There’s plenty of acoustic music on the radio and streaming online these days – if you know where to find it. This recurring column will help point you to it, while also noting upcoming in-studio guests and live or recorded concerts and performances.
Wanda Fischer’s passion for folk music extends a lifetime. “I kind of go way back with folk music,†says the veteran folk radio DJ, whose weekly Saturday evening program, The Hudson River Sampler, marks its 25th anniversary on WAMC/Northeast Public Radio this month. [To read the entire interview-profile, click on the headline].
WUMB Folk Radio, a non-commercial station licensed to the University of Massachusetts, begins its 25th year on the air on September 19 -- just days after the 10th annual Boston Folk Festival, which it presents. Beginning at 6 a.m. that day, every half-hour will include a three-song set of the three top folk songs played on WUMB each year, from 1982 to 2007 (to date). Throughout the day, a number of celebrity well-wishers also are expected to join on-air hosts Dick Pleasants and Dave Palmater in sharing memories of the station through the years. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Americans can enjoy some fine acoustic music from across the U.K. via the Internet, using the BBC Radio Player. Most of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s traditional and contemporary folk, Celtic and country music programs are streamed online and archived for seven days following their initial broadcast. They can be accessed by keying in www. bbc.co.uk/music/folkcountry/ on your web browser. [To read the entire article, including information on current and upcoming guests and special features on several radio programs, click the headline].
“Bound For Glory: A Musical Tribute to Woody Guthrie†will be re-broadcast by WFDU-FM (89.1 FM - Teaneck, N.J. and online at www.wfdu.fm) on Sunday, July 22, at 3 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time), in recognition of the 95th anniversary of the birth of this folk icon. Recorded during last November’s Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference in Monticello, N.Y., “Bound For Glory†is a wonderful two-hour remake of an historic revue that was originally presented in New York City in 1956... A musical highlight of last fall’s gathering in The Catskills, “Bound For Glory†features a talented group of performers assembled by Ron Olesko, longtime host of WFDU’s “Traditions†program, which airs on Sunday afternoons. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Webcasters have received what appears to be at least a temporary reprieve from what some considered to be onerous new royalty rates that could have led some online radio stations to cease playing music. A recording royalty rate increase imposed by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) will not take effect on July 15, as scheduled. During a hearing on Thursday before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce, SoundExchange, the sole administrative entity designated by the U.S. Copyright Office to collect and distribute performance royalties that are owed artists and labels, indicated that it would hold off on enforcing the new rates as it continues to negotiate with webcasters. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has denied an emergency stay sought by the Digital Media Association, National Public Radio and a group of small commercial webcasters to block a recording royalty rate increase imposed on webcasters by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB). “This situation is grave, but that makes the message all the simpler and more serious,†maintains the SaveNetRadio Coalition in an action alert posted on its Website (savenetradio.org) today. The coalition is encouraging its supporters to call their U.S. Senators and Representatives to urge their support for bringing the Internet Radio Equality Act to the floor for an immediate vote. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Calling for “fair pay for airplay†and expressing its collective belief that artists should be compensated when their music is broadcast over the air, a new coalition of U.S. recording artists and music industry organizations announced the launch of musicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today) on June 14. The move comes as a battle still rages over the Copyright Royalty Board’s decision to raise Internet radio royalty rates (as previously reported here). [To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Some 70 million Americans currently listen to online radio each month, according to Nielsen Media Research and a Bridge Ratings study. And many independent artists have come to rely on it as a key way of gaining exposure for their music that they would not otherwise get through commercial broadcast radio. But just how many webcasters (particularly nonprofits and small organizations) will be playing music in the near future -- and the diversity of styles that will be heard -- may well depend on the outcome of a currently raging battle royale over Internet royalty rates. {To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Gene Shay, hailed as "the dean of American folk DJs" by the Philadelphia Daily News, was named Folk DJ of the year during the 2nd Annual Folk Alliance Awards Show in Memphis, Tenn. on Feb. 21. The awards, presented on the opening night of the just-concluded 19th Annual North American Folk Music & Dance Alliance Alliance International Business Conference, recognize merit and achievement in the folk music field. Shay, who has hosted and produced weekly folk radio shows in Philadelphia for more than four decades, can currently be heard each Sunday on WXPN (88.5 FM) and, as of yesterday (Feb.24), on the FolkAlley.com stream each Saturday from 5-7 p.m. ET, with an encore broadcast Wednesday evenings at the same time. [To read this article in its entirety, click on the title in red].
American listeners can hear some fine folk and acoustic music from across the pond streaming online and archived on the Web sites of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
“The Mike Harding Show†on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2’s Mike Harding, a talented folk artist in his own right, hosts a fine weekly folk programme on Wednesdays at 8-9 p.m. (London-time) that is audio-archived for a week, along with past playlists, at www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/r2music/folk/harding/. Coming up on his show: (Feb. 7) Highlights of the Folk Awards 2007, during which Pentangle and Danny Thompson received Lifetime Achievement Awards, the band Bellowhead won several awards, Seth Lakeman was named Folk Singer of the Year, Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick took Best Duo honors, and 25-year-old mandolinist Chris Thile (formerly of Nickel Creek) was named Musician of the Year; (Feb. 14) Eddi Reader, a Scottish singer-songwriter; (Feb. 21) general show; and (Feb. 28) Nic Jones, an influential figure of the 1970s British folk scene.
Valley Folk, the long-running folk-radio program hosted by Susan Forbes Hansen that aired on WFCR-FM (Amherst, Mass.), was replaced by a jazz show last Saturday night. "...there's something infuriating about the death of a fine, locally produced show…
Listeners to WUMB Folk Radio in Boston, Mass. selected Red Molly as best new artists for 2006, while the trio's debut album, "Never Been to Vegas," also made the University of Massachusetts-based station's top 10 albums of the…
