David Francey is one of Canada’s most revered folk poet-singers. As Kathy Sands-Boehmer notes, his songs and stories resonate with audiences from all over the world. [To read Kathy's recent Q & A interview with David Francey, click on the headline.]
Canadian folksinger-songwriter Kate McGarrigle, who performed with her sister Anna as the McGarrigle Sisters for three decades, has died at age 63. Besides being an acclaimed and award-winning artist in her own right, McGarrigle was the mother of artists Rufus and Martha Wainwright through her previous marriage to singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III. McGarrigle, who had been battling a rare form of cancer, died at her Montreal home on Monday night, January 18. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Tim Hart, who founded the seminal British folk-rock group Steeleye Span with Maddy Prior forty years ago, died on December 24. He was 61 and had been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer a year ago. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
In just a few short years, Boise, Idaho-born and Boston-based singer-songwriter Eilen Jewell has been developing quite a reputation on the folk and roots music scene. She is not wedded to any one musical style, and her own music reflects that. Although Jewell continues to pay homage to the folk tradition, she and her band explore some new musical territory on her latest Signature Sounds release, Sea of Tears. Kathy Sands-Boehmer posed a few questions to her recently. [To read Kathy’s Quick Q & A with Eilen Jewell, click on the headline.]
Girlyman is a harmonic folk-pop duo whose music is a blend of contemporary acoustic, folk-rock and Americana that is filled with catchy melodies. The trio's latest album, Everything's Easy, was released this summer. Sharon Goldman recently interviewed one of Girlyman's members, Ty Greenstein. [To read Sharon's interview, click on the headline.]
Greg Greenway is a soulful and powerful singer-songwriter who has appeared on “Mountain Stage” and on a segment of CNN’s “World Beat” featuring socially conscious artists. Besides releasing half a dozen solo CDs, he has been included on numerous compilations. Greenway also is a frequent participant in Phil Ochs Song Nights at coffeehouses and other venues. Kathy Sands-Boehmer interviewed him recently. [To read Kathy's Q & A with Greg Greenway, click on the headline.]
Antje Duvekot is a talented German-born and Boston area-based folk-pop singer-songwriter whose latest album, The Near Demise of the High Wire Dancer, produced by Richard Shindell, has been drawing critical acclaim and considerable airplay on folk radio. New York-based singer-songwriter Sharon Goldman interviewed Antje recently for her new Songwriting Scene blog. Her interview is re-posted here with permission. [To read Sharon's Q & A with Antje Duvekot, click on the headline.]
Nels Andrews released his first album independently in 2005. But, in that short span of time, the well-traveled, Brooklyn, New York-based singer-songwriter has earned some impressive honors and accolades with his original Americana and folk-rock songs. He’s been a Grassy Hill/Kerrville New Folk Winner, an official showcase artist at this year’s International Folk Alliance Conference, and is among the 24 artists selected to perform in next month’s Emerging Artists Showcase at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. He’s also attracted fans across the U.S. and in Europe, where he is set to tour again in the fall. [To read Kathy Sands-Boehmer's recent interview with Nels Andrews, click on the headline.]
'Melissa [Greener]'s delivery and calm, collected yet passionate presence on stage is something to experience," maintains Kathy Sands-Boehmer, who compares the singer-songwriter's work to that of a young Ani DiFranco or Dar Williams. [To read Kathy's recent Q & A interview with Melissa Greener, click on the headline.]
"Stevie Coyle is arguably one of the funniest fingerstyle guitarists known to humankind," asserts Kathy Sands-Boehmer. She cites her recent interview with the San Francisco Bay Area-based artist -- who formerly played with the eclectic string band, The Waybacks, and prior to that was a member of the folk-tribute parody group, The Foremen -- as evidence of that. [To read Kathy's not-so-quick but pretty witty interview with Stevie Coyle, click on the headline.]
AcousticMusicScene.com featured Abi Tapia in a late-night showcase during the 2008 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference, and I was delighted to introduce her during her first Long Island concert appearance in May. A very talented Americana-style singer-songwriter with a beautiful voice, Tapia will perform at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Hillsdale, New York in July as one of the emerging artists voted "Most Wanted to Return" by festival-goers last year. Kathy Sands-Boehmer posed a few questions to her recently.
[To read Kathy's short Q & A interview with Abi Tapia, click on the headline.]
By Michael Kornfeld
Abbie Gardner, a gifted New York area singer-songwriter and dobro player, who also is part of the rootsy female Americana trio Red Molly, is the Lennon Award winner in the folk category of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Her winning song, “The Mind of a Soldier,” now competes with the winners in the contest’s 11 other categories for the $20,000 Maxell Song of the Year Award, to be announced in July.
“I wanted to write a war song, but not from the perspective of either side, not something preachy or political, something more personal that people can relate to,” says Gardner of her award-winning song. She recalls listening to a lot of radio news reports about the war in Iraq while driving in her car and being bothered by the way in which “everyday I would usually just hear a number of how many people had died. It was just like a weather report.” “The Mind of a Soldier,” which can be heard on her MySpace page, seeks to address the human element.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
