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From interviews with musicians and exclusive live recordings
to articles and more, Folk Alley Extras present lots of additional
stuff that adds value to the folk music you love. Additional
Extras are on their way, check back to see what else we have
in store.
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Karan Casey
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Some musicians have road managers, drivers, sound technicians, and stage managers. Our little corner of the music world has fewer barriers. Karan Casey herself, perhaps Ireland’s best singer these days, hopped out of the van and came to the front desk: “Would you please let Jim know we’re here?” Then with her forever smile, she offered to help carry one of my bags. If the rest of the music business was like this, everybody would be smiling.
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Shannon McNally
Even though Shannon McNally was born in Long Island, New York, her guitar-driven bluesy folk really took flight in New Orleans. While out on the road with her band, Hot Sauce, and her baby daughter, McNally visited Folk Alley to talk to Jim Blum about her musical roots and personal journey. Hear the interview and see video performances by the band.
Shannon McNally
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Madison Violet
Madison Violet have toured internationally and received nominations for East Coast Music Awards. They've shared stages with the likes of Ron Sexsmith and The Indigo Girls, but if you haven't heard of them yet it's likely because they've been winning over fans the good old-fashioned way, one gig at a time.
Madison Violet
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Solas
Jim Blum interviews U.S.-based Celtic band Solas as they tour in support of "The Turning Tide," their new CD. Hear what they have to say about contemporary Celtic music and watch exclusive video.
Solas
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The Greencards
The Greencards may play Americana music, but their contemporary bluegrassy sound was born of a foreigner's interpretation of classic country - filtered by their upbringing in Australia (Carol and Kym) and the UK (Eamon). The trio came together in Austin and formed a musical partnership that drew attention from Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson (who asked the group to join them on one of their summer ballpark tours) and the Recording Academy, who recognized them with Grammy nominations - including this year for Best Country Instrumental.
The Greencards
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Steeleye Span
It’s uncommon for traditional music to become the mainstream. But when English folk/rockers Steeleye Span reached major Top of the Pops success in the mid 1970s, they introduced the music to a whole new generation of people. The band celebrates their 40th Anniversary with a new album due out in October of 2009 called Cogs, Wheels and Lovers. Folk Alley traveled to The Ark in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in September of 2009 to speak with Maddy Prior and Peter Knight from Steeleye Span.
Steeleye Span
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Rhythm Angels
Like many professional singer/songwriters, Rebecca Folsom and Celeste Krenz have done their fair share of writing songs for other people. The two had different starting points (Folsom from Colorado, Krenz from North Dakota), but both ended up in Nashville – aka Music City USA – where they met during a musical round robin and discovered that their harmonies blended well together. As the Rhythm Angels, they are extending the experiment and taking time out of their solo careers to try life on the road as a duo for a while.Hear Jim Blum's interview with The Rhythm Angels and watch video of the group shot in Kent State University's Franklin Hall.
Rhythm Angels
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The Dixie Bee-Liners
A talented sextet filled with music veterans, The Dixie Bee-Liners are proof positive that youth is welcome in the next wave of bluegrass. With their blend of voices and energetic performance skills, the Bee-Liners offer Jim Blum something to talk about as they play a few of their own songs in an exclusive interview and video session.
The Dixie Bee-Liners
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Stephen Seifert & Jerry Rockwell
Jerry Rockwell and Stephen Seifert are at the heart of a renaissance centered on the mountain dulcimer. The stringed instrument, which is descended from a fretted zither, sometimes suffers from a lack of respect - something these musicians are out to change. Along with performances of iconic tunes, Folk Alley's Jeff St. Clair talks to Rockwell and Seifert about the past, present and future of the mountain lap dulcimer.
Stephen Seifert & Jerry Rockwell
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John Gorka
John Gorka could be the standard bearer of the contemporary singer/songwriter. Infused with humor and touching personal moments, Gorka's music focuses on the heart with an honesty that connects with listeners on many levels. A long-time favorite at folk venues across the country, he continues to surprise as he incorporates changes in his own life into his songs as he embraces middle-age - along with many of his fans.
John Gorka
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The Duhks
The Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Duhks have always been die-hard folkies deep down inside, but that hasn't stopped them from evolving the music with their own unique style and approach. Whether it's a French-Canadian song, a set of Celtic reels, an original composition, or even a Led Zeppelin song, The Duhks not only put their own stamp on it, but they handle the material with ease - respecting the past, but always look towards the future. Their latest offering "Fast-Paced World" (2008), the first Duhks record to feature Sarah and Christian Dugas, is an album that showcases the band's new found freedom and confidence. Music is not just a passion for this band, it's a way of life.
