Wednesday, March 30, 2016

JALOPY RECORDS PARTNERS WITH MISSISSIPPI RECORDS TO RELEASE 'LOST TRAIN BLUES' – COMPILED FOR ALAN LOMAX’S 100TH BIRTHDAY WITH 12 NEVER-BEFORE-ISSUED FIELD RECORDINGS

APRIL 8 RELEASE TO COINCIDE WITH BROOKLYN FOLK FEST

Brooklyn’s Jalopy Records has rebooted its homegrown folk music record label with a brand new release, 'Lost Train Blues: John & Alan Lomax and the Early Folk Music Collections at the Library of Congress.' This collection, curated by Brooklyn Folk Festival producer Eli Smith, was compiled for the centennial of famed folklorist Alan Lomax’s birth. It will be released on vinyl and via digital download on April 8, coinciding with opening night of the Brooklyn Folk Festival. Twelve of the songs are never-before-released.

The record features 22 selections from the vast holdings of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, most of them have never been issued before. The record includes work songs, ballads, blues, political and union songs, guitar, banjo and fiddle music and Native American vocal music.  These recordings were made between 1933 and 1950 and represent the birth of the folk music collections at the Library of Congress, now the largest repository of folk and enthographic holdings in the world. The record demonstrates the groundbreaking work of Alan Lomax and his father John Lomax, but also places them with the context of other important early field workers.

The deluxe record includes liner notes by Alan Lomax archive curator Nathan Salsburg, as well as a 14 page booklet with photographs and original research about each song, artist and folklorist. The cover features an original lithograph by artist Jeff Tocci.  Each selection has been retransferred from original discs and tapes at the Library of Congress and has been carefully remastered by sound engineer Don Fierro for the best possible audio fidelity.

Jalopy Records has partnered with well known Oregon based vinyl label Mississippi Records to manufacture and distribute this and future releases.  Jalopy Records is the record label of the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music, a grass roots cultural center for traditional music, located in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Side A:

1. WPA Song by Clyde “Kingfish” Smith. Recorded by Herbert Halpert, NYC, 29 November 1939.

2. Longest Train I Ever Saw by Jesse Wadley, with John Wadley, Will Jones, and Felix Davenport. Recorded by John Lomax with Lead Belly acting as First Assistant (Alan sick with influenza), Bellwood Prison Camp, Atlanta, GA,11-12 December 1934.

3. The Moonshiner by Dawson Henson. Recorded by Alan Lomax and Elizabeth Lyttleton Harold, Botto on Billy’s Branch, KY, 11 October 1937.

4. Stavin’ Chain by Wilson “Stavin’ Chain” Jones, Charles Gobert and Octave Amos. Recorded by John and Alan Lomax, Lafayette, LA, June 1934.

5. Unfortunate Dog or Stony Point by Jess Morris. Recorded by John Lomax, Dallas, TX, May 1942

6. Leather Breeches by Carl Lathrop. Recorded by Alan Lomax, St. Louis, MI, 22 August 1938.

7. Lost Train Blues by Fred Perry and Glenn Carver. Recorded by John and Ruby Lomax, Florida State Farm (Raiford Penitentiary), Raiford, FL, 4 June 1939.

8. The Hard-Working Miner (Only a Miner) by James “Blind Jim” Howard. Recorded by John and Alan Lomax, Harlan County, KY, August 1933.

9. St. James Infirmary by Jesse Wadley. Recorded by John Lomax, Bellwood Prison Camp, Atlanta, GA, 11-12 December 1934.

10. Lamp Lighting Time in the Valley by Ruby and Oliver Hughes. Recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell, Crossville, TN, 23 November 1936.

11. Cherokee Christian Hymn by Helen, Luella and Juanita Hallmark. Recorded by Willard Rhodes, Eufala Boarding School, Eufala, OK, 1952.

12. My One-Eyed Ford by Boys Chorus of the Santa Fe Indian School. Recorded by Willard Rhodes, Santa Fe Indian School, Santa Fe, NM, 1940.

Side B:

1. Captain Haney Blues by Camp Morris and Group. Recorded by John and Ruby Lomax, Cherokee County, GA near Canton, November 1940.

2. Southern Rag by James Sneed, J.F. Duffey and Alvin Sanders. Recorded by Lewis Wade Jones and Willis James, Fort Valley State College, Fort Valley, GA, 5-7 March 1943

3. Turkey in the Straw by Elmo and Bill Newcomer. Recorded by John and Ruby Lomax, Bandera County, TX near Pipe Creek, 3 May 1939.

