Larry Bellorín hails from Monagas, Venezuela and is a legend of Llanera music. Joe Troop is from North Carolina and is a GRAMMY-nominated bluegrass and oldtime musician. Larry was forced into exile and is an asylum seeker in North Carolina. Joe, after a decade in South America, got stranded back in his stomping grounds in the pandemic. Larry works construction to make ends meet. Joe’s acclaimed “latingrass” band Che Apalache was forced into hiatus, and he shifted into action working with asylum seeking migrants.
Currently based in the Triangle of North Carolina, both men are versatile multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters on a mission to show that music has no borders. As a duo they perform a fusion of Venezuelan and Appalachian folk music on harp, banjo, cuatro, fiddle, maracas, guitar, upright bass, and whatever else they decide to throw in the van. The program they offer features a distinct blend of their musical inheritances and traditions as well as storytelling about the ways that music and social movements coalesce.
The two musicians will be performing a concert at the Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse in Lancaster on Sunday January 15th at 7:30 sponsored by the Susquehanna Folk Music Society. More information and tickets can be found on the official SFMS website!
Prior to the concert, SFMS Executive Director Peter Winter Lee got to chat to Joe about the duo’s origins, the process of bringing two distinct folk musical styles together, and learning from each other!
What is something you’ve learned from the other during the collaboration?
We are both learning each other’s respective folk traditions, song by song. But music aside, we are learning about each other’s worldviews. We are from completely different worlds but enjoy expanding our notions of reality and finding common ground.
What are ways you feel your respective musical folk traditions are similar?
Llanera music and Appalachian folk are like old friends, perhaps from a past life or something. Both polycultural hybrid forms born in the Americas, both string band traditions with vibrant festivals and recording industries born out of them. The rhythmic and melodic structures are distinct, but the way practitioners make music a life path is similar. The vibe is the same.
What do you want your audience to take away from a Larry and Joe concert?
An entire gamut of emotions, an array of textures and colors, a whole bunch of stories, faith in the human spirit, and hopefully healing. We feel like our shows are medicine for the human soul.
You are both really passionate about how music and social justice work together. Can you speak a little about that?
I myself have worked with different communities in the US and found my footing as an artivist by writing social justice ballads about disenfranchised friends. Right before I met Larry, I was specifically working with asylum seeking migrants on the Mexican border, where I volunteered at a shelter in 2021. The social justice component of our duo project is self-evident, though. Larry is an asylum seeker, who had to leave behind a twenty some year musical career and work construction for 6 years in North Carolina to provide for his family. His is the story of a maestro musician forced to do back-breaking labor just to survive. January 11th is his last day on that job, though, and from then on, this duo is both of our full-time jobs. Larry’s difficult story is one of millions in this country, and we hope this duo can shine a light on issues surrounding migration.
Peter Winter Lee is the Executive Director of The Susquehanna Folk Music Society and plays guitar and sings in Celtic/Americana Band Seasons with his siblings. Give him a follow on instagram if you’re so inclined.
For music enthusiasts listening to contemporary folk and Americana radio, the name Buffalo Nichols has been a familiar mainstay over the last two years. The musician’s 2021 self-titled debut album, released via Fat Possum records, has rightfully caught the attention of audiophiles and industry execs alike as his exploration of 21st century Blues music delivers a beautiful tapestry that packs a punch in every line.
The musician’s playing The Abbey Bar in Harrisburg Thursday evening, but spared yours truly a few minutes to catch up via phone earlier this week. The interview below has been edited for clarity and brevity.
How old were you when you first started playing music?
I’ve been playing music close to 18 years, yeah.
All guitar?
Started on guitar; I’ve been playing music seriously for 15 or 16 years.
Your website suggested that folk and blues weren’t the first genre you gravitated toward in your musical career, so I was curious about some of the other types of bands you played in.
I mean right now I’m playing Americana, blues, bluegrass… before that, I played Caribbean, reggae, Latin jazz, also did some West African Music, punk, heavy metal, gospel, R&B — big range (laughs). Pretty much mostly on guitar, sometimes percussion, drums in those bands.
I read somewhere that you traveled through Africa and Europe quite a bit to fuel your creative process. Can you talk about that a little?
That was around 2008 and 2009 through about 2014, did a lot of traveling, just out of curiosity, became a source of inspiration.
The reason why I gravitate towards blues was seeing, especially in Senegal and Poland and Ukraine, seeing people have a strong cultural connection to their music. I felt like I was missing something, so when I came back I was really interested in spending more time with my own culture, seeing what that means to me.
So were you getting involved in different communities and with different musicians when you came back?
To me, the community that mattered was my own. The blues is still a part of the culture in Milwaukee, and Milwaukee music, so I took what I knew and tried to make my own thing. Over the years, I’ve gotten to know people from the known centers of the music in Mississippi, etc., but it wasn’t really something I sought out.
I was asking myself these existential questions; music and culture and art has always been a passion for most of my life. I wasn’t trying to make my career out of it, and the album just sort of grew out of it — it was not really something I was trying to do. It just became the next thing I was curious about, in the same way I became curious about Creole culture and going to West Africa and Senegal. There is a certain value, a traditional value, in Black American music culture; eventually the opportunity to record the album just sort of came out of it.
[Before the album] I was just trying to write songs, and I had so much to pull from that I didn’t really know where to begin. With Fat Possum, made sense to veer towards the blues. I wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before, and created unique ways to be part of the Blues music canon. But also, you know, it’s a pretty conservative genre, there’s not a whole lot of experimentation welcome, so I tried to introduce some unconventional songwriting, my modest contribution to Blues.
