While terrestrial radio stations are increasingly streaming and archiving shows online, there also are a number of Internet-only radio stations playing nothing but acoustic music.

The latest entry is www.3degreesorless.com, which was slated to make its Web debut on January 1. Mary Post (formerly associated with WVUD-FM in Newark, Delaware) hosts and produces what she describes as “a listening room on the net tailored to those of you who love singer-songwriters, folkies, American and roots musicians and those that fall-in between.” According to a recent posting from Post to the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) listserv, the name stems from a conversation she had with singer-songwriter Erik Balkey and others a year ago during which it was decided that while the world drama has six degrees of separation, in folk music there is usually three or less. She notes that some of her playlists will be designed to keep listeners guessing on how each singer-songwriter, group or song is connected.

Launched on the net in September 2003, FolkAlley (www.folkalley.com) offers live-streaming music 24 hours a day. Hosted by WKSU at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, FolkAlley also posts news and information of interest to the folk community.

Also streaming folk and acoustic music online 24 hours a day is Grassy Hill Radio (www.radio.grassyhill.org). It is brought to you by the same folks who stage a monthly series of barn concerts in Lyme, Connecticut and sponsor a number of folk festivals and conferences.

– Michael Kornfeld