4. Rye Whiskey by Elmo Newcomer. Recorded by John and Ruby Lomax, Bandera County, TX near Pipe Creek, 3 May 1939.

5. Desert Blues by Hattie Ellis and (“Cowboy”) Jack Ramsey. Recorded by John and Ruby Lomax, The Goree State Farm for Women, Walker County, TX near Huntsville, 14 May 1939.

6. Hard Times by Rowena Knight, Mary Anne Knight, Thelma Hawthorne and Jerusha Hawthorne (Liberty High School Quartet). Recorded by John and Ruby Lomax, Newtown, TX, 16 May 1939.

7. I Don’t Want Your Millions Mister by Tillman Cadle. Recorded by Alan Lomax and Elizabeth Lyttleton Harold, Middlesboro, KY, 4 September 1937.

8. Battle in the Horseshoe by J.W. Russell. Recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell, Marion, VA, 14 November 1936.

9. Travelin’ To That New Buryin’ Ground by Hammer Clarence Banks, Bob Bentley, Charlie Blake, Harold Vosburg. Recorded by John Lomax, Alan Lomax and Lead Belly, Reid State Farm, Boykin, SC, 19 December 1934.

10. Roosevelt and Hitler by Buster “Buzz” Ezell. Recorded by Lewis Wade Jones and Willis James, Fort Valley State College, Fort Valley, GA, 1 August 1943

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

FRANK FAIRFIELD TO PLAY RARE SET AT BROOKLYN FOLK FEST

Frank Fairfield – who rarely performs in public anymore – will play at the Brooklyn Folk Festival, which is set to run April 8-10 at St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn Heights. Pitchfork called the banjo and fiddle player, singer, songwriter, and native Californian “a remarkable performer” and his original songs “tremendous achievements,” continuing, “he’s an evocative writer and his own stories to share…. Fairfield’s music seems inexorably real and entirely necessary.” The artist has opened for the Fleet Foxes and will appear in the forthcoming PBS series American Epic. Here is his NPR Tiny Desk Concert.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

JULIE RHODES TO STORM SXSW AMIDST COMPARISONS TO ETTA JAMES, PREDICTIONS OF A LONG CAREER

Julie Rhodes will play three SXSW showcases as she is earning incredible reviews, comparisons to some all-time great likes Etta James, and predictions of a long career and a rapid rise:

Thursday – Stiles Switch BBQ – 6pm - 6610 N Lamar Blvd.
Thursday – Love Goat – 7:30pm - 2716 Guadalupe St.
Saturday - Goorin’ Bros Hat Shop – 4pm - 1323 S Congress Ave.

In addition to spotlights in Paste Magazine, the Boston Herald, Elmore, The Bluegrass Situation, SIRIUS XM and bookings on radio shows Music City Roots, Blue Plate Special, and Beale Street Caravan, ‘Bound to Meet the Devil’ is earning raves:

Pop Matters ran a Q&A, a track premiere, and a 9-star review, saying “Exhibiting a combination of talent, soul, and grit often unmatched by debuting artists, Julie Rhodes seems poised to become a mainstay in the Americana blues music scene for years to come.”

American Songwriter said that she is "the real deal," continuing, "this is just the promising start of a career”: https://americansongwriter.com/2016/02/julie-rhodes/

No Depression called her show a “powerful performance,” continuing, “The magic that poured from the stage was intense and incredible!”

Downbeat called her "a natural talent."

The Knoxville News-Sentinel compared her to Etta James and said, “Julie Rhodes is a rare find… Rhodes’ songs are strong… There's an ease and confidence to her vocal style. She doesn't need to show off by screaming and shouting or, worst of all, proving her range and technique on every song… Rhodes is the kind of performer modern music is lacking.”

Glide Mag said, “Her voice, though uniquely her own, can best be described as the love child of Janis Joplin, Adele and Etta James. The entire set was nothing short of evangelical.”

Her hometown blog Vanyland said, “There’s a lady who’s causing a stir with a voice that wails and can take over a room in a split-second… Get down with what will be one of the best albums to come out of New England in 2016 and enjoy.”

Other tour dates:

March 14 - Nashville, TN - The Basement East
March 15 - Nashville, TN - Meal Ticket
March 16 - Memphis, TN - Bar DKDC
March 20 - Fort Worth, TX - The Grotto
March 22 - Nashville, TN - The 5 Spot
March 22 - Nashville, TN - The Basement
March 23 - Franklin, TN - Music City Roots
March 24 - Nashville, TN - Wilburn Street Tavern
March 26 - Atlanta, GA - Easterfest at Gun Street Goods
April 1 - Gloucester, MA - Katrina's
April 30 - Cambridge, MA - Lizard Lounge

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

FOLKIES TO HURL BANJOS INTO GOWANUS CANAL AT BROOKLYN FOLK FEST

APRIL 10 COMPETITION MERGES MUSIC, SPORTS, MURKY WATER

When the Brooklyn Folk Festival returns to St. Anne's Church in April, it'll include what's become one of the annual event's most popular traditions: the legendary banjo toss.