Your self-titled album deals with a lot of heavy material, notably loneliness, racism and pain. On listening to tracks like “Living Hell” and then with “Another Man,” so much tragedy and brutality come to mind. When you were recording or meeting with executives, did you meet any resistance to adding these songs to the album?
Blues music industry people love the pain of Black people, but that’s a whole other thing. The real challenge is getting people to listen and see it a certain way; more convenient to ignore those parts of it.
Over time, the blues is coming less and less from the Black community; people like to assume it’s just a generic song of woe and not acknowledge the climate that created the music. To me, it’s inherent in the music.
Who were some of your biggest musical influences growing up, and how has that sort of led you to where you are now?
There were some artists I had always been listening to; it was always something I listened to and played and sought out even before I started playing music seriously, you know, when I was learning guitar. There were some more mainstream blues artists you could find at the record stores and CDs at Best Buy and Sam Goody. My into was sort of BB King, artists like that, but two musicians I kept listening to were Corey Harris and Eric Bibb, you know, contemporary folk blues musicians. Then I started to dig into where some of that music came from and was really getting into Charlie Patton, Blind Willie Johnson, Skip James — so much that I recorded my own take of “Sick Bed Blues” on my album.
I love when getting a little more into a musician or a song brings a whole level of ethnography to it. Like some of these stories would be totally lost if it weren’t captured in a song.
We as a society come to really rely on technology, but we shouldn’t discount the value of oral tradition because while you can hear these songs on YouTube or wherever, but hearing them from a person — a living person — you feel a stronger connection to it and makes you curious about where [the song] comes from, and makes you feel more alive and relevant.
Yeah, for sure. And you hear that in a lot of the folkier stuff. Your recent release, “Meet Me In The Bottom,” brings more rock than the bluesier, folk influences on the rest of your album — can you talk a little about what inspired you to explore this different sonic direction?
I recorded that before I did any of the stuff on the album. When I started, I was just trying to write songs and just wanted to see what i was capable of and ended up doing stuff. That song wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for anyone’s imagination as far as the blues goes; I don’t think people care much about genres as much as the industry does.
Just had all these extra songs laying and was able to put them out.
Does this mean another album is coming this year?
Working on an album for sometime this year, at the end of the year. I’ve got about a dozen unreleased songs; want people to see what kind of artist I am first. I represent the Blues culture in some kind of way.
Can you talk a little about how you came up with the stage name Buffalo?
Was a long time ago; I used to put music on the internet under different pseudonyms, and that was the only one that I used to make blues music. I used it a decade ago and I revived it; [it] seemed like a powerful name and had the imagery of the Buffalo Soldier, especially being sharing Black American culture — that intersects in some ways — the music and the original Buffalo soldiers.
Favorite place to play?
I don’t know; the more I’ve traveled, the more I’ve figured that everything is about timing. It’s all about the right people and the right energy; some places can be really exciting and then disappointing when you come back; some places, you never want to go back to, but you give it another chance and it’s great. I like ‘em all.
Skye is a music enthusiast who grew up in Harrisburg prior to moving to Philadelphia to study and chase a career as a writer. After cutting her teeth at WXPN’s music blog and a few journalism gigs in few newsrooms around PA, she now works in social media, and returned to central PA in 2020. If you’d like to see Skye’s weekly obsessions (read: usually just memes from the indie sleaze rock era), you can
Pittsburgh based modern folk/Americana outfit Buffalo Rose will perform this Sunday 12/18/22 at the Abbey Bar in Harrisburg at 7 pm as part of the first ever Susquehanna Folk Emerging Artist Showcase Reunion. More information and Tickets can be found HERE. Sharing the bill will be fellow EAS alums Angela Autumn and Noah G. Fowler.
Buffalo Rose has had their praises sung my luminaries across the folk scene, including celebrated songwriter Tom Paxton who said, “”How can a band be loose and tight at the same time? Listen to Buffalo Rose for the answer. I flat love them.” The group recently released their newest record entitled, “Again, Again, Again,” Prior to the show, Susquehanna Folk Executive Director Peter Winter Lee caught up with Buffalo Rose guitarist, singer, and songwriter Shane McLaughlin to discuss the new album, the band’s process, and how on earth you keep a six member band going through a pandemic.
Tell me the tale of how Buffalo Rose came about?
It was supposed to just be a one off project, but we fell in love with making music together! Originally 4 of us got together to record one of my songs “Momma Have Mercy”. By the time a year had passed we had the 6 of us and we’ve been making music ever since!
This is the record I feel that we have been working toward since we started. It reflects so many of the sides of our musical identity while still having a cohesive flow. We also produced, edited, and mixed the record together, so we learned a lot in that process.
We applied to be a part of a social justice musical compilation put together by an organization called Hope Rises. We submitted our song “Simone” which Lucy wrote, and Tom was on the judge panel and loved it! He reached out to us and we have been writing almost every week ever since!
Walk me through the arrangement process of Buffalo Rose! What’s the process with working out all of those vocal harmonies?
The instruments and vocalists meet separately to work out their parts. Usually we start with just a melody and some chords, and we go over every line until it feels right. I feel that our approach vocally is more intuitive then technical. Instrumentally it definitely has an interesting contrast, more of a who is filling the percussive role at this point, who is going to play this melody.
What was it like navigating the pandemic as a band? Any lessons learned amongst all the challenges?
It was a huge challenge of course, especially with 6 of us! We also had a member step down during the pandemic, though we were extremely fortunate to have that lead us to Margot. I would say we learned how important meeting everyone’s emotional, physical, and mental is to creating and playing music in a sustainable way. We learned to listen to each other and how to take care of each other.
