Sarah Lee Guthrie has been on stage almost since birth. But she has never been up there alone. She started (and still performs) with her father, Arlo, and the rest of her talented family. Sarah Lee partnered with her husband, Johnny Irion, and even though they had great success, there was a folky voice that wanted to be heard. Now, she's out solo for the first time, giving full and glorious attention to the folk music that is her birthright. She sat down with Folk Alley at the 2017 30A Songwriters Festival to play some songs and talk about this exciting new turn in her life.

John Gorka is one of folk music's most respected and beloved singer/songwriters, representing the bridge generation between the Folk Revival and the rise of Americana. Finding his footing at the venerable Godfrey Daniels coffeehouse while a student at Moravian College, Gorka quickly drew attention with his quiet stage presence and deeply personal songs. Folk Alley caught up with John at the 2017 30A Songwriters Festival for an exclusive Folk Alley Session.

The rain was coming down hard one day in April in Upper Jay, New York. And that’s the day Ana Egge, along with Alec Spiegelman (keyboards, bass clarinet) and Dave Cole (drums) showed up to play songs from her album, White Tiger, at the pop-up studio our friends at Beehive Productions Studio set up at The Recovery Lounge.

The duo Anna and Elizabeth (Anna Roberts-Gevalt and Elizabeth LaPrelle) came to Beehive Productions studio in Saranac Lake, New York ready to share thoughts about and music from their new album, The Invisible Comes to Us. But maybe even more importantly, Anna and Elizabeth talked about the importance of preserving musical traditions from the past, bringing them into the present, and working hard to ensure that they’ll still be around in the future.

The Mastersons (Eleanor Whitmore and Chris Masterson) shared some of the influences and stories behind their 2017 release, Transient Lullaby during their exclusive Folk Alley Session at this year’s 30A Songwriters Festival in Florida.

From the fears and concerns of a young girl, to the hopelessness of unrelenting poverty, to the laissez-faire attitude of a woman in the twilight of her life, Gretchen Peters creates characters that everyone can relate to. That’s a gift and it’s one displayed most prominently on her new album, Dancing with the Beast. She shared thoughts about the record and music from it during her exclusive session at this year’s 30A Songwriters Festival in Florida. 

Joined by Stefan Amidon on percussions and fiddle and by Robinson Morse on bass, Moira Smiley stopped by Beehive Productions studio in Saranac Lake, NY to record this exclusive Folk Alley Session featuring songs from her recent release, 'Unzip the Horizon.'

Chastity Brown shares some thoughts about her newest album, 2017’s Silhouette of Sirens, during an exclusive Folk Alley Session at this year’s 30A Songwriter’s Festival in Florida.

Breakups, love affairs, family dramas, loss and mourning – all of it is represented on the album Sera Cahoone says is her most personal to date. Cahoone, a musician from the Pacific Northwest, shared that revelation about her 2017 album From Where I Started during her exclusive in studio session at the 2018 30A Songwriter’s Festival in Florida. 

Some people love working on their own. And some people love working with others. Kim Richey falls firmly into the latter category. “There’s nothing better than a sharing a song with someone else,” she says. During a recent session at the 30A SW Festival in Florida, Richey shared some thoughts about her new recording, 'Edgeland,' a recording she made with her friends, and a recording she’s really, really excited about.