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Folk NewsVol. 27 No 1 world Folk Music AssociAtioN wiNter 2013

MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW! On June 1, 2013, WFMA will present a very special benefit concert for

THE MADISON HOUSE AUTISM FOUNDATION This concert will differ from our past benefit concerts in sev-eral ways. First, proceeds from ticket sales will go to The Madi-son House Autism Foundation, an organization that specializes in support for adults with au-tism. And second, we plan to present fewer perform-ers, so that you may enjoy more music from each of the artists participating in the show. The concert will be held at the Clarice Smith Per-forming Arts Center, on the campus of the University of Maryland, in College Park. This was the site of our 25th Annual continued top page 2

and Conference Center, located just a short distance from the Clarice Smith Center. Joining us to help raise money for Madison House will be some of the most well known artists in folk

music, including (at this time) Tom Paxton, Noel Paul Stookey and Mack Bailey. But be sure to keep an eye on our website—we will soon announce more performers and additional details. We hope you will be able to join us for this very

special evening of music for a very good cause.

SHOWCASES RETURN!by Doris Justis

WFMA will kick off a new showcase series in Silver Spring, MD on Sunday, January 13, 2013 at 8:00 pm. WFMA has taken a break from the showcase format for several years. With the success of our farewell to Ireland’s Four Provinces showcase in March, 2012 (home of monthly showcases in the 1980s), we decided to bring back the showcases! So starting this month, we will have a “second Sunday” showcase at the El Golfo Restau-rant, in Silver Spring for the next several months.

The performers for the first showcase will be Side by Side (Do-ris Justis and Sean McGhee) return-ing as the “houseband,” along with Kevin James (who frequently per-formed at our showcases in the past) and a new group with nine members,

Shenandoah Run. Please call El Golfo at (301) 608-2121 for reser-vations and be sure to tell them you are coming for the performance at 8:00 pm so you can be seated in our room. This will be a pay at the door event (cash or credit card) - $10 for WFMA members and $15 for non members. El Golfo features a full menu of delicious Latin American cuisine (yes, we have been there and we recommend it!) and has full bar service, so plan on dinner and drinks. The room seats 75 so please

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Benefit Concert, in April of 2011. Our headquarters hotel for the event will once again be the Marriott Inn

Photo by Sally Farr Photo by Chuck MorsePhoto by Joanne Nanna

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Kensington Station - by Mary LedfordSied by Side - by Mary Ledford

reserve early. Parking is available in the lot adjacent to the restaurant. WFMA began the original show-case series in February of 1984 at the Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria, VA and later expanded the series to other loca-tions in DC, Maryland and Virginia. Each showcase featured the houseband, Side by Side and three other acts. During the 15 year showcase run, we had a “who’s who of folk” on our showcase stages, in-cluding Christine Lavin, Noel Paul Stookey, Schooner Fare, Kevin, of course, Steve Gillette, Bill Danoff,

The Madison House Autism Foundation is honored and excit-ed to team up with WFMA to help bring great folk music to new audi-ences and at the same time promote awareness and appreciation of the opportunities and challenges of liv-ing with autism. “Of all the arts, folk music has a unique ability to bring artistic ex-pression to the lives and stories of people from all walks of life,” notes MHAF Founder and President JaL-ynn Prince. “Because most of us understand so little about the tal-ents and challenges faced by adults with autism, this is a beautiful op-

continued from page 1 portunity not only to appreciate great folk music but at the same time celebrate the diversity of our shared human existence.” One in 88 children are diag-nosed with autism today. Like most individuals, they will live the ma-jority of their lifetimes as adults. Their future however, will be dra-matically different, with little hope for jobs, moving out of their par-ents’ homes, social engagement and basic quality of life opportuni-ties. Madison House Autism Foun-dation is among the first and few organizations in the nation to fo-cus exclusively on addressing the social, educational, and economic

challenges impacting adults with autism and their families. “We are deeply moved by the willingness of WFMA to dedicate proceeds of its folk music perfor-mances to benefit Madison House programs on behalf of adults with autism who struggle to find a way to navigate our world,” added Prince. “We welcome your ideas, invite you to share your stories, and encourage you to contact us at www.madisonhouseautism.org to let us know how we can reach oth-ers who share the goals of bringing hope and possibility to adults with autism.”

Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lena and Sanford Markley, Danny Doyle, Bob Gibson, John Stewart….and the list goes on and on. I will be coor-dinating the showcases at El Golfo

(as I did for the original showcase series) and in the coming months I will bring you many of your favor-ites and some new folks too. The showcase evenings are always full of wonderful surprises and memorable moments. You can look for local

favorite, Kensington Station to be at the next showcase, on Sunday, February 10. El Golfo Restaurant is located at 8739 Flower Ave, Silver Spring,

MD, 20901. You can find directions to the restaurant, information about the performers, and much more about the showcase series on our website at www.

wfma.net/egshowcase.htm. If you are a performer interested in participating in a future showcase, or just know of a performer you would like to see at one of these shows, please email me at DorisJus-tis@yahoo.com.

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Meet Koen Miller A Folk Fan at 11 Years Old

by Chuck Morse I would like y o u t o m e e t the newest and youngest (that I know of) WFMA folk fan. His

name is Koen Miller. Koen is an 11 year old autistic boy in Richmond, CA (north of Berkeley). His introduction to folk music was seeing the movie A Mighty Wind (at

the age of 2), and he was totally obsessed with it. He wore out the first copy and his family had to buy him a second copy. The family got a bit tired of seeing that movie over and over, so his mother bought him the PBS DVD This Land is Your Land. That soon became his favorite and introduced him to real folk musicians for the first time. He now has all of the WFMA DVDs, Let’s Get Together, Kingston Trio 45th Anniver-sary and the Tom Paxton Celebration, and he is working on adding all of the WFMA CDs to his collection. He spends most of his free time thinking about, listening to,

playing and researching folk music. He’s writing a “set list” of his favorite songs to play. (He plays ukulele and tenor guitar.) He and some of his friends recently produced their own backyard “benefit concert,” play-ing and singing many of their favorite folk songs. WFMA is delighted to be able to help Koen enjoy his favorite kind of music. If you are aware of any other young folk music fans that you would like to see featured in Folk News, just send us an email (webmas-ter@wfma.net) or a letter and we will follow up with you to get more details.

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Folk NewsVol. 27 No. 1

The Newsletter of theWorld Folk Music Association

PO Box 83583 • Gaithersburg, MD 20883Contributors:

Fred Cherney • Chuck Morse Doris Justis • Joanne Nanna • Sally Farr

WFMA is a non-profit, tax-exemptorganization dedicated to the promotion of contemporary and traditional folk music.

“Wasn’t That A Party!” Tom Paxton

Celebrates his 75th Article & Photo by Joanne Nanna

Tom Paxton celebrated his 75th birthday with several of his musical friends and a capacity crowd at the Birchmere on Oct. 27. An informal party atmosphere was evident through-out the evening, as the audience clapped and sang along with many songs. Multi-instrumentalist Robin Bull-ock and bassist Ron Greenstein accom-panied Paxton throughout the evening while Marcy Marxer added her vocals

and expert guitar, banjo, and mandolin on most songs. Bullock, Cathy Fink, Debi Smith, and Anne Hills, among others, provided additional harmonies. There was a strong sense of camarade-rie among all the artists and between them and their audience. The set list included classics “Ramblin’ Boy,” “Peace Will Come,” and “The Last Thing On My Mind.” There were also cuts from Comedians and Angels, Paxton’s most recent re-cording, including the title song and “How Beautiful Upon The Mountain.” Additionally, most of the artists took star turns on lead vocals for particu-lar Paxton songs that held particular meaning for them. One of the evening’s highlights came when Paxton’s grandson, Sean Silvia, joined him on stage as guest vocalist. The young man sang along

on “Marvelous Toy,” showing the self-assurance of a veteran performer. An emotional moment came when longtime duo Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer gave a beautiful rendition of the love song, “You are Love.” They introduced the song as one of the most beautiful they knew, and spoke of it being played at their recent wed-ding. Marxer joked that after 30 years together, people wondered if it would last. With his long and distinguished career, Tom Paxton has become an American icon in the folk music world. My memories of him and his music go back as far as I can recall and his influence on both contemporary and traditional artists is obvious. Here’s hoping we have the privilege of attend-ing many more of his birthday parties in the future.