Details and Tickets for the Emerging Artist Showcase Reunion Show on Sunday, 12/18 ft. Buffalo Rose, Angela Autumn, and Noah G. Fowler can be found HERE.
Peter Winter Lee is the Executive Director of The Susquehanna Folk Music Society and plays guitar and sings in Celtic/Americana Band Seasons with his siblings. Give him a follow on instagram if you’re so inclined.
Susquehanna Folk is thrilled to feature the progressive string band Twisted Pine at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in York, PA on Saturday, December 10th at 7:30 p.m. (Doors are at 6:30 p.m.). More information can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $20 for SFMS members, and $10 for students. Tickets for this concert can be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk Music Societywebsite.
photo by Jo Chattman — art by Aria Mickenberg
Twisted Pine is a Boston-based spacecraft of a band that was once bluegrass but is now “something else, a wider version of a string band, boundary jumpers akin to outfits like Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek, and Crooked Still” [The Boston Globe]. Their soundscape has all the sass of zero-gravity pop; the grooves of 2 am funk jams; the astral flute and shoobedoos of 70s radio; and lyric narratives packed with the elements of earthling mountain music. The album art from their 2020 sophomore release “Right Now” pays homage to Father John Misty and Tex Logan — two points that intersect the plane of this exquisite world.
Twisted Pine is Kathleen Parks (Newburgh, NY) on fiddle and lead vox; Dan Bui (Houston, TX) on mandolin; Chris Sartori (Concord, MA) on bass; and Twisted Pine’s newest addition, Anh Phung (Chilliwack, BC) on flute. Everybody sings. Twisted Pine plays under the influence of explorers Jerry Douglas (with whom the band occasionally tours), Bela Fleck, Sierra Hull, Billy Strings, The Wood Brothers, and Lake Street Dive and Crooked Still (label mates at Signature Sounds Recordings).
SFMS staff writer, Mary-Grace A. Lee, had the opportunity to interview Twisted Pine’s mandolinist, Dan Bui, about their latest album, Right Now, the band’s collaboration process, and exciting upcoming tours and projects.
How did Twisted Pine come about?
Twisted Pine was originally formed as a bluegrass band in Boston’s fertile acoustic music scene. We met and started playing music and hanging out at various jams, local gigs, bluegrass festivals etc…Our original repertoire was pretty straight bluegrass! Over the years we started to develop a sound that was more unique to us individually, started writing original songs, released a couple records, and started touring.
The process for Right Now was very organic. We had been working on a few new songs when Anh (our flute player) joined. We had already been experimenting with different genres and thinking outside traditional bluegrass, but with the new lineup, we were really able to lean into a sound that drew more heavily from jazz, funk, pop, as well as bluegrass and fiddle music. Collectively, we have a diverse taste in music and as we grow more comfortable writing and playing together, all of these influences have started to come out naturally.
Twisted Pine has multiple band members. With that, I’m sure there are a lot of different ideas when it comes to arranging and songwriting. What does the collaboration process look like?
Each song is unique and often it takes us a while to figure out what works for a particular song. Kathleen (fiddle and lead vocals) is our primary songwriter, and often brings fully written songs to the band that we arrange together. We try to approach every song with an open mind and allow the groove, song structure, lyrics, arrangement to develop. A lot of songs and arrangement ideas come about from jamming together at soundcheck, in green rooms, or even onstage!
Susquehanna Folk is super honored to be a part of your tour! It has been a busy season for the band. What were some of the highlights on this tour?
2022 is wrapping up, and we are heading into a new year. What’s next for Twisted Pine? Do you have any exciting plans for the new year?
In terms of touring and playing great shows around the country, 2022 has been our best year yet. Heading into the new year, we are excited to be working on a new album. We’re currently writing songs for the next album (and we may play a few of them for you!)
Festival season is always a super busy and rewarding part of any year for us. This last one has been epic. Some of our festival highlights have been the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Philadelphia Folk Fest, Toronto Jazz Fest, and Delfest. But there are so many great ones throughout the summer!
Twisted Pine will be performing at Unitarian Universalist Congregation in York, PA on Saturday, December 10th at 7:30 p.m. (Doors are at 6:30). More information can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $20 for SFMS members, and $10 for students. Tickets for this concert can be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk Music Societywebsite.
Mary-Grace A. Lee is a Harrisburg area musician. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram @thatdulcimergirl her youtube channel, and her official site. Mary-Grace also plays with the Celtic group, Seasons.
Susquehanna Folk is thrilled to have award-winning bluegrass band, The Slocan Ramblers, performing in the current concert series. The Slocan Ramblers will be performing at The Abbey Bar (upstairs in Appalachian Brewing Company) in Harrisburg, PA on Sunday, November 20th at 7:30 p.m. More information can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $20 for SFMS members, and $10 for students. Tickets for this concert can be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website.
The Slocan Ramblers is Canada’s bluegrass band to watch. Rooted in tradition, fearlessly creative and possessing a bold, dynamic sound, The Slocans have become a leading light of today’s acoustic music scene. Members Frank Evans, Adrian Gross, and Darryl Poulsen make up this talented group. With a reputation for energetic live shows, impeccable musicianship and an uncanny ability to convert anyone within earshot into a lifelong fan, The Slocans have been winning over audiences from Merlefest to RockyGrass and everywhere in between. They’re the 2020 IBMA Momentum Band of the Year Award Winner and a 2019 Juno Award Nominee.
SFMS staff writer, Mary-Grace A. Lee, had the opportunity to interview Darryl Poulsen about their latest album Up the Hill and Through the Fog, the hardship of Covid, and touring music.
How did the Slocan Ramblers come about?
