Remembering Oscar Brand, 1920-2016
Oscar Brand may well have been the first folksinger and songwriter who I saw perform live when I was a youngster. My parents brought me to see him at a local library on Long Island, NY, where Brand, who died of pneumonia Sept. 30 at age 96, also lived with his family. Over the years, I saw him perform in concert and at festivals and special events many times -- most recently at the opening reception for the “Folk City” exhibit at The Museum of the City of New York last year.
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Philadelphia Folk Festival Set For Aug. 13-16
Arlo Guthrie celebrates the 50th anniversary of the event that inspired the seminal song “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” while influential folksinger-songwriter Tom Paxton, who plans to retire from the road later this year after more than a half-century as a performing and recording artist, are among the dozens of artists and acts slated to perform during the 2015 Philadelphia Folk Festival. Scheduled for August 13 -16 at the Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford Township, near bucolic Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, the festival is produced and presented by the Philadelphia Folksong Society. Now in its 54th year, it is the longest continuously running musical festival of its kind in North America.
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AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Song Swaps at 10th Annual Huntington Folk Festival, July 26
Tom Paxton headlines the 10th Annual Huntington Folk Festival on Sunday, July 26 at Heckscher Park, Main Street (Route 25A) and Prime Avenue, in Huntington, New York -- located on Long Island, about an hour from Manhattan. Extending from noon until l0:30 p.m., the free festival –- co-presented by the Folk Music Society of Huntington and the Huntington Arts Council –- is part of the 50th Annual Huntington Summer Arts Festival.
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It’s Music Festival Time in New York State
Music festivals abound in New York State in late June. Among those of note are Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival (June 20-21 in Croton-on-Hudson), Old Songs Festival (June 26-28 in Altamont), American Roots Music Festival at Caramoor (June 27 in Katonah) and Rockland-Bergen Music Festival (June 27-28 in Tappan).
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Folk Alliance International Hosts Conference, Releases White Paper on Copyright & Royalties
Folk Alliance International (FAI) has released a white paper entitled Understanding Copyright, Royalties and Practical Applications in Folk Music. Prepared by the FAI board of directors’ advocacy committee and staff, and aimed at helping to foster understanding of this complex issue among the nonprofit organization’s membership, the paper will be presented on Friday, February 20, during the 27th Annual International Folk Alliance Conference in Kansas City, Missouri.
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50 Years with Peter, Paul and Mary Airs on PBS
Peter, Paul and Mary’s music and social activism helped to shape a generation. Through the years, the seminal folk trio has touched the hearts and consciences of millions of people worldwide, won five Grammy Awards, received eight gold and five platinum records, had 13 top 40 hits, and been the subject of five PBS documentaries. A new one entitled 50 Years with Peter, Paul and Mary has begun airing on PBS television stations throughout the U.S.
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AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Song Swaps at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
AcousticMusicScene.com hosts a series of late-night song swaps during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, July 31-August 3, in partnership with Pirate Camp, which was informally launched by Stuart Kabak and the late Jack Hardy more than a decade ago to provide a warm and welcoming haven for sharing music, food and camaraderie.
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Emerging Artists Showcase Performers Chosen for Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
Twenty-four artists/duos or groups have been selected to perform in the Emerging Artists Showcase during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival on Friday afternoon, August 1, 2014, from noon to 4:30 p.m.
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Top Albums and Songs of November 2012 (FOLKDJ-L)
Chris Brashear's Heart of the Country, Annie Lou's Grandma's Rules for Drinking and Iris DeMent's Sing the Delta were reportedly the most played albums on folk radio during November 2012, according to charts compiled by Richard Gillmann from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in all folk-based music on the radio. The title track of Canadian singer-songwriter Annie Lou's new CD also was the most-played song, closely followed by Anne Hills' rendition of "Early Snow" from The Things I Notice Now: Anne Hills Sings the Songs of Tom Paxton.
[To view the Top Albums and Songs charts for November 2012, click on the headline.]
Remembering Pete Fornatale: A Pioneering New York Radio DJ
The folk, folk-rock and singer-songwriter communities lost one of their most ardent champions and promoters last week with the passing of Pete Fornatale, a pioneering New York radio DJ, who introduced me and many others to some wonderful artists whose music has become the soundtrack of our lives.
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