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

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.

10 YEARS OF THE BROOKLYN FOLK FESTIVAL! PRESENTED BY THE JALOPY THEATRE, MOST AMBITIOUS FESTIVAL YET FEATURES 60+ DIFFERENT PERFORMANCES, WORKSHOPS, CONTESTS, JAM SESSIONS, FILM PREMIERS, RECORD RELEASES & EVENTS!

January 10, 2018

LINEUP INCLUDES R. CRUMB, JERRON “BLIND BOY” PAXTON, SPIRIT FAMILY REUNION, WOMEN’S RAGA MASSIVE, BRUCE MOLSKY’S MOUNTAIN DRIFTERS, ELIZABETH MITCHELL AND SUNI PAZ, INNOV GNAWA, AND MORE! 40+ BANDS.

FESTIVAL WHICH HAS SOLD OUT EVERY YEAR INCLUDES BLUES, JUG BAND, OLD TIME, BLUEGRASS, SONGWRITERS, MOROCCAN, PERUVIAN, PUERTO RICAN, IRISH, INDIAN, TURKISH, SPANISH, BALKAN, ITALIAN, MEXICAN, DOMINICAN MUSIC, KIDS MUSIC, AND MORE!

BROOKLYN FOLK FESTIVAL BECOMES NON-PROFIT, ENTERS 2ND DECADE

April 6^th -8^th, 2018

St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church

157 Montague St. Brooklyn, NY

http://www.BrooklynFolkFest.com

Presented by the Jalopy Theatre & School of Music

“Diverse, spontaneous, counter-cultural, and trenchant… One of the most vital and spiritually sound folk-music events in the country.”

- The New Yorker

The 10^th annual Brooklyn Folk Festival will feature festival favorites Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton (Brooklynite and mainstay of the festival), R. Crumb with The East River String Band, NPR Tiny Desk alums Spirit Family Reunion, and folk music legend John Cohen with the Down Hill Strugglers. The festival also includes Indian Classical Music from the Women’s Raga Massive, old time string band music from Bruce Molsky’s Mountain Drifters, a performance for children by Elizabeth Mitchell and Suni Paz, celebrating the release of their new Smithsonian Folkways album, Grammy-nominated Moroccan band Innov Gnawa (who have performed at Coachella and Lincoln Center), and much more!

Photos, poster, more information, Spotify playlist, etc., click here.

This year the festival brings home many favorite performers from its decade long history, along with exciting new underground-grassroots folk and traditional groups from New York City and around the nation. Celebrating folk music from near and far, the Brooklyn Folk Festival will showcase over forty musical acts as well as workshops, film screenings, dances and contests in its most ambitious iteration to date.

In addition to musical performances, the festival will also feature the NYC premiere of the documentary “Linefork,” about living legend Kentucky banjo player Lee Sexton, “How They Got Over” about the golden age of Black gospel quartets and a 50^th anniversary screening of counter-cultural cult classic film “Gold” with rare Q&A with the director. It also marks the release of the new album on the Smithsonian Folkways label from Elizabeth Mitchell and Suni Paz.

Performers at the 10^th Annual Brooklyn Folk Festival include:

Jerron Paxton

Spirit Family Reunion

Elizabeth Mitchell & Suni Paz

East River String Band with R. Crumb

Bruce Molsky’s Mountain Drifters

Innov Gnawa

Women’s Raga Massive

Thomas McCarthy

Bulla en el Barrio

Radio Jarocho 

Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues

Clifton Hicks

The Birdman of Rome

Feral Foster

Suzy & Eric Thompson

The Down Hill Strugglers with John Cohen

Mamie Minch & Tamar Korn

Steel City Jug Slammers

Piedmont Bluz

The HickHoppers

The Horse-Eyed Men

Eva Salina & Peter Stan

The Hayrollers

The Crimson Ragdolls

Wyndham Baird

Pat Conte

Little Nora Brown

The 10th annual festival has sold out every year and will remain at its home, St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church, in Brooklyn Heights, where its world-famous stained-glass windows will frame the stage. The Festival is produced by the newly non-profit Jalopy Theatre & School of Music, located in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The three-day event has grown in attendance and scope each year. The festival’s partnership with St. Ann's allows for a main stage inside the church, room for food, drink and vendors, plus a second stage and additional rooms for workshops and film screenings.

Adding to the festivities, the Festival features the World Famous Banjo Toss, banjo throwing contest (as featured in Associated Press), a family-friendly square dance, a Saturday night Salsa dance, a Sunday kid’s concert with Elizabeth Mitchell & Suni Paz and several open jam sessions. There will also be group singing sessions and workshops in blues guitar, old time banjo playing, fiddle and more, along with jam sessions.

"This 10th annual Brooklyn Folk Festival promises to be a truly special event as we expand the scope of the programming and welcome home favorite performers from the history of the festival," Eli Smith, founder and host of the Festival, said. "This year we expect a powerful array of sounds, with music from a huge diversity of genres including blues, old time music, traditional music from Morocco, Mexico, the Balkans, Ireland, Puerto Rico, India and elsewhere, trad jazz, song writers, jug band music and more!”

St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church is a National Historic Landmark, built in 1844. An important example of Gothic Revival architecture in America, the richly ornamented church is notable for its elaborately vaulted roof and window tracery. Before it was removed in 1906, its spire was the most visible landmark in Brooklyn and was used by ship captains to navigate the harbor. The Festival will take place in the main hall of the church, with workshops, film screenings and the square dance in the side hall and upstairs rooms. Food, drink and retail vendors will be on site.

The performances are separated into day passes, evening shows, and a full-festival three-day pass.

Tickets went on sale this morning at www.brooklynfolkfest.com/tickets

* The venue has seating for everyone.  Seating assignments are on a first come first serve basis.

* These prices do not include service fees.

* All events including workshops and film screenings are included in ticket price.

* St. Ann's Church and Parish Hall are wheelchair accessible.  If you are in a wheelchair and would like to take a workshop please email Lynette Wiley.

Creamery Mixtape 2.0 artwork

BROOKLYN STUDIO THE CREAMERY OFFERS MIXTAPE 2.0 INCLUDING NEW RECORDINGS FROM ANTIBALAS, INNOV GNAWA, M.A.K.U. SOUNDSYSTEM, AND MORE BANDS TO WATCH FOR 2019 ON JAN 19 RELEASE

Fuck you, playlists of sound-alike bands.  Live from the world’s tastiest melting pot, The Creamery Mixtape 2.O delivers a fresh installment to their second annual mixtape series on January 19, 2018. This 12- song compilation was crafted during a 4-day sprint at the Creamery Studio in Brooklyn and, like a subway car at rush hour, it crams together an eclectic group of New Yorkers into harmony. The groups all share one thing in common: the ability to create great music in front of a tape machine--and fast. Producers Quinn McCarthy and Jeff Fettig run the studio year-round but set time aside for the mixtape as a celebration of the city’s varied music scene and as homage to the live analogue recording art form.