WFMA’s First House Concert

Featured Jack Williams

by Chuck Morse

Our first WFMA “House Con-cert,” at the home of Bruce Cohen, in Silver Spring, MD, was a wonderful evening of music. A capacity crowd of over 50 fans braved the 100+ de-gree temperature on July 7 to enjoy the music of the very talented Jack Williams.

Jack had delighted audiences at our 15th Annual Benefit Weekend in 2000, and our 18th Annual Benefit Weekend in 2003. Being able to enjoy a full evening of Jack’s songs, stories and amazing guitar playing in the intimate atmosphere of a house concert was a real treat. Jack’s concert reflected his expe-riences during his 50+-year career of playing folk, rock, jazz, R&B, clas-sical and the popular music of the 30s, 40s and 50s. The hot weather did not seem to bother him a bit. He performed two long sets that included many fan favorites, including “Mama Lou,” “The Old Buckdancer’s Gone,” “The High Road Home,” his tribute

to Josh White, “A Natural Man,” and Bob Dylan’s “Buckets of Rain.” As always, the songs were interspersed with moving stories of growing up, his early musical career and deal-ing with aging parents. Perhaps the highlight of the evening came when he closed the show with his amazing, right-brain, stream-of-consciousness, “That’s All” Medley, which lasted over 30 minutes. As the fans left the show, the smiles on their faces were a sure sign that everyone had enjoyed the show, despite the extreme heat. And as an added bonus, Ryan Eicher, a Silver Spring artist, exhibit-ed his intricate and colorful pendants of blown glass. Ryan also brought his glass blowing equipment, and gave a demonstration of his skills on the front porch during intermission. We are very grateful to Bruce and Rose for their hospitality, not only for allowing us to use their beautiful, his-toric house for this concert, but also for providing snacks and beverages for the evening. We look forward to doing more house concerts at this wonderful location.

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Tom Rowe, A Celebration of

Song Concert

In the early years of WFMA, we sponsored several annual trips to at-tend Schooner Fare concerts in their home state of Maine. WFMA is con-sidering reinstating the “WFMA Travel Program” with another trip to Maine for the Ninth Annual “Tom Rowe, A Celebration of Song Concert.” For the past eight years, Dave Rowe has organized an annual concert in honor of his dad, Tom Rowe, who passed away on January 17, 2004 after a courageous battle with cancer. Tom was best known as a member of Schooner Fare, but from 1992-1998 he also performed with his son Dave, as Rowe by Rowe, and in 1998, they added a third member, Denny Breau, and renamed the group to Turkey Hol-low Consort. The concert is being planned for May 11, 2013 (Mother’s Day Week-end) in Auburn, ME. Artists scheduled to appear include Schooner Fare, Dave Rowe’s duo the Squid Jiggers, Denny Breau and our own Side by Side. Many of those interested in the trip have indicated that they would prefer a method of transportation to/from Auburn that would allow them to make personal stops along the way. So we are working towards providing concert tickets, a group hotel rate and some special activities with the performers. More information will be available near the end of January.