Adrian and I (Darryl) were jamming a lot and really getting into playing fiddle tunes. We played a few duo shows together around Toronto. Adrian was roommates with Alastair at the time. The three of us started jamming a little bit and one day Alastair said “my buddy at work plays the banjo” so we had a jam with the four of us and it was great. We played a few gigs in Toronto and eventually got a weekly gig at a pub called “The Cloak and Dagger.” It all snowballed from there into a full time touring band!
Your sound is bold and dynamic yet heavily rooted in the Bluegrass tradition. How do you balance staying true to the tradition of Bluegrass music while creating a specific sound that makes you the Slocan Ramblers?
Our bluegrass influences are probably the same as most people who love the music. Bill Monroe, Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, Tony Rice etc… but we all grew up listening to lots of different music and playing different styles (jazz, blues, rock etc). [I] think that adds a lot to our sound, and our sound has developed a lot over the years as well. I don’t think we could sound like anything but the Slocan ramblers. It’s just what comes out when we play. There is a fine line between honoring the tradition of bluegrass and trying to push the envelope.
You released your latest album Up the Hill and Through the Fog earlier this year. What was it like creating an album during the pandemic? Did the pandemic change the way you approach recording or creating an album? If so, how?
The pandemic made it tricky to get together in person to rehearse (we did get together but it wasn’t easy) so we did a lot of pre-production at our own homes. I would record a guitar part and send it to the bass player. He would add bass and I would send it to the mandolin and then banjo. We would essentially build and arrange the songs that way so everyone knew the songs and had time to work on their own parts. Once we were in the studio, it was pretty smooth sailing.
Up the Hill and Through the Fog encompasses the past two years of pandemic upheaval and personal loss. Yet, you take these sorrows and turn them into a joyous collection of songs on the album. Could you talk about the creative process of this album?
We all went through a lot of change in life during 2020 so there were no shortages of song content. Bluegrass songs can sound joyous but if you listen to the lyrics there are sometimes/most times about loss, heartbreak etc. It also gave us time to sit down and work on writing or finishing off ideas we had. Once a song is written, we send it to each other and start adding parts and think of cool arrangement ideas (could be a tenor vocal part, a cool bass idea, a cool banjo tuning) and the song starts to come to life.
Susquehanna Folk is excited to be a part of your tour! What are some things you are excited to see and experience while traveling?
Every tour we have done is different from the last. You never know who you are going to meet or what any of the shows will be like. You meet a lot of awesome, amazing people too. Last week we played at the station inn and one of our favorite guitar players, David Grier, came up on stage and played a few tunes with us. We always try to find a record store in town and a good spot to eat!
The Slocan Ramblers will be performing at The Abbey Bar (upstairs in Appalachian Brewing Company) in Harrisburg, PA on Sunday, November 20th at 7:30 p.m. More information can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $20 for SFMS members, and $10 for students. Tickets for this concert can be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website.
Mary-Grace A. Lee is a Harrisburg area musician. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram @thatdulcimergirl her youtube channel, and her official site. Mary-Grace also plays with the Celtic group, Seasons.
Acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and Grammy nominated artist John McCutcheon will be gracing us with his stellar musicianship at the Market Square Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg, PA on Sunday, November 6th at 7:30 p.m. More information and official SFMS Covid Safety Policies can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $10 Students, and $20 for Susquehanna Folk Members. Tickets for this concert can be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk website. Prior to the concert, John will be hosting a workshop: Culture & Community – the Arts and Social Movement. Tickets are $15 for General Admission, $10 for Students, and $13 for Susquehanna Folk Members. Tickets for the workshop can also be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk Website. Workshop begins at 4:00 p.m.
Photo by Irene Young
John McCutcheon is one of our country’s most honored and loved folk musicians, delighting our audiences every time he’s come to our stage. For 50 years, John has been touring and creating records. Earlier this year, he released his 43rd album Leap! He’s a multi-instrumental master, a powerful songwriter and singer, and a prolific recording artist with seven Grammy nominations. He’s a respected record producer, a book writer and teacher, and as Pete Seeger observed, a champion of social justice and causes that matter.
SFMS Staff Writer Mary-Grace Autumn Lee had the chance to chat with John McCutcheon about his music career and life on the road.
You recently released your 43rd record, “Leap!” That’s an impressive catalog of music. How has your approach to recording and arranging songs and tunes changed throughout your music career?
I’ve always loved time in the studio. As a soloist, it’s great fun to play with other musicians, especially the ones as good as I’m fortunate enough to record with. Plus, it’s exciting to hear the songs I compose on my own take on a life as others bring them to life. I’ve done so many different kinds of projects (children’s albums, songs that lean more into rock than folk, purely traditional stuff, hammer dulcimer music, etc.) that I’ve tried on lots of different hats. Keeps me creative and interested in the process of arranging in new and different ways. I feel as though, in the past ten years or so, that I’ve settled into what feels like “my sound.” It’s rooted in acoustic music, has room to rock if it needs to, and the fiddle is a melodic and emotional thread through it all. And, last but not least, after a hiatus of 5-6 years after I moved to the Atlanta area and tried lots of different studio configurations, I’ve settled back “home” ay Bias Studios up in Springfield, VA with my trusty engineer and co-producer Bob Dawson. He’s the best.
You are a multi-instrumentalist and a master at the instruments you play. Your hammered dulcimer playing has really shaped what the hammered dulcimer is today in folk music. Can you explain how your approach to the hammered dulcimer has not only inspired many hammered dulcimer players but has also shaped how the instrument is approached in today’s folk music?
