Reflecting on Pete Seeger, 1919-2014
Pete Seeger, the inspirational American folk music icon, political activist, environmentalist and humanitarian, whose songs helped provide a musical backdrop for many of the historical movements of the past 50-plus years, died on Jan.. 27. He was 94 and had been preceded in death last year by his wife and soulmate of nearly 70 years, Toshi.
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Quebec, Scandinavian Folk Artists Showcase Their Talents During APAP Conference in NYC
Talented artists from the Canadian province of Quebec and the Scandinavian nations of Sweden and Denmark teamed up for an evening of musical showcases in New York City that was a highlight of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Conference, Jan. 10-14.
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Steven Fromholz, Texas Singer-Songwriter, 1945-2014
Steven Fromholz, a well-respected Texas singer-songwriter, engaging and witty performer, author, actor, humorist, “singing cowboy,” acclaimed whitewater rafting guide, and one-time poet laureate of the Lone Star State, died Jan. 19 following a hunting accident. He was 68.
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Top Albums and Songs of 2013 (FOLKDJ-L)
Folk harmony trio Brother Sun's sophomore release, Some Part of the Truth, was the most-played album on folk radio during 2013. The trio -- comprised of veteran touring singer-songwriters Joe Jencks, Greg Greenway and Pat Wictor -- also had the most-played song, Jencks’"Lady of the Harbor," 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 FOLKDJ-L charts are based on 157,864 airplays from 187 different DJs. The number of reported spins (airplays) is shown in parentheses, while label and release dates appear in brackets. They are posted, with permission, on AcousticMusicScene.com.
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AcousticMusicScene.com Creator Runs for Folk Alliance International Board
Folk Alliance International members are casting votes this month for one or more -- up to five -- individuals to serve on the nonprofit organization’s board of directors. Among the candidates is Michael Kornfeld, editor and publisher of AcousticMusicScene.com. Currently in his third term on the board of FAI’s largest regional affiliate and the president of a volunteer-run nonprofit presenting organization on Long Island (NY), Kornfeld advocates broader representation of FAI’s constituencies on its governing board.
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‘Nashville 2.0: The Rise of Americana’ Airs on PBS
The burgeoning Americana music scene is the focus of Nashville 2.0, a new hour-long music documentary that airs on PBS television stations across the U.S. on Nov. 22. The special, which may be viewed as a primer of the genre, features performances by a number of well-known roots music artists and emerging artists who are transcending traditional boundaries and putting their own contemporary stamp on long-established genres like country, folk, bluegrass, blues, roots rock, R&B, rockabilly, folk-rock and honky-tonk that have inspired what is broadly known as Americana today. These are interspersed with filmed interviews with some of these artists as well as select music journalists and historians.
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AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Showcases at NERFA Conference, Nov. 7-10
More than 800 performing artists, presenters, promoters, agents and managers, folk DJs and others actively engaged in traditional and contemporary folk music will converge on the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, NY, Nov. 7-10, 2013, for the 19th Annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference. AcousticMusicScene.com will again have a major presence as it hosts afternoon and late-night song swaps, in addition to its popular Midnight Hoot at the close of the conference’s first day.
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AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Late-Night Music at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
AcousticMusicScene.com will host a series of late-night song swaps, mini-showcases and open song circles during the 25th annual Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, August 1-4, in partnership with Pirate Camp, which was informally launched by Stuart Kabak and the late Jack Hardy a decade ago to provide a warm and welcoming haven for sharing music, food and camaraderie.
[To read the full article, which includes a preview of one of the Northeast's most popular music festivals and a complete schedule for the AcousticMusicScene.com tent @ Pirate Camp, click on the headline.]
AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Showcases at a Folk Festival on Long Island, July 20
The eighth annual Huntington Folk Festival is slated for Saturday, July 20, 2013. The free event will extend from 12 noon into the late evening at Heckscher Park, Main Street (Route 25A) and Prime Avenue, in Huntington, New York. Americana-roots ensemble Spuyten Duyvil headlines the festival in the evening, while AcousticMusicScene.com and Acoustic Live! in New York City and Beyond host unplugged showcases and song swaps during the afternoon featuring artists from several states.
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Sid Selvidge,1943-2013
Sid Selvidge, a Memphis-based singer, guitarist and cultural treasure, and an ardent champion of blues and roots music, who helped launch and served as executive producer of the internationally syndicated Beale Street Caravan radio program, died May 2 at Methodist University Hospital. He was 69 and had been battling cancer.
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Quick Q & A with Jon Shain
Jon Shain has developed and refined his own contemporary version of the Piedmont blues, a bouncy energetic style that developed in and around his adopted hometown of Durham, North Carolina and to which he was introduced while a history major at Duke University. After graduating in 1989, Jon decided to pursue a career in music and has been writing songs and honing his fingerstyle guitar playing skills ever since. A 2009 International Blues Challenge finalist, he tours regularly and will help close out the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase at this month’s Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) Conference in Montreat, NC.
[To read Kathy Sands-Boehmer's Quck Q & A with Jon, click on the headline.]
Remembering Richie Havens, 1941-2013
I wasn’t at Max Yasgur’s Farm in 1969 when Richie Havens impressed throngs of people at the Woodstock festival. I was just a youngster then. But I did get to hear him up close and personal in the late 1970s at my alma mater, Huntington High School, in Huntington, New York. He was performing in the auditorium, along with Harry Chapin, at one of the late singer-songwriter’s many benefit concerts. Richie joined his fellow Brooklyn NY-born folksinger in heaven or wherever kindhearted gentle souls go, on April 22, after suffering a heart attack at home in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was 72.
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