Anne Hills Wins Best of Bound For Glory Award

Photo by Irene Young

Between sets of the October 18th live broadcast of WVBR’s  Bound For Glory, host and founder Phil Shapiro announced that the excellent Pennsylvania based singer, songwriter, and song sharer Anne Hills has won the Eleventh Annual Best of Bound for Glory Award.  The award recognizes fans’ favorite from the recently concluded 42nd season of this Sunday night Ithaca, NY staple.  Bound for Glory is North America’s longest running live folk concert broadcast.

The members of the Friends of Bound for Glory have honored a well beloved veteran of the North American folk scene this year.  Anne Hills’ career started in Chicago in 1976, and she never looked back.  Anne Hills couples a crystal clear voice with an ear for a great song.  She’s a fine writer as well, and a wonderful performer, with a great sparkle and smile.

Read Full Post »

It’s Time to Apply!

BLUEGRASS BANDS FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD: Join us at the EWOB Festival 2010 in Voorthuizen,
the Netherlands.

The European World of Bluegrass Festival is one of the world’s coolest festivals!

• Featuring 42 bands in 3 fun-filled days
• Including a few special guest artists from the USA & Canada
• European Bluegrass Band Awards competition
• Winners are chosen BY THE MUSICIANS!
• #1 European Bluegrass Band goes to Nashville to play at IBMA World of Bluegrass one year later
• Be part of EWOB’s famous workshop program
• Bands get to play for many festival & concert promoters
• Music press from the USA and Europe
• Bluegrass radio DJs

Applications are online RIGHT NOW at www.ewob.eu!
Don’t miss your chance to be part of this unique event.

Submitted by Liz Meyer

Read Full Post »

Interview with Dirty Linen editor Paul Hartman

Pop culture interviewer Tim O’Shea asks Dirty Linen editor Paul Hartman questions on Talking With Tim.

Read Full Post »

50th Annual University of Chicago Folk Festival February 12-14, 2010

50 years ago, emcee Studs Terkel introduced the original lineup of the New Lost City Ramblers to a packed auditorium during a January snowstorm.  The student-run festival will celebrate its 50th Festival 12-14 February 2010 in Mandel Hall on the University of Chicago campus.  The program will consist of three evening concerts, featuring the James King bluegrass band and the New Mules old time string band, with other artists to be named soon.  Daytime activities are free and include dances, mini-concerts, in-depth instrumental and vocal sessions with the artists and ubiquitous jam sessions of many descriptions.  There is also a dedicated track for children.

The Folklore Society is a registered student organization, which produces the folk festival and several other events throughout the year on campus.  The Society has been in existence since the early 1950s, although the first festival did not take place until the height of the folk revival in 1960.

Read Full Post »

2nd International Body Music Festival Returns December 1

If you have ever gone on an obsessive search of a sound or song whose name and origin you didn’t know, you might relate to Keith Terry, the director of the International Body Music Festival, which returns for its second year to the San Francisco Bay Area, December 1-6, 2009. In fact, his obsession runs so deep that last year he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, the first to go to a body musician, someone who makes music purely with their body. This year the Festival director has tracked down human beatboxers, a flamenco duo, a highly rhythmic Cuban a capella group, Peruvian zapateo , and a sound Terry has heard for years and will spotlight.

“There’s a distinctive clapping style from North Africa to the Persian Gulf ,” Terry says. “You get a high popping sound when you spread your fingers and keep your hands parallel. And they clap intricate interlocking rhythms.” The Festival brings together a group of performers of this style, using contacts within the Arab music community to scour for performers of this form. The ensemble will perform back to back with Silvia Moreno Gil and Fátima Moreno González, two well-known Spanish flamenco dancers who dance, sing, and perform the distinctive flamenco clapping style known as palmas . By putting the two groups side-by-side, the Festival invites listeners to ponder the Moorish connection between Arabic clapping and  flamenco’s palmas.

Read Full Post »

Grammy Awards Add American Roots Music Category

The Grammy Awards have added FIELD 13

– American Roots Music Category –

The Roots Category encompasses the following that are to be awarded.

. Americana Album

. Bluegrass Album

. Traditional Blues Album

. Contemporary Blues Album

. Traditional Folk Album

. Contemporary Folk Album

. Hawaiian Music Album

. Native American Music Album

. Zydeco or Cajun Music Album

It has been several years of hard work promoting Roots Music as a musical format and its great to see the artists, labels, promotion folks and radio stations that support Roots Music getting additional truly deserved acknowledgment.

