THE REAL RHIANNON

Part folkie, part music scholar, Rhiannon Giddens is a walking American songbook.

FOLKIESThe AtticMay 30, 2024Rhiannon Giddens, Carolina Chocolate Drops, American folk music, Folk music, banjo, banjo history Comments

HANK WILLIAMS -- SON OF A GUN

Many songwriters write but only a handful embody the music, the life, the legend. Happy 100th, Hank!

FOLKIESThe AtticSeptember 14, 2023Hank WIlliams, Country music, Grand ol' Opry, Your Cheatin' Heart, Jambalaya Comment

GENTLE ON THE RIVER

“Gentle on My Mind” made him famous but John Hartford’s heart was always on the Mississippi.

FOLKIESBruce WatsonMarch 13, 2023John Hartford, Gentle on My Mind, Bluegrass music, Newgrass music, Nashville, Nashville sound Comment

SWEET HONEY'S ENDURING ROCK

From the trenches of Civil Rights to the concert stage, Bernice Johnson Reagon has sung the praises of black culture.

TEACHERS, FOLKIESThe AtticFebruary 4, 2023Bernice Johnson Reagon, SNCC, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, Civil Rights Movement, Freedom Songs, Sweet Honey in the Rock Comments

STEVE GOODMAN -- GOOD MORNIN' AMERICA

“Every audience was his,” Kris Kristofferson said, but no one knew Steve Goodman’s sad secret.

FOLKIESThe AtticMarch 25, 2021Steve Goodman, City of New Orleans, Leukemia, Folk Music, American Folk, John Prine Comments

WOODY'S "OTHER NATIONAL ANTHEM"

On a winter night, alone and adrift, he checked into a fleabag hotel and began a new song. This land is your land, this land is my land. . .

FOLKIESThe AtticOctober 15, 2020Woody Guthrie, This Land is Your Land Comment

CRADLE OF MOUNTAIN CULTURE -- APPALSHOP

Mocked, belittled, stereotyped, the folks of Appalachia had never told their own story until the birth of Appalshop.

FOLKIESThe AtticMay 14, 2020Appalshop, Appalachia, Kentucky, Folklore, Bluegrass Comment

THE REAL WOODSTOCK

The festival was 50 years ago and 50 miles away, but Woodstock, New York keeps the spirit alive.

American Places, FOLKIESThe AtticAugust 15, 2019Woodstock Festival, Woodstock, NY, Woodstock NY, 1969, Levon Helm, American travel, Hudson River Valley Comments

ALAN LOMAX AND "WHERE THE SONGS LIVE"

The songs came and went but Alan Lomax hunkered down and caught them — for all time and for all people.

FOLKIESThe AtticFebruary 15, 2019Alan Lomax, Folk songs, American Folk Songs, Song collecting, Mississippi Delta, Leadbelly Comments

AMERICA'S DIY MUSIC -- JUG BAND

Got the blues? Listen to its offspring and try not to smile. And hear six jug band tunes in “I Hear America Singing.”

FOLKIESThe AtticJanuary 11, 2019Jug Band Music, Jim Kweskin, American folk music, American folk songs Comment

"SHENANDOAH" AND THE ATTIC OF OUR PAST

A shrill song is stuck in our heads. Once it plays out, we should listen to the old tunes.

FOLKIESThe AtticOctober 8, 2018Folk music, Music, Shenandoah, Shenandoah National Park Comments

THE SOUL OF A MAN

The guitar growls, moans, weeps. A bass riff surrenders to a squeal of pain. . .

American Faces, FOLKIESThe AtticOctober 2, 2018Blues, Music, Folk musicComment

ELIZABETH COTTEN -- THE WOMAN WHO PLAYED UPSIDE DOWN

Elizabeth Cotten charmed audiences with her "Freight Train" and her unique picking.

FOLKIESThe AtticFebruary 2, 2018Elizabeth Cotten, Folk Music, Fingerpicking guitar Comment