“My personal library of music comes from all different genres and from all over the world. One of my favorite ways to listen to music these days is on shuffle,” says McCarthy.  “I enjoy living in the most mixed up place on earth and the mixtape is our way of capturing that variety with a common lens, since it’s all been recorded in our space and mixed with our ears and our vibe.”  This year’s acts include: Antibalas, the Daptone Records Afrobeat band that has cultivated New York’s Afropop scene for over a decade; Innov Gnawa, a collective that performed Coachella this year, singing a traditional form of Jewish spiritual music that originates from Morocco and Breastfist, a flamboyant funk supergroup composed of some of the Rockwood Music Hall’s greatest backing players.

While taste-makers keep trying to PUSH bands like brands, the Creamery Mixtape broadens the scope of what’s possible to fit under one umbrella.  Available exclusively on digital release through SoundCloud and Spotify. Private link: Password

BANDS ON THE MIXTAPE:

Antibalas – Daptone Records band and kings of Afrobeat in NYC.

M.A.K.U Soundsystem embodies an active quest for identity through sound and bodies in motion, and puts on a party for everyday people. It has played Lincoln Center, Music Hall of Williamsburg, GlobalFest, and more. Although not inherently discernible there are hints of Colombian Folklore, Psychedelic-rock and Caribbean grooves.

Innov Gnawa has played Red Rocks Amphitheatre as well as NYC’s Lincoln Center and Coachella. They play North African music known as Gnaoua and are based in NYC.

OxenFree have earned praise from KCRW, The Wild Honey Pie, and Consequence of Sound, which praised its “poppy melodies and precise, hefty guitar work.”

Lauren Balthrop – Alabama-born, New York-dwelling “absolutely lovely” (Stereogum) songwriter who has also sung with Bob Weird, Kevin Morby, Bejamin Booker, and Lucius.

Nikhil P. Yerawadekar & Low Mentality - The group merges elements of Afrobeat, reggae, dancehall, hip-hop, Afrobeat, and rock music to create deeply funky compositions that balance a compelling new style of songwriting with propulsive, danceable grooves. They have earned over 700,000 Spotify plays as well as praise from Relix, WFMU, KEXP, WNYC, Paste Magazine, NPR, and the NY Times.

The Boobies – It’s garage pop with teeth. Picture the color periwinkle blue, spray-painted by a Ramone, add blistering vocals with traces of southern soul, and a David Byrne sense of showmanship and you get The Boobies.

Queens songwriter Matt Sucich has appeared at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Electric Lady's Heartbreaker Banquet on Willie Nelson's Luck, TX ranch, Firefly Music Festival Newport Folk in Newport, RI, and has supported Levon Helm, Counting Crows, Lucius, Rachael Yamagata, and The Lone Bellow.

Breastfist is Michael League of Snarky Puppy’s favorite live band. It’s a bass-and-drum groove-based duo made up on Alan Hampton (bass) and Bill Campbell (drums).

Magana is haunted alternative-pop influenced by Sharon Van Etten and St. Vincent and based in Brooklyn.

“NEXT BIG-VOICED SOUL SENSATION OUT OF BROOKLYN” (MOJO) BETTE SMITH TO TAPE NPR SESSION AS ACCLAIM COMES IN

Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn soul singer and Big Legal Mess recording artist Bette Smith’s swaggering new album ‘Jetlagger’ is out as of last week and has earned her an upcoming NPR taping with World Café. Jimbo Mathus produced ‘Jetlagger.’ Smith plays Kung Fu Necktie (Upstairs) in Philadelphia on October 25.

 

Here’s what we’re reading:

 

"A rugged, chugging southern soul record... Like Betty Davis or Betty Wright before her, she's imbues tracks with shingly, sawtoothed texture, capable of breaking off a high note with a throaty cry or scraping so low and wide that she threatens to put her bass player out of work."

- Elias Leight, Billboard, July 26, 2017

 

“An incredible debut from the next big-voiced soul sensation out of Brooklyn.”

- Lois Wilson, MOJO Magazine, October, 2017

 

"a batch of tunes as powerful and taut as her wonderfully craggy voice... with a debut full-length as sturdy and uncompromising as Jetlagger, she’s the swaggering proof that there is nothing dated about soulful rock and roll sung with attitude, defiance, and a take-no-prisoners aesthetic."

- Hal Horowitz, American Songwriter, September 29, 2017

 

“A major new voice in soul music… Brooklyn’s Bette Smith possesses a one of a kind voice, deeply drenched in hot soul of the nearly incendiary Southern type. That voice could rock the biggest of stages and move mountains if it had to… Count me as a massive fan. Smith is the sort of artist that you’ll find yourself following her whole career.”

- Sarah Zupko, Pop Matters, September 19, 2017

 

“88 [out of 100]… At last, her vibrant recording debut is here to bring healing and happiness to fans of singers like Sharon Jones, Betty Wright and Naomi Shelton.”

- Annie Dinerman, Elmore Magazine, September 27, 2017

VOCAL POWERHOUSE BETTE SMITH TRACES BED-STUY ROOTS BACK TO DEEP SOUTH SOUL & GOSPEL HEADWATERS ON JIMBO MATHUS-PRODUCED DEBUT LP ‘JETLAGGER,’ OUT 9/29 VIA BIG LEGAL MESS

STREAM LEAD VIDEO "MAN CHILD" VIA BILLBOARD HERE: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7874090/bette-smith-jetlagger-debut-interview

Brooklyn soul dynamo Bette Smith will release her debut album, ‘Jetlagger,’ September 29 via Fat Possum subsidiary Big Legal Mess. Recorded in Mississippi with producer Jimbo Mathus—who’s played on records by everyone from Valerie June to Elvis Costello—the album finds Smith reconnecting with the Deep South roots of the gospel, soul, and blues music she grew up singing in New York’s rough and tumble Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. The record also fulfills a deathbed promise Smith made to her late brother, Junior, that she’d keep on singing no matter what.

“He told me, ‘I want you to sing; don’t give up,’” remembers Smith, who wears yellow onstage to honor his memory. “It’s all for Junior, now.”

