Banjo

Look out for the 2019 Brooklyn Folk Festival!

Leave a Comment

Look out for the 2019 Brooklyn Folk Festival!
www.BrooklynFolkFest.com for all the up to date info and tix!

Here’s what’s happening at the festival this year:

The 2019 Brooklyn Folk Festival schedule:

Friday April 5th

Main Stage

7:30pm Tenores de Aterúe– Sardinian vocal quartet
8:10pm Jake Xerxes Fussell– Folk & Blues from North Carolina
9:00pm La Cumbiamba NY – playing Gaitas y Tambores from Colombia
9:50pm Jontavious Willis – Blues from Georgia
10:40pm Feral Foster & Ali Dineen – Folk, Blues, Country and original songs

Parish Hall Stage

8:00pm Ukrainian Village Voices – Vocal and instrumental music from rural Ukraine
9:00pm Jackson & The Janks (Feat. Sam Doores of The Deslondes) – R&B from New Orleans
10:00pm The Big Dixie Swingers – Western Swing and Jazz from New Orleans!

Workshop Room

8:00pm Puppet Show! –  Those beautiful Boxcutter Collective babies are back! Last year their show predicted Amazon’s move to NYC, the opening of the rainforest to more devastation by capitalism and the rise of witchcraft across the country. What will they bring us this year? Stay tuned to find out.
9:30pm Vincent Cross presents: Ballads of James “The Rooster” Corcoran

Saturday April 6th

Afternoon Concerts

Main Stage

12:00pm Dan Zanes & Claudia Eliaza – Sing from “The House Party Songbook“: An All-Ages Performance Featuring Songs From Their Family Roots Music Treasury
12:50pm Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues – Traditional and original jug band music
1:40pm Nate Polly – Country songs from E. Kentucky, presented by the Appalshop
2:30pm The Mammals – Folk and original songs
3:20pm Little Nora Brown – Banjo songs, ballads and tunes
4:10pm The Ozark Highballers – Oldtime string band from Arkansas!
5:00pm The Lovestruck Balladeers – Trad jazz, ragtime, and more!
5:50pm Amythyst Kiah – Folk, blues, and original songs

Parish Hall Stage

2:30pm Square Dance!! with John Harrod, featuring a flatfoot dance performance by the City Stompers!
4:00pm Mara Kaye – Early jazz and blues songs
5:00pm Barry Clyde – Folk and blues songs
5:50pm The Hayrollers – Bluegrass!

Workshop Room

12:00pm Revealing the Banjo’s Earliest History – Through historical images and accounts, banjo-maker Pete Ross and writer Kristina Gaddy explore the Origins of the banjo and it’s development from the 1600s through the early 1800s in the hands of enslaved African Americans. They reveal fascinating discoveries about the banjo’s role in cultural-spiritual practices like Vodou and the origins of the word “banjo.”

1:00pm “Playing (with) Trash” – Come spend an hour making your own musical instrument! We’ll use everyday found objects and simple tools. No experience necessary, great for kids and adults! –  with Zeke Leonard

2:30pm  Old Time Jam Session – Bring your fiddles, banjos, guitars, mandolins and harmonicas for a good old string band jam session! – Led by fiddler Stephanie Coleman

4pm  Workshop TBA

5pm Fiddle Workshop – Glimpses of the African-American Fiddle Tradition in Kentucky: This workshop will explore what is known about the African- American fiddle tradition in KY – with master Kentucky fiddler John Harrod, presented by the Appalshop

6pm  Film: Catfish Man of the Woods – Clarence “Catfish” Gray is a fifth-generation herb doctor living near Glenwood, West Virginia. In the film, Gray gives his healing techniques and his personal philosophy of life. “A beautiful film, keenly observant and irresistibly appealing. It is difficult to imagine an audience that would fail to respond.” –The Washington Post
Presented by the Appalshop.

7:00pm Film: American Epic – This new documentary features the untold story of how the ordinary people of America were given the opportunity to make records for the first time.  NYC Premiere!

Evening Concerts

Main Stage

7:00pm The Local Honeys – Stringband from E. Kentucky! Presented by the Appalshop
7:50pm Frank Fairfield & Meredith Axelrod – Folk, blues and popular songs from the 19th and early 20th century
8:40pm Jerron Paxton – Blues, Old Time and Ragtime Music
9:30pm Kashiah Hunter & Friends – Sacred Steel from Atlanta, GA!
10:20pm The Brain Cloud – featuring Tamar Korn and Dennis Lichtman – Western Swing
11:10pm The Big Dixie Swingers – Western Swing and Jazz from New Orleans!

