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This week's Featured Artists of the Week (February 27-March 6) are Redbird. I use the plural deliberately, since Redbird is a joint effort from three singer/songwriters who are established solo artists: Kris Delmhorst, Jeffrey Foucault, and Peter Mulvey. Since the moronic regulations of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act do limit how often I can play tracks from the Redbird CD, I've tossed in liberal doses of the solo work from each of these artists. It's like having four featured artists this week - more for your Internet radio dollar.

The highlights of this next batch of CDs added to the Online Folk Festival are performers from north of the border.

The Duhks - The Duhks

The Duhks are a versatile group capable of playing in a wide variety of folk-related styles, including bluegrass, traditional and Celtic. Their self-titled CD takes on covers of traditional tunes, including fine renditions of "Death Came a Knockin'" and "The Wagoner's Lad", mixes in some Celtic flavored instrumentals where they break out the uillean pipes, and then adds some covers of more recent songwriters including Leonard Cohen, Paul Brady and Sting. It's an impressive accomplishment that they pull this off so successfully.

Enoch Kent - For the Women

Although Enoch Kent has lived in Canada many years, his roots are in Scotland, as easily distinguished by the brogue in which he sings. One of his early bands, The Reivers, played a large part in the Scottish folk music revival of the 50s and 60s, and he has worked with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger among others. After a 36-year recording hiatus, he began recording again at age 70 in 2002. For the Women is his third CD since returning to recording. I'll let Kent describe his reasons for recording this collection:

In my youth, I thought all working class consg were about Us vs. Them and many were. What I didn't like was classifying women as "Them." For over fifty years, I've been singing songs that in the main have been "male" songs. The men did most of the drinking and singing but now more women are fining a voice of their own -- and equally important, their voices are more and more being heard.

In this collection, Kent sings songs by women or songs about women, whether they are as objects of reverence, of scorn or exploitation. The instrumentation is minimal, with Kent often singing a capella, a wise choice considering just how rich Kent's voice and interpretive ability are. It is occasionally difficult as an Amehrkan from Ahia to work through the brogue, but it's worth it. This is the best traditional folk album I have heard in a long time.

Also Added:

Susan Kane: So Long
Rick Lee: That's What Thoughts Will Do

Mary Travers (Mary of Peter, Paul and Mary) has been admitted to a New York-based hospital for a relapse of leukemia. Doctors are currently exploring the possibility of a bone marrow transplant.

More details about how you can help or send greetings to Mary via email or cards via snail mail can be found at the Peter, Paul and Mary website.

It's Train Week on the Online Folk Festival (Feb. 20-27). A song about a train, passengers on a train, or someone working on the railroad all the livelong day every half hour or so, all week.

We'll have songs about late night trains, peace trains, trains to heaven, trains to hell, British trains, American trains, Australian trains, crazy trains, bridal trains, glory trains, freight trains, trains going nowhere, trains going too fast to stop, people who work on trains, people who ride on trains, people who'd like to ride on trains but can't, and much more. And these songs are performed by your favorite folk artists.

Now on to the new adds

Mary Gauthier: Mercy Now
I'm absolutely blown away by this album. Here is just one stanza from "Prayer Without Words."

"Justice rides with jaundiced eyes, jaded judges bleed the broken bench
Liberty's homicide, she been flogged to death with money's monkey wrench
Desperado apostates set fire to every holy word we've heard
Silence billows from the burning book and offers prayers without words"

Highlights include the gutwrenching description of "Falling Out of Love" that opens the album, an existential free association about New Orleans and life and death in memory of Dave Carter, a heartfelt plea for mercy for everyone on the title song and an alcoholic's frank explanation of the necessity of drinking "I Drink." Gurf Morlix, known for his work with Lucinda Williams gives each song the right touch.

Steve Robinson: Away For the Day
Every once in a while I get a CD from an independent artist out of nowhere that makes my day, and this CD is one of those. Tampa area British ex-pat Steve Robinson has put together a gem of a jangle pop CD. I caught snippets that reminded me a little of the Beatles, the Byrds, British dancehall music, and British Invasion pop. The Byrds influence is not surprising, since he has been in Roger McGuinn's backup band. I particularly like the bouncy title track, about the family getting away to a festival for the day. If you like The Kennedys, The Byrds, or just well-done jangle pop, then this CD is worth tracking down. This CD has been living in my car CD player for the last few days.