In a premiere and feature, Billboard's Elias Leight writes, "A rugged, chugging southern soul record... Like Betty Davis or Betty Wright before her, she's imbues tracks with shingly, sawtoothed texture, capable of breaking off a high note with a throaty cry or scraping so low and wide that she threatens to put her bass player out of work."

‘Jetlagger’s ten tracks bring together obscure deep cuts, vintage classics, and originals written specifically for Smith, who counted late icon Ray Charles among the fans of her raspy and riveting voice. From a simmering take on Isaac Hayes’ “Do Your Thing” to a feverish rendition of the Staple Singers’ “City In The Sky,” the album showcases Smith’s fiery, mesmerizing delivery, rich with emotion and bruising in its honesty. Mathus dug deep into the Mississippi and Memphis soul bags for material, unearthing hidden gems like the moving “Flying Sweet Angel of Joy” by Famous L. Renfroe, while originals like the raucous soul-rocker “Man Child,” spare and funky “Shackles & Chains,” and Blaxsploitation soundtrack-esque “Durty Hustlin’” draw on Smith’s defiant and wild personality, as well as the hard-won perspective she gained growing up poor in Bed-Stuy. The deeply soulful title cut “I Will Feed You” and the rollicking title track were chosen from over a hundred songs that Smith wrote. First-call Memphis horn players Marc Franklin (Robert Cray, Lucero and Kirk Smothers (Don Bryant, Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper, Buddy Guy) were summoned to complete the album’s sound.

“Everything was recorded live,” recalls Smith, who cites her church choir director father and gospel-loving grandmother among her earliest influences. “I do well when I’m performing like that. There’s New York aggressiveness and passion. I get to a fever pitch. I’m gone. I’m not even there anymore. Something else takes over.”

‘Jetlagger’ follows Smith’s 2016 EP, which earned her international tour dates and rave reviews. Bitch Magazine compared her to Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu, praising her “stunning voice,” while Soul Tracks hailed her music as “steaming,” and No Depression exalted her as “a woman with the blues power of both Big Mama Thornton and Bessie Smith, the smooth classiness of jazz/blues singer Joe Williams, the dynamics of Koko Taylor, and the energy of Janis Joplin all wrapped up tight in a relevant Billie Holiday look.”

Smith will perform in NYC’s Riverside Park on Sunday, Sept 10 as part of the West Side County Fair presented by the Parks Department’s Summer On The Hudson series. Stay tuned for additional tour dates and details to be announced.

Bette Smith bio

-->

Born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bette Smith reconnected with her musical roots in Memphis and Mississippi – and fulfilled a promise to her late brother in the process. Recording her debut full-length album in Mississippi brought her to the roots of the gospel she sang in the church and the soul music she heard on the block on hot summer nights music growing up on the corner of Nostrand and Fulton. The powerful ‘Jetlagger’ comes out September 29 on Big Legal Mess, a Fat Possum subsidiary. “The south came to me and grabbed me and pulled me down there. The southern migration came up and got me. My neighbors in Bed-Stuy influenced me,” she says.

She recalls that Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn was a very different place when she was growing up. “It was rough back then!,” she exclaims. “There was lots of gang activity. One gang came after my brother and my dad came out with a lead pipe to protect him. It was really hairy. My older brother Junior protected me from all of that. He would intimidate all of the other guys.”

She owes even more to Junior. Several years ago, on his deathbed suffering from kidney failure, he made her promise not to give up on a career as a singer. Those last days of his, she sang while he tapped his foot on the hospital bed at Kings County Hospital. “I didn’t know how else to comfort him,” she recalls. He told her, “I want you to sing; don’t give up” and she’s kept that promise, playing gigs from One Penn Plaza in New York to the Boogie Woogie Festival in Brussels, Belgium, always wearing yellow on stage to honor him. “It’s all for Junior now,” she affirms.

Jimbo Mathus produced the album at Water Valley’s Dial Back Sound and sent roughs to Bruce Watson, who swiftly signed Smith on for a full-length. He’s become a secret weapon for Fat Possum and Big Legal Mess Records; in addition to being a solo artist and a founding member of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Mathus has also produced Shinyribs, Luther Dickinson, The Seratones, and played on records by Valerie June, Buddy Guy, and Elvis Costello. “You exceeded all expectations,” Mathus told her.

The trip was also Smith’s first to the deep south. She recalls, “It took me out of my comfort zone. I got lost in a swamp one time and kind of freaked out! I’m a quintessential city girl.”

Smith beams when talking about the sessions. “It was really wonderful. Everything was recorded live. I felt like I was Tina Turner and Etta James. I do well when I’m performing. It was a real performance that had never been captured before.” Anyone who’s ever seen her live knows how absorbed she gets on stage and these sessions put her in that same place. She continues, “There’s New York aggressiveness and passion. I get to a fever pitch. I’m gone. I’m not even there anymore. Something else takes over.”

Mathus dug deep into the Mississippi and Memphis soul bags, unearthing “Flying Sweet Angel of Joy” by Famous L. Renfroe, a song with which Smith particularly connected. “I believe in guardian angels. Jimbo picked up on that. I feel that I was giving voice for Famous. because he never really got a chance.” Mathus also picked Isaac Hayes’ “Do Your Thing,” which simmers with Memphis heat.

The raucous soul-rock of “Man Child,” the spare funk of “Shackles & Chains,” and Blaxsploitation soundtrack feel of “Durty Hustlin’” were all written or co-written by

Mathus specifically for Smith. She gets rough, wrestling the title track to the ground; the song captures the late nights and lack of sleep inherent in a musician’s life. First-call Memphis horn players Marc Franklin (Robert Cray, Lucero and Kirk Smothers (Don Bryant, Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper, Buddy Guy) were summoned to complete the album’s sound.

‘Jetlagger’s’ closer, the Staple Singers’ “City In the Sky,” connected her back to Bed-Stuy. She remembers, “My father was a church choir director. I was singing since I was five years old. I take it to church. I just break out, start speaking in tongues.” She also heard gospel around the house every weekend. “My grandmother listened to nothing but gospel,” she recalls, citing Mahalia Jackson and Reverend James Cleveland. “Every Sunday morning, she would get up and put on these records while dressing and praising the Lord. The furniture was plastic-covered. After lunch, it was more gospel music,” she says. Bed-Stuy block parties would also have revivalist-style gospel acts. “I’m steeped in it!,” she adds. Though a Seventh Day Adventist as a child, Smith is now a member of the Church of God in Christ.

