On Friday, April 29th, I’ll be at Symphony Space attending a live musical performance by GRAMMY award-winning musician Dom Flemons, with special guest Andy Hedges, which will be the second of three consecutive nights of Flemons’ performances at the venue. Flemons is a multi-instrumentalist singer and songwriter with a repertoire spanning a century’s worth of […]
Author Archives: Ben Bar
January
21
For Old-Time’s Sake: Nora Brown Release Show for “Sidetrack My Engine” LP
posted by Ben Bar
Last fall, I was invited to attend a live musical performance at the Jalopy Theater and School of Music and write about it for Big City Folks. It was the release show for “Sidetrack My Engine”, the second album by 16-year-old Brooklyn-based banjo virtuoso Nora Brown. I gladly accepted. Below is my account of Brown’s […]
July
24
Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference: Part 8 of 8 – Linda Marks
posted by Ben Bar
This article is the final of an eight-part series covering Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference, dedicated to Linda Marks and her festival performance. Linda Marks is a Bostonian singer-songwriter. On the evening of Thursday, February 25th (CST), Marks livestreamed an hour-long, twelve-song set at her home in Waltham, Massachusetts. Singing and playing […]
July
23
Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference: Part 7 of 8 – Vienna Carroll
posted by Ben Bar
This article is the seventh of an eight-part series covering Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference, dedicated to Vienna Carroll and her festival performance. Vienna Carroll is a singer-songwriter, historian, playwright, actor, and herbalist from York, Pennsylvania. On the evening of Wednesday, February 24th (CST), Carroll streamed an hour-long, eleven-song set that had […]
July
22
Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference: Part 6 of 8 – Declan O’Rourke
posted by Ben Bar
This article is the sixth of an eight-part series covering Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference, dedicated to Declan O’Rourke and his festival performance as part of the four-artist Culture Ireland Stage showcase, a joint effort between Folk Alliance International and Culture Ireland (Irish: Cultúr Éireann). Culture Ireland is a division of the […]
July
21
Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference: Part 5 of 8 – Dani Larkin
posted by Ben Bar
This article is the fifth of an eight-part series covering Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference, dedicated to Dani Larkin and her festival performance as part of the four-artist Culture Ireland Stage showcase, a joint effort between Folk Alliance International and Culture Ireland (Irish: Cultúr Éireann). Culture Ireland is a division of the […]
July
20
Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference: Part 4 of 8 – Karan Casey
posted by Ben Bar
This article is the fourth of an eight-part series covering Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference, dedicated to Karan Casey and her festival performance as part of the four-artist Culture Ireland Stage showcase, a joint effort between Folk Alliance International and Culture Ireland (Irish: Cultúr Éireann). Culture Ireland is a division of the […]
July
19
Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference: Part 3 of 8 – Oscar Blue
posted by Ben Bar
This article is the third of an eight-part series covering Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference, dedicated to Oscar Blue and his festival performance as part of the four-artist Culture Ireland Stage showcase, a joint effort between Folk Alliance International and Culture Ireland (Irish: Cultúr Éireann). Culture Ireland is a division of the […]
June
05
FOLK ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL’S 2021 FOLK UNLOCKED VIRTUAL CONFERENCE: PART 2 OF 8 – BREK
posted by Ben Bar
This article is the second of an eight-part series covering Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference, dedicated to Brek and their festival performance. Brek is a two-year-old four-piece based in Reykjavík, Iceland, consisting of pianist-vocalist Harpa Thorvaldsdottir, guitarist Jóhann Ingi Benediktsson, Mandolinist Guðmundur Atli Pétursson, and double bassist Sigmar Matthiasson. On the evening […]
March
08
Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference: Part 1 of 8
posted by Ben Bar
This article is the first of an eight-part series covering Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference. It shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that performance artists, such as singer-songwriters, are among those who have been hit hardest by the covid-19 pandemic. But organizations such as Folk Alliance International (FAI) have been hard […]
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