10TH ANNUAL BROOKLYN FOLK FEST PLANNING NUMEROUS FAMILY EVENTS

FEST HOSTS ELIZABETH MITCHELL & SUNI PAZ'S NYC RELEASE SHOW FOR NEW SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS ALBUM!

Kids 5 & UNDER GET FREE TICKETS

12 & UNDER ARE ½ PRICE

The 10th annual Brooklyn Folk Festival features great events for the whole family, including a
series of Sunday afternoon programs. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings artists Elizabeth Mitchell
and Suni Paz will perform together Sunday April 8th at 2:45pm, marking the release of 'Tú Eres
Mi Flor,' their new children’s album on the label.

Elizabeth Mitchell is celebrating her 20th anniversary as a children’s music favorite. Based in
the Catskill Mountains, she has appeared on NBC’s The Tonight Show, NPR All Things
Considered, and HBO Family’s A Family Is A Family Is A Family. The LA Times called
Mitchell’s songs “children’s music that adults – or at least parents – can enjoy.”

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Suni Paz has been charming audiences for fifty years
with songs in English and Spanish. She has performed at Madison Square Garden and Suni
was awarded the Magic Penny Award by the Children's Music Network and a Parents Choice Award.

For more information on Elizabeth Mitchell and Suni Paz, please go to: https://shorefire.com/releases/entry/elizabeth-mitchell-suni-paz-tu-eres-mi-flor or http://www.mayersconsulting.com/clients/#/elizabeth-mitchell-suni-paz/

Here are press photos of Elizabeth and Suni: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/vvvteifrk8ycwj3/AACFxbPg3ctA2XdZ0YV4uZmda?dl=0

There will be two family friendly square dances, Saturday at 4pm and Sunday at 4:45pm,
both in the Parish Hall.  Sunday afternoon will also feature performances by the Jalopy Jr.
Folk Stringband and Jalopy Jr. Folk Intermediate Ensemble.  Both groups of children have
been learning at the Jalopy Theatre's Jalopy Jr. Folk School program.  Sunday also features
a parade, led by a jug band, to the "Banjo Toss" banjo throwing competition arena! which
children are encouraged to join.

The festival’s vendor area features homemade ice cream and chocolate treats as well as
healthy snacks and sandwiches.

The Brooklyn Folk Festival has made children's tickets accessible. Children age 5 and under
get in free and ages 6-12 are 1/2 price. More information on tickets is at:
http://brooklynfolkfest.com/tickets/

The complete festival schedule and more information can be found at www.BrooklynFolkFest.com

"The American Songster" Dom Flemons photos

Credit: Tim Duffy

Click each for high res

"The American Songster" Dom Flemons Explores History of the American West With Collection of African American Cowboy Songs

'Black Cowboys' Due Out March 23 on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings 
 
'Black Cowboys' is the new album from multi-instrumentalist, songster, and co-founding member of the GRAMMY Award winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, Dom Flemons. More than a collection of songs from the "Wild West," the record sheds light on the prominent but often overlooked role African American pioneers played in westward expansion.

In 2018, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings celebrates its 70th anniversary, honoring Folkways founder Moses Asch's mission to "document the people's music." As a musical torchbearer and innovator, Dom Flemons is committed to extending and reinterpreting Asch's legacy in the modern age. Joining him on this year's extensive release schedule are avant-garde folk duo Anna & Elizabeth, Iraqi-American oud virtuoso Rahim AlHaj, Tejano giants Los Texmaniacs, and special projects that include the 'Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap,' a topical box set on 'The Social Power of Music,' and extensive retrospectives on Folkways greats Pete Seeger and Barbara Dane.

Listen to this 3-song sampling of the record.

The first album of its kind, 'Black Cowboys' takes the listener on an illuminating journey "from the trails to the rails" of the Old West. The 18-song set traverses a varied soundscape featuring string blues, old-time square dance music, and cowboy poetry. Flemons is joined by a celebrated group of backing musicians throughout the record, such as GRAMMY-winning bluesman Alvin "Youngblood" Hart, Jimbo Mathus (Squirrel Nut Zippers), and decorated folklorist and Folkways' director emeritus Dan Sheehy, who co-produced the album.