Several years ago while singing in Los Angeles, Bette’s voice drew the attention of another artist who came up in the church – Ray Charles, who invited her to collaborate with him shortly before his passing. “It was the first inkling that I had greatness in me,” she says.

Reviewers have noticed, too. On the strength of a 2016 EP, Bitch Magazine compared her to Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu, praising her “stunning voice [and] powerful but pliable tone” saying that her songs “cut deep” and calling her music “remarkable.” Bitch continues, “[Smith’s] individuality keeps her story in her own hands and gives her firm ground from which to leap into her career. And with that voice, she can aim high.”

Soul Tracks said simply, “Steaming… That voice though!”

No Depression said, “Show stopper… Finally, a woman with the blues power of both Big Mama Thornton and Bessie Smith, the smooth, classiness of jazz/blues singer Joe Williams, the dynamics of Koko Taylor and the energy of Janis Joplin all wrapped up tight in a relevant Billie Holiday look… No lame, whiney female vocals here. It’s all confidence and power. The sexy slur and slide of Bette’s voice, her roll of syllables, the phrasing and intonation all on target, all polished with gratifying verve. But the true sting is in Bette’s ability to know exactly how to interpret a song -- her songs, or anyone else’s.”

She already can’t wait for her next trip down south, when she’s going to meet soul legends Al Green and Don Bryant. She says, “It feels like the circle is coming around. The gospel roots remain the same. This is timeless music – soul, rhythm and blues – Mississippi is the birthplace. When you’re down there, you feel something.”

The Down Hill Strugglers "Lone Prairie" embeddable track

JALOPY RECORDS TO RELEASE ITS FIRST LP BY THE DOWN HILL STRUGGLERS APRIL 28

TDHS HAVE PLAYED AT THE NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL, KENNEDY CENTER, AND MORE

Jalopy Records, the record label of Red Hook's Jalopy Theatre, is proud to announce the release of Lone Prairie, the first LP from The Down Hill Strugglers on April 28.

The Down Hill Strugglers is a string band composed of Eli Smith, Walker Shepard and Jackson Lynch, who play at various times; fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin and harmonica.  They have been playing together for five years and have performed at the Newport Folk Festival, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, the Brooklyn Folk Festival and many other places.  In 2013 they were featured on the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers film, "Inside Llewyn Davis" produced by T-Bone Burnett. The Down Hill Strugglers band formed while hanging out at the home of their mutual friend Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders, where they also met friend and mentor John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers.

The album features 13 all new recordings from the band and liner notes by Amanda Petrusich, contributing writer for The New Yorker, Pitchfork and a contributing editor at The Oxford American.  Her music and culture writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Spin, BuzzFeed, and she is the author of “Do Not Sell At Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World’s Rarest 78rpm Records”.  Petrusich has written that “The Down Hill Strugglers are, to my ears, the very best interpreters of traditional material presently going.”

From the liner notes:
“Lone Prairie was recorded in the spring of 2016 at the Jalopy Theatre in Red Hook, Brooklyn.  The band used two microphones, and played directly into a mono Nagra one-quarter-inch tape machine. They either ducked away from or leaned toward the mic to get their sound levels right. Then they stopped monkeying with the recording altogether, which is surely part of why it feels so pure and urgent. It is energizing in the way that looking at a river is energizing.”

“So what does it mean for a young band to make music like this right now? Our cultural moment certainly allows for (if not encourages) gratuitous elevation of the Self above all – but the Down Hill Strugglers think about their work differently. Each of these tracks takes inspiration from the rural visionaries of the early twentieth century, from the melodies and expressions that once guided and sustained whole communities in the Mountain South, the Deep South, and Way Out West. Lone Prairie is an earnest monument to the rural artists and songs this band loves: the Mississippi Possum Hunters, the Skillet Lickers, Bill Shepherd and Dock Boggs, the Carolina Tar Heels, Frank Blevins, George Pegram, Wilmer Watts, and many others. Using lovingly excavated 78 r.p.m. discs as source material – Walker, Jackson, and Eli disappear inside these tunes. In this way, the Strugglers become part of a continuum. Their performance is less about ardent self-expression and more about empathy, of finding a way in to other people’s anguish and elation: understanding it, bodying it anew, respecting it, and carrying it on. They pay homage to and remake in equal measure, as artists have been doing for centuries. This, I believe, is the best and most useful work a folk musician can hope to do.”

Lone Prairie will be released in conjunction with the Down Hill Strugglers April 30th appearance at the Brooklyn Folk Festival.  The album will be released as an LP, as well as on CD and via digital download.

The band will be touring in support of the album in May, June and September of 2017. Tour dates at http://www.DownHillStrugglers.com

More Quotes About The Down Hill Strugglers:

"Many string bands have the tunes but not the chops. Some have chops and tunes, but can't achieve lift-off, marching along politely like so many historical reenactors. But the Down Hill Strugglers hit the trifecta, pulling their bows deftly across the best numbers in the old-time songbook with more grit and style than just about any group fiddling away today."
- Nathan Salsburg, Curator, Alan Lomax Archive.

 “The Down Hill Strugglers bring back the true spirit of Old Time Music, where every singer invented his own performance. Besides being excellent musicians on fiddle, banjo and guitar, pump organ, harmonica, etc., they sing with the high voices that echo the sounds of young artists heard on the old 78s, evoking the spirit of the “Golden Era” of recording, and the mystery of their own identity.

They have built their repertoire from some of the best music of the past and they keep it alive and lively. They have found resonance with the intensity of rural music, while delighting in the nuances that preserve the individual uniqueness of the genre. This is music that will keep your mind dancing.

The Down Hill Strugglers are reaching for new musical highs, and they play the kind of music I want to hear.”
- John Cohen, New Lost City Ramblers.

Brooklyn Folk Fest poster

Jalopy 10th anniversary celebration poster

“ROOTS MUSIC HUB” (NY TIMES) JALOPY TO CELEBRATE 10TH ANNIVERSARY WITH SEPTEMBER 15-18 EXTRAVAGANZA CONCERTS WITH CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROP HUBBY JENKINS, BLIND BOY PAXTON, MANY MORE

35+ TOTAL ACTS, FILM SCREENING, ART OPENING, WORKSHOPS, PARTY, FAMILY CONCERT ON TAP AT JALOPY THEATER AND JALOPY TAVERN

Jalopy Theater – the music venue, instrument shop, music teaching space, and art gallery – will host a celebration September 15-18 to mark its 10th anniversary with its next door neighbor bar and grille Jalopy Tavern, featuring a weekend of music, an art opening, workshops, a party, a concert for families, and a film screening. Highlights among the artists performing include Hubby Jenkins of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Brooklyn’s premiere bluesman Blind Boy Paxton, Smithsonian Folkways band Downhill Strugglers, and country crooner Jack Grace.