Oh, I don’t know that I shaped how it’s used today. I certainly used it in more different ways than others who started out back when I did (very early 70’s). For the first 5 years or so of my playing I didn’t, for the first time, have a traditional player that was guiding me in how to play a new instrument. So I experimented with lots of different music: fiddle tunes, of course, but also classical music, ragtime piano, Irish harp compositions, vocal accompaniment, etc. I was also invited into unexpected situations, as with Johnny Cash, Paul Simon, and others that simply heard the instrument as a sound to be utilized, whereas I treated it as a part of a tradition. So, I got dragged into playing country and rock and new age stuff. It stretched me and also fired up my imagination.
You are celebrating 50 years of music! I’m sure you have a lot of amazing stories from creating music to traveling on the road performing your music. Can you share one of your favorite memories on tour?
I was doing a tour in the USSR in 1991, just before everything changed over there (I don’t think I had anything to do with that, but…) and I had my two young sons, ages 7 and 9, with me. My first visit to Red Square, we emerged from the subway and you have to walk up a bit of a hill to get to the Square. I remember thinking, when I was young I was taught to fear and hate Soviets. We did hide-under-the-desk air raid drills. I may never be very famous, never have the type of careers that so many musicians do, but I’m introducing my sons to real, live human beings and they’re going to grow up with a very different world view than I was given, all thanks to this wacky work that I do. So, if that ain’t success, I don’t know what is.
You have had the honor of collaborating with many amazing artists. Who are some of the artists that have influenced you or played an impact on your life?
I was lucky enough to have Pete Seeger as a friend and mentor. He was invaluable in teaching how to be a performer without being a “star.” Jean Ritchie taught me the power of quiet focus and form. Utah Phillips showed us all how story and song amplify one another. Tom Paxton is a dear friend with whom I’m writing on a weekly basis. He’s an example of someone who rode a wave of tremendous popularity and, when that all calmed down, still retained the joy that is central to our work. Lots more folks and lots more lessons, but those are some high points.
Susquehanna Folk is honored to have you as a part of our concert series. Not only will you be performing a concert, but you will also be hosting a workshop before the concert called “Culture & Community – the Arts and Social Movements.” What can people expect from this workshop?
I was introduced to folk music at 11 years old watching the March on Washington on our little Zenith black and white television. It was part of a social movement greater than itself. It strove to unite, inspire, and motivate people. That mission has been central to how I approach music. This is part of a long history with many lessons and informative examples of using music in thoughtful, strategic ways. That’s the starting point…
John McCutcheon will be gracing us with his stellar musicianship, to the Market Square Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg, PA on Sunday, November 6th at 7:30 p.m. More information and official SFMS Covid Safety Policies can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $10 Students, and $20 for Susquehanna Folk Members. This includes new members. Tickets for this concert can be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk website. Prior to the concert, John will be hosting a workshop: Culture & Community – the Arts and Social Movement. explore the connection between art and social movements. It is both an historical and a practical guide to the use of cultural tools in unleashing the potential for change in individuals and in communities. Tickets are $15 for General Admission, $10 for Students, and $13 for Susquehanna Folk Members. Tickets for the workshop can also be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk Website.
Mary-Grace Autumn Lee is a Harrisburg area musician. You can find her on instagram @thatdulcimergirl, her youtube channel, and her official site. Mary-Grace also plays with the Celtic/Americana band Seasons.
GRAMMY Award Winner and two-time EMMY nominee, Dom Flemons will be gracing us with his stellar musicianship, knowledge of history and music, and personable stage presence to the WITF Public Media Center in Harrisburg, PA on Wednesday, April 26th at 7:30 p.m. More information and official SFMS Covid Safety Policies can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $10 Nonmember Students, and FREE for Susquehanna Folk Members! This includes new members. Tickets for this concert can be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website.
Dom Flemons’ Black Cowboys retells the settling of America’s West through a new lens
With a repertoire that spans over a hundred years of early American popular music, Dom Flemons calls himself “The American Songster.” ® SFMS audiences have loved his stellar musicianship on multiple instruments, his personable stage presence, and the depth of knowledge he shares about the Black American experience through music. He is an expert player on the banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, fife and rhythm bones. He is also a songwriter, producer, actor, slam poet, music scholar, historian and record collector. Flemons’ career includes numerous honors and unique experiences in addition to his tours and recordings, and no brief description can do it justice. SFMS Staff Writer Mary-Grace Autumn Lee had the chance to chat with Dom Flemons about his music, life on the road, and the importance of keeping folk music and history alive and relevant.
How did you first become interested in playing and performing music?
When I first began playing the acoustic guitar when I was around 16 years old, I became interested in playing music in the coffee houses and on the streets like my musical heroes from the 1960s folk revival. I started out as a solo performer busking and doing local gigs when I was in college at Northern Arizona University. Then in 2005 I attended the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, NC and the rest is history.
You are referred to as the “American songster.” Can you explain this title for those who are not familiar with that terminology?
I first heard the term Songster in the book called Songsters and Saints written by blues scholar Paul Oliver. A Songster was a musician who sang and played a variety of material. In the years before recorded technology, music for the folk artist was less driven by genres and more by community necessity. I have found in the 21st century, the term songster holds a new relevance in the world now that music is less driven by strict genre classifications and can evolve in completely different ways. As I tend to focus on American roots music in my repertoire, I felt that “The American Songster” was a great way to describe the music I present on stage and on my records. I first began using the term when I titled my 2009 solo album, American Songster. I have now traveled the world carrying this moniker with me and I feel it has served me well in musical adventures.
Not only are you a gifted multi-instrumentalist, but you are also a producer, actor, slam poet, music scholar, historian, and record collector. How do all of these interests tie into your songwriting and arrangement of music?
