Former Stray Birds frontwoman, Maya de Vitry joined us in the studio to share some eye-opening thoughts about what it really took to put together her debut solo album, Adaptations, during a recent session in Nashville, Tennessee.
Lula Wiles (Mali Obomsawin, Ellie Buckland, and Isa Burke) were friends for years in their native Maine before coming together, officially, in 2016 in Boston. The trio believes that music has the power to bring out the humanity in all of us. They gathered together at the Upper Jay Arts Center’s Recovery Lounge in Upper Jay, New York to share some songs from their new album, What Will We Do - their first on the Smithsonian Folkways label.
Ruthie Foster joined Folk Alley at the 30A Songwriters Festival in Florida to share some thoughts about what making music for an audience means to her; that process, she says, lets her “channel the good stuff” in the world and it’s an experience she never wants to give up.
During an exclusive Folk Alley Session that North Carolina progressive sting band, Mipso, did for Folk Alley, the group eloquently talks about "the how and why" of their evolution as a band and the decision to push their musical boundaries in the first place.
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.
Lilly Winwood describes her 2017 debut EP, ‘Silver Stage' as her “coming of age album,” and tells us about it in an exclusive Folk Alley Session performance recorded at the 2018 30A Songwriters Festival in Florida.
Mary Gauthier joined Folk Alley for an exclusive session at the 30A Songwriters Festival in Florida. Here she talks about working alongside combat veterans and with the SongwritingWith: Soldiers organization to share their experiences. Listen to the interview and watch performances of songs from her latest release, Rifles and Rosary Beads.
In August 2018, we traveled to the Tønder Festival in the southern region of Denmark to film live session videos in collaboration with Folk Spot Denmark. Folk Spot is a support organization whose mission is to promote Danish roots, folk, and traditional music to the rest of the world. These six acts (of the eight selected by Folk Spot) reflect the unique variety of styles and cultural influences within the genre of Danish Folk and Roots music.
Kaia Kater was born into the folk music scene. Her mother is a festival director and she learned to play clawhammer banjo at age 11 from Mitch Podolak (founder of the Winnipeg Folk Festival). Now, the Canadian native is studying the Appalachian folk traditions in West Virginia and connecting with the work of a range of artists - from old-time musician Dom Flemons to hitmaker Kendrick Lemar. A star in the making, Kaia stopped by the studios of Beehive Productions in Saranac Lake, New York to play a few songs from her debut release, 'Sorrow Bound.'
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.