Since 2006, it’s become a national folk music institution and nurtured a community that includes the next generation of NYC folk musicians. Gothamist has called it one of the “best small music venues in NYC.”

Brooklyn Magazine says, “It’s a rare and somewhat unique combination, one that fosters a back and forth between fans, amateurs, and local virtuosos. Teaching music helps break down the fourth wall–the divide between performer and audience–and recreates the sense of community that spurred the folk movement.”

Over the course of a decade, Jalopy has hosted performances by such acts as Marc Ribot, Sam Shepard, Peter Stampfel (Hold Modal Rounders), Charles Bradley, Spirit Family Reunion, Hurray For The Riff Raff, and Spider John Koerner.

Tickets: $15 per night. $40 for all nights, kids concert $5 for kids over 2, $10 adults, $25 for family of 4.

HERE ARE ALL TENTH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER:

PRE-PARTY AT JALOPY TAVERN:

Jalopy Tavern - Thursday - 8pm - Jack Grace - experimental country art rock that has been compared to everything from Frank Zappa to early Johnny Cash.

Jalopy Tavern - Thursday – 8:45pm - Karen Poliski - Local NYC songwriter with songs that are funny, sentimental, and sometimes downright dirty.

Jalopy Tavern - Thursday – 9:30pm - Lord Youth - Local indie-rock band with a brooding sound honed in Berlin.

Jalopy Tavern - Thursday – 10:15pm - Aaron Frazer - Songwriter and soul singer who masters old spirituals and original songs with a voice that drips with emotion and power.

Jalopy Tavern - Thursday - 11pm - Pocket Tonics - fronted by the up and coming Ali Dineen whose voice delivers extreme strength to jazz standards and spirituals alike.

ART SHOW: A DECADE OF CAPTURING THE JALOPY STAGE

Photographs, Paintings, Film Screenings, Sketches and Wood Burnings Inspired by the Artists at Jalopy
Opening Reception: Friday, September 16, 5 pm - 7:30 pm
Exhibit runs Thursday, September 15th - Sunday, October 14

As art inspires art, the musicians at the Jalopy Theatre have inspired a number of artists, leading them to create their own interpretations of what they see on the stage. This exhibit will feature the photographs of Jack Hirschorn, the paintings of Robin Hoffman, the sketches of Emily New and Ray Ray Mitrano. Jaxtaposed~Creations will feature wood burnings and jewelry inspired by various musicians. "Brooklyn Folk Festival Live," a short film shot at the 2016 Brooklyn Film Festival by Samuel Curtis and Spencer Showalter, will premier at this exhibit.

Beginning in 2008, Jack Hirschorn has photographed hundreds of shows at the Jalopy Theatre. His photographs bring the shows alive again, illustrating moments of collaboration between musicians, connection with the audience, perfecting their art.
Robin Hoffman was a fixture at the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music from 2009-2012. A former professional ballet dancer, fresh out of art school and a new parent to boot, she found an artistic anchor in the exciting music community rapidly building at Jalopy. She took ukulele lessons, attended multiple shows every week; listened and looked and drew and drew. Robin could eventually draw rapidly with very little light. She also had the privilege of witnessing and documenting the development and maturing of a wide range of bands and musicians.

She has shown at Jalopy four times previously and been interviewed by Lucid Culture and reviewed by New York Music Daily. Her approach relies upon musicality and movement analysis from her dance background and her formal illustration training at the School of Visual Arts.
Samuel Curtis and Spencer Showalter spend thousands of hours filming the music, musicians, fans and organizers of various festivals across the country. The pair will debut their short film made at the 2016 Brooklyn Folk Festival.

JALOPY TENTH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL PERFORMERS:

Jalopy Theater - Friday - 8pm - The Calamity Janes - Fantastic old time band powered by NYC's best female roots power team.

Jalopy Theater - Friday – 8:45pm - The Jalopy Chorus - Jalopy's own vocal group led by the acclaimed Eva Salina.

Jalopy Theater - Friday – 9:30pm - Eva Salina & Peter Stan - Great accordionist Peter Stan and local Balkan music hero Eva Salina performing the songs of Serbian Roma legend Šaban Bajramović

Jalopy Theater - Friday – 10:15pm - Mamie Minch & Tamar Korn - Sultry voiced blues master and guitar wizard Mamie Minch is unsurpassed when matched with NYC's sprite-like jazz hero Tamar Korn.

Jalopy Theater – Friday – 11pm - Brain Cloud - A western swing band, the Brain Cloud celebrate the art of genre-smashing, to create a sound that fuses jazz, blues, bluegrass, Appalachian fiddle tunes, cowboys songs, and country music.

Jalopy Theater – Friday – 11:45pm - Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues - Brooklyn-based collective of jug-band, country blues & old-time musicians dedicated to performing Jug Band Music both old & new.

Jalopy Tavern – Friday - 8:00pm - Dubl Handi - Dubl Handi uses percussion, guitar, drums, and banjo to play songs from appalachian region of the Northeast States.

Jalopy Tavern – Friday - 9:00pm - Jackson Lynch - old-time fiddle and blues guitar brilliance from one of the best young players.

Jalopy Tavern – Friday - 10:00pm - The Four o'clock Flowers - musical duo featuring the idyllic voice of Samoa Wilson with the technical guitar expertise of Ernie Vega.

Jalopy Tavern – Friday – 11pm - King Isto's Tropical String Band - songs from the middle of the Pacific led by guitar genius Isto.

Jalopy Tavern – Friday – 12am - Dr. Hop - blues, soul and R&B with Brooklyn's best bar band.

Jalopy Theater – Saturday – 7:30pm - M. Shanghai - A Brooklyn based folk collective with an adventurous take on Americana.

Jalopy Theater – Saturday – 8:15pm - Whistling Wolves - The best whistling-guitar- harmonica-ukulele-jug-bass-jawharp-accordion-banjo- fiddle-harmony singing band you've never heard.

Jalopy Theater – Saturday – 9:00pm - Jan Bell & the Maybelles - Based at the heart of the thriving grassroots folk music community in DUMBO and Red Hook, Jan Bell & the Maybelles breathe new life into old and worn folk tales.

Jalopy Theater – Saturday – 9:45pm - Pat Conte, Joe Bellulovich and Frankie Basile - Three of the most knowledgable and skilled players in American blues and roots music alive today.