When writing and arranging music, I am always working to create music that can be heard and interpreted on multiple levels. Having dipped into all of these artistic and academic roles over the years, they all continue my love for music. It allows me to look at my music from multiple perspectives highlighting lesser known stories that can be interpreted by my listeners in multiple ways. When I record an album I always write liner notes so that I can convey additional information for folks that are interested. When I first started playing music, I learned a lot of my first information from reading the backs of records and I try to consider that when I put together my albums. It also influences the way that I craft my storytelling. Some songs have dense histories and being able to condense these larger stories into a song can be very satisfying in both an artistic and academic way.
Who were your musical inspirations when you were growing up? And how did their music influence you?
I have had a lot of musical influences over the years. The 60s folk revival was a big part of it. I developed a passion for artists like Bob Dylan, Mississippi John hurt, Leadbelly, Phil Ochs, Ramblin Jack Elliott and a whole lot more. There were also a lot of rock ‘n’ roll artists that moved me. People like Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Carl Perkins are some favorites. I’ve always frequented a lot of folk festivals and old-time music conventions and a lot of the music I heard in those big jams influenced me. Once I moved to North Carolina from Arizona back in 2005 I began to meet a lot of blues musicians through my work with Music Maker Relief Foundation. Musicians like John Dee Holeman, Boo Hanks, and Algia Mae Hinton were wonderful mentors to me. Old-time musicians like Mike Seeger and John Cohen we’re also great friends and mentors. When I think back on all these wonderful musicians I got to meet it inspires me to try to match their artistry with my own. This is much easier said than done. It takes a lot of studying and a lot of listening to make great music and I am always trying to create the best music I can to appeal to the widest audience possible.
Dom Flemons with his 1920s banjo.
For years, you toured with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and they are a pivotal part of your own personal legacy. You now are pursuing a path as a solo artist. What was your experience as an artist going from arranging music and touring with a band to arranging music and touring as a solo artist?
It’s been around eight years since I left Carolina Chocolate Drops in 2014 so I’ve been following my own solo path for quite a while. I’ve enjoyed the freedom to present my vision as I feel it deep in my heart and soul. I started out as a solo artist so working with the band was the biggest adjustment I needed to make at first. When you are a soloist, you have a lot of freedom to do what you please on stage. When you’re playing in a band you have to arrange everything to some degree before you can get going and I think that’s probably the biggest difference. While I cannot be more than one person on stage at a time, I have learned several techniques from traditional music that have allowed me to fill the space of an entire band on stage. I’ve also led my own touring groups over the years following the chocolate drops and there is a beauty to being able to have the support of additional musicians on stage. Still, I started out as a soloist and I find myself most comfortable in that setting.
Susquehanna Folk is honored to be a part of your spring tour. What are some of your favorite things about touring and performing music for people?
One of my favorite pastimes on tour is getting a chance to go to the local record stores in the town where I am playing. I also enjoy going to museums and local road stops along the way. I found that generally these activities are much less expensive than other things you can do on the road and I also find I walk away much more informed after visiting them. Especially when it came to my research materials related to the black West. Over many years, I enjoyed taking the time to visit many western museums that have amazing collections and stunning artwork that are specific to the region. When on tour I also try to visit different landmarks, historical markers, national parks and memorials, so I can get to know more about the community surrounding the venues. As for performing for people, that was something that appealed to me from day one. It’s wonderful to be able to present traditional and original material that I’ve crafted for an audience who is engaged and ready for a great time. This is more important now than ever, especially since people are emerging from the worldwide pandemic realizing that they have been starved for musical and intellectual entertainment. Music and history are two of the things that started me on the path to where I am now and I’m so glad that I’ve been able to share it with audiences around the world.
Dom Flemons will be performing at the WITF Public Media Center in Harrisburg, PA on Wednesday, April 26th at 7:30 pm. More information and official SFMS Covid Safety Policies can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $10 nonmember students, and FREE for Susquehanna Folk Members! This includes new members. Tickets for this concert can be purchase on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website.
Mary-Grace Autumn Lee is a Harrisburg area musician. You can find her on instagram @thatdulcimergirl, her youtube channel, and her official site. Mary-Grace also plays with the Celtic/Americana band Seasons.
The celebrated band from Ireland, Téada, will be bringing a host of energetic traditional Irish tunes and songs to The Studio, Appell Center for the Performing Arts in York on Sunday, March 6th in an event sponsored by the Susquehanna Folk Music Society. More information and official SFMS Covid Safety Policies can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Societywebsite. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $20 for SFMS Members, and $10 for students (ages 3-22). Tickets will be available at the door or online.
Téada is a renowned band from Ireland that has been playing and recording albums for 21 years. Téada was founded in 2001 by Sligo fiddler Oisín Mac Diarmada along with button accordion player Paul Finn. They’re joined by Seán Gavin on flute and uilleann pipes and Patrick Doocey on guitar. This acclaimed band has toured the world and has played at prominent festivals including Milwaukee Irish Fest, Edmonton Folk Festival, Temple Bar TradFest, Shetland Folk Festival, the Rainforest World Music Festival, and many others. In 2014, the band performed to 40,000 people during an extensive 7-week tour of Japan and Taiwan. This spring, Téada will be releasing their sixth album. SFMS Staff Writer Mary-Grace Autumn Lee had the chance to chat with Téada’s fiddle player, Oisín Mac Diarmada about touring, recording, and stories the band has gathered along the way.
Téada is 21 years on the road this year and time sure flies when you are having fun! The band grew out of an album project I was asked to do back in 2000 which included some of my great musical friends. There was no grand plan to start a band and tour the world, but momentum grew from the recording and subsequent gigs and the project had evolved into Téada by 2001. Initially the band had a string focus in terms of instrumentation – hence the band name which translates from Irish (Gaelic) as ‘strings’. America has always been a huge part of the heartbeat of Téada, providing us with great support and encouragement since our debut tour in June 2001, and we are always thrilled to return, albeit with a few more grey hairs then we had back at the beginning!
