The Folk Show

The Remington Ryde Bluegrass festival is held annually around the 4th of July Weekend,  and takes its name from the Central PA band, Remington Ryde.  From humble beginnings in 2007.  The festival has grown quickly and now attracts thousands over the course of 5 days to the Grange Fairgrounds in Centre Hall, PA.    The 2018 Festival kicks of  July 4th,  and includes Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (Sat) Russell Moore & Iiird Tyme Out (Fri) Little Roy & Lizzy Show (Thurs) Lonesome River Band (Fri) The Grascals (Thurs), and Larry Stephenson Band (Thurs)

Every Memorial Day weekend for nearly two decades, aspiring and accomplished folk musicians have gathered for three days of workshops, concerts, and jamming. Traditional American styles such as old-timey banjo, Appalachian song, New England contra dance, bluegrass, and blues are mainstays. The influence of celtic and french-canadian playing runs throughout, and through the years, everything from Tuvan throat singing, to West African kora and drumming, to Mariachi, to Texas western swing has been a focus.

The performance of Sam Gleave, Tyler Hughes and Hasee Ciaccio was recorded at the Center for Well-Being in Lemont on Feb 10, 2018, as part of the Acoustic Brew Concert series.  Information for Sam at www.samgleaves.com.  For Tyler at https://www.tylerhughesmusic.com Sam, Tyler and Hasee wil be teaching and performing at Folk College on May 25-27 at Juniata College in Huntingdon.  More info at folkcollege.com

Lots of Blues on this episode of the Folk Show Road Show.   Oregon song poet David Jacob Strain on slide guitar and Bob Beach on harmonica start off the show. Their music as been said to "merge blues, folk, rock and indie pop into an engaging American brew with pockets of funk and reggae around the edges." We recorded them at a house concert in State College  on Aug 15, 2017.    

The Early Mays  feature Appalachian-inspired songs built on deep country sensibilities, masterful three part vocal harmonies and a sweet old-time sound that includes fiddle, banjo and guitar, and harmonium.   In 2016  they took home the blue ribbon in the Neo-Traditional Band Competition at Clifftop Appalachian String Band Music Festival and this past August appeared on NPR’s Mountain Stage.  Their latest release Chase the Sun climbed to the #1 position on the National Folk-DJ Charts.  We recorded the Early Mays just a few weeks ago, on Dec 9, 2017.

Robbie Fulks'  most recent release, 2017’s Upland Stories, earned year’s-best recognition from NPR and Rolling Stone among many others, as well as two Grammy® nominations.

Fulks was a member of the Special Consensus Bluegrass Band, and in the 1990’s helped define the "alternative country" movement.  Lately his mainly acoustic lineup returns to his earlier bluegrass days, and extends the boundaries of that tradition with old-time rambles and sparely orchestrated reflections on love, the slings of time, and the troubles of common people.

Five musicians from Penn State's 1960s folk music scene - Saul Broudy, Jerry Zolten, John Frink, Lynn Margileth, and Peter Kessler – came to the State Theatre in State College June 12, 2016 to perform songs and tell stories that speak to their experiences during the Vietnam era.   .The month the Road Show shares this concert with you as a part of a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.  WPSU Penn State is taking part in a national dialogue by creating television and radio programming that explores through personal stories how Pennsylvanians experienced the war.

Blues Hall of Famer, and Grammy Award winner John Hammond performed at the State Theatre March 24th, 2017,  and we fortunate to be able to record the concert for the Folk Show Road show.   In the first hour of the broadcast, we heard  why Tom Waits says with just his voice, guitar and harmonica, Hammond is a great force of nature. John sounds like a big train coming. He chops them all down."

Most of this installment of the Folk Show Road Show is devoted to a concert by Mark Erelli,  a self-described yankee songwriter well loved for “going deep” into all manner of subjects.  He’s a songwriter who rewards close listening with memorable turns of phrase, and surprising insights.  We’ll hear the entire concert at Webster’s Bookstore and Café on Apr 28th.   

Most of tonight’s broadcast  features a very talented and funny West Virginia band that has performed many times over the past ten or so years in Central PA, and twice as part of the Acoustic Brew Concert Series in performance at the WPSU studios. They were a very new band in 2007 the first time.  The concert you are about to hear was recorded just two months ago on April 15. 

With Folk College 2017 starting in just a few days, we listen back to exerpts of last years concerts.  Hour one of the Folk Show Road Show  features the Friday evening performances, beginning with Linda Littleton, Karen Hirshon and Rachel Hall of Simple Gifts.  Virtuoso fiddler Steven Greenman & accordionist Walt Mahovlitch are next,  and the first hour wraps up with the high-energy, eclectice Ann-Arbor Michigan band Appleseed Collective.