From the first, plaintive line sung on the album opener, a field holler called "Black Woman," it's clear that Flemons' relationship with this material runs deep. Indeed, in 2016, Flemons himself followed the westward path taken by Lewis and Clark and their slave, York, "crossing every original cattle trail and Indian trading post along the way."

In addition to the album's re-worked traditional songs, Flemons includes original songs written specifically for the occasion. "One Dollar Bill" reflects on the portrayal of black cowboys in Hollywood Westerns, "He's a Lone Ranger" tells the story of Bass Reeves (an escaped slave who became the first African American Deputy US Marshal west of the Mississippi), and "Steel Pony Blues" pays tribute to Nat Love, the former slave turned Pullman porter who spent time as a rancher in Flemons' native state of Arizona.

Flemons is also a historian, music scholar, and collector. He has long carried a torch of awareness that many traditional American songs and tunes in fact originated from, or were influenced by, the musical and storytelling traditions of African Americans and Native Americans. Flemons illustrates the complex cultural exchange that happened on the frontier in the 40-page liner notes booklet, reminding us that the American West was a much more diverse environment than old Western films and dime novels would have us believe. On his rendition of "Home on the Range," arguably one of the most celebrated Western songs of all time, Flemons explains that the popularized version came from a variant recorded in 1908, sung by a black bartender in San Antonio.

Flemons' love of cowboy songs and history traces back to his manifold familial connections to the region in which he was born and raised. His grandfather worked as a preacher and sawmill laborer in the same Arizona town Nat Love called home, and after emigrating from Mexico, his maternal ancestors became civil rights leaders in Arizona. A decade ago, after serendipitously coming across the book 'The Negro Cowboys' on a road trip from North Carolina to Phoenix, Flemons began immersing himself in research and interviews on the subject. After his first experience at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in February 2016, he was inspired to bring his passion for this material into the studio, and began recording 'Black Cowboys' two months later.

Along with its substantive liner notes, the album packaging includes historic portraits of many of the songs' subjects, Flemons' personal family photos, tintype wet plate photographs taken on a 19th-century camera, and cover art featuring a portrait of Flemons by the celebrated Western artist William Matthews.

Part of the Smithsonian Folkways' African American Legacy Series, the album was produced in conjunction with the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Flemons joins the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings family as the label celebrates its 70th anniversary, in part with an initiative to partner with more contemporary, living artists who carry on traditional forms of music in the modern age.

Though extensively researched and likely educational for many listeners, 'Black Cowboys' is much more than a history lesson. It's a collection both plaintive and upbeat, which evokes the familiar nostalgia for the Old West without sacrificing the truth of the matter. With this recording, Flemons further solidifies his place at the contemporary forefront of the American song tradition, and presents an innovative blend of traditional forms with a modern sensibility for the 21st century.

'Black Cowboy Track List:
1. Black Woman
2. Texas Easy Street
3. One Dollar Bill
4. Going Down the Road Feelin' Bad
5. Tyin' Knots in the Devil's Tail
6. Home on the Range
7. Ol' Proc
8. John Henry y los vaqueros
9. Po' Howard/Gwine Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In
10. Knox County Stomp
11. He's a Lone Ranger
12. Steel Pony Blues
13. Little Joe the Wrangler
14. Charmin' Betsy
15. Goodbye Old Paint
16. Lonesome Old River Blues
17. The March of Red River Valley
18. Old Chisholm Trail

For more information on Dom Flemons tour press, please contact Nick Loss-Eaton at nick.losseaton@gmail.com or 718.541.1130.

POKEY LAFARGE JOINS BROOKLYN FOLK FESTIVAL LINEUP FOR APRIL 8 PERFORMANCE

10TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL TO LAUNCH APRIL 6 AT ST. ANN’S CHURCH IN BROOKLYN HEIGHTS

Pokey LaFarge will join the Brooklyn Folk Festival’s 10th annual iteration, performing April 8 at St. Ann’s Church. He joins a lineup that features The East River String Band with R. Crumb, Spirit Family Reunion, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, Innov Gnawa, Radio Jarocho, and Elizabeth Mitchell & Suni Paz. A St. Louisian, LaFarge has performed on PBS’ American Epic, TBS’ Conan, NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, The Late Show with David Letterman, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion, and RFD’s Marty Stuart Show. Pokey has played with the likes of Jack White, The Raconteurs, Wanda Jackson, and Old Crow Medicine Show. He has performed at Newport Folk Festival, Red Rocks, Radio City Music Hall, Third Man Records, and Stagecoach. He is a Rounder Records recording artist.

