Past Events
June 2021
Fiddle Tunes from Long Island with Jeff Davis
Old Long Island was a hotbed of tunes, and there are at least two collections to prove it: William Sidney Mount (1807-1868), the famous painter of The Banjo Player and The Bones Player, was also a fiddler; his collection spans music from English marches, Irish jigs, to tunes learned from the minstrel stage and from black fiddlers. The collection of Bellport’s Captain Isaac Homan (1816-1901) — recently uncovered by Dave Ruch — also contains a huge variety of tunes—reels, hornpipes, cotillions, waltzes, and much more. Both reflect the intense swirl of influences upon fiddlers living near the growing vortex of New York City in the mid-Nineteenth century. This workshop is brought to Old Songs by the Folk Music Society of New York, Inc.
One of America’s most respected collectors and interpreters of traditional music, Jeff Davis has traveled far to visit “source singers”–farmers and miners who remembered the old songs and tunes — and closer at hand to libraries and archives, always looking for the best of the music that was once common in our towns and villages. Jeff plays fiddle, banjo, mandocello, guitar, spoons, jaw’s harps and a few instruments hand-made by folk craftsmen. His repertoire includes New England ballads sea songs, African-American banjo tunes, cowboy ditties, rare Yankee fiddle tunes and more. jeffdavismusician.com
Beginning Mountain Dulcimer with Bing Futch
Using Appalachian mountain dulcimer, Native American flute, ukulele, and a board full of stomp-boxes, Bing Futch celebrates traditional and modern Americana music with passion, humor, and boundless energy. Known for his musical shape-shifting, Bing switches the channels on style and tone with every new song, from his roots-rock and blues originals to The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Disney covers. bingfutch.com
100 Years of Songs for Social & Political Action (1840s through 1930s) with Magpie
For more than forty years, Magpie has brought its unique sound and breathtaking versatility to audiences everywhere. From traditional songs to vintage blues, from swing and country to folk classics to contemporary and stirring original compositions, they cover a lot of musical ground. They bring to the stage powerful voices and harmonies and excellent instrumental arrangements on guitars, mandolin, harmonica, dulcimer, and concertina. Songwriters, musical historians, and social activists, Terry Leonino and Greg Artzner promise a presentation that is highly entertaining as well as provocative and deeply moving.
The Storytelling Stone: Sharing Traditional Native American Stories with James and Joseph Bruchac
For over forty years, Joseph Bruchac has been creating literature and music that reflect his indigenous heritage and traditions. He is a proud Nulhegan Abenaki citizen and respected elder among his people. Although his American Indian heritage is only one part of an ethnic background that includes Slovak and English blood, those Native roots are the ones by which he has been most nourished. He continues to work extensively in projects involving the preservation of Abenaki culture, language and traditional Native skills. His son James—author, storyteller, cultural and wilderness educator—will join him this year.
Delta Blues with Bing Futch
Using Appalachian mountain dulcimer, Native American flute, ukulele, and a board full of stomp-boxes, Bing Futch celebrates traditional and modern Americana music with passion, humor, and boundless energy. Known for his musical shape-shifting, Bing switches the channels on style and tone with every new song, from his roots-rock and blues originals to The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Disney covers. bingfutch.com
Sea Chantey Workshop with John Roberts & Chris Koldewey
John Roberts has been singing English folk songs since the early 1960s, when he joined a local folk club in his native Worcestershire. In America since 1968, he joined with Tony Barrand to form a duo which has lasted ever since. Singing in unaccompanied harmony, or with concertina or banjo, their entertaining style has delighted audiences. These days, he mostly performs solo, with long-time partner Lisa Preston, or in tandem with Debra Cowan. He presents a selection of songs (music of the sea is one of his specialties), some well-known to folk aficionados and others less so. johnrobertsfolksong.com
Chris Koldewey sings many songs that have entered into the oral tradition of American and British folk music—work-songs from the days of sail, songs of love and parting, ballads and story songs of the supernatural, or songs our forbearers might have sung “just for the fun of it.” These are the stories of those who came before, built and nurtured their families and their country, and who left some of those stories in their music. Chris can accompany himself on guitar, banjo, fiddle, concertina, mandolin, and other things common to an average garage sale. chriskoldewey.com
Newfoundland with Matthew Byrne
With parents who were both singers and song collectors and a strong family focus on sharing songs, Matthew Byrne has inherited a unique repertoire as well as a fascination with unearthing and reimagining traditional songs. But Byrne is also a student of history whose love of traditional music goes well beyond the words and music. For him, songs are ways of understanding people before him—their lives, work, language, and worldview.
