Speaking with Scott Alarik, Author of Revival: A Folk Music Novel
Noted folk music writer Scott Alarik may be best known for having covered folk music for The Boston Globe for more than 20 years and as a regular contributor to public radio. However, he also is the author of Revival: A Folk Music Novel that has drawn accolades from a number of luminaries on the contemporary folk scene. Kathy Sands-Boehmer posed some questions to him recently.
[To read Kathy's Q & A interview with Scott Alarik, click on the headline.]
Quick Q & A with Vance Gilbert
With his engaging personality, wonderful wit, soulful and resonant tenor, and solid songwriting and performance skills, Vance Gilbert has been impressing audiences since emerging on the Northeast folk and singer-songwriter scene during the early 1990s. Kathy Sands-Boehmer posed some questions to him recently.
[To read Kathy's Quick Q & A with Vance Gilbert, click on the headline.]
A Musical Tribute to Woody Guthrie, Artist Showcases Set for June 2 at UMass-Boston
The Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) invites the public to attend a 75-minute, hootenanny-style Musical Tribute to Woody Guthrie and a series of 15-minute artist showcases that will take place on Saturday, June 2, from 3-7 p.m., at the Lipke Auditorium on the University of Massachusetts Boston campus. These special events, for which $10 tickets will be available at the door, are part of a day-long mini-conference featuring workshops and panel discussions that the nonprofit organization is hosting to give artists, presenters, DJs, agents and others engaged in the folk music scene a small taste of what takes place during its annual conference in The Catskills each fall. Proceeds from the events will be shared with WUMB, Boston’s NPR Music...
Quick Q & A with Aoife Clancy
Irish and contemporary folk music courses through Aoife Clancy’s blood. Clancy, who hails from the small town of Carrick-on-Suir in County Tipperary, Ireland and now calls Massachusetts home, is the daughter of Bobby Clancy (of the celebrated Clancy Brothers), with whom she began playing in local pubs as a young teenager. Over the years, Aoife Clancy has shared stages with some of Ireland’s most noted artists, was part of the acclaimed all-female Irish-American group Cherish The Ladies, and has toured extensively as a solo artist. She also collaborates with other artists as part of The Clancy Legacy and The Jammin’ Divas, as well as playing duo shows with Robbie O’Connell.
Kathy Sands-Boehmer posed a few questions to Aoife Clancy recently.
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A Quick Q & A with Mary Gauthier
Mary Gauthier is a Louisiana native and former restaurateur who didn’t turn to full-time songwriting until she was in her mid 30s. Mercy Now, her 2005 release on the Lost Highway label, made a number of publications’ annual top 10 albums lists and resulted in the singer-songwriter being hailed as the New/Emerging Artist of the Year by the Americana Music Association. Gauthier’s seventh and latest release is entitled The Foundling and was produced by Michael Timmons of the Cowboy Junkies. A number of other artists, including such notables as Jimmy Buffett and Tim McGraw, also have recorded her songs – many of which are autobiographical in nature. Kathy Sands-Boehmer posed a few questions to her recently.
[To read Kathy's Q &...
“A Pleasant(s) Evening at Sanders” to Honor Boston-Area DJ
Dick Pleasants has been a mainstay on radio in Boston, Massachusetts and environs for forty years and has provided support for numerous artists and folk music venues during that time. As he prepares to retire, a number of his musical friends will pay tribute to him during “A Pleasant(s) Evening at Sanders” on Friday, Jan. 7, 2011 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Sanders Theater on Harvard University’s campus in Cambridge. Proceeds from this special celebratory event will benefit WUMB’s capital campaign. A room in the new WUMB studios and offices will be named after Pleasants.
[To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Quick Q & A with Tim O’Brien
Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien has been making waves in bluegrass, country, folk and roots music circles for some time. His latest release, Chicken & Egg, is currently the #1 album on the Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart (which is posted in the Acoustic Radio Waves section on AcousticMusicScene.com). And O’Brien is among the nominees for International Bluegrass Music Association‘s Male Vocalist of the Year, one of the awards and honors to be presented by the IBMA on Sept. 30 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. A two-time past recipient of that honor, O’Brien also has previously been recognized by the IBMA for Album of the Year and Song of the Year and received a Grammy Award...
Quick Q & A with John Gorka
John Gorka is widely considered one of the top male singer-songwriters on the contemporary folk scene. Since being named a Kerrville New Folk Winner in 1984, he has become a popular fixture on the coffeehouse and festival circuit, and a number of other notable artists have recorded and/or performed his songs. He is part of a new folk trio called Red Horse with Eliza Gilkyson and Lucy Kaplansky, whose Red House Records debut will be released on July 13.
With his rich, soulful baritone, Gorka delivers his own well-crafted songs in a way that prompted Rolling Stone to call him “the preeminent male singer-songwriter of the new folk movement.” Ever self-effacing, Gorka has professed to “consider myself to be...
A Quick Q & A with Kelleigh McKenzie
In less than two years' time, Kelleigh McKenzie has made quite a mark in acoustic music circles. A talented singer-songwriter who alternately accompanies herself on banjo, guitar and amplified stompbox, McKenzie has appeared on "Mountain Stage" and the "WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour," was a co-winner in the 2008 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, secured a coveted formal showcase slot at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference, and was selected to participate in emerging artists showcases at both the Falcon Ridge and Grey Fox festivals. Her debut album, Chances, was on the Americana Music Chart for six months, while "Gin," one of the tracks on it, won an Independent Music Award for Best Americana Song. Kathy Sands-Boehmer recently posed...
A Quick Q & A with John McCutcheon
Multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter John McCutcheon has collected a legion of fans since he first started recording and performing in the mid-1970s. As Kathy Sands-Boehmer maintains, "McCutcheon skillfully combines his great storytelling with poignant and evocative songs which continue to inspire young and old alike."
[To read Kathy's quick Q & A interview with John McCutcheon, click on the headline.]
A Quick Q & A with David Francey
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.]
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