Tag Archives: folk music

Robert S. Koppelman’s Sing Out, Warning! Sing Out, Love! The Writings of Lee Hays

Posted on 6th April 2023 by David Kidney

You all recall Mister Lee Hays: the bass singer from The Weavers. He was last seen in the Weavers reunion film Wasn’t That a Time. He passed away shortly thereafter. Robert S. Koppelman, assistant professor of English at Broward Community … Continue reading →

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Jim Brown’s The Weavers: Wasn’t That a Time!

Posted on 6th April 2023 by David Kidney

Studs Terkel claims that the main contribution of The Weavers was that they introduced into American popular music the authentic folk songs of America, something that had never been done before. Harry Reasoner sees them as a unifying factor between … Continue reading →

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Ben Sands’ Take Your Time, and Roots & Branches

Posted on 23rd March 2023 by Diverse Voices

Judith Gennett wrote this review. Ben Sands, from the legendary Sands Family, is from Newry, County Down in Northern Ireland. He sings and sometimes writes gentle songs that can have a punch beyond their subtlety. These two albums Take Your … Continue reading →

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Neal Walters and Brian Mansfield’s musicHound Folk; Adam McGovern’s musicHound World; Simon Broughton’s The Rough Guide to World Music, Volumes One and Two; and John Guinn and Les Stone’s The St. James Opera Encyclopedia

Posted on 20th February 2023 by Jack Merry

The music guides of musicHound Folk, musicHound World, and The Rough Guide to World Music, Volume One have been in use by me for some time now. So which is the best, in my opinion? It depends on what you’re … Continue reading →

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An omnibus review of books about music and musicians: Bagpipers, Deadheads, Joni Mitchell, Gilbert and Sullivan, and more

Posted on 18th February 2023 by Jack Merry

Anthony Baines’s Bagpipes (Pitt River Museum, Oxford University, 1995) Kevin McManus’s Ceilis, Jigs & Ballads: Irish Music in Liverpool (Liverpool Institute of Popular Music, 1994) Tomás Ó Canain’s Traditional Music in Ireland (Ossian Publications, 1993) Mairéad Sullivan’s Celtic Women in … Continue reading →

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Percy Grainger’s Pleasant & Delightful: Percy Grainger Plays Folk Songs

Posted on 9th January 2023 by Michael Hunter

Born in Victoria, Australia in 1882, Percy Grainger was a very influential folk song collector, whose classical arrangements of the songs he found are still used and admired today. Though an accomplished pianist by the age of 12, it was … Continue reading →

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Cass Meurig’s Crwth

Posted on 16th December 2022 by Jack Merry

Until this CD showed up in the post, I had no idea that a crwth even existed. Even the members of the Welsh folk punk band, Ymyl Danheddog (Serrated Edge), had no idea what it was, though one of them … Continue reading →

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Uusikuu’s Karuselli

Posted on 21st November 2022 by Gary Whitehouse

Life seems very serious these days, and a lot of music is very serious, too. But sometimes it’s good to dive into some music that’s just fun, and that’s what the Nordic ensemble Uusikuu is handing out on a cake … Continue reading →

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Alex Sturbaum’s Slash

Posted on 20th September 2022 by Gary Whitehouse

In an email conversation I had with Alex Sturbaum (they/them) after they contacted me about reviewing this album, one of my comments was something on the order of “this is an incredibly generous album.” And I didn’t just mean the … Continue reading →

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Various artists’ Traditional Fiddle Music of the Ozarks, Volume One: Along the Eastern Crescent

Posted on 19th September 2022 by Gary Whitehouse

Fiddle music was once endemic to nearly every region of North America, including Mexico and certainly Canada. Most regions developed their own peculiar styles – the best known include southern Louisiana (Cajun), Texas, Appalachia, New England, and Cape Breton Island … Continue reading →

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