyer (percussion).

Posted in: Country, Country Interviews, Folk, Industry Interviews, Interviews, Uncategorized

Songwriter, Illustrator, Author J.R. Potter Talks About His Music and His Creeper Books

Songwriter, Illustrator, Author J.R. Potter Talks About His Music and His Creeper Books

Posted July 10, 2023 at 3:00 am | No comments

Many, like award-winning author, J.R. Potter, take on more artistic hobbies or career ambitions, as it’s their nature to create art, sometimes seemingly from whole cloth. Jamie and his life and musical duet partner in the Crooked Angels, Amy, are well-known in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC area for their well-crafted songs and other well-chosen music of others that prompt audience’s to hum along and smile.

Posted in: Folk, Interviews, Singer Songwriter Interviews, Uncategorized

The Basics of Playing Music for Free (Open mics, Charities, Busking)(Videos)

The Basics of Playing Music for Free (Open mics, Charities, Busking)(Videos)

Posted June 11, 2023 at 10:57 am | No comments

The concept of playing for free or for spare change is one for the ages. And the decisions for performing for little to no compensation is one to not take lightly, and should consider one’s level of talent, name recognition, commerciality, as well as the venue or circumstances that offer “real estate” to perform your original songs, cover songs or, most likely a mix of the two.

Posted in: Folk, Guitar News, Industry News, Instruction News, Singer Songwriter News, Uncategorized

Tim O’Brien Talks About Cup Of Sugar

Tim O’Brien Talks About Cup Of Sugar

Posted May 22, 2023 at 4:00 am | No comments

Tim O’Brien talks about his song, “Cup of Sugar” – The songs started with ‘Bear.‘ It was December of 2021, and the news was all about Russia and would Putin invade Ukraine. I had just read a book on the history of dancing bears. White Nationalism was a prominent topic, the flip side being Black Lives Matter. Trump had lost the election but was ramping up his spoiled brat act. I could imagine the gripes Putin, Trump and the White Nationalists had, even if I didn’t agree.

Posted in: Folk, Guitar News, Singer Songwriter News, Uncategorized

Folk artist/activist Eliza Gilkyson Shares First Single From Her New Album Home

Folk artist/activist Eliza Gilkyson Shares First Single From Her New Album Home

Posted May 17, 2023 at 12:22 am | No comments

Two-time folk Grammy nominee Eliza Gilkyson is sharing the first single, the “brightly ethereal” (Folk Alley) “Safety Zone”, from her new album, Home, set for released June 23 on her own imprint, Realiza Records. Premiering today, the song came about after a bad accident Eliza suffered at last year’s Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas. A member of the Austin Music Hall of Fame, and an inductee into the Austin Songwriter Hall of Fame, she has won countless Folk Alliance and Austin Music awards, including 2014’s Songwriter of the Year.

Posted in: Acoustic News, Folk, Folk News, Guitar News, Singer Songwriter News, Uncategorized

An Interview with India’s Slide Guitar Ambassador Debashish Bhattacharya

An Interview with India’s Slide Guitar Ambassador Debashish Bhattacharya

Posted April 30, 2023 at 6:21 pm | No comments

Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya is a man on a mission to introduce the traditional and contemporary music of India to the Western World. As an ambassador of Indian music, Debashish has performed and recorded with such legendary artists of sound, such as guitarist extraordinaire, John McLaughlin, the masterful slide guitarist, Jerry Douglas,  England’s guitar virtuoso, Martin Simpson, eclectic slide guitar mix-master, Derek Trucks, and African kora aficionado, Ballake Sissoko.

Posted in: Classical, Folk, Guitar Hero Interviews, Instrumental Interviews, Interviews, Legends Interviews, Uncategorized, World Music