Loudon Wainwright III Examines Bootlegger, Banjo Picker, and Country Music Pioneer Charlie Poole

‘High Wide & Handsome: the Charlie Poole Project’ out August 25 on 2nd Story Sound Records

2-CD Set Draws from Poole Repertoire plus New Songs Written about
Poole’s Life and Times

Special Guests Include Rufus and Martha Wainwright, the Roches, Chris
Thile, and Others

Loudon Wainwright III has created one of the most ambitious projects of his career with High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project, out August 25 on 2nd Story Sound Records, examining the life, themes, and repertoire of the country music pioneer.  Immortalized in the 2005 box set, You Ain’t Talkin’ to Me: Charlie Poole and the Roots of Country Music, Poole was a bootlegger, banjo picker, amateur baseball player, drinker, rambler, gambler, and textile mill worker — and one of the most popular musicians of his day, recording over 110 tracks for Columbia, Paramount, and Brunswick. Born in 1892 in North Carolina, he lived fast and died at the age of 39.  He was not, however, a writer, drawing instead on popular and traditional repertoire for his recordings and performances. According to All Music Guide, “Poole’s talent for making it all seem like personal autobiography makes him very much a modernist, only a short leap away from an artist like Hank Williams.” This same spirit of reinterpreting popular and trdational repertoire to reflect the present as well as the past may be seen as the heart of Wainwright’s Poole project.

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k.d. lang Leads a Festival of Musical Discovery at Winnipeg

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA – For release Saturday, March 14, 2009

Unforgettable female vocalists, new alt.folk sensations, compelling singer-songwriters, and legends of African music, folk, and bluegrass – all these and more are coming to the 36^th annual Winnipeg Folk Festival July 9-12 in Birds Hill Park.

It should come as no surprise that this year’s artists are a diverse and talented group of performers, whether they are long-time folk friends or up-and-comers waiting to be discovered on a workshop stage.

Leading the way is prairie girl and multiple Grammy and Juno award winner k.d. lang, back for the first time since 1985, when she appeared with The Reclines. Lang will close the show Sunday night, following a must-see performance by folk legend and political activist Arlo Guthrie, who is appearing at the festival for the first time.

Two more distinctive female voices will rise up from the festival’s main stage: that of Neko Case, performing songs from her critically acclaimed CD, Middle Cyclone; and Toronto’s Serena Ryder, who will leave festival goers wanting more of her husky vocal delivery and distinctive self-penned songs.

This year’s festival welcomes a new generation of musicians who masterfully blend musical styles and put their unique stamp on the familiar: Josh Ritter with his thoughtful lyrics, Toronto’s Great Lake Swimmers with their heartfelt alt.folk sound, and festival favourite Xavier Rudd from Australia, with his socially conscious themes and, of course, his didgeridoos.

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