The Duhks
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The Holy Modal Rounders
Folk Alley's Chris Boros profiles The Holy Modal Rounders, one of the first psychedelic/folk groups - featuring interviews with founding member Peter Stampfel, Dave Reisch (who joined the band in 1971) and Paul Lovelace, co-director of a recent documentary on the band called Bound to Lose.
The Holy Modal Rounders
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Greensky Bluegrass
Greensky Bluegrass is a young quintet from the prairies of Southwest Michigan, proving that good roots music need not be born in the mountains of Appalachia. The inners of the 2006 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition stopped by the Folk Alley studios to chat with Jim Blum and play a few songs.
Greensky Bluegrass
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Folk Alliance 2009 - Roger McGuinn Keynote & Interview
Since 1989, folk musicians and members of the folk community have been gathering for the annual Folk Alliance International Conference. This year's conference, held in Memphis, Tennessee, featured a keynote presentation by Folk Den creator and legendary member of the Byrds, Roger McGuinn, followed by an interview with renowned music journalist, Dave Marsh.
Folk Alliance 2009 - Roger McGuinn Keynote & Interview
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Tim O'Brien
Tim O'Brien is still going strong decades into his career as a singer/songwriter steeped in the musical traditions that form the foundation of American folk. With his newgrass band, Hot Rize, and as a duo with his sister, Mollie, O'Brien honed his skill as a performer (on mandolin, fiddle and almost any stringed instrument) and a crafter of songs that speak to the past, present and future.
Tim O'Brien
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Carrie Rodriguez
Fiddler, singer/songwriter Carrie Rodriguez sits down with Jim Blum to talk about what it's like to have your parents blessing to seek out a life as touring musician. The rising Americana star stopped by the Folk Alley studios to offer a glimpse of the magic that turns a young violinist into a first-class performer and songwriter and the musical face of tomorrow.
Carrie Rodriguez
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Robin & Linda Williams
Although Robin and Linda Williams may be best known for their many appearances on Garrison Keillor's popular public radio program A Prairie Home Companion, they are talented singer/songwriters who had already established a touring career when Keillor first called 30 years ago. Robin and Linda visited the Folk Alley studios with Their Fine Band (and their little dog) to play a few songs and talk to Jim Blum about life as a duo on and off stage.
Robin & Linda Williams
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Jessica Lea Mayfield
Folk Alley has been playing music by Jessica Lea Mayfield since she was known as Chittlin’ and was still performing with her brother, David (aka Bassboy), and her parents in the family bluegrass band, One Way Rider. Mayfield has shed her childhood nickname and expanded her repertoire to include a richer, Americana sound - crafting songs that offer real poetry and thoughtful lyrics.
Listen to Folk Alley DJ, Jeff St. Clair's interview with Jessica Lea Mayfield.
Jessica Lea Mayfield
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Rhonda Vincent
Seven-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year Rhonda Vincent has been performing top-level bluegrass since she was a child in her family's band, The Sally Mountain Show, in Missouri. As one of the most-recognizable names in bluegrass, Rhonda Vincent and The Rage travel the world as ambassadors of American roots music and the face of Martha White Flour.
Rhonda Vincent
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Janis Ian
Since the time of her first hit, "Society's Child," at age 15, Janis Ian hasn't stopped moving. Along with her powerful songwriting, Ian has been on the cutting edge of using the Internet to promote her music. She stopped by the Folk Alley studios while promoting her new book, Society's Child: My Autobiography, and companion "best of" 2-CD collection.
Janis Ian
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Jorma Kaukonen
Thanks to his time with Rock Hall inductee Jefferson Airplane, Jorma Kaukonen quickly rose to prominence as one of the best guitar players to rise out of the '60s music scene in San Franciso. But Jorma was a roots music guy at heart and left the band to get more bluesy with Jack Casady and Hot Tuna.
He brought Barry Mitterhoff along for an appearance on A Prairie Home Companion and Jim caught up with them before the show.
Jorma Kaukonen
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The Everybodyfields
Tennessee’s everybodyfields, aka Sam Quinn and Jill Andrews, are rapidly gaining a reputation as the front-runners of the newest generation of the alt-country movement. They offer melancholic interpretations of universal human stories set to achingly beautiful melodies, and put them to life using traditional folk instruments.
Jim interviewed Sam and Jill before one of their shows, and you can hear it here.
