Brooklyn

Short Film: The 78s That Saved Folk Music

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“Eli Smith, founder of the Brooklyn Folk Festival, sits down with record collector John Heneghan to discuss an eccentric experimental filmmaker named Harry Smith whose obsession with 78 rpm records helped save American folk music.”

Here is a new short film, “The 78s That Saved Folk Music”, that Charlie Hoxie of Brooklyn cable channel BRIC TV made with me a few months ago, exploring the legacy of the Anthology of American Folk Music, compiled by Harry Smith and released on Folkways Records back in 1952.  While “folk music” does not need saving necessarily, and Harry Smith is only one part of that story, his Anthology remains so good! and so important as a part of history and as a resource today.

Check it out!!

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

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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

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

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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

Photos From the Festival

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[Radio Jarocho at The 2010 Brooklyn Folk Festival.  Photo E. Smith]

Well, the 2010 Brooklyn Folk Festival has come and gone, and I can tell you that it was a great success!  It sold out every night, the new outdoor stage was a huge success and people had a great time!  The whole thing was professionally recorded by Don Fierro and we look forward to the release of at least one Brooklyn Folk Festival 2010  CD/LP probably over the winter on the brand new Jalopy Records label.  The music that was played at this festival was to put it plainly AMAZING.  I knew it would be good, but didn’t realize just how good.  As the organizer and MC I was very emotionally moved by the whole proceeding!  Truly.  Already planning for next year… well maybe I’ll take a break.  But I’m already excited!

Below are some photos I took at the festival.  All of my photos from the event can be seen at this link. Look out in the reasonably near future for some films from the festival shot by filmmaker Chris Low.  I’ll be posting up a bunch of those plus audio and some videos I took, etc.


[The Calamity Janes.  Photo E. Smith]


[Feral Foster.  Photo E. Smith]


[Rashad Brown performs at the outdoor stage.  Photo Susan Heske]


[Clifton Hicks (R) The Dough Rollers (L)  Photo E. Smith]


[The Tillers. Photo E. Smith]


[John Cohen.  Photo E. Smith]


[John Cohen screens his new film “Roscoe Holcomb From Daisy Kentucky.” Photo by E. Smith]


[Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues.  Photo E. Smith]

To see all my photos from the 2010 Brooklyn Folk Festival Click Here. And check back for audio and video from the festival coming soon…

The Brooklyn Folk Festival is Here!

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Brooklyn Folk Festival Logo by you.

The Brooklyn Folk Festival has arrived again!
May 21-23rd, 2010 at the Jalopy Theater!

Down Home Radio is proud to announce the 2nd annual Brooklyn Folk Festival.  This festival will feature the best in old-time music, blues, pre-blues, jug band music, New Orleans jazz, folk style songwriting, Greek, African and Mexican folk music and dance with concerts, workshops, and a Sunday afternoon square dance.  Thirty-one musical acts over 3 days! Come down and check it out, its gonna be fun!

–See below for the complete schedule–

*This festival is brought to you by Down Home Radio, and will be MCed by Down Home Radio host Eli Smith.

Pricing:
$15 per day for the main stage evening concerts and workshops or $40 for all three evenings.
$5 per day for Saturday afternoon concerts and Sunday afternoon outdoor stage, square dance included!  What a deal!

Contact The Jalopy Theater to buy advance tickets.

The Jalopy Theater
315 Columbia Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(718) 395-3214
www.Jalopy.biz

Schedule:

Friday May 21st at Jalopy:
7:30pm – Hubby Jenkins – Blues and folk songs
8:15 – George Stavis – Original improvised banjo music
9pm- Salieu Suso – Gambian Kora player
9:30pm- Calamity Janes – Oldtime String band
10:15pm- The Dust Busters – Oldtime string band
11:15pm- Blind Boy Paxton – Blues guitar, stride piano, old time banjo
12am – Ernie Vega – Blues, folk and original songs

Saturday May 22nd at Jalopy:

The Brooklyn Folk Festival: May 15th-17th

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Thanks to everybody who made the festival such a big success.  See ya next year!

(Look out for audio, pictures and video from the festival coming up real soon here on DHR)

Brooklyn Folk Festival Logo by you.

Friday, May 15th thru Sunday, May 17th at the Jalopy Theater.

Down Home Radio is proud to announce the 1st annual Brooklyn Folk Festival.  This festival will feature the best in old-time music, blues, pre-blues, jug band music, New Orleans jazz, folk style songwriting, African folk music and Mexican folk music and dance.  Come down and check it out, its gonna be fun!

*This festival is brought to you by Down Home Radio, and will be MCed by Down Home Radio host Eli Smith.

$10 Per Day or $25 for 3 days – Afternoon Workshop Included!