Submitted by Roots Music Group

Read Full Post »

Season 2 of “Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…” Premieres December 9

Sundance Channel will premiere the second season of its critically acclaimed music/talk original series Spectacle: Elvis Costello with… on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 10:00pm et/pt. Spectacle: Elvis Costello with… combines the best elements of talk and music television and lets viewers in on intimate conversation and performance with host Costello and his guests ranging from legendary performers to promising new artists. The series, executive produced by Sir Elton John, includes one-on-one interviews, unprecedented pairings, group discussions, as well as extraordinary performances, from impromptu “illustrative” moments to full band (and even multi-band) productions. Among the confirmed guests for the seven-part season are: Bono, The Edge, Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Lyle Lovett, John Prine, Ron Sexsmith, Neko Case, Jesse Winchester, Ray LaMontagne, Nick Lowe, Levon Helm, Richard Thompson and Allen Toussaint.

Read Full Post »

Members of From Good Homes Announce Reunion

The members of From Good Homes have announced today that the band will reunite for a weekend of special shows- their first in 10 years.  The shows, scheduled for December 18^th & 19^th at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ will mark the first time the band has performed together since the band’s legendary “farewell show” in August 1999.

The genesis of From Good Homes dates back to a high school band, when childhood friends Todd Sheaffer, Brady Rymer, and Patrick Fitzsimmons came together in rural, Northwestern New Jersey.  Originally called “Old Crow”, and later evolving into “The Dogs”, the core line-up remained.  With the addition of Dan Myers in 1988, and Jamie Coan in 1990, the band From Good Homes was fully formed.  The band’s upbeat approach, solid songwriting, and unique sound allowed them to quickly develop a dedicated following on the touring circuit. Bringing together rock, jazz, folk, celtic and jam-band influences under one umbrella, rooted in Todd Sheaffer’s inspired songwriting, From Good Homes forged their own, instantly lovable music. Their unique style prompted one critic to affectionately label the band’s blend of influences as “Hick-Pop”.

Read Full Post »

Veronique Chevalier Takes Polka to the Dark Side

Goth? Polka? Only an eclectic recording artist and producer like Veronique Chevalier could pull these two concepts together – and make the marriage work. The woman behind this accordion extravaganza (costumed as Hellga – The Devil’s Beer maid, replete with Viking helmet, braids, a cross-and-skull-boned corset, striped stockings and killer heels), Veronique has taken on the enviable task of making the next big Halloween album. It’s well on its way too: Polka Haunt Us
went down in history as an official selection on the Grammy ballot in the final year the polka category was offered. It’s also receiving airplay on numerous radio stations, both terrestrial and online, included Dr. Demento, who helped launch the career of Weird Al, among others.

Read Full Post »

Los Lobos Head to the White House

WASHINGTON, D.C. – “In Performance at the White House: Fiesta Latina” is a concert hosted by the President and Mrs. Obama on the South Lawn of the White House that will be broadcast by PBS.  The sixty-minute program, to be taped live by WETA Washington, D.C., on October 13, will celebrate Hispanic musical heritage and airs on the final day of National Hispanic Heritage Month, October 15, 2009 at 8 p.m. ET, on PBS stations nationwide.  (Check local listings.)  It will also be broadcast on Telemundo, the American Spanish-language television network, on Sunday, October 18 at 6 p.m. ET, and on V-me, the national Spanish language network partnered with public television, on Friday, December 25.  The program, part of the WETA “In Performance at the White House” series, will include Chicano rock band Los Lobos, Marc Anthony, Jimmy Smits, Pete Escovedo, Gloria Estefan, José Feliciano, George Lopez, Thalía, Tito “El Bambino”, and the Bachata music group Aventura, with Sheila E. leading the house band.  Further talent information may be announced in the coming days.

“In Performance at the White House” has been produced by WETA since 1978 and spans every administration since President Carter’s.  The series began with an East Room recital by the legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz.  Since then, “In Performance at the White House” has embraced virtually every genre of American performance: pop, country, gospel, jazz, blues, theatre and dance among them.  The series was created to showcase the rich fabric of American culture in the setting of the nation’s most famous home.

The evening concert will be streamed live by the White House on www.WhiteHouse.gov and available to stream on the series website on pbs.org after the broadcast.

Submitted by Madison House Publicity

Read Full Post »