"The banjo toss is a world famous epic event, looked forward to by millions desperate for catharsis!," jokes festival founder and producer Eli Smith, who first launched the first Brooklyn Folk Festival in 2009. A longtime banjo player himself, Smith also performs with the Down Hill Strugglers, an old-time string band that will perform at the Brooklyn Folk Festival with special guest John Cohen.

Hailed by The Associated Press for giving "new meaning to the term heavy metal," the banjo toss takes place at the Gowanus Canal, a waterway that once served as a major transportation route for Brooklyn's factories, tanneries and mills. Taking place on Sunday, April 10th — the final afternoon of the three-day festival, most of which takes place at St. Anne's Church on Montague Street — the event brings dozens of competitors to the canal's shoreline in South Brooklyn, with all participants taking turns throwing a banjo into the murky water. The farthest toss wins, with last year's prize-winning throw measuring a whopping 85 feet. Winners take home a free banjo.

Here's a video recap of the 2015 festival that includes footage of the banjo toss.

The banjo toss also brings some needed attention to the Gowanus Canal, whose once-busy waters have become the source of pollution over the past half-century. In the years immediately following World War I, it was America's busiest commercial canal, with more than six million tons of cargo being shipped along its waters every year. With all that activity came a severe level of contamination, though. There isn't much recreation alongside the canal these days, making the banjo toss all the more unique.  Rubber gloves are provided for contestants.

This year's banjo toss will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 10th, with all competitors and onlookers encouraged to meet at the intersection of Smith and 9th Street before parading with a live banjo toss jug band band to the so-called "banjo tossing arena."

Monday, March 7, 2016

Leland Sundries "Apocalypse Love Song" video


Leland Sundries - Apocalypse Love Song (Music Video) from Christopher Partellow on Vimeo.

WINTERPILLS LAUNCH EAST COAST TOUR IN SUPPORT OF 'LOVE SONGS’

FRONTED BY HARMONY-HEAVY HUSBAND-AND-WIFE DUO, MASSACHUSETTS-BASED BAND JOINS WESLEY STACE’S CABINET OF WONDERS AT CITY WINERY MARCH 11

 With an evolving sound that blends their chamber pop and indie folk roots with the noise and nuance of '90s indie rock, Winterpills — whose new album, 'Love Songs,' hits stores March 18th — will tour the northeast this spring. First stop will be Wesley Stace’s Cabinet of Wonders at City Winery on March 11, joining host Wesley Stace and a bill with Walter Martin of the Walkmen, Eugene Mirman, Ken Stringfellow of the Posies, and others.

The tour includes a two-night stand at the Parlor Room in the band's hometown of Northampton. For Winterpills, the shows mark the continuation of a project that began a decade ago. Since then, the Massachusetts-based band — fueled by the male-female harmonies of husband-and-wife combo Philip Price and Flora Reed — has become an indie favorite. In a Q&A, Impose Magazine praised the band's "harmonies and melodies that pay tribute to the art of capturing glimmers of light frozen in the aperture blink of time."


"We weren't a couple until after I joined the band," Reed remembers, "and when it started we tried hard to put the brakes on, not thinking it was the best idea. But we quickly learned it was the best idea. After 12 years together as bandmates and partners, we've figured out what works and what doesn't work for our roles in the band, and beyond that into our life together. I'm lucky to get to do this work with Philip, travel the world, and sing with someone I love."

'Love Songs' brings Winterpills together with another mainstay of the New England indie rock scene: co-producer Justin Pizzoferrato, the Western Mass studio head whose credits include projects with Sonic Youth, the Pixies and Dinosaur Jr. Together, they push 'Love Songs' into bigger, bolder territory, layering the band's melodic hooks with washes of experimental noise and electric guitar.