Appalachian Songs with Sam Gleaves & Deborah Payne
Singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Sam Gleaves is rooted in Appalachian sounds, while his original songs tell stories about love, the home place, working people, and current social issues in the mountains. His performances combine traditional Appalachian ballads, dance tunes, original songs, and the stories that surround the music. He’ll perform with Deborah Payne.
Songs of Inspiration and Joy with Reggie Harris
A songwriter of great depth and passion, Reggie Harris writes from a personal sense of mission that merges a world-wise point of view with a singularly hopeful stance that life, though often challenging, is filled with possibility and hope. His songs reveal thoughts about life and love and some of the deep aspects of the human experience and cover topics from his own personal journey to world issues and history. He is an innovative guitarist, a fearlessly creative vocalist, and an engaging storyteller whose concert performances are infused with joy.
Shape Note Sing with the Amidons
Peter and Mary Alice Amidon are versatile and widely respected performing and teaching artists who for the past twenty years have dedicated themselves to traditional song (especially harmony singing), dance, and storytelling. The Amidons are equally at home performing a concert of stories and songs for adults or children; calling a community dance for all ages; or leading harmony-singing workshops with adults.
Stefan Amidon, a gifted singer and singing leader, leads shape note singing at the Old Songs Festival. Although he is best known as a percussionist and singer with the Sweetback Sisters, the Starry Mountain Singers, and The Devil Makes Three, he is also becoming a hot mandolin player, and a deeply meditative old time fiddler.
Brattleboro shape note singers, Tony Barrand, Keith Murphy, Walter Slowinsky, Tom Yahner, Calvin Farewell, Peter Amidon, Stefan Amidon, Andy Davis, Tom Green, Larry Crockett, Stan Sharkey, Connie Green, Becky Graber, Mary Cay Brass, Ellen Crockett, Carol Crompton, Ines Zeller Bass, Perrin Scott, Mary Alice Amidon, Barb Ackemann, Victoria Mansuri, Tim Kieschnick, Wendy Fiering, Harris Fiering
Want to sing along but need the music? Here it is: Old Songs Shape Note Songs
Tunes & Songs from the Lockwood Collection with John Kirk & Trish Miller
John Kirk & Trish Miller present fiery fiddle tunes, folksongs, and fancy footwork to audiences of all ages. John’s lyric voice, good sense of humor, and versatile instrumental skills—fiddle, mandolin, and several other instruments—have earned him widespread recognition in folk and traditional music circles. Trish is best known for her clogging, guitar, and banjo. Both of them call square dances and have taught folk music and dance programs for over two decades together.
Nest of Singing Birds: Ballads with Sheila Kay Adams, Melanie Rice Penland & Donna Rae Norton
A seventh-generation ballad singer, storyteller, and claw-hammer banjo player, Sheila Kay Adams was born and raised in the Sodom Laurel community of Madison County, North Carolina, where she learned to sing from her great aunt and other notable singers. Her devotion to preserving and perpetuating her heritage is both audible and palpable. She’ll be joined by her daughter Melanie Rice Penland and her cousin Donna Ray Norton as they carry on her devotion.