Parish Hall Stage

8:00pm Frankie Sunswept and The Sunwrays – R&B, R&R and original songs
9:00pm Ska-lopy Brass – The Jalopy Theatre’s own ska band!
10:00pm The Four o’clock Flowers – R&B and Soul

Sunday April 7th

Afternoon Concerts

Main Stage

2:00pm Pete Seeger 100th Birthday Children’s Concert & Sing-a-long! with Emily Eagen and Chris Q. Murphy – Presented by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
2:45pm Jim Kweskin – Jugband, Folk, Blues, and early Jazz
3:30pm John Harrod – Old time fiddling from Kentucky! Presented by the Appalshop
4:15pm The Down Hill Strugglers w/ John Cohen – Oldtime string band
5:00pm Baby Gramps – Folksongs?!
5:45pm Ian Felice (of the Felice Brothers) – Original and folk songs

Parish Hall Stage

2:45pm Flatfooting Dance workshop with Megan Downes of City Stompers
3:45pm Cooking workshop/demonstration – TBA
4:30pm Jalopy Chorus – World harmony song traditions, led by Eva Salina
5:15pm Jalopy Jr. Folk Stringband and Jr. Folk Intermediate Ensemble Performance

Workshop Room

2:00pm Vocal Harmony Workshop – Learn to sing together in harmony, with Don Friedman and Phyllis Elkind

3:15 pm Songs from the Freedom Highway: Protest Music, Past and Present – w/ Nick Panken (of Spirit Family Reunion) & Special Guests

4:30pm 60th Anniversary of Alan Lomax’s “Southern Journey” field work – A guided tour from Nathan Salsburg, curator of the Alan Lomax Archive

5:30pm Film: The Ballad of Shirley Collins – “Not just a delicious glimpse into the young Collins, but a glorious insight into the music, character and attitudes of rural America.”- Mojo
“Music Documentary Of The Year” – Louder Than War
This is the NYC Premiere!

7:00pm Film: Peace Stories (27 min) – Three men from the South who served in WWI, WWII and Vietnam respectively, recount their war experiences and discuss it’s affects on their opinions of war. This film puts the study of war into a human context as it illustrates the impact of war on the ordinary people who carry out the decisions of presidents and generals. Presented by the Appalshop.

8:00pm Lil’ Dogies – Harmony singing of old time & country music, all the way from Kentucky!

1:00PM SPECIAL EVENT: THE BANJO TOSS – Banjo Throwing Contest!

This event is held off-site.
Assemble at the Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse, 165 2nd St., right on the canal! Flapjacks social at noon! Banjo toss at 1pm!
More [details]
Carroll St. F/G train is just two blocks away!

Evening Concerts

Main Stage

7:10pm Bruce Molsky, Tony Trischka, and Michael Daves – Bluegrass & old time music!
8:00pm Anna rg (of Anna & Elizabeth) – Traditional and original songs
8:30pm Joan Shelley – Original songs from Louisville, KY
9:15pm Yacouba Sissoko – Kora (harp) music from Mali

Parish Hall Stage
7:00pm Jesse Lenat – Original songs
8:00pm Tin + Bone – Old time banjo and harmonica

7th Annual Brooklyn Folk Festival: April 17th-19th, 2015!

2 Comments

Hey folks – The 7th Annual Brooklyn Folk Festival is on it’s way!  Get your tickets now!

 

April 17th-19th at our amazing new venue, St. Ann’s Church, centrally located in Brooklyn Heights!  Here’s a photo of the venue:

Complete 30 band lineup below! PLUS! Workshops, film screenings, and the BANJO TOSS competition!