Winterpills' Spring 2016 Tour Dates

March 11 – New York, NY – City Winery as part of Cabinet of Wonders
March 13 - Allston, MA - Great Scott w/ Special Guest Arc Iris
March 24 - Northampton, MA - The Parlor Room
March 25 - Northampton, MA - The Parlor Room
April 1 - Burlington, VT - Light Club Lamp Shop
April 30 - Newmarket, NH - Stone Church w/ Special Guest Arc Iris
May 6 - Arlington, VA - IOTA w/ Luray
May 7 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live w/ Special Guest Arc Iris
July 10 - Greenfield, MA - Green River Festival

Friday, March 4, 2016

Winterpills "Freeze Your Light" embeddable track

SILVER CITY BOUND EARNING PRAISE AS ONE OF NYC’S PREMIER AMERICANA BANDS

NEW EP ‘TAKE MY PICTURE’ OUT TODAY

BAND IS AZERBAIJAN BOUND IN MAY WITH STATE DEPARTMENT’S ARTS ENVOY PROGRAM

Though they are as at home performing at Lincoln Center or Brooklyn Bowl as in dive bars, Silver City Bound’s comfort level will be tested as they are set to join a U.S. State Department Arts Envoy tour of Azerbaijan on May 12-22. The band will perform festival concerts in Baku and travel around the country, collaborating with local musicians. The band, formerly known as the Amigos, has previously toured for the State Department in China, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

Silver City Bound’s new EP ‘Take My Picture’ is out today and they will perform tonight at Brooklyn’s Barbes. According to Pop Matters, “New York’s Silver City Bound play a fun, eclectic brand of Americana that blends in folk, zydeco and a bit of indie rock.”

The Bluegrass Situation calls them “ebullient.”

Elmore Mag says, “With a sound driven by a jarringly poignant accordion and a howling electric guitar, Silver City Bound is provides the perfect soundtrack for roadtripping.”

The Arts Envoy Program shares the best of the U.S. arts community with the world to foster cross-cultural understanding and collaboration and to demonstrate shared values and aspirations. American arts professionals-- including performing artists, visual artists, poets, playwrights, theatrical and film directors, curators, and others-- travel overseas to conduct workshops, give performances, and mentor young people. Programs seek to connect with international publics who might not otherwise have the opportunity to engage with American arts professionals.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Green River Fest 2016 artwork



 Above: The Felice Brothers

Above: Shakey Graves
 Above: Dawes
Above: Shovels & Rope
Above: Tedeschi-Trucks Band

THE GREEN RIVER FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY

LINEUP ANNOUNCED FEATURING: TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND, DAWES, SHAKEY GRAVES, SHOVELS & ROPE, THE FELICE BROTHERS, NRBQ, AND MORE

FESTIVAL CAMPING MADE AVAILABLE FOR FIRST TIME

THE GREEN RIVER FESTIVAL, Western Massachusetts' favorite music and hot air balloon festival will take place July 8, 9, and 10 on the grounds of Greenfield Community in Greenfield, MA. Presented by Signature Sounds, the festival was recently deemed “one of 2015’s must see summer festivals” by Rolling Stone and one of the “fifty essential summer music festivals” by The New York Times.

The Green River Festival combines a spectacular lineup of nearly 40 acts on three stages, the best in local food, beer and wine, handmade
crafts, a dance tent, a wide array of kid's activities and entertainment, and hot air balloon rides and a balloon glow, for Western Massachusetts'
largest outdoor event of the summer. This is the only music festival in the country that features hot air balloons.

For the first time this year, festival camping will be available at the nearby Franklin County Fairgrounds. The fairgrounds offers over 40 acres of flat open camping area and includes RV electric hook-ups, multiple bathrooms with showers and a weather emergency shelter. All camping tickets include a festival ticket, plus parking with free shuttle buses to and from Greenfield Community College.

Early bird tickets are available on line only through March 4th via http://www.greenriverfestival.com/
After March 4th, advance ticket pricing is as follows:
Full weekend: $119.99
Two day (Saturday & Sunday) pass: $99.99
Sunday only $74.99
Saturday only $64.99
Friday only: $24.99
Full weekend with camping:  $149
Full weekend with premium camping: $189
RV pass: $99
There are no one night camping tickets.

GREEN RIVER FESTIVAL 2016 LINEUP:

Friday, July 8th
Gates open at 4 pm, music starts at 5 pm.

Peter Wolf & The Midnight Travelers
NRBQ
The Dustbowl Revival
Charles Neville
Dean's Beans Latin Music night with artists TBA

Saturday, July 9th
Gates open at 12noon, music starts at 12:30.

Dawes
Shakey Graves
Shovels & Rope
The Suffers
The Felice Brothers
Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds
And The Kids
Amy Helm & The Handsome Strangers
Greyhounds
Anthony D'Amato
The Soul Rebels
Oh Pep!
Mister G
The Alchemystics
And more TBA

Sunday, July 10th
Gates open at 12noon, music starts at 12:30.

Wheels Of Soul Tour featuring: Tedeschi Trucks Band, Los Lobos, and North Mississippi Allstars
Birds Of Chicago
Margo Price & The Price Tags
Big Sam's Funky Nation
Sonya Kitchell
Winterpills
Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear
And more TBA