Falcon Ridge 2012by Joanne Nanna

The 2012 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival took place on July 26-28. Once again the weather was a main topic of conversa-tion. The temperatures were more moderate compared to last year’s scorching highs, but the seeming summer monsoons of the Berkshires returned with a vengeance. Several hours of steady rain most of the weekend kept attendance down and turned parts of the campgrounds, stage area and the midway into mud baths. Though fewer than aver-age, the attendees were a typical Falcon Ridge crowd. A small city sprang up overnight in the campgrounds complete with outdoor kitchens and residents who formed an instant family. Daily necessi-ties such as snacks and sunscreen were freely shared and you could hear song circles at all hours of the day and night under shade tarps during periods of rainfall. Whenever the weather is less than ideal the dance tent takes on added sig-nificance. During last year’s heat wave people flocked there to take advantage of the shaded 8,000 square foot floor and the many cooling fans set up inside. This year it gave them shelter from the rains. Bands such as The Clayfoot Strutters, The Grand Slambovians, Jubal’s Kin, and the Falcon Ridge House Band pro-vided entertainment in a variety of musi-cal styles. Many of the dance sessions were led by callers, and some functioned as instructional workshops for those wishing to improve their footwork.The main stage was graced by old Fal-con Ridge favorites plus some new to the festival. Eddie From Ohio returned after a one year absence as did Katryna and Nerissa Nields. Holly Near per-formed for the first time in many years,

and Girlyman came back with their beautiful 3 part harmonies. Two of the newer bands to appear were Spuyten Duyvil and Baltimore’s own ilyAIMY. Tracy Grammer, who has played at the festival every year since 2000, pro-

vided some of the weekend’s highlights. At a solo work-shop and then during a prime main stage slot on Saturday evening, she dedicated her performances to celebrating the memory of Dave Carter, who died suddenly of a heart attack the week before Falcon Ridge ten years ago. It was just her and her guitar during the workshop, playing music composed by Carter and per-

formed by them as a duo. In between songs she spoke of meeting Carter, and gave insight into his personality and how many of the songs were written and what they were about. The main stage show featured guest appearances from many of her and Carter’s musical friends, including the Nields sisters, Rod McDonald, percussionist Cheryl Prashker, and Brother Sun. She was supported by new band mates Michael Kurman and Rob Schnell. Some of the same artists were on stage 10 years ago standing in for Dave and Tracy during what would have been their set. It was all about deep sorrow and loss back then, but this year it became a big cel-ebration of Carter’s life and music and Grammer’s talent and perseverance in keeping it alive. Despite the less than ideal weather, I found the 2012 Falcon Ridge Folk Festi-val to be a thoroughly satisfying experi-ence. There is so much that is good about it which can’t be negated by a little rain. Attendees still get to spend 3 or 4 days in the mountains of Columbia County, NY, as part of a unified community being entertained by some of the best the folk genre has to offer. In 2013 it’s scheduled for Aug. 2-4. I plan to be there.

Photos by Joanne Nanna

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Now AVAilAble

A DVD of highlights from our Tom Paxton Celebration

on May 3, 2008Featuring

Peter Yarrow • Noel Paul Stookey • Christine Lavin

The Chad Mitchell Trio • Anne Hills

The Limeliters • Carolyn Hester • Side by Side

Visit www.wfma.net for details.

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PO Box 40553 Washington DC 20016

First Class

Winter 2009 8

On the Radio:

Folk Classics with Steve Aaronson Whether you’re a 1960s folkie like me, or are keeping up with more contemporary artists, we can agree that folk music on the radio is a rare and precious commodity. Rest assured, however, that all is not lost. There’s a community public radio station in Bethlehem Pennsylvania – WDIY 88.1 FM -- that offers folk music every weeknight, and on Sunday mornings as well. The even better news is that you can listen to WDIY on its website at www.diy.org On Monday evenings, from seven to nine PM, I host a show called

Folk Classics. The program features music and artists from what many consider to be folk’s Golden Age – the late 1940s to the early seventies. On any given Monday you may hear pioneers like Woody Guthrie, troubadours like Tom Paxton, groups like the Chad Mitchell Trio, and “folk pop” performers like The Byrds. There’s also the occasional interview with visiting performers like Janis Ian – and radio stars like Dick Cerri and Doris Justis! As an editorial aside, I must add that the inspiration for Folk Classics

was definitely Dick Cerri’s Music Americana. Throughout the week the width and breadth