Also added
Ina May Wool: Crack it Open
JP Jones: Thugs and Lovers
The Band: Greatest Hits
Various Artists: Mountain Journey - Stars of Old Time Music
Erica Wheeler: Almost Like Tonight (live)
Various Artists: Paste Magazine Sampler #14
The Grascals: The Grascals

Sad News
I just read on the FOLKDJ-L that singer/songwriter Rachel Bissex has died from complications from breast cancer. She was 48.

Cheryl Wheeler is this week's Featured Artist of the Week (February 13-20). Ms. Wheeler just released her first studio CD in several years, Defying Gravity, and you'll hear most of the tracks from that CD, as well as tracks spanning mosrt of her distinguished folk career.

... is the title of the newest CD from The Malvinas, one of the most widely geographically dispersed folk trios in North America. Beth Cahill (Quebec), Lisa Markley (Texas) and Gina Forsyth (Lousiana) have put together a really fine folk album full of insightful songs and oustanding playing. Highlights include a scathing take on the South ("Sweet and Sunny South") and "Che Guevara," a meditation on the new climate of fear regarding alternative ideologies. All three also have released solo albums as well. The name? They named their group after

The Malvinas website

Tim Harrison: Grey County
Tim Harrison has a long and distinguished career in Canadian folk circles, having directed the Owen Sound Folk Festival and several others, as well as producing music of his own since the late 70s. In Grey County, Harrison has penned a song cycle of sorts about the area in which he grew up, Owen Sound. Harrison proves himself a fine storyteller on "Dan's Song," which explores the disastrous consequences of small-town prejudice against a young man who did not fit in. Other highlights include an homage to Theodore Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss), a fine cover of Richard Farina's "Pack Up Your Sorrows", and a meditation on Don Quixote ("Don Quixote's Dream").

Folkguys - you also need to pick up this album to play "Never Bound By Time" for your folkgal:

"And it's not for the beauty of your arms my love,
As with each other we entwine
And it's not for the beauty of your hands my love
When they're gently held in mine
But it's for the beauty of your soul
For your grace and heart and mind
It's what's outside the senses, love
What is never bound by time."

The musicians on this CD lay down a bed of tight acoustic playing for Tim Harrison's smooth baritone to glide over. This CD has the whole package. I heartily recommend it.

Alistair Moock: Let it Go
Alistair Moock plays an engaging mix of folky blues rock on this CD, on which he seems to want to explore the metaphysical. On the folkier songs, his phrasing and melodic sense remind me a lot of Steve Forbert, albeit with a much rougher voice. When he does the blues thing, as on his ripping cover of "Death Don't Have No Mercy," this tendancy goes away. There are several really good songs here, as well as some quality guest appearances by Kris Delmhorst and Mark Erelli.

Craig Sonnenfeld: Reverie
Boston area singer/songwriter Craig Sonnenfeld is just getting back into the folk thing after giving it up for a career in IT, as he explains on "Talkin' Cubicle Blues", one of the highlights from this self-produced CD. Sonnenfeld has a pleasant baritone voice, and uses it well on this self-released "one man and a guitar" CD. I look forward to what he could produce with a budget and a producer and some backup players.

Oasis Acoustic Sampler Volume 52
Several artists, including Patrick Woods, Rachel Bissex, Steve Smith, David Llewellyn, Susan Kane, Hanneke Cassel, Thomas Leeb, SouthWind, Larry Hoyt, Joy Cuming and Chuck Suchy.

Martha Wainwright: Martha Wainwright
If I didn't know that Martha Wainwright's parents were Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III, I could have guessed. Musically, the stamps of the great CDs by the McGarrigles are all over this CD, starting with Martha's voice, which sounds a lot like her mother's. Father's contribution to this CD appears to be attitude. as displayed in songs like BMFA. I like the songs on this CD which are more subdued and more McGarrigle and less Wainwright. If you are a fan of the Grrl Power folkies like Ani DiFranco, you would probably think the exact opposite of me.

Jude Johnstone: On a Good Day
The emotional center of this CD is "Evelyn", a powerful song about a beautiful young woman disfigured by a fire and how she copes by playing piano for the silent movies. The CD explores a variety of ways people cope - and don't cope - with events they can't control. Thematically, the album functions as almost a song cycle, and Johnstone provides hook-filled songs and a solid back up band, including Mary Ramsey (John and Mary, 10,000 Maniacs) and a guest appearance by Rodney Crowell. Stylistically, the album is mostly adult contemporary/light piano pop, a la Carole King or Sarah McLachlan.