Jalopy Theater – Saturday – 10:30pm - Feral Foster - local songwriter and singer who's hosted and curated the successful Roots n Ruckus weekly revue for over a decade.

Jalopy Theater – Saturday – 11:15pm - Alex Battles & The Whisky Rebellion - rollicking bar brawl numbers from the witty and passionate Mr. Battles.

Jalopy Tavern – Saturday – 8:00pm - Rashad Brown - originals, blues and gospel classics from local street performer.

Jalopy Tavern – Saturday – 9:00pm - The Horse-Eyed Men - Brilliant original tunes that sound like Country & Western from another planet.

Jalopy Tavern – Saturday – 10:00pm - Joanna Sternberg - heartbreaking songs with gorgeous melodies from one of the best up and coming songwriters in NYC.

Jalopy Tavern – Saturday – 11:00pm - Willy Gantrim - originals and blues that range from the achingly beautiful to the rowdiest juke joint anthems.

Jalopy Tavern – Saturday – 12:00am - Skalopy - Jalopy's house ska band performing classics from the Carribean.

Jalopy Tavern – Saturday – 1:00am – Papa Vega's Dream Shadows Orchestra - Ernie Vega's mega group to feature a dozen plus local musicians.

FAMILY CONCERT:

Astrograss will perform for families on Sunday at 11 am. Tickets are $5 for kids, $10 for adults and $25 for family of 4. ASTROGRASS gets kids and their parents dancing and singing together, with a unique blend of bluegrass, old time, and folk music. Astrograss concerts feature sing-a-longs, dance contests, and high-energy fiddle hoedowns. Their original songs cover topics like spelling, whether Pluto is a planet, bedtime and the many neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Astrograss features traditional bluegrass instrumentation, consisting of Jordan Shapiro on guitar, Sarah Alden on fiddle, Dennis Lichtman on mandolin, Jonah Bruno on banjo and Tim Kiah on bass. In response to the local Brooklyn parents' search of live musical entertainment for the whole family, Astrograss began playing its family shows in 2004. Astrograss family shows are for parents who want to be as enlivened as they want their children to be. Astrograss specializes in combining rocking bluegrass music with clever, witty educations songs that will make the parents laugh and the children dance. Educational and cultural topics are woven into this family show, leaving you with more knowledge about bluegrass music, and perhaps making you a better speller.

JALOPY TENTH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL PERFORMERS, CONTINUED:

Jalopy Theater – Sunday – 7:00pm - Audra Rox - Local to Red Hook, this crooning 1950s Swing band reenacts the sweet sounds of Louis Prima and Frank Sinatra.

Jalopy Theater – Sunday – 7:45pm - Matt Munisteri - A freewheeling, virtuosic guitarist, who spans across the jazz and American roots music spectrum.

Jalopy Theater – Sunday – 8:30pm - Hubby Jenkins - Carolina Chocolate Drop & Brooklyn native, commands the banjo and guitar with precise skill and energy.

Jalopy Theater – Sunday – 9:15pm - The Down Hill Strugglers - An old time string band that carries the music of the old rural America forward with verve and creativity.

Jalopy Theater – Sunday – 10:00pm - Jessy Carolina - a songwriter and jazz singer whose voice has a hypnotic power that captivates audiences everywhere.

Jalopy Theater – Sunday – 10:45pm - Blind Boy Paxton - An exuberant storyteller & multi-instrumentalist, Paxton straddles blues, jazz & early American String music with a quick tongue and captivating wit.

Jalopy Tavern – Sunday – 7:00pm - Richard Bennett- New Orleans, jazz, blues and original music by a couple of Brooklyn-based rabble-rousers.

Jalopy Tavern – Sunday – 9:00pm - East River String Band - A New York duo playing a vast spectrum of traditional American Blues, Country and Pop music ranging from the late 19th to the early 20th Century.

Jalopy Tavern – Sunday – 10:00pm - Five Mile String Band - old time string band with a whimsical sound.

THE CREAMERY STUDIO RELEASES MIXTAPE OF LIVE-TO-TAPE RECORDING SESSIONS W/ NOTABLE BROOKLYN ARTISTS

On June 3, Brooklyn-based recording studio, The Creamery, will release volume one of its series, The Creamery Mixtape, featuring ten cherry-picked artists rising to the top of the Brooklyn music scene. Los Hacheros, Alpenglow, Live Footage and Uni Ika Ai are a few of the groups to appear. The release showcases a wide variety of the city’s musical genres, putting them in concert under one sonic umbrella.

Producer/engineers Quinn McCarthy and Jeff Fettig, who operate the studio, took the project on almost as a dare. Over a short three-day period during this year’s CMJ music festival in New York, each of the ten groups came through the studio in three hour slots to record a few songs, live to tape.
“It was about finding the right groups who could play and have a sound,” Fettig recalls. McCarthy followed, “We made up our minds before we even started that this wasn’t going to be about producing each band and each song to sound its ‘best.’ Studios are always trying to market their mixes as ear candy. Of course, pushing a band to its stylistic apex is a skill and it’s a logical goal, but so many of the records we love aren’t about technical perfection, it’s about capturing a creative performance and an artistic vision.” The songs were recorded in this way to capture the spontaneous and organic feel of live recording, with the goal of creating a listening experience that blends modern artists with old-school recording styles.

To help create a sonic palette that united each artist, McCarthy and Fettig encouraged them to share instruments and gear with each other, utilizing the same drum set and amplifiers used on a salsa number and for an electronic duo. For the most part, the bands played to the vibe of the room without headphones. Though often an uncommon philosophy, for this session they felt that bleed between instruments is not only ok, but a basis for the sound, with every mic in the room also doubled as a ‘room mic.’ The sounds went straight into their 1985 Tascam MS-16 Tape Machine with minimal mixing in post, leaving nearly everything as it sounded in the room.

The Creamery Mixtape trancends genre and trend, it carries the energy of the studio and the honesty of the moment. It’s as fun to listen to as it was to record.

Featuring: Wolf!, Alpenglow, Los Hacheros, Miay Folick, Uni Ika Ai, Tim Porbaix, Toebow, Vassals, Live Footage, and Whitney Lockert.

