The Folk Brothers: Recent Episodes
Peter Schiffman,Bill Wagman
The Folk Brothers—Bill and Peter—explore an eclectic range of music, including traditional folk of the British Isles and the U.S, contemporary singer/songwriters on both sides of the Atlantic, and American roots music and some of its lesser-known offshoots. Tune in for a great music mix served with just a shake of sibling rivalry.
Although not a musician himself, Strachwitz -- who passed away last week at the age of 91 -- had an outsize inflience on the world of roots music through his record company Arhoolie, which has been going strong for over 60 years. Strachwitz championed Norh American vernacular musicians -- playing and singing acoustic blues, Norteno, Zydeco, Cajun, and more -- at a time long before the genre we now call "World Music" came into vogue. This morning we heard from a few of the many great musicians recorded on Arhoolie, including that first release by Mance Lipscomb in 1960.
The iconic Canadian singer-songwriter has passed away at the age of 84. But Willie Nelson is going strong at 90, albeit "California Sober", and he celebrated with a star-studded birthday concert last weekend in L.A.. Doc Watson would have been 100 in March, so a new tribute album - "I Am A Pilgrim" - has appeared. And Brother Bill digs into traditional and not so traditional renditions of British ballads.
A musician who popularized calypso in the 1950s, Harry Belafonte -- who died yesterday at 96 -- was so much more. He was a renowned activist for civil rights, as well as social and political justice. Above all, Harry Belafonte was a great American.
English singer-songwriter Reg Meuross spent four years researching historical documents pertaining to Britain's slave trade of the 17th and 18th centuries. Although slave owning was outlawed, this didn't stop the wealthy -- particularly in Meuross's native southwest England -- from amassing tremendous amounts of profit, power, and influence through transporting slaves from Africa to the American colonies, with the explicit assistance of the British government and navy. The result of Meuross's efforts is a song-cycle of stories, Stolen From God, about unsung slaves caught up in the Transatlantic trade.
Kris Drever has released a new song about mid-20th Century Scottish painter Joan Eardley (self portrait pictured) who created beach and seascapes around the fishing village of Catterline. Pete Morton wrote a song about the "Peasant's Poet" John Clare, who walked from his home in Cambridgeshire to sign a contract with his publisher in 1819. Tom Russell wrote songs about William Fawkner's time in Hollywood trying to make money as a film scriptwriter, as well as about the heavyweight champion Jack Johnson who despite all his atheletic acheivements, faced racial discrimination his whole life. Norman Blake wrote about the assassination of James Garfield. And Steve Earle wrote a tribute to his friend, the late Townes Van Zandt, songwriter and poet.
Amelia Baker - a.k.a Cinder Well - is a native Californian who played in folk/punk bands around Santa Cruz . She was introduced to Irish traditional music through meeting members of the Dublin-based experimental folk band Lankum at a festival in Amsterdam. Subsequently Baker moved to County Clare to enroll in a Master's program in Irish Traditional Music Performance at Limerick University. This spring, both Well and Lankum have released new albums which are helping define the current sound of Irish folk music. In 1981, Irish supergroup Planxty - then at the point of disbanding - were comissioned to create a music and dance piece for the Eurovision contest being held that year in Dublin. Apparently that project, entitled "Timedance", was an inspiration for Michael Flately to create "Riverdance" in 1994.
Ewan MacColl (1915-1989) - one of the leading lights of the British folk revival of the 50's - was among many things a singer, a song collector, an actor, a radio presenter, and a prodigious songwriter. This morning we celebrate the latter with contributions from Pete Morton, Seth Lakeman, Christy Moore, Johnny Cash, as well as the great man himself..
Multi-instrumentalist Mr. Dave, as he was affectionedly called, was a musician's musician: a session player as well as solo artist who always chose the right notes and tones. Best known for helping to create Jackson Browne's signature sound in the 70's, Lindley also led his own bands - Kaleidoscope in the late 60's and El Rayo X in the 80's - as well as playing in duos with percussionists Hani Nassar and Wally Ingraham, frequenting the Palms Playhouses both in Davis and Winters. This morning we explored some of his many musical projects with Ry Cooder, Henry Kaiser, Linda Ronstadt, and many others.
The BBC recently commissioned singer-songwriters -- including Martyn Joseph, pictured here -- to pen ballads about ordinary people in northeast England who have done extraordinary things for their community. Joseph wrote "Albert's Place," a song about a soup kitchen and food bank in Sunderland run by Andrea Bell.
Also on today's show, Brother Bill celebrates Black History Month with songs by African-American country and western singers.