CLICK HERE for tickets, or visit www.BrooklynFolkFest.com

Brought to you by Down Home Radio Show and the Jalopy Theatre…

SCHEDULE

Friday April 17th:

8:00PM Jackson Lynch – Blues guitar, old time fiddle and banjo breakdowns, songs and ballads
8:45PM Horse Eyed Men – Original folk/country outer-space music
9:30PM Michael Hurley – Legendary folk musician, needs no introduction!
10:15PM Jerron “Blindboy” Paxton – Country blues, fiddle and banjo
11:00PM Terry Waldo’s Rum House Band – Legendary early Jazz and Ragtime pianist with his band
11:45PM Feral Foster and His Band – Excellent songwriting based solidly in Blues, Folk, Gospel and Balkan music

Saturday April 18th: Afternoon Concerts

The Brooklyn Folk Festival: April 18th-20th, 2014…

Leave a Comment

The Brooklyn Folk Festival, a co-production of Down Home Radio and the Jalopy Theatre, is almost here!  It’s gonna be an incredible event! – with 30 bands, film screenings, workshops, jam sessions and contests!  Coming up April 18th – 20th, 2014 at the Bell House, a great venue here in Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Folk Festival is now going into its 6th successful year.  This year’s festival will focus on Old Time String Band music from the United States and will feature a number of traditional groups and musicians coming to the city from various parts of the South, representing their local traditions, as well as a number of great groups from right here in New York.  We will also have Indonesian Gamelan gong music, Andean music from regions of the old Inca empire, Balkan music, jug bands, blues, jazz, songwriters and more… a huge wealth of talent!

The festival will feature Frank Fairfield and Jerron “Blindboy” Paxton, Dom Flemons and Hubby Jenkins of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, R. Crumb with the East River Stringband, as well as 25 other bands and performers.  The Brooklyn Folk Festival is modeled on the early days of the Newport and University of Chicago folk festivals and seeks to present an authentic folk festival experience, with a diversity of traditional music, as well as contemporary songwriters, plus workshops, jam sessions, film screenings and the famous Banjo Toss contest!  There will also be a very nice tribute to Pete Seeger with group singing and a family friendly square dance.

Its gonna be fun!  Get your tickets right away!.. visit the festival website at: www.BrooklynFolkFest.com for the compete schedule and ticket information.

– Eli

The Brooklyn Folk Festival Approaches!

Leave a Comment
Hello everybody!

Down Home Radio Show Host Eli Smith and The Jalopy Theatre are proud to announce the 5th Annual Brooklyn Folk Festival coming up on Friday, April 19th through Sunday, April 21st!Come out for three days of music at the Bell House, 149 7th Street, in the heart of Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood.

The festival includes performances from more than 30 local and national bands in the fields of old time music, blues, early jazz, country, bluegrass, klezmer, Balkan, Mexican traditional and more! Plus a variety of instrumental and vocal workshops, folk music related film screenings, a family friendly square dance, and the return of the famous banjo toss competition!

All the information including schedule and tickets is at
www.BrooklynFolkFest.com.

On Tour Through OH, KY and TN…

1 Comment

Hello everybody,

The Dust Busters are heading out on tour again, this time to the great states of Ohio and Kentucky! We will be on tour from Nov. 15th – Nov. 20th, all the dates are below. We are pleased and honored to be performing at To Sing With You Once More: A musical memorial benefiting the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and the Mike Seeger Scholarship Fund. This concert was organized my Michael Oberst of The Tillers, one of our very favorite bands! It is a tribute to the music and work of Mike Seeger. 

The concert will feature:
John Cohen with The Dust Busters, Tracy Schwarz and Ginny Hawker, The Tillers with Uncle Mike Carr, Magnolia Mountain, Clifton Hicks, Rabbit Hash String Band, Ma Crow, Andru Bemis, The Comet Bluegrass Allstars, The Williams Family Band, Davy Jay Sparrow and His Well-Known Famous Drovers, Al Scorch’s Country Soul Ensemble, Whiskey Bent Valley Boys, Gerle Haggard, Lee Sexton with John Haywood and Brett Ratliff, Ryan Spearman, Calamity Rain. 

Sat, November 19, 2011
Doors: 7:30 pm / Show: 8:00 pm

The Southgate House
Newport, KY
$12.00 – $15.00

[Mike Seeger with some of his instruments] 

Here’s all of our November tour dates:

Tuesday Nov. 15th – Hiram College, Hiram, OH.
Frohring Recital Hall
11764 Dean St., Hiram
7:30pm

Wednesday Nov. 16th – Gone to the country. 

Thursday Nov. 17th – Gerstle’s Place – Louisville, KY
3801 Frankfort Ave.  Louisville, KY
9pm
Seth Folsom will play an opening set.