I'm sure this is old news, but Jim Hightower recently did a commentary on library closures and I did a little searching on the issue. It strikes me that one of the easiest ways to increase the number of children left behind is to limit their access to libraries by cutting library funding and closing library branches. Knowledge is power, and libraries are a giant repository of knowledge, usually the only access to books for those who cannot afford to buy them.

Unfortunately, many cities are left to making hard choices and since they are generally receiving more federal and state mandates and less money to deal with them, our libraries are the ones suffering. Over $111 million in library funding cutbacks nationwide in the last 18 months.

One of the reasons I moved to my current location is that it is within an easy walk of the main branch of the Columbus Public Library. I worked at my college library. This issue resonates with me. For more details.

http://www.ala.org/ala/news/libraryfunding/libraryfunding.htm

Nanci Griffith is the new Featured Artist of the Week on the Online Folk Festival. Music spanning Nanci's entire career, all week, including many tracks from Hearts in Mind.

My cable provider recently added CNN International. It is nice to have another news source that is not quite so Americacentric. And, may I add, that it's been a pleasure both watching and listening to Rosemary Church. It's not so much that she's attractive (which she is), but that British/Aussie accent. Wow.

I decided to head out and get some dinner a little while ago, and thought I'd go to Wendy's#1 (the original Wendy's)/Tim Horton's on East Broad Street in Columbus, and get some food before it closed at 6 p.m. As I was parking the car, I saw an ad in the Tim Horton's window for a baked ham and swiss sandwich & soup of choice combo, which looked more appetizing than a hamburger. So, I go up to the counter on the Tim Horton's side and ask what today's soups are, and I'm told that not only do they not have soup left, they have no sandwiches left either, just whatever is in the donut/pastry rack behind them. The women behind the counter tell me that it's only 20 minutes before closing, so they've "broken everything down." I was so ticked off that I walked out - bypassing the Wendy's counter completely (which was still open and serving people) and drove down to Long John Silver's, which was happy to serve me some chicken.

Is it ridiculous of me to think that I should be able to walk into a fast food restaurant at 5:40 p.m. on a Sunday evening, a full 20 minutes before closing and order soup and a sandwich, something which is regularly on the menu? Is it so much of a stretch to think that customers should be served until the doors are locked and that you don't start "breaking everything down" until you're actually closed?

In the first installment of what will become, I hope, a regular feature of the FolkBlog, I have scoured the internet to being you some recent news and articles about folk music and musicians.

• U2 singer Bono thrusts folkie Tom Rush into the news again by quoting his lyrics in a Saturday Night Live performance. Story here.
• The Innocence Mission was on Weekend Edition Saturday with Scott Simon this morning and performed three songs in the studio. Story here, with link to audio.
• Nice profile of Ani DiFranco here.
• Ever hear of turbo-folk? It's big in Serbia, and controversial as well, as the BBC relates.
• Nice article on Dry Branch Fire Squad.
• Interview with Steve Earle
• Article about Cheryl Wheeler
• Boston Globe feature on Jess Klein
• Governor Kinky? It could happen.
• NPR presents a full one-hour concert with Sam Phillips
• WKSU and Folk Alley DJ Jim Blum's Top 15 Albums of 2004

Folk on, crimestoppers.

Peter Yarrow (Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary) had his guitar turn up missing four years ago in an airport. It was found this week when someone recognized it in an Ebay auction. Full story here:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=peopleNews&storyID=7504436

Something to make the State of the Union go down a little easier tonight:

http://www.drinkinggame.us/

This came yesterday on the Jangle Poets list from Pete and Maura Kennedy (aka, The Kennedys, jangle-pop folk singers extraordinaire).

Hi, all,

Sorry for this generic email, but we just wanted to let you all
know
that:

1) We're both all right, and

2) Early yesterday morning, around midnight, Pete and I had a serious
auto accident.

We were driving home from a house concert in New Jersey late Sunday
night/Monday morning. We were driving in the autos-only set of lanes on the
northbound New Jersey turnpike, near Perth Amboy, heading for home. There
weren't any other cars on the road -- a very quiet night. When all of a sudden,
a car came speeding like mad up the same lane we were in (the middle). Pete saw
it coming in the rear view (he was driving) and I heard it. It sounded like a
train.