The Young-Uns, a mainly a capella trio from the NE of England, have consistently penned modern ballads centered on local people who have affected positive social change in their communities. Their latest release - Tiny Notes - was inspired by Paige Hunter, who in 2018 began tying handwritten notes to the railing of the Weamouth Bridge in Sunderland. These messages have now saved over 30 lives, as well as inspired others to leave similar messages on bridges across the world. Also on today's show: a new bluegrass supergroup fronted by Andrew Marlin and a love letter to the Silver State from Mike Beck. And lots more too!
Eric Andersen - who has had a long, distinuished career as a singer-songwriter - was the subject of a 2021 PBS documentary "The Songpoet, and now the recepient of a just-released, 3 CD tribute album featuring contributions from Bob Dylan (who covers "Thirsty Boots") and 40 other artists. This morning we played contributions from Mary Chapin Carpenter, Amy Helm, Richard Shindell and others.
Ian Tyson passed away at his cattle ranch on Dec. 29. Long after folk stardom with Syliva Fricker in the 1960s, Tyson had a long career as a singer-songwriter who almost single-handedly revived Western (aka "cowboy") music. Blaze Foley (pictured) died by gunshot in 1989. But Brother Bill watched Ethan Hawkes' biofilm Blaze over the holiday, and was inspired to present music from that soundtrack. And more.
It only comes once a year - and let's be thankful for that. In addition to classics from the likes of Yogi Yorgesson, Christmas Jugband, The Yid Kids, and The Three Weismen, Brother Bill rolled out some new holiday tunes from the likes of Sandy Rogers and I See Hawks In LA, Kevin Bacon and The Old 97's, and David DeBoy. Give a listen if you dare.
Rab Noakes (pictured here), the Scottish singer-songwriter who passed last week at 75, knew his way around Bob Dylan's canon. So does Brother Bill, who has been studiously reading Dylan's latest tome, as well as Grail Marcus' new book about The Bob. English fiddler Sam Sweeney -- who probably also knows a few Dylan songs -- has a new album, as do his proteges Owen Spafford and Louis Campbell. Confused? Stream the show.
The Young'uns -- an a capella trio from northeast England -- have released "Three Dads Walking," a song dedicated to three British fathers who all lost their daughters to suicide. Andy, Tim, and Mike (pictured here with Sean Cooney, Michael Hughes, and David Eagle of the Young'uns) started their campaign to raise awareness for suicide prevention. Suicide is the biggest cause of death for people under 35 in the United Kingdom. The Three Dads have been walking the length and breadth of the UK as part of their campaign.
Angeline Morrison, daughter of a Jamacian father and Scottish mother, has just released a landmark album, The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience. Each track features the story of an African -- mainly brought to Britain enslaved in the 18th century -- whose life stories were poignantly resurrected through Morrison's extensive research.
This morning, we played "Black John" about John Ystumilyn, who was brought to a Welsh estate as a boy in the early 1800s and subsequently became a freeman and a respected horticulturist.
Brother Bill is back, fresh from the Eagle Festival -- the bird, not the band -- in far western Mongolia. Of course he managed to bring back some traditional and not-so-traditional music, including by The Hu -- not The Who -- a folk metal Mongolian band now touring the States.
Where else can you hear throat-singing metal except on The Folk Brothers?
A leading light of contemporary English folk music, composer, singer, fiddler and oboist, Paul Sartin passed away unexpectedly last week in Oxford, just before taking stage. Although he rarely performed under his own name, Sartin was a founding member of the bands Belshazzar's Feast, Faustus, and Bellowhead. He collaborated widely and was beloved throuhout the British folk community, none more so than in Hampshire, where he co-founded the Whitchurch Folk Club.
Last week, we played a few sets of songs about coal mining. But the folk music police saw our playlist and informed us that we needed to be more inclusive, so this week we've diversified a bit and included a few songs about hard rock miners too. But mostly more songs about coal from the likes of Jean Ritchie (pictured here), Jez Lowe, Caroline Herring, Doc and Merle Watson, Merle Travis, and Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard.
No, we didn't play any songs about Joe Manchin. But we were inspired by the new BBC miniseries "Sherwood" which deals with the murderous aftermath of a miners' strike in the coalfields near Nottingham - yes, that Sherwood Forest - when the Thatcher government decided to kill the unions, in part by embedding undercover police within the striking workers. Ballads about coal mining have long been associated with the folk tradition of northern England and the Appalachians, and we played tracks from the Ian Campbell Folk Group (pictured here) whose music was featured in "Sherwood", as well as by Offa Rex, John McCutcheon, The Pitman Poets and others.
Although the "Once Were Brothers" documentary has been out for a few years, The Folk Brothers only streamed it this past week (it's available on Hulu and Kanopy). We listened to a track by The Band and the song from which the doco got its title, then mildly debated the merits of a story told only thru Robbie Robertson's point of view.