French songs not from France and Songs from France not in French with Windborne
Windborne is a group of vocal chameleons who specialize in close harmony singing, shifting effortlessly between drastically different styles of traditional music within the same concert. Their musical knowledge spans many continents and cultures, but they remain deeply rooted in American folk-singing traditions. Lynn Mahoney Rowan, Will Thomas Rowan, Lauren Breunig, and Jeremy Carter-Gordon share a vibrant energy onstage— their connection to each other and to the music is clearly evident. They educate as they entertain, telling stories about the music and explaining the characteristics and stylistic elements of the traditions in which they sing.
Mandinka Musical Culture with the Great Gambian Griots
Documentary style video on traditional Mandinka music and the cultural world of Mandinka traditional oral historian-musicians known as “griots.” Including: Kora duets, wooden-keyed xylophone and 3-string bass kora, women’s bell, drumming discussion and demonstration, dancing, kora teaching, and traditional story-telling.
Forty-eight years ago, Alhaji Bai Konte brought the music of the kora (Mandinka harp) from Gambia to the U.S. This year, his grandsons (the word is used a little more loosely than usual) Great Gambian Griots, continue to carry on that tradition. Jali Bakary Konteh is an imaginative improviser who can support the tradition or blend traditional and modern instruments. Pa Bobo Jobarteh is a human rights activist whose songs were instrumental in the rarest of events in modern politics: a bloodless, democratic overthrow of a dictator. Fled for his life, returned a folk hero! africanculturalencounters.com
Songs of the Adirondacks with Jamcrackers
Dan Berggren, Peggy Lynn, and Dan Duggan have combined talents to create Jamcrackers, named in honor of the river drivers who broke up log jams. Those drivers worked hard to find solutions, to get things rolling again, and they couldn’t do the job alone. These three feel the same way about their music. With guitars and dulcimer (and other instruments), the trio showcases unique arrangements and striking harmonies as they present a diverse blend of folk and blues, ballads, gospel, and dance tunes
Bowing 747 with George Wilson
A talented multi-instrumentalist and singer, George Wilson samples a wide variety of traditional and folk styles. As a fiddler, he has over 500 tunes for dancing and listening—tunes from New England, Quebec, Cape Breton, Scotland, Ireland, and Shetland. His dynamic fiddling, strongly influenced by Cape Breton and French Canadian styles, has been popular with contra dancers and concert-goers since the late 1970s.
June 2023
Ballad & Song Migration
Ballad & Song Migration from the British Isles to into different regions of North America illustrating the contrasting styles of singing, changes of lyrics and tunes that are influenced by the culture they settle into.
Grosse Isle
Performance
Québécois Music to Enchant.
Jim Gaudet & the Railroad Boys
Performance
A little country, a little grassy.
Celtic Jam
with Cantrip
Shape Note & Sacred Harp Sing
with Stefan Amidon
Advancing Trad
with Sara Milonovich* & Daisycutter, and The Gawler Sisters with Ethan Tischler & Bennett Konesni
Lilies by the Tracks
with Jim Gaudet & the Railroad Boys*, and Low Lily
Celtic Diaspora
with Grosse Isle*, Cantrip, and John Kirk & Trish Miller
Voices in Harmony
with Windborne*, and The Gawler Sisters with Ethan Tischler & Bennett Konesni
Norma Waterson Tribute
with Heather Wood*, John Roberts, Anita Best & Pamela Morgan, Windborne, Forty Degrees South, Low Lily and Martin Carthy
String Jam
with Sara Grey & Kieron Means
Shape Note & Sacred Harp Sing
with Stefan Amidon
Gospel Sing
with Matt Watroba, Andy Cohen, Guy Davis, Anne Hills
Tribute to Mick Moloney
with John Roberts*, Andy Cohen, Heather Wood, Sara Grey & Kieron Means, Low Lily, and Bruce Molsky
The Grass is Blue
with Low Lily and Beppe Gambetta
Lighten Up
with The Vox Hunters* & Flannery Brown, Geoff Kaufman, and Steve Gillette