Pete said, "Hold on, this guy is coming fast." He couldn't really change
lanes, just grip the wheel and hope the guy got around us fast. The driver of
the other car did one of those video game-like moves where he got right up
behind us, jerked his steering wheel to the left to pass, and then jerked the
wheel right again immediately after passing us to get back in our lane.
Unfortunately, he hit us on the way back into our lane. We were going 65, and we
think he was going somewhere between 100 and 110 mph. we went flying into the
median strip and started somersaulting. We rolled at least once on top of the
guard rail. I think we're alive today because our car has roll bars. If it
didn't, the car would have probably been sliced in two and us with it. We were
also both wearing our seat belts. The air bags deployed, and we couldn't see
anything outside the car as we rolled across the median strip. We were in a kind
of a spiraling tunnel, in black and white, and the airbags looked to us, in
retrospect, as that fabled light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel. As we crashed and
rolled, we kept expecting to cross into the truck lanes beyond the median and
get hit by one of the big rigs. As the car was spinning, we kept thinking,
"we're going to die now"...just kept waiting for the lights to go out.

When the car came to a stop, we smelled the smoke from the airbags and
thought the car was on fire. My door wouldn't open, and I tried to kick it open
but we got out Pete's door, and we found that we were still in the median. Our
car had come to a rest upright. The other car was also in the median, still
upside down, with at least two trapped inside. Everyone in the other car had
serious back injuries (there may have been a third, but we were dealing with our
own EMTs, and in shock ourselves). In the end they told us that there were no
fatalities, but that the other carload were hurting. They had to be cut out of
the vehicle.

I Don't have any idea why they were driving like they were. They had no
reason to pass us in the manner that they did. I'm sure the hospital staff
probably took blood tests. Our insurance finds us 0% at fault. I think we'll see
a police report within 10 days -- it takes a while to get. We don't even know
the other peoples' names.

We spent the rest of the day in and out of the hospital, getting
checked up, then renting a car and getting all our music gear out of the car and
driving it over to Manhattan, then returning the car in Hoboken and taking the
train back. We're pretty exhausted now, as you can imagine, but we're OK, and
very happy to be alive, the two of us!

Today, Tuesday, we're starting to ache from the "ride." It seems to all
be muscle pain in our backs and necks, but no more than you'd feel after a good
workout. Today is a day of rest for us.

We came very close this time. They say the darkest hour is just before dawn.
When the car came to a rest and we each realized that the other was alive and OK, we entered the dawn, and you can't imagine how happy we are to be here. We have traveled a half a million miles together by car since we started playing music together 11 years ago. We intend to go at least another half a million more!

Love,
Pete & Maura
The Kennedys

I may be one of 12 people in the United States who thought Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was a great cinematic experience. I saw it at the theatre twice. But then again, I taped nearly every Comedy Central/Sci-Fi Channel episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (I'm missing Laser Blast! and Code Name Diamondhead, in the event anyone reading has them and is willing to trade).

What this movie had going for it:

• Massively cool special effects
• Gwyneth Paltrow
• Flying robots
• Obvious homages to the old-time serial thrillers
• Family-friendly
• Angelina Jolie
• Massively cool special effects
• Gwyneth Paltrow

Did I mention that this movie had Gwyneth Paltrow and massively cool special effects? I find Gwyneth Paltrow watchable even in mediocre movies (though not in a lame movie like that stewardess movie and the karaoke movie). I even sat through Emma, a film adaptation of the only Jane Austen book I dislike thoroughly, because it had Gwyneth Paltrow.

What the movie didn't have:

• Much of a plot (at least if you never watched the old-time serials)
• Blood

I suspect that the two above items are interrelated in why this movie didn't generate much cash at the theatres. The special effects were cool, but not quantum-leap-forward cool like Star Wars was in its time. And, unless you had spent time watching old B movies, the plot would seem kind of goofy and old-fashioned, especially to today's kids, to whom it was marketed. It was a throwback movie marketed primarily to a target demographic that threw it back because it didn't get into the old-fashioned sensibilities behind the movie.

Anyway, it came out on video and I just got the DVD, and I enjoyed it again thoroughly this evening.

New Adds

• Cheryl Wheeler: Defying Gravity
• John Minton: Going Back to Vicksburg
• Frank Meyer: Dagnabit!