EARLY UK PRAISE BUOYS LELAND SUNDRIES’ DEBUT ALBUM ‘MUSIC FOR OUTCASTS’ (JUNE 3 / L’ECHIQUIER/WEINER RECORDS)

BROOKLYN BAND ADDED TO GREEN RIVER FESTIVAL JULY 10

Leland Sundries’ debut full-length album ‘music for outcasts,’ out June 3 on L’Echiquier Records/Weiner Records, has earned raves in the UK, where it is already out. The Brooklyn band has also been added to the Green River Festival playing July 10, the same day as Tedeschi Trucks Band, North Mississippi All Stars, and Margo Price. Here’s what the UK press has said:

“Heaps of wit and melody… Beautiful rambling storytelling that flirts with pop and sounds a little like Silver Jews.”
- Peter Watts, UNCUT, April, 2016

“Scrappy yet ingenuous rock poetry.”
- MOJO, March, 2016

“Life affirming… Leland Sundries’ debut album and first European release shows a ton of promise and is a very enjoyable listen.  It will certainly appeal to fans of bands like Velvet Underground and Jonathan Richman as well as fans of bands like Whiskeytown and Starsailor.”
- Alan Ewart, Louder Than War, February 16, 2016

“All eleven tracks show glimpses of a future master musical storyteller just starting out. It’ll be exciting to see where Loss-Eaton – and Leland Sundries – go next.”
- Paul Heatley, Rock N Reel, April, 2016

“Leland Sundries match crackling garage rock with a near bubblegum love of melody. The band's sound sits somewhere between Pavement and The Archies, with a dose of Jonathan Richman's off kilter wit thrown in for good measure.”
- Robin Murray, Clash Music, January 19, 2016

“Cool… Notes of Lou Reed and the Modern Lovers.”
- Metro London, December 12, 2015

“Oddball storytelling.”
- The Beat Juice, November, 23, 2015

“Excellent.”
- Mad Mackeral, November 25, 2015

LELAND SUNDRIES TOUR DATES

Wed, May 18 - Brooklyn, NY - Gateway
Fri, June 17 - Norfolk, VA - 80/20 Burger Bar
Sat, June 18 - Charlottesville, VA - Ante Room
Wed, June 29 - Nashville, TN - The Family Wash
Thu, July 7 - Providence, RI - Dusk
Sun, July 10 - Greenfield, MA - Green River Fest

HOTLINE "Don't Look Away" video

Hotline - Don't Look Away from Matthew Walker on Vimeo.

2016 Brooklyn Folk Fest poster

8TH ANNUAL BROOKLYN FOLK FESTIVAL GOES ALL OUT WITH BIGGEST DIVERSITY OF BANDS, WORKSHOPS, CONTESTS, JAM SESSIONS TO DATE

FESTIVAL PLANS AMBITIOUS PROGRAM INCLUDING JERRON BLIND BOY PAXTON, MICHAEL HURLEY, SPIRIT FAMILY REUNION, GAIDA, FREEDOM SONGS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, ED SANDERS AND STEVE TAYLOR (OF THE FUGS) AND MORE

FESTIVAL ADDS 2ND STAGE ALLOWING FOR 40+ DIFFERENT PERFORMANCES

SYRIAN, COLOMBIAN, MEXICAN, ETHIOPAN MUSIC ADDED TO FOLK FESTIVAL, WHICH HAS SOLD OUT EVERY YEAR

Celebrating folk music from near and far, the Brooklyn Folk Festival showcases 30 bands, workshops, film screenings, dances and contests. Syrian vocalist Gaida will bring her band to the festival, country blues and songster multi-instrumentalist Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, folk legend and songwriter Michael Hurley, folk group Spirit Family Reunion and Ed Sanders and Steve Taylor (of the Fugs) are among the performers at this year's Festival, held from April 8th-10th.

Spotify playlist

This year the Brooklyn Folk Festival also seeks to highlight the role of culture in social and political activist movements.  Towards this end there will be several special performances and presentations: Veteran activist Mattie Jones will teach freedom songs of the Civil Rights Movement.  Hailing from Louisville, KY Ms. Jones has been involved in the Civil Rights Movement since the 1950’s when she marched with Martin Luther King Jr., worked to register voters, desegregate schools and public places, worked to free Angela Davis and against apartheid in South Africa, among many other struggles.  She would like to impart the songs and lessons from her life of activism to young people.  Puppeteers will perform a piece regarding climate change and we will also be presenting bands from Syria and Colombia, to highlight the cultures of two countries that have been much on people’s minds as part of the war on terror and the war on drugs.

The 8th annual festival has sold out every year, will remain at it’s new home, St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church, in Brooklyn Heights where its world-famous stained-glass windows will frame the stage. The Festival is a co-production of The Jalopy Theatre and Down Home Radio. The three-day event has grown in attendance and scope each year. The festival’s partnership with St. Ann's allows for a main stage inside the church, room for food, drink and vendors, a second stage and new this year, additional rooms for workshops and film screenings. Adding to the festivities, the Festival features the World Famous Banjo Toss Contest "(as featured in Associated Press last year), a family-friendly square dance, a new Saturday night swing dance, a Sunday kid’s concert and several open jam sessions.  There will also be workshops in shape-note singing, building instruments from found objects and Mississippi fiddle tunes, among others.

Tickets will go on sale today.

“The folk music of any place always has more heart and soul than corporate, mass produced music,” said folk fest performer Jerron “Blindboy” Paxton. “The Brooklyn Folk Festival will make 'the peoples music' [folk music] more accessible to the people of New York.  I enjoy playing the Brooklyn Folk Festival for the good music, good times, good people with whom I get to make music and the good people that I make music for.”

As an international city, New York is home to legendary musicians from around the world.  Abay Mengiste of Ethiopia will play the krar – an ancient lyre related to the biblical King David’s harp.  Syrian vocalist Gaida will bring her band and incredible voice to the festival this year.

"This 8th annual Brooklyn Folk Festival promises to be a truly special event as we expand the scope of the programming," Eli Smith, founder and co-host of the Festival, said. "This year we expect a powerful array of sounds, with music from a huge diversity of genres including gospel, blues, old time music, traditional Syrian, Mexican, Colombian and Ethiopian music, trad jazz, song writers, jug band music and more!

The venue, St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church is a National Historic Landmark, built in 1844. An important example of Gothic Revival architecture in America, the richly ornamented church is notable for its elaborately vaulted roof and window tracery. Before it was removed in 1906, its spire was the most visible landmark in Brooklyn and was used by ship captains to navigate the harbor. The Festival will take place in the main hall of the church, with workshops, film screenings and the square dance in the side hall. Food, drink and retail vendors will be on site.

The performances are separated into daytime and evening shows, day passes and a full-festival three-day pass. All workshops, film screenings, and the square dance are included in the price of admission.