SUSAN CATTANEO NOMINATED FOR 5 INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS INCLUDING BEST COUNTRY ALBUM, BEST PRODUCER ROOTS / COUNTRY FOR HER DOUBLE ALBUM 'THE HAMMER & THE HEART'

Renowned Boston Singer / Songwriter Susan Cattaneo was named as a nominee in five categories at the 16th annual Independent Music Awards (The IMAs), the influential honors for independent artists and releases. More than 400 innovative self-released and indie label projects culled from thousands of submissions worldwide, were nominated by fans and industry panelists

Four of the nominations are tied to Susan's eclectic double album 'The Hammer & The Heart' which was released in August 2017, charting at #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Northeast chart. The album features collaborations with 40 artists on an electric and acoustic disc. It is named for Best Country Album and Susan is nominated for Best Producer Roots / Country ("Backdoor Slam" produced by Susan Cattaneo & Stuart Kimball). The acoustic version song "Work Hard, Love Harder" featuring The Boxcar Lilies, which charted at #1 on the Folk DJ Radio Chart in August, is nominated for Best Acoustic Song. A stripped down cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity," featuring Amy Fairchild and Todd Thibaud is the Fan Nominee for the Best Cover Song category.

Rounding out the nominations in the Best A Cappella Song category is "Sisters Of A Different Skin," a song about gender equality that features 26 New England based female musicians from different ethnic backgrounds, musical genres, and ages.

Nominated along with Susan Cattaneo is an eclectic mix of established artists and rising stars include: Taylor Grey, Esprit d'Air, Harriet, Fiona Joy, Dan Zanes, Next To None, Rozina Pátkai, Air Traffic Controller, Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike, Julian Lage, Jane Siberry and The Bankesters.  Fan-nominated artists in the Song and Video categories include: Reeve Carney, Matthew Huff, MADYX, Ganda Boys, Karim Baggili and Amiss O.mega [featuring Snoop Dogg]. Click here for a full list of The 16th IMA Nominees and Categories

The winning projects will be selected by judging panels of top recording artists including:, Slayer, Bakithi Kumalo, Michael W. Smith, Sepultura, Amy Lee [Evanescence] among many others; and influential press and talent buyers from the Americas, Europe and Pacific Rim.

Winners will be announced at The IMAs Independent Music Party at Lincoln Center on March 31st. Now in its 17th year, The Independent Music Awards, produced by Music Resource Group honor the year's most exceptional & artistically daring music projects from self-released and indie label talent from around the globe. And connects them to new performance, promotion, distribution and fans. Program winners and nominees include extraordinary artists at every stage of their careers and include Amy Lee, Masta Ace, Valerie June, Meghan Trainor, Passenger, Jackson Browne, Team Me, Radio Radio, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Girl In A Coma, Apples in stereo, Pokey LaFarge, Killer Mike among many more.

Eric Andersen bio

"Eric Andersen is one of our finest singers and songwriters, in the most literal sense of that tradition… the most elegant of singers." David Fricke, (Rolling Stone Magazine)
'
“A singer and songwriter of the first rank.” (The New York Times)

“An American master.” Robert Palmer, Ghosts Upon the Road liner notes.

“Eric Andersen is a great ballad singer.” (Bob Dylan – live on stage at the Oslo Spektrum)

Eric Andersen first came to prominence as a performer in Greenwich Village in the early 1960s
and immediately became part of the Village folk and songwriter scene along with Phil Ochs, Tom
Paxton, Dave Van Ronk, Bob Dylan, and was at the epicenter of the American Greenwich Village
singer-songwriter explosion.