Also today: new tracks from Joan Shelley, Martin Joseph, Lloyd Maines, Lucy Kaplansky, Kathy Kallick, and more.
Brother Bill is back from Spain with a load of folk CD's from Galicia, including one from piper Anxo Lorenzo (pictured). And how about a Galician cover of "California Dreamin' "? Those and much more on this week's edition of The Folk Brothers.
Anew compilation explores how American roots music has always been inexplicably linked to riding its rails, with tracks from Dave Alvin, Robert Rex Waller, Jr., Dom Flemons, John Fogerty, Peter Case, and others. Also, what's Edinburgh's and Tuscon's musical connection? Hint: it's not a railroad.
This week's show is devoted to the music of Jim Miller who passed on March 24th at the age of 69. Jim was a founding member of Donna The Buffalo and, most recently, Western Centuries. In a long career as a vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Jim collaborated with the likes of Dirk Powell, Tara Nevins, Jim Lauderdale, Richie Stearns, and Tim O'Brien. He was also a professional lepidopterist and curator/researcher at The American Museum of Natural History.
Prior to the 2018 midterm elections, Marc Erelli penned a song about America's problem with guns. With help from Lori McKenna, Roseanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Josh Ritter and Anais Mitchell, Erelli released "By Degrees," with all proceeds benefitting Gabby Giffords' gun violence prevention organization. This morning, we dedicated two sets of music to this issue, with tracks also from Josh O'Keefe, Cheryl Wheeler, Steve Earle and Warren Zevon.
North Carolinians Sarah and Austin McCombie -- aka Chatham Rabbits -- have a new album and a new PBS series. Produced by WUNC -- and available everywhere on PBS Passport -- the series follows the Rabbits as they take their new five-piece string band on the road throughout their home state, playing shows and hanging with some of North Carolina's many great folk and bluegrass musicians.
Fun fact: the couple met at a Mandolin Orange show at Carrborro's Cats Cradle when Sarah was on stage playing banjo with the opening band.
Also this morning, Brother Bill previews upcoming local live music with Todd Snider and Didar Singh Khalsa.
It's getting to be the time of year when the Arctic Circle experiences "Simmerdim," the Scottish term for the long twilight when the sun drops just below the horizon for only a few hours each night. Orcadian singer-songwriter Merlyn Driver's forthcoming album honors the (now endangered) Eurasian Curlew, which wades and sings on the shorelines of those northern islands, during those hours of dim light. Proceeds from his forthcoming album Simmerdim: Curlew Sounds will support efforts by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to restore Curlew habitat.
This morning we presented tracks featuring exciting new musical collaborations between American and Scottish artists: Orcadian Kris Drever and Rachel Baimans' cover of Eliza Gilkyson's "Hard Times In Babylon"; Heidi Talbot and Lousiana-based Dirk Powell with "Empty Promise Land"; and Brooklyn-based Hannah Read (fiddle) and Michael Starkey (banjo), who met at an Appalachian old-time musical session in Edinburgh.
Also today: new tracks from Kate Rusby with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, The Unthanks, Peter Rowan, Nashville Honeymoon, and more!
This morning, we played Dublin-based Lankum's rendition of the song "Salonika." Although not traditional -- its authorship is unknown -- it was a popular dance hall song in Cork during World War 1. The Munster Fusiliers were attached to British forces stationed in Thessaloniki, Greece. Wives of the Irish soldiers received a stipend. Young Irishmen who didn't join up were called "slackers" -- there certainly wasn't much love for the British army at the time -- but their families suffered financially. The song went out of fashion for decades, but was repopularized by groups like The Dubliners and The Clancy Brothers during the '60s folk revival. Singer Jimmy Crowley says "it's a tremendous song, because it gives insights into the lives of Irish women during WW1."
The Brothers celebrate some of the women who have made history in the world of folk and roots music, including Odetta, Barbara Dane, Lydia Mendoza and Big Mama Thornton. Also, new tracks from Karine Polwart, Nick Hart, Ye Vagabonds, and TRIP.
Brother Bill is back from Baja, where he spent a week petting baby blue whales: awww.... And he brought in a bunch of whale songs this morning from the likes of Tom Lewis, Country Joe McDonald, Tom Pacheco, and other fishy folkies. We also have Molly Tuttle singing about her grampa's farm, I Draw Slow singing about the coming apocalypse, and Black 47 with Finbar Furey singing about Father Mychal Judge, the first offical fatality of 9/11.
On their debut album in 1968, a group of kids from the suburbs of north London covered a Richard Farina song about a city in Nevada. During the pandemic, a singer-songwriter from Edinburgh teamed up with musicians from Tucson. Sometime in between, a guitarist/mandolinist from Nashville became a founding member of a band of transatlantic musicians who play the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow every winter. Find out who they all are on today's show.