Social Media Ideas for Smithsonian Folkways

3 Acoustic Folk Songs From the 1950s With Melodies That Still Echo Decades Later

American singer-songwriter and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte, wearing a striped shirt, in an recording studio, circa 1957. The sound engineer is visible working at the cons...

Jake Xerxes Fussell :: The Old Beloved Path

Jake Xerxes Fussell returns with another set of meticulously curated old-time songs played and sung with warmth and grace. The North Carolinian songwriter has a musicologist’s gras...

Q&A: Folklorist Kiran Singh Sirah

3 Folk Songs From the 1960s With Melodies That Still Echo Decades Later

The 1960s featured a number of important folk artists. Indeed, these are three folk songs from the 1960s with melodies that still echo decades later. The post 3 Folk Songs From the...

Track Premiere: Feral Foster “Tell Old Bill”

Listening to Feral Foster singing Tell Old Bill, a song from 1927’s The American Songbag book, is to hear something that sounds like a forgotten relic from the 1960’s “folk scare”...

How music has helped tell America's story from the very beginning

Music has helped tell America's story from the very beginning, reflecting our triumphs, struggles and the many cultures and traditions that have shaped the country. On her "In Purs...

3 Acoustic Folk Songs From the 1970s With Melodies That Still Echo Decades Later

Singer-songwriter John Prine performs at Symphony Hall on April 26, 1974 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Tom Hill/Getty Images) Folk music is timeless. Indeed, these are three acous...

3 Acoustic Folk Songs From the 1960s With Melodies That Still Echo Decades Later

Bob Dylan in concert at the Royal Albert Hall, 1965. (Photo by Alisdair Macdonald/Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images) Acoustic folk songs provided a type of social currency in...

Transmissions :: Dust-to-Digital

Since 1999, Atlanta label ⁠Dust-to-Digital⁠ has created lavish boxsets, books, and collections of gospel, folk, blues, field recordings, and other sounds sourced from deep global a...

Jake Xerxes Fussell Announces New Album The Old Beloved Path: Hear “Rock Island Line”

For over a decade now, Jake Xerxes Fussell's records have been making traditional folk music come alive for modern ears. Today he's announcing his latest, The Old Beloved Path, set...

3 Folk Songs From the 1970s With Melodies That Still Echo Decades Later

Don McLean In the 1970s, folk songs were often masquerading as rock music. Indeed, these are three folk songs from the 1970s with melodies that still echo decades later. The post...

Martin Carthy’s Along The Road Forever: Live At The BBC reviewed – the folk giant who helped keep Britain’s musical trad...

20 enlightening, essential discs from a custodian of the British folk tradition

Anniversary Cheers: “Buena Vista Social Club” celebrates 30 years

World Circuit Records, celebrating 40 years, reissues world music’s most iconic album for its 30th birthday. When world music shot out of the blocks into the consciousness of a fas...

3 Folk Protest Songs About the Vietnam War That Baby Boomers Still Can’t Forget

September 1, 1967 Pete Seeger is a guest on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. #32056_2_10a Copyright CBS Broadcasting, Inc., All Rights Reserved, Credit: CBS Photo Archive The...

Fiddle FestivalEpisode #26-34 airing 08-26-26

We all know that fiddle festivals, large and small, East and West, are an important part of sharing the music. This week we present a collection of great fiddlers with styles from...

It’s Festival Time!Episode #26-29 airing 07-22-26

It’s summer time and that’s the time to go to your favorite music festival or better yet, try out a new one. We’ll hear classic music from the first Newport Folk Festival in 1959,...

Stringing AlongEpisode #26-31 airing 08-05-26

Sometimes it might seem disappointing when a folk music recording includes orchestrations. For another point of view, I listened to “When the Day the Day is Done: The Orchestration...

V.com weekend vote: What is the oldest go-to recording you listen to?

By Laurie Niles: One interesting thing about classical music is that we continue to play things that people played hundreds of years ago, and that makes historical recordings feel...

4 Folk Songs From the 60s That Were Written About Real-Life Muses

UNITED STATES - MAY 09: Photo of Bob DYLAN; performing live onstage at the benefit for ousted Chileans: Felt Forum, New York (Photo by Steve Morley/Redferns) The best songs talk i...

WJHL Rewind: Folk Life Festival at Warriors' Path State Park (1998)

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — In 1998, News Channel 11 learned about Appalachian heritage at Warriors' Path State Park's Folk Life Festival. The festival showcased life in "the old-fas...

3 Folk Lyrics From 1988 That Hit Harder Now That Their Artists Have Aged

American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman plays her Fender acoustic guitar at a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, circa 1988. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images) These...

Yonder Radio: Missouri Folk Art, the National Grange, and the World Nomad Games

Tune in to Yonder Radio to hear about the American cowboys that compete at the World Nomad Games in Central Asia, and the women who have helped develop recreation economies in the...

3 of the Best First No. 1 Hits in 60s Folk Music

UNITED STATES - CIRCA 1960: Photo of Byrds, Mid 1960?s, California, Los Angeles, Whisky a Go Go ByrdsL-R: David Crosby, Jim ? Roger? McGuinn,Chris Hillman, Gene Clark (in foregroun...

3 Folk Lyrics From 1976 That Hit Harder Now That Their Artists Have Aged

These folk lyrics from 1976 hit harder now that their artists have aged. With time on their side, these songs feel even more important. The post 3 Folk Lyrics From 1976 That Hit H...