Friday Nov. 18th – Morelock Music, Knoxville, TN
411 S. Gay St.
Knoxville, TN 37902
…a little after 8pm

Saturday Nov. 19th – To Sing With You Once More benefit, Newport, Kentucky
Doors: 7:30 pm / Show: 8:00 pm
The Southgate House
Newport, KY
$12.00 – $15.00

Sunday Nov. 20th – House Concert with John Cohen, plus a screening of John Cohen’s new film, “Roscoe Holcomb: From Daisy, Kentucky.”
2911 South Park Blvd
Shaker Heights, Cleveland, OH
6:30pm

Washington Square Park Folk Festival Sept 17th-18th

3 Comments


[Banner by C. Cassano]

Hello everybody, just letting you know about the upcoming Washington Square Park Folk Festival.  I got hired by the Parks Department to produce the first ever folk festival in Washington Square Park.  Gonna be fun!

The festival is FREE and open to the public!

Its gonna be an excellent two days of music, with 9 of my very favorite groups (including my own) gracing the stage and myself on hand to serve as your MC.  Hope to see you there!

Saturday Sept 17th:

2pm The Calamity Janes – old time string band
3pm Feral Foster – original songs and blues
4pm East River String Band – country blues & old time
5pm Whiskey Spitters – country blues & old time

Sunday Sept 18th

2pm Bob Malenky – country blues
2:45pm Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues – jug band music
3:40 Frank Fairfield – Old Time songs and fiddle tunes
4:15pm The Dust Busters with John Cohen – old time string band
5:10pm Willy Gantrim & the Phantoms – original songs, country & blues
6pm Peter Stampfel and the Ether Frolic Mob – make a wish for a potato

Proudly sponsored by:

http://www.milliontreesnyc.org/images/misc/parks_logo.jpg

2011 also marks the 50th anniversary of the 1961 “Washington Square Folk Music Riot” when the City tried to revoke the permit for folk musicians to play and sing on Sundays in the park.  They needed to clear undesirable people out so that they could  satisfy local real estate interests and I heard possibly enact a crazy plan to extend 5th ave. through the park!  Luckily folkies resisted the attempt by the police to kick them out of their public space, resulting in the “riot,” and the planned extension of 5th ave never materialized. There’s been a film made about the “riot” and the film will be screened at the festival and is also posted below for convenient viewing…

Coverage of the so called riot has been offered by The Indypendent and NPR.

http://youtu.be/zHk_YkfOiiM

Brooklyn Folk Fest 2011 is Here! June 10th-12th

1 Comment
Poster designed by Jose Delhart and Ernesto Gomez

Down Home Radio host Eli Smith is proud to announce the 3rd annual Brooklyn Folk Festival, to be held at the Jalopy Theater and Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition in Brooklyn, NY – Friday, June 10th- Sunday, June 12th, 2011.  The festival will feature the best young talent from Brooklyn’s exploding folk music scene as well as luminaries from the generation that made the 1960’s New York City folk music revival.  The music featured will include traditional styles such as old-time string band music, blues, jug band music, traditional music of Mexico, the Balkans, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and West Africa, local author-vocalists and more!  There will be concerts throughout the day as well as workshops on various musical styles, film screenings and a Sunday afternoon square dance!  This year will also inaugurate the Brooklyn Folk Festival “Banjo Toss.”  The person who throws a banjo the farthest will win a free banjo! 

The festival will feature 35+ bands including luminaries such as Grammy Award winner Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders and Pat Conte of the Canebrake Rattlers and Secret Museum of Mankind, two of the main creators of the 1960’s folk music scene in Greenwhich Village, but will also feature young Brooklyn based talents such as The Dust Busters, acclaimed blues musician Blind Boy Paxton, ballad singer Elizabeth Butters, Country singer Alex Battles, songster Feral Foster, Hubby Jenkins of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and many more.  Radio Jarocho, a Mexican folk music collective will perform a variety of styles of music and dance from across Mexico.  Clifton Hicks of Boone, North Carolina will be making a second appearance at the festival following his debut last year, playing his style of traditional banjo music of the Southern Appalachian mountains. The Brooklyn Folk Festival seeks to exhibit the cultural contributions from a diversity of Brooklyn communities, and in particular seeks to highlight the young talent emerging from those communities.

Come down to The Brooklyn Folk Festival in Redhook Brooklyn over the weekend Friday, June 10th- Sunday, June 12th to hear Brooklyn’s best traditional Folk musicians and song writers.  You will hear banjos, fiddles, mandolins, guitars, people blowing on jugs and harmonicas, a world champion whistler as well as great original songs.  If you want to learn how to play, come down to the afternoon instrumental workshops.  The festival costs $20 per day or $55 for 3 days, including the afternoon workshops and film screenings!