Aside from his own classics, he’s co-written songs with Bob Weir (The Grateful Dead), Townes
Van Zandt, Rick Danko, and Lou Reed.

His songs have been covered by many artists including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Judy Collins,
Fairport Convention, Rick Nelson, John Denver, Linda Ronstadt, The Grateful Dead, Peter, Paul
& Mary, The Blues Project, Gillian Welch, Linda Thompson, and Rick Danko. Bob Dylan’s
version of Eric’s song “Thirsty Boots” was released as a single on Record Store Day and also
appears on the Dylan CD Another Self Portrait .

Over the past 50 years, Eric has toured the world and released over 30 CDs of original music
including Blue Rain (Appleseed Recordings) his first live concert recording in Oslo with the band
Spoonful of Blues, released in 2007.

In the early 1990s Andersen recorded 2 trio-harmony albums with The Band’s Rick Danko and
Norwegian singer Jonas Fjeld. He’s featured in the Joni Mitchell American Masters documentary,
the Wildflower Festival DVD with Judy Collins, Tom Rush, and Arlo Guthrie, the rock film
Festival Express and the documentary Greenwich Village: Music That Defined a Generation.
In 1990 Eric won the New York Music Award for his album Ghosts Upon the Road,
in 1992 the Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy) for “ Danko/Fjeld/Andersen ” and in 2003
The Premio Tenco award with Patti Smith in San Remo, Italy, which is an award given to
outstanding songwriters. Previous Premio Tenco awards have gone to Randy Newman, Tom
Waits, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and Lou Reed.

The Eric Andersen and Friends Webcast was launched in June 2011 by Nevessa Productions
Woodstock with special guests Happy Traum, John Sebastian, Joe Flood and Inge Andersen.
Featured songs performed in the webcast were from his album The Cologne Concert (Meyer
Records) which was released on CD and Vinyl in April 2011. The live album features Eric’s wife
Inge Andersen on back-up harmonies and he is accompanied on violin by Michele Gazich.
Mingle With The Universe: The Worlds Of Lord Byron (Meyer Records) was released in May
2017 on CD and Vinyl formats. “Byron was a born songwriter whose ceaseless waves of rhymes presented an endless sea for the ships of song.” All songs on the album featured the romantic
poet’s stanzas with Eric’s music. Included are two original Andersen tracks: “The Curled
Darling” and “Albion” which describe for the listener a taste of Lord Byron’s controversial and
sometimes scandalous life, travels and writings.

In September, 2017 an expanded long-play version of the Birth of a Stranger: Shadow and Light of Albert Camus (Meyer Records) was released with two new tracks. The four-song EP was originallyreleased in 2014 on Vinyl and in 2015 on CD. Eric extrapolated new lyrics from Camus’ novels. Of the original EP version, he said in an interview, "From the rolling vineyards of Camus I tried to capture four bottles of good wine that tasted deep and true."

On March 30, 2018, Sony/Legacy Recordings issued THE ESSENTIAL ERIC ANDERSEN – a 42-track digital release and 33 track double CD release retrospective release covering fifty years of his recorded history from Today is the Highway to Blue River, and Ghosts Upon the Road and Beat Avenue and on to The Cologne Concert album and unreleased New York
recordings.

Work continues on The Songpoet – a new eight-year-in-the-making documentary about Eric
Andersen to be released in 2018. The Songpoet follows Eric’s remarkable 50-year journey in
America and Europe that continues today as he writes and records with a poetic passion. With
unprecedented access to Andersen’s life and his personal archives the film will be a study on the
culture of fame, the fragility of an artist’s career and the integrity of the artist as it reveals the
indestructible energy that drives the artist and writer Eric Andersen in short -- a glimmering
mirror and portrait of his times -- The Songpoet.

Eric Andersen’s poetical songs have entertained and captivated audiences worldwide. He plays
acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harmonica and piano/keyboards in concert and often performs with
his great bands in America, Japan, and Europe. He performs songs which span across all his
albums, including his early classics “Thirsty Boots” “Violets of Dawn” and “Close the Door
Lightly,” as well as exciting new material from his recent projects like Camus and Lord Byron.

Eric Andersen artwork

click for high res, credit for all below: Paolo Brillo