FULL SCHEDULE

Friday
8:00PM Meredith Axelrod - Blues, Ragtime and Country music
8:45PM The Four o’clock Flowers – Blues, Folk, Gospel and early Jazz
9:30PM Michael Hurley - Legendary folk musician, needs no introduction!
10:15PM Special Guest!!
11:00PM Special Guest!!!
11:45pm Clifton Hicks – Old time banjo and ballads from Georgia!

Saturday Afternoon
12:45pm TBA
1:30PM Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues – Jug band music, original and traditional
2:15PM Happy Valley Pals – Oldtime string band from Durham, NC
3:00PM Willy Gantrim – Blues, Folk, Country and original songs
3:45PM Rafe & Clelia Stefanini – Fiddle and banjo music
4:30PM Rayna Gellert (of Uncle Earl) – Old time songs and tunes, original songs
5:15PM Piedmont Bluz – Country Blues guitar, harmonica, washboard
6:00PM Gaida – Syrian vocalist with her band, traditional Arabic maqams and more
6:45PM Mick & Evan Kinney- Amazing old time string band from the great state of Georgia!

Saturday
WORKSHOPS AND ACTIVITIES:
2PM Ukulele workshop
3PM Mississippi Fiddle Tunes workshop
4PM Build Your Own DIY Found Object Instruments with Zeke and Special guest!! Good for kids 6+!
4PM Oldtime Jam Session
5PM Blues guitar workshop
6PM Harmonica Contest!!!
8PM Skalopy – Jalopy’s own Ska band!
10PM Swing Dance!! Featuring music by Jessy Carolina and the Holy Crow Jazz Band!
Saturday Evening
7:45PM Ed Sanders & Steve Taylor (of the Fugs) – Songs and poems with music
8:30PM Feral Foster – Original and Folk songs
9:15PM Spirit Family Reunion – Original and Folk songs
10pm Jerron “Blindboy” Paxton - Blues, Old Time and Ragtime Music
10:45 Roy Williams & The Human Hands – Gypsy jazz, country and more!
11:30PM Radio Jarocho - Son Jarocho from Veracruz, Mexico
Sunday Afternoon
2:00PM Family Concert
3PM Rayna Gellert and Tim Eriksen: Songs for Sonya- Old-Time Ballads in honor of Sonya Cohen Cramer
3:45PM Freedom Songs of the Civil Rights Movement with activist and singer Mattie Jones
4:30PM Dubl Handi – Oldtime banjo and folk songs
5:15PM Down Hill Strugglers with John Cohen (of the New Lost City Ramblers) – Oldtime string band
6PM Bulla En El Barrio – Afro-Columbian percussion and vocal band, exploring new and classic Bailes Cantados of Bullerengue
Sunday Evening
7PM Wyndham Baird – Folk, Blues and Country songs with guitar, piano and harmonica
7:45PM East River String Band – Country Blues and Oldtime music
8:30PM Abay Mengiste - Ethiopian krar (lyre, like King David’s harp from the Bible) music
9:15PM The Whiskey Spitters - Jugband, Ragtime, Oldtime, the Jalopy house band!
9:45PM Special Guest!!

Sunday
WORKSHOPS AND ACTIVITIES:
1PM BANJO TOSS COMPETITION!!!
2PM Shape-note Singing with Tim Eriksen
2:30PM Banjo workshop
3PM Oldtime Jam
4PM Sam Wilson’s puppet show!
4PM Oldtime Jam Session
6PM Square Dance!! With the Happy Valley Pals!

Passes and Tickets are available at www.brooklynfolkfest.com/tickets
3-Day Pass: $85
Saturday All Day Pass: $35
Sunday All Day Pass: $35

Friday Evening, 8pm-12:30am: $25
Saturday Afternoon, 1pm-7:30pm: $25
Saturday Evening, 8pm-12:15am: $25
Sunday Afternoon, 2pm-6:45pm: $25
Sunday Evening, 7pm-10:45pm: $20

* The venue has seating for everyone.  Seating assignments are on a first come first serve basis.
* These prices do not include service fees.
* All events including workshops and film screenings are included in ticket price
* St. Ann's Church and Parish Hall are wheelchair accessible.  If you are in a wheelchair and would like to take a workshop please email Lynette@Jalopy.biz

Brooklyn Folk Fest 2015 recap video

BLUES FOR CHRISTMAS: A FESTIVAL OF THE BLUES AND THE HOLIDAYS TAKES PLACE DECEMBER 12 AT ROULETTE FEATURING POPA CHUBBY, MICHAEL HILL’S BLUES MOB WITH SPECIAL GUEST VERNON REID, JEFFREY GAINES, JESSE TERRY

Brooklyn Music Shop will present Blues for Christmas: A Festival of the Blues and the Holidays December 12 at Roulette. Here’s a playlist of the artists performing.

+ NYC native guitar wild man Popa Chubby, who recently celebrated his twenty-fifth anniversary as a performer. An imposing figure with a shaven head, tattooed arms, a goatee and a performance style he describes as “the Stooges meets Buddy Guy, Motörhead meets Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix meets Robert Johnson.”

+ Michael Hill is a 2011 inductee into the New York Blues Hall of Fame as a Master Blues Artist. Living Blues Magazine says, “Mixing blues, funk, soul and pop stylings with lyrics that reflect urban life, Hill has produced an atmospheric and evocative statement rife with social consciousness and personal angst. An admirable contribution to modern blues by one of its most talented songwriters and guitarists.” New York rock legend Vernon Reid of Living Colour and the Black Rock Coalition will perform as a special guest.

+ Of Jeffrey Gaines, Paste said, “Gaines possesses a raspy, soulful voice and a knack for soul-searching, gut-check lyrics.” He has also earned praise from Rolling Stone, Billboard, Associated Press, Washington Post, and more.

+ Jesse Terry has appeared at Bonnaroo and the Philadelphia Folk Festival and is a singer/songwriter with an uncanny ability to weave tales of travel and homecoming, of sorrow and of redemption, into songs that are simultaneously timeless and fresh. Terry’s music reflects an amalgam of influences, from Nashville to Laurel Canyon. His melodic and lyrically-driven Americana fits naturally on a playlist between cuts from Josh Ritter, Jackson Browne, Ryan Adams and Neil Young.

WHO: Popa Chubby, Michael Hill's Blues Mob, Jeffrey Gaines & Jesse Terry, and special guest Vernon Reid
WHAT: Blues For Christmas: A Festival of Blues and the Holidays
WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Roulette Theater, 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn (@ 3rd Ave.)
TICKETS: $35, http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2412846