Téada has performed around the world at many acclaimed festivals. What are some things you have experienced from traveling to different countries and performing for people of different cultures?
Sharing your culture with people around the world is a really great privilege, which I become even more aware of as time passes. There is such a welcome in so many parts of the world for Irish culture and we are blessed that people without a direct connection to Ireland can feel such affection for our music, song and dance. It is definitely one of the most fulfilling aspects of what we do as a profession, to be able to connect with people from such a variety of places and get a glimpse into their cultures and life experiences. One of the highlights for me was a 7-week Téada tour of Japan & Taiwan 2014, which was eye-opening in terms of getting to experience such a different culture to our own.
Téada is releasing their sixth album this coming spring. Would you mind sharing a little bit of the process of creating the album? How does the band collect and arrange tunes?
Our new album – Coiscéim Coiligh (As The Days Brighten) – will be released very shortly on Gael Linn Records. The title is an old Irish (Gaelic) phrase which translates literally as The Rooster’s Footsteps, but is suggestive of the onset of brighter days. Like a lot of projects, this recording process was interrupted by the Pandemic, which delayed the release timeframe from 2020 to 2022. It seems like now is a nice time to be releasing the album, as we get back on our feet again as a society with an optimism that brighter times are ahead. Going back to the actual process of creating our albums, they tend to take shape when we reach the stage of yearning for some exciting new material to add to our live set! Then the gathering of material begins in earnest and over time and of course a number of rehearsals in various parts of Ireland (since we are scattered around the country in terms of our locations!), things start to digest and new selections emerge. When it comes to choosing material to record, we tend to favour unusual repertoire, which may be unearthed from older archival recordings or indeed recently composed within the tradition.
Téada is known for taking rare tunes from the tradition and re-energising them to keep them relevant today. How does the band approach these tunes to keep them alive?
There’s something really special about coming across a rarely-heard older tune. It’s like a glimpse into another time, and more often than not, these tunes have unusual motifs or melodic ideas which you don’t typically hear played nowadays. It’s exciting to keep renewing the well of repertoire within traditional Irish music, whether through new compositions or bringing back forgotten tunes from the past!
Susquehanna Folk has many members who are Irish music appreciators and/or musicians learning Irish music. What are some of the most important tips you share to musicians learning how to play Irish music?
If you haven’t yet started on the road of learning to play Irish music, it’s never too late to start! There are so many resources out there nowadays for players of all levels, which can stimulate you to improve your skills. Learning this music, like any craft, is a journey so it’s important to try to get enjoyment from the journey! Enjoy the small steps of development rather than overly focussing on gaining proficiency quickly. Listening is as important as the active playing part.
Téada is getting ready to hit the road to go on a spring tour. What are a few things you are looking forward to?
Touring is a great privilege for those of us who enjoy it! There’s always a sense of expectancy heading out on tour and no two tours are the same. I’m looking forward to playing music with musicians I admire, soaking up all the visual stimulation that travel brings and hopefully bringing some enjoyment to other peoples’ lives. When it comes together for performers and audience, it is a very special connection and occasion!
Téada will be performing live on March 6th, 2022 at The Studio, Appell Center for the Performing Arts in York . For more information about tickets and concert safety policies, please visitthe Susquehanna Folk Music website.
Mary-Grace Autumn Lee is a Harrisburg area musician. You can find her on instagram @thatdulcimergirl, her youtube channel, and her official site. Mary-Grace also plays with the Celtic/Americana band Seasons.
Acclaimed New England based vocal group Windborne will bring their eclectic mix of traditional folk music and gorgeous harmonies to the Fort Hunter Barn in Harrisburg on Saturday, January 29th in an event sponsored by the Susquehanna Folk Music Society. The group will host a Community Sing Workshop at 4:30, followed by a full concert at 7:30. More information and official SFMS Covid Safety Policies can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the Community Sing Workshop are $15 General Admission, $13 for SFMS Members, and $10 for students. Tickets for the Concert are $24 General Admission, $20 for SFMS Members, and $10 for students (ages 3-22). Tickets will be available at the door or online.
Earlier this week, Susquehanna Folk Music Society Staff Writer Mary-Grace Autumn Lee got to chat with Windborne member Jeremy Carter-Gordon ahead of their January 29th Concert.
Windborne is a New England based group that uses their voices to share traditional folk music from around the world. Although their music is primarily rooted in American Folk, the members of the band have done extensive research and traveling to include folk music from the Republic of Georgia, Corsica, Bulgaria, the Basque region, and Quebec into their repertoire. The band also incorporates storytelling into their performances as a way to enrich audience members on the history and tradition of the music they sing. The band is a quartet and is made up of the members Lauren Breunig, Jeremy Carter-Gordon, Lynn Rowan, and Will Thomas Rowan. Although all members of Windborne are passionate about educating and performing, their main goal with their music is to change hearts.
I had the honor of getting to interview band member Jeremy Carter-Gordon about Windborne’s music as well as learn what audience members can expect from their upcoming performance for Susquehanna Folk.
Not only have the members of Windborne done extensive research on folk music from around the world, but the band has also traveled performing and picking up songs from different countries. What are a few similarities and differences you have noticed in folk music from different cultures?
Windborne is specifically interested in the songs from countries and cultures that have traditions of harmony singing. While this is common in many western traditions, there are plenty of places around the world that don’t use harmony in their music. Learning about the different ways of creating sound, what intervals or timbres are considered as “sweet” or “harsh” sounding, and playing with time signatures is always interesting. As we have done more of our own arranging in the past 5 years, Windborne is able to draw on some of these wider ideas of what music can be to crowd arrangements that are interesting, unexpected, and compelling.