Friday’s show will be held at the Jalopy Theater and then, due to the huge crowds at last year’s event, the Saturday and Sunday activities will take place at a larger venue, The Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 718.395.3214 or on the Jalopy website: www.Jalopy.biz .

The Jalopy Theater is located at
315 Columbia Street
Brooklyn, New York 11231
(718) 395 3214
www.Jalopy.biz

The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition is located at:
499 Van Brunt Street
NY 11231-1048
(718) 596 2507
www.bwac.org

Eli Smith Interviewed on Brooklyn Independent Television

2 Comments

I was lucky enough recently to be interviewed by Jon Gerberg for the program “Caught in the Act” on Brooklyn Independent Television, and here is the result!  Thanks Jon!

I talk about what I do here in Brooklyn with my old time string band The Dust Busters, with Down Home Radio and with the upcoming Brooklyn Folk Festival, scheduled to take place June 10th – 12th of this year.  Its right around the corner!

Here’s a bit more about the “Caught in the Act” program.

“Brooklyn’s art scene is one of the most vibrant and diverse in the world. Each month, Caught in the Act: Art in Brooklyn profiles a cross-section of key Brooklyn professionals in fine art, dance, music, theatre—and new forms of expression combining all of the above. From established institutions of international stature, to the emerging artists and companies that have long made our borough’s arts scene so exciting, Caught in the Act catches them in the act of creating, displaying, interpreting—and enriching—the cultural life of Brooklyn.”

Roscoe Holcomb: From Daisy, Kentucky

1 Comment

Just a word to let everyone know that John Cohen’s new film, “Roscoe Holcomb: From Daisy, Kentucky” is out now!  It has been released by Shanachie Video and is available for purchase by CLICKING HERE.

The film has been packaged by Shanachie as “The Legacy of Roscoe Holcomb.”  The DVD includes John’s new film about Roscoe as well as his classic 1962 film about Holcomb, “The High Lonesome Sound.” You get both!

“Roscoe Holcomb: From Daisy, Kentucky” recently premiered at the Margaret Meade Film Festival at the American Museum of Natural History together with a retrospective of John’s work and also just won the award for Best Documentary Short at the Woodstock Film Festival.

Also, a very nice piece about John Cohen and the new film just aired on NPR’s Weekend Edition: CHECK IT OUT

Here’s a synopsis that I wrote for the program guide of the Woodstock Film Festival:

“John Cohen explores the life, philosophy and music of Eastern Kentucky banjo player, coal miner and construction worker Roscoe Holcomb. Holcomb has been injured on the job and forced into early retirement. He discusses his life and music and plays a number of traditional songs from his region. Using intimate footage of Holcomb at home as well as footage of his family, community and region, Cohen presents a remarkable and visually beautiful portrait of Roscoe Holcomb, a man who despite economic hardship and changing times has maintained a powerful and authentic personal music and philosophy.”

John used old footage from the early 60’s that he couldn’t use for “The High Lonesome Sound” because the technology didn’t exist at that time to put the film footage and audio into sync.  But now that is possible and was accomplished in expert fashion.  For this new film John also used really awesome color footage that he took of Holcomb and his family in the 197o’s.  It’s a beautiful film and a wonderful tribute to Roscoe Holcomb.

[Roscoe Holcomb with John Cohen, 1964]

Recent  reviews of the  film “Roscoe Holcomb: from Daisy, Kentucky.”
———————

The Carolina Chocolate Drops Live! at Jalopy

1 Comment


[photo by Ann Chen]

Back in September the acclaimed old-time band The Carolina Chocolate Drops made a surprise appearance at The Jalopy Theater in Redhook, Brooklyn.  Luckily I had heard earlier that day what was going on and brought my recorder with me that night when I made the familiar trek down to Jalopy’s hallowed hall!  They played a great set and I got a good recording right off the board.  Here it is!

The Chocolate Drops performed as part of the Roots n Ruckus show, the awesome – free – weekly folk music show that happens every Wednesday night at The Jalopy Theater.  Well worth checking out.  I’m there almost every week!

Be sure to check out Jalopy’s new blog: www.jalopybrooklyn.wordpress.com

The Carolina Chocolate Drops are students of the elder African American fiddler Joe Thompson- check out my visit with Joe back in June of this year in the archives of Down Home Radio.

And big congratulations to the Chocolate Drops on their Grammy nomination for their new album, Genuine Negro Jig.