Having been referred to as “one of America’s defining voices of freedom and peace” by NPR, Mavis Staples is the kind of once-in-a-generation artist whose impact on music and culture would be difficult to overstate. Since beginning her career in 1950 with her family group The Staples Singers, she’s become both a Blues and Rock…
Since its beginnings in the late 1990s, the Hot Club of Cowtown’s star has been known for jaw-dropping virtuosity and unforgettable live shows. The band has toured extensively worldwide for over twenty years, both on its own and with artists including Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Gatemouth Brown, the Avett Brothers, and Dan Hicks, and appeared…
Founded in the late 1990s in Portland, Oregon, Foghorn Stringband specializes in old-time gospel, square dance tunes, ballads, Cajun waltzes, honky-tonk favorites, and pre-bluegrass picking songs. With eight albums, thousands of shows, and more than 15 years of touring under their belts, this acclaimed string band sees itself not as a group of revivalists, but,…
Voices of Mississippi is a new multimedia event that celebrates the music, art, and storytelling traditions of the people of Mississippi. Based on the 2019 double-Grammy Award-winning Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris, the program features live musical performances integrated with film, audio recordings, and rare photographs captured by folklorist William…
The April 6 co-bill of Allison Russell and Katie Pruitt at the Lucas Theatre for the Arts has been cancelled due to illness. We looked forward to this concert, so please know that best efforts will be made to reschedule each artist at SMF in the future. If you have already purchased tickets, a…
An annual highlight of the Acoustic Music Seminar, this special 2022 edition of Mike Marshall’s Stringband Spectacular includes several alumni of the SMF workshop and mentorship program. Allison de Groot (clawhammer banjo) & Tatiana Hargreaves (fiddle, vocals) are an old-time duo that creates a sound that is adventurous, masterful, and original, as they expand on…
Cedric Burnside still lives on several acres not far from the Holly Springs, Mississippi, home where he was raised by “Big Daddy,” his grandfather, the late singer/songwriter/guitarist R.L. Burnside. Cedric was literally born to the blues, more specifically, the “rhythmically unorthodox” Hill country variant which emerged from Mississippi, where he grew up surrounded (and influenced)…
Jon Cleary’s work pays obvious homage to the classic Crescent City keyboard repertoire created by such icons as Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Art Neville, Dr. John, and James Booker – while also using it as a launching pad for a style that incorporates such other diverse influences as ’70s soul and R&B,…
Lakou Mizik is a multigenerational collective of Haitian musicians formed in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake. The group includes elder legends and rising young talents, united in a mission to honor the healing spirit of their culture and communicate a message of pride, strength and hope to their countrymen and the world. Lakou…
Formed in 2009 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Watchhouse (formerly known as Mandolin Orange) are songwriter Andrew Marlin (vocals, mandolin, guitar, banjo) and Emily Frantz (vocals, violin, guitar). More than a decade down the road, a half-dozen albums, and a family of their own to contend with, Watchhouse makes beautiful, downhome, contemporary acoustic folk music…
Dubbed “masters of soulful folk” by Paste, The Wood Brothers formed after brothers Chris and Oliver Wood pursued separate musical careers for 15 years. Chris already had legions of devoted fans for his incomparable work as one-third of Medeski Martin & Wood, while Oliver toured with Tinsley Ellis before releasing a half-dozen albums with his…
“They nearly always come back,” said Béla Fleck. “All the people that leave bluegrass. I had a strong feeling that I’d be coming back as well.” My Bluegrass Heart is that return the 15-time Grammy winner is talking about – the third chapter in a decades-spanning trilogy which, by his counting, started with 1988’s Drive…
Originally hailing from Athens, Georgia, the Drive-By Truckers have always been outspoken, telling a distinctly American story via craft, character, and concept, all backed by sonic ambition and social conscience. Founded by singer/songwriter/guitarists Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood, the band celebrated their 25th anniversary last year. “From their first notes together to their current tour,…
Bruce Hornsby, the creatively insatiable pianist and singer-songwriter from Williamsburg, Virginia, always has succeeded on his exceptional gifts, his training and his work ethic. He has returned to traditional American roots forms, collaborating with Ricky Skaggs. He has played with the Grateful Dead. He has fused the plunk and dazzle of 20th-century modernist classical composition…
Called “one of the most exceptional violinists and fiddlers of his generation” by WGBH, Grammy-nominated violinist and composer Jeremy Kittel’s music inhabits the space between classical and acoustic roots, Celtic and bluegrass aesthetics, and folk and jazz sensibilities. According to The Bluegrass Situation, Kittel & Co. has “accomplished a feat of new acoustic, string band-rooted…