Joe Crookston: Songwriter, guitarist, painter, fiddler, slide player, eco-village member and 2016 Folk Alliance International Artist-in-Residence.  Joe has  he's evolved from a killer songwriter who accompanies himself on guitar, to an accomplished multi-instrumentalists who doesn't shy away from electronics when they further the minstrel tradition.   Over ten years ago he opened a concert at the Center; on November 19, 2016,  the larger stage at the WPSU studio was his,  and we are happy to share that experience with you in this recording, made that night. 

Bluesman Roy Bookbinder says that if he had been born 50 years earlier, he would have become a minstrel man.  

In his long musical journey through the rich American cultural landscape of the last half of the 20th Century, he’s been friends with the Rev. Gary Davis, Pink Anderson and Robert Lockwood. 

He’s toured with Arthur Big Boy Crudup, Hot Tuna, JJ Cale & Bonnie Raitt

He’s been featured on a PBS special and interviewed by Terry Gross on “Fresh Air.” 

He’s also a regular at Fur Peace Ranch, where he teaches along with Jorma Kaukonen. 

Joe Jencks' concerts have been called an occasion for singing, a contagious rising up of voices, an act of joy and defiance, and that's a good start for a description of the evening captured on this episode of the Folk Show Road Show.  

The setting is the home of Andrew and Laurel Zydney in State College, where Joe has performed both solo and as part of the trio Brother Sun (with Pat Wictor and Greg Greenway).  

Bob Lumley-Sapanski is your host for this episode of the Folk Show.  You’ll hear a wide range of styles and performances on this audio archive of a live radio broadcast.  The two-hour show is divided into two segments, in order to preserve the audio quality. 

Ray Holley hosts the Sunday afternoon Folk Show, highlighting such artists as Jaime Hartman, Cindy Mangsen, Natalie MacMaster, the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, and Rose Laughlin, with new music from Fred Gillen, Jr., Vasco Hernandez, and Susan Kane.  A spate of Scandanavian instrumentals pepper the selections that also feature Patty Loveless, Hart Rouge, and Beausoleil.    

Steve Van Hook is your host for this episode of the Folk Show.  You’ll hear a wide range of styles and performances on this audio archive of a live radio broadcast.  The two-hour show is divided into two segments, in order to preserve the audio quality.      

Laurel Zydney is your host for this episode of the Folk Show.  You’ll hear a wide range of styles and performances on this audio archive of a live radio broadcast.  The two-hour show is divided into two segments, in order to preserve the audio quality.   

Jonathan McVerry is your host for this episode of the Folk Show.  You’ll hear a wide range of styles and performances on this audio archive of a live radio broadcast.  The two-hour show is divided into two segments, in order to preserve the audio quality.   

Steve Van Hook  is your host for this episode of the Folk Show.  You’ll hear a wide range of styles and performances on this audio archive of a live radio broadcast.  The two-hour show is divided into two segments, in order to preserve the audio quality.   

Ray Holley is your host for this episode of the Folk Show.  You’ll hear a wide range of styles and performances on this audio archive of a live radio broadcast.  The two-hour show is divided into two segments, in order to preserve the audio quality.   

   The Tall Trees are Tim Grimm and Ben Bedford– two highly acclaimed Midwestern songwriters, joined by the very tall Diederik van Wassenaer on fiddle.

The Folk Show Sunday Night OCT 30—a great mix of songs and instrumentals with host Jim Colbert.  

The Folk Show Saturday Afternoon—a great mix of songs and instrumentals chosen by host Julie Holm

The Saturday Afternoon Folk Show.  A great mix of songs and instrumentals chosen by Steve Van Hook  

The Foghorn String Band is the focus of this month's Folk Show Road Show, but we'll also hear from the Tall Trees, a bit of a teaser for next month's broadcast, which will focus on the Tall Trees.  The Foghorn String Band usually sings and plays around one microphone, so performing at the Center For Well-being in a completely acoustic show was no sweat for them.   Recording engineer Greg E. Miller did carefully position one stereo microphone above the group to capture the concert though,  and that's what you 'll hear on the files linked to this page.

Music from a variety of artists and styles on the Folk Show.  

Music from jefferson airplane, danny schmidt, pentangle, david bromberg , ted hawkins, metamore, ricky skaggs, van wagner, jamie hartford, bob dylan, phil ochs, simon & garfunkel, tom paxton, hopeful gospel quartet, john hartford, boxcar lillies, dolly parton, the louvin brothers, alison krauss & union station, hanneke cassel, robin williamson, battlefield band, rachel harrington, arlo guthrie, doc and Richrd watson, judy collins, nanci griffith, eva cassidy, peter rowan, retrograss, leo kottke