Author: Abby

Jeni and Billy–Musical Time Travelers

Without fail, if you attend a Jeni and Billy show, you are greeted by the folk duo as such:

Jeni:  Hi, I’m Jeni, and this is my true love, Billy.
Billy:  And I’m Billy, and this is my true love, Jeni.

That opening struck me the first time I saw them in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  You can see, not only onstage, but in getting to know …

CD Review: Jefferson Ross–Isles of Hope

You will be taken on a journey through the rural and suburban Deep South in Jefferson Ross’s latest album Isles of Hopean acoustic collection of songs featuring  tales of, “murderers, shoplifters, car thieves, hypochondriacs, a voodoo witch doctor, a legendary blind blues singer, winos, a dustbowl farmer, Noah, a pothead Tupperware selling mom and a pair of Siamese twins,” as Ross puts it in his notes on the making of the album.  His vocal style and guitar playing are reminiscent of Delta blues, but his lyrics have a conversational quality that invites the listener to kick…

An Interview With Linda McRae

Canadian folk artist Linda McRae, whose music career spans 25 years, is not only fresh off of a tour of the Yukon, but is enjoying the massive success of her latest solo album  Rough Edges, Ragged Hearts, which procured her a coveted nomination for Album of the Year from the Canadian Folk Music Awards.   Besides her four solo albums, Linda’s music has been included on twenty-seven other albums, either as a guest artist, or as a …

CD Review: Joy Kills Sorrow—Wide Awake

Boston-based folk group Joy Kills Sorrow’s newest EP Wide Awake promises just what its title states.  It awakens yours senses, your capability to dream though music, and keeps you awake till the last drone of the bass fades.  The driving rhythms conjure travel in my mind.  From the first electrified chords of mandolin on track one, an energetic piece titled “Was It You,” I find myself transported to the passenger car of an old train, racing down the tracks as Emma Beaton’s flawless voice soars above the rumble, “Wide awake and…

John Henry: Hero of American Folklore

One of the most colorful characters in American folklore is the legendary John Henry.  Whether he was a true historical figure or a fictitious hero carved into the minds of common Americans by oral tradition, his story has given inspiration to generations.  Geoff Edgers said in his Analysis of John Henry Music, “John Henry, as ultimate working-class hero, has been embraced by disparate groups:  black prisoners,…

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