Category Archives: Uncategorized

July 20

Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference: Part 4 of 8 – Karan Casey

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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 […]

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July 19

Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference: Part 3 of 8 – Oscar Blue

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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 […]

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June 21

BCF Select Shows – Week of 6.21.21

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A selection of shows/livestreams from the infinite sea of events in NYC this week.

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June 18

KNABLE GAZING: Diana Drollinger and the Awakening Influence of Music

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I met Diana Drollinger the first time I went to “Song Club,” in the back room of the sadly-now-shuttered Fawkner on Smith Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. She came across as a self-possessed and exuberant woman in her sixth or seventh decade, exuding matriarchy while simultaneously glowing with a teenage enthusiasm for music. As in, […]

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June 05

FOLK ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL’S 2021 FOLK UNLOCKED VIRTUAL CONFERENCE: PART 2 OF 8 – BREK

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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 […]

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May 17

KNABLE GAZING: Songwriters Under the Influence of Songwriters

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I was at an open mic once in my early NYC songwriter days at which a singer introduced himself by saying that he was running out of influences because mainly he just listened to tapes of his own songs when he was driving in his car. I remember nothing about the song he sang, but […]

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March 13

KNABLE GAZING: The Songwriter Parent

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Making babies and making songs are not the same thing despite all the metaphorical comparisons we make about each to the other. A song may be said to be born as a dependent creature that eventually becomes independent, but a baby is not a well-crafted 2-5 minute experience that can be recreated through live performance […]

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March 08

Folk Alliance International’s 2021 Folk Unlocked Virtual Conference: Part 1 of 8

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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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February 17

Moldy Oldies: Huggabroomstik’s “Nothing Came Out”

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One of the wonders of life in New York City is that the intimacy of each individual relationship can become enhanced by the contrasting vastness of our 300-square-mile metropolis and its staggering 8.4 million residents. As if we needed a reminder, the pricelessness of human contact is more apparent now than it has been in […]

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January 26

KNABLE GAZING: Antifolk This

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Or, Reckoning with Someone Else’s Antifolk Playlist* On February 5, Ain’t I Folk? Weemayk Music Covers Antifolk Classics drops on BandCamp followed by a February 17 drop on all streaming services. Its lead single is Herman Düne’s “Futon Song” as covered by Cucaracha, a.k.a. Cockroach. ///**// Cockroach, I remember ye well. Hunched and buggy with […]

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