The Everybodyfields
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Ray Bonneville
Blues troubadour Ray Bonneville was born in Quebec but has lived everywhere from Alaska to Boston. However, he credits New Orleans the most for influencing his laid-back, groovy sound that is at the core of his music. Ray stopped by the Folk Alley studios to chat with Jim Blum about his life as a wandering minstrel, the people he meets along the way, and the soulful music they've inspired.
Hear Jim's interview and watch video of Ray in action.
Ray Bonneville
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Diana Jones
Although My Remembrance of You is singer/ songwriter Diana Jones' first full-length recording, she has been performing and creating music for a decade. Before she turned her attention to music, Jones was focused on discovering her life – leaving home at an early age and meeting her birth family.
Hear Jim Blum's interview with Jones and see video of her performing in Folk Alley's Studio C.
Diana Jones
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The Waybacks
The Waybacks are a roots-based band with the heart of San Francisco as its driver. Formed around the considerable talents of frontman guitarist James Nash, the Waybacks sound is much more expansive than its bluegrass instrumentation suggests. A personnel shake-up has added a big twist to the group - throwing the huge talent of Warren Hood's fiddle to the mix of Nash, drummer Chuck Hamilton and bass player Joe Kyle Jr. Watch video of the band in the Folk Alley studio!
The Waybacks
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David Wilcox
David Wilcox is unashamedly a singer/ songwriter. He believes in music as a connecting force, as an energy that comes from the heart and tells a story. Wilcox stopped by the Folk Alley studios and spoke with Jim Blum about the mysteries of the songwriting process, finding inspiration in the world (including his experience touring with his family in an Airstream trailer) and approaching the creative process with a feeling of innocence.
David Wilcox
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Grada
Grada is part of a new generation in roots-based Irish music artists. Like bands who have stretched and adapted bluegrass in the U.S., Grada uses Celtic instrumentation and rhythms to create a new, contemporary sound. The band visited the Folk Alley studios while in town performing at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to discuss their musical evolution with Jim Blum. They also played a few songs with help from Jim, a cardboard box and some duct tape.
Grada
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The Polyjesters
What's not to love about the Polyjesters? These guys are complete individuals, Canadians who moved to Europe and busked their way into a music career. The quartet's nucleus is brothers Sheldon and Jason Valleau who have taken early exposure to jazz and swing music to create a sound that is fresh while being reminiscent of another time. They stopped by Folk Alley to chat with Jim Blum about old time music and finding their way as professional musicians.
The Polyjesters
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Eliza Gilkyson
Singer/songwriter Eliza Gilkyson began her musical career at the knee of her father, Terry Gilkyson, also a professional musician. She became popular playing the Texas-Arizona circuit in the U.S. Southwest while she raised her family, honing her skills as a performer and writer and developing a desire to make a difference through her music. For her conversation with Jim Blum, she is joined by ace accompanist Nina Gerber on guitar and Nina's dog, Tootsie.
Eliza Gilkyson
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Laurie Lewis
Fiddler and bluegrass song stylist Laurie Lewis has been wowing audiences for more than 30 years. A Grammy Award-winner and two-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year, Lewis is best known for her instrumental skill and as the best female interpreter of the Ralph Stanley vocal style. Her career now is equally focused on touring, recording and teaching the next generation of bluegrass singers. West Coast-based, she is also an environmental activist and green educator.
Laurie Lewis
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Peggy Seeger
For singer, songwriter, activist Peggy Seeger, a life with folk music was most likely a foregone conclusion. Her mother, Ruth Porter Crawford, was a composer who transcribed folk songs for the Library of Congress. Her brothers, Pete and Mike, are considered among the folk elite. Peggy met collaborator and partner Ewan MacColl through their shared love of the music. With a catalog of politically and personally charged songs to her name, Seeger continues to be a powerful presence into her 70s.
Peggy Seeger
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John Cowan
As a member of the New Grass Revival, John Cowan helped reinvent and reinvigorate American roots music. Starting in the '70s, New Grass spanned the gap between bluegrass and contemporary country, paying respect to tradition while connecting with a younger generation. As a solo artist and with the John Cowan Band, Cowan has continued his path as a skillful musical innovator, once more mining the richness of the American acoustic idiom. He visited the Folk Alley studios with his band to chat and play a song or two.
John Cowan
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Lissa Schneckenburger
Lissa Schneckenburger grew up in Maine listening to a variety of folk music. When she was still quite young, Schneckenburger begged her parents to let her learn to fiddle and she’s been playing ever since. She trained at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music and began touring even before she graduated. Now, Schneckenburger is out on the road nearly full time, gathering fans and expanding her repertoire of trad-based songs. Listen to her perform and talk to Folk Alley’s Jim Blum.