Windborne pulls from folk music from around the world. How do you pay respect to cultures other than your own while learning and presenting their songs?
There are so many different ways of using a human voice, and when we learn songs from a tradition we do our best to seek out singing masters from that culture to help us with the vocal production, pronunciation, and insider perspective on the way the music is conceived of. For example, Corsican music is improvised within a structure, and the different singing roles all have a different and specific relation to each other. Certainly a skill musician could listen to a recording of Corsican music, notate it, and then send those notes. It may even sound like Corsican music, but they would be missing the very core of what makes that singing special. We also make sure to share this knowledge, cultural context and attribution with our audiences, so that they could look into these traditions further.
All of you are classically trained singers and have been singing and teaching for years. How has this experience helped you with learning folk music which is traditionally passed down informally, and is taught through small gatherings or aurally?
Actually, Windborne’s background in music training is pretty widely varied, from no formal training to quite a lot. While some of us have a more classical background (Will has a masters in choral conducting!) our first training really was informal singing parties in the folk community around New England where we grew up. This helped us be comfortable with improvising harmonies, experimenting, and most importantly: listening. The ability to listen deeply is incredibly important for harmony singing, and transforms a group from just people singing different notes near each other to creating something far greater than the sum of its parts.
Not only are your performances filled with folk songs, but you also do a lot of storytelling. Why do you think it’s important to include storytelling into your performances?
This really comes back to our commitment to sharing context and history of the songs that we sing. Because so much of our music comes from a time and a place different than our own, We find it important to help our audience think about the songs closer to the way we, or the people who wrote them, hear and appreciate them. As we start to sing more songs with a message of social justice, it’s important to ask that we don’t just sing beautiful music, but that the messages the songs carry are made clear. Sometimes music can change hearts, even when minds are made up.
Windborne is known for taking old songs and connecting them to the social issues of today. What are things you look for in an old song that you think would resonate with people today?
Usually when we are looking at this songs, we are stunned by how relevant and modern they feel. We sometimes avoid songs that are speaking super specifically about a particular event that is not going to be understood or familiar to our audiences. But there is so much out there that makes it clear that modern day struggles are not new or unique, but tied to a long history of people fighting for a better world. Using old songs can be powerful because it’s often easier to see injustice with the distance of the past, and we can then tie it back to the events we see going on today. We often add new verses to songs when we find it will help draw those connections.
Before your show for Susquahanna Folk, you will be hosting a Community Sing. What can people expect from this event, and why is it important to host a community sing?
Singing in community is something I’ve been part of the human experience for probably as long as anything! It’s becoming rarer and rarer in today’s world, but it’s an important part of how we became singers, and we love gathering people to sing! As for what to expect, we will be teaching songs by ear, no experience or sight reading requires! All voices are welcome and appreciated so just bring yourself, a mask, and enthusiasm to try new things!
Windborne will be performing live on January 29th, 2022 at the Fort Hunter Barn. For more information about tickets and concert safety policies, please visit the Susquehanna Folk website.
Mary-Grace Autumn Lee is a Harrisburg area musician. You can find her on instagram @thatdulcimergirl, her youtube channel, and her official site. Mary-Grace also plays with the Celtic/Americana band Seasons.
West Coast blues guitar and ukulele queen Del Rey will return to again wow SFMS audiences with her distinctive ukulele and resonator guitar stylings in both a virtual concert held this Saturday (Nov 14, rescheduled date!) at 7:30 pm as well as an online ukulele workshop held at 4 pm on Sunday, November 15th. Tickets and additional information can be found at the SFMS Website.
Earlier this week, SFMS staff writer Peter Winter and Del chatted over email about setlist construction, playing online, and the importance of passing on musical know how! This is the second time Peter and Del have spoken. Their 2019 conversation is in the Folkmama Archive and can be read HERE.
What can people expect from your ukulele workshop?
In the ukulele workshop I’m going to introduce people to fingerpicking. Fingerpicking is basically a way to turn a solo instrument into a band-your thumb is the bass player and your fingers play the melodies and articulate the chords. We all are unable to get together and play right now, so being your own band is the way to go!
You do quite a bit of education on your instruments in addition to just performing (I loved your boogie woogie guitar tutorial) why is educating and instruction important to you?
Music is a fundamental part of being human-I call it “the sound of humans doing no harm.” Making your own music is one of life’s great pleasures, no matter your skill level.
Have you played many virtual concerts during lock down? How has the shift been?
I’ve played one ortwo concerts a month since the lockdown. It’s a totally different experience for me. An audience is a living thing, unique every time and different every where. Virtual audiences don’t have an opportunity to be with each other while having the musical experience. I’m grateful to be able to play and that people listen, but I miss being all together. But I do like a camera-I like how close it is.
You obviously have an extensive repertoire and back catalogue, how do you decide what makes the setlist for the concert?
I often respond to the feelings of a live audience-which I can’t really get to on camera. So for virtual reality I rely on my 40 (!) years of playing music for similar kinds of audiences in real life. The songs themselves tell stories and fit together in certain ways. Much of my aesthetic is based on serving the songs, bringing them to different listeners and letting them loose. I’m a song vector!
Any current musical projects in the works?
I’m doing an online teaching project with my colleague Jim D’Ville teaching fingerpicking in January. More info HERE. We are having success in getting players to syncopate. But my usual lifestyle of running around the world with an instrument on my back and a small suitcase doesn’t seem possible any time soon.
Folkmama's Blog 