News – Northeast U.S.

The Pocono Mountains Come Alive with the Sound of Folk Music Over Memorial Day Weekend

Folk music will abound in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains over Memorial Day weekend. There will be plenty of opportunities to sing, play, listen, learn, relax and enjoy the company of other folks as both The Folk Music Society of New York, Inc. (a.k.a. New York Pinewoods Folk Music Club) and the Philadelphia Folksong Society hold their music-filled annual spring weekends. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

George Wein Secures Permit for Folk Festival 50 in Newport

Fifty years after launching the first Newport Folk Festival, George Wein, 83, a pioneer among producers of outdoor music festivals, will return to steer another one this summer at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island. Following months of negotiations, the Newport City Council last night approved a permit for what will be called George Wein’s Folk Festival 50. Slated for July 31-August 2, the event will feature several notable established folk artists who performed during the festival’s early years, as well as some more contemporary singer-songwriters and musicians. Tickets go on sale May 6 at www.folkfestival50.com. [To read the article in its entirety, click on the headline.]

George Wein May Return to the Helm of the Newport Folk Festival

Fifty years after launching the first Newport Folk Festival, George Wein, 83, a pioneer among producers of outdoor music festivals, hopes to return to steer another one this summer at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

New York Songwriter Joe Crookston Earns Album of the Year Award

Joe Crookston, an Ithaca, New York-based singer-songwriter and guitarist, received the prestigious Album of the Year Award during the 21st annual International Folk Alliance Conference, Feb. 18, in Memphis, Tennessee. His 2008 recording, Able Baker Charlie & Dog, ended the year as the #1 most-aired recording by folk/acoustic radio DJs in the United States. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Lara Herscovitch Named Connecticut’s State Troubadour

Lara Herscovitch, a talented contemporary singer-songwriter whose music features a nice blend of folk, pop and world styles, has been named as Connecticut’s State Troubadour for 2009 and 2010. Appointed by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism, based on a recommendation by a panel of music professionals that included Pierce Campbell, the previous State Troubadour, Herscovitch serves as an ambassador of music and song to encourage cultural literacy and promote the State of Connecticut. In addition to her regular touring schedule, she will perform at a number of state events in an emissary role over the next two years. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Boston Bluegrass Union Presents Awards, Festival in February

A number of individuals who have made substantial contributions to furthering bluegrass music in New England will be presented with 2009 BBU Heritage Awards during the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival presented by the Boston Bluegrass Union over Presidents Day Weekend, February 13-15, at the Sheraton Framingham in Framingham, Massachusetts. [To read the entire article, including information about the award recipients and the the festival, click on the headline.]

Multimedia Celebration of Acoustic Music Continues in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Movie Theaters

Westchester County, New York-based contemporary folk singer-songwriters and musicians Kelly Flint, Susan Kane and The YaYas perform on Wednesday evenings in January as part of an ongoing multimedia celebration of acoustic music known as “WoodSongs at the Movies.” In addition to Clearview’s Bronxville Cinemas, the series also takes place at theaters in Babylon, New York; Montclair and Hackettstown, New Jersey; and Wayne, Pennsylvania. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

NERFA Board Re-elects its President and Elects New Officers

The board of directors of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) elected a new slate of officers while meeting during the organization's annual conference at the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, New York earlier this month. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Tribes Hill Slates Winter Solstice Concert, Dec. 14

An interfaith holiday celebration in song will be presented by Tribes Hill, a lower Hudson Valley collective of singer-songwriters and their patrons, at the Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, New York, on Sunday, Dec. 14, at 3 p.m. Tickets, priced at $20, are available at www.tarrytownmusichall.org, as well as at the theater box office. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

AcousticMusicScene.com to Have Major Presence at NERFA Conference, Nov. 13-16, in the Catskills

AcousticMusicScene.com will host a multi-CD release party and international wine tasting during this weekend’s Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conference at the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, New York.  Some 600 folk music aficionados – including performers, presenters and promoters – are expected to gather for three jam-packed days and nights of music, informative panel discussions and workshops, a large trade show-like exhibit hall, and lots of informal conversation and networking, Nov. 13-16.

Slated for Saturday, Nov. 15, from 2:30-4 p.m. and open only to those registered for the conference, the AcousticMusicScene.com event will feature performances by New York-based folk harmony trio Gathering Time, folk rock singer-songwriter Joe Iadanza, inventive...

Boston Globe Drops Folk Music Writer Scott Alarik

Scott Alarik, the longtime principal folk music writer for the Boston Globe, has been dropped from the daily newspaper's pages as part of a restructuring of its arts section. A contributing writer for the Boston Globe since 1986, Alarik has been professionally engaged in the folk music community for nearly 40 years -- both as a music journalist and a singer-songwriter. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour Partners with Clearview Cinemas to Bring Show to Big Screens in NY Metro Area

Folksinger Michael Johnathon’s WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour has established a new partnership with Clearview Cinemas — WoodSongs at the Movies — that will bring the weekly program to big screens throughout the New York metropolitan area, preceded by 30-45-minute live sets by regional artists. Showtime is Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m., beginning Oct. 22. AcousticMusicScene.com has signed on to present artists at Clearview’s 62nd and Broadway Cinema in Manhattan. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]