Lissa Schneckenburger
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Fairport Convention
The legendary Fairport Convention is celebrating their 40th Anniversary with a new album called Sense of Occasion. The band single-handedly created the English Folk/Rock genre in 1969 with the seminal Liege & Lief album—recently named one of the most important folk recordings of all time by the BBC. The band celebrates this 40-year milestone at their Cropredy Festival, August 9-11. Recently, the band stopped by the Folk Alley studios. Listen to Fairport Convention’s exclusive Folk Alley session recording.
Fairport Convention
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Susan Werner
Susan Werner is not an artist who is content to let moss grow on her musical career. After releasing a series of well-received CDs as a folk singer/songwriter, Susan made a turn for the dramatic with 2004's I Can’t Be New, a collection of self-penned torch songs reminiscent of standards from the American songbook. Now, she has returned with The Gospel Truth, an album of songs for the church of life that celebrate praise music while questioning the very nature of faith.
Susan Werner
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Antje Duvekot
Antje Duvekot is a rising star on the singer/ songwriter circuit. Her music combines strong melody with true insight into people and the unexpected twists and turns that life often takes. She learned about being tossed to the wind when she was 14 and her mother remarried – uprooting her from an idyllic German childhood for a new language and a different culture halfway around the world. In 2006, she was rewarded for her perseverance and talent with a win at the New Folk songwriting contest at Kerrville.
Antje Duvekot
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Suzzy Roche
As one-third of the beloved sister group The Roches, Suzzy Roche has spent three decades creating beautiful harmonies. After a break that led to her work on the CDs Zero Church and Why the Long Face, Suzzy and her sisters, Terre and Maggie, are back together on Moonswept, where they welcome the next generation, Suzzy's daughter Lucy, into the fold. Guest Karen Schaefer speaks to Suzzy and Lucy about making music the family way.
Suzzy Roche
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Eric Bibb
Eric Bibb is the product of a musician and an educator so it's only natural that his life’s work has taken both roads, building a name for himself as a talented blues singer/songwriter/guitarist and as an artist who understands the role social history plays in the music. While on tour in support of his critically praised CD Diamond Days, Bibb took time out to talk with Jim Blum about his long and interesting musical journey.
Eric Bibb
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Arlo Guthrie
Part folk troubadour, part political activist, Arlo Guthrie comes by both naturally as the son of the legendary Woody Guthrie. The man behind what might be the most popular 18-minute song in history, Arlo sat down with Jim Blum at the Folk Alliance conference in Austin to discuss the current state of the music business, the wonders of the Internet and taking a train trip with his family to New Orleans to help out victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Arlo Guthrie
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Loreena McKennitt
Loreena McKennitt describes her brand of Celtic music as "eclectic." And, that it is, borrowing sounds from the vast history and widespread traditions of the Celts. The Canadian McKennitt is an accomplished composer and performer – and also businessperson, she is self-managed and owns and operates the Quinlan Road label. McKennitt recently spoke with Folk Alley's Jim Blum about creating music from a confluence of cultural experience.
Loreena McKennitt
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Nanci Griffith
Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Nanci Griffith writes from the crossroads of folk and country. Creating songs that are rich with melody while telling powerful stories, Griffith is widely recognized by both camps as one of the best working today. In anticipation of the release of her new CD, Ruby’s Torch, Griffith and Folk Alley’s Jim Blum had a little chat about torch songs, musical heroes the need for social activism in the music world and more.
Nanci Griffith
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Adrienne Young
With talent and a lot of hard work, Adrienne Young and her band, Little Sadie, are building a career as traditional music revivalists. She recently sat down with Folk Alley's Jim Blum for a discussion of learning to live at a variety of speeds, appreciating the world around us, celebrating virtue and the glory of sustainable agriculture. And her music. Along with performing and songwriting duties, Young also heads up her own record label – AddieBelle Music.
Adrienne Young
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Robinella
Robinella possesses a captivating voice that holds on to listeners and carries them deep into her songs - mostly a mix of bittersweet originals (with a hint of her southern roots) and old-time songs pulled from an early-20th century American songbook. The singer usually travels with her husband, Cruz Contreras, and their baby, but she was on a trip alone (traveling with the Greencards) when she stopped by the WKSU studios to drink tea with Jim Blum and talk about turning life into beautifully lasting music.
Robinella
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