folk Archive
22 Sep 2014
Festival Review: Transfigurations II, Part 1
It’s not easy putting together the lineup for a music festival. All sorts of competing forces work against each other in the planning process. You want a lineup that’s cutting-edge, […]
11 Aug 2014
Hundred Word Reviews for August 2014, Part 1
Some familiar names and some true obscurities are highlighted in this, the first of five sets of five capsule reviews. This week I’ll review 25 albums, arbitrarily limiting myself to […]
20 Mar 2014
Album Review: Dave Van Ronk — Inside Dave Van Ronk
I’m not a folkie. When it comes to acoustic based music of the folk sort, my tastes are fairly limited: I own a decent-sized stack of Bob Dylan albums, that […]
12 Mar 2014
Album Review: Los Lobos — Sí Se Puede
It was eight long years ago that I first reviewed a Los Lobos album, a then-new best-of compilation called Wolf Tracks. And I had added some of their music to […]
09 Jan 2014
Jamie Laval’s “Christmas in Scotland”
A deep love and understanding of Celtic cultural and musical traditions; a foundation of classical training; and a fresh look at celebrating the Holiday season: that was the recipe for […]
22 Oct 2013
Album Review: Woody Guthrie — American Radical Patriot
Most Americans know the name Woody Guthrie. What they know of him beyond that – and/or their opinion on what he means to popular culture and music – varies widely. […]
17 Jul 2013
July Capsule Reviews, #2 of 3
Here are four more capsule reviews that fulfill my twin goal of (a) clearing off my desk and (b) getting the word out about some music you’d almost certainly otherwise […]
20 Dec 2012
Album Review: Bert Jansch – Heartbreak
While American folk music has never had an especially deep resonance with me, the British Isles variant has long spoken to me somehow. There’s something about the European traditional flavor […]
23 Jan 2012
Album Review: Maggie and Terre Roche – Seductive Reasoning
Since my discovery of their music, The Roches have long been a sentimental favorite for me. Having grown up on a steady diet of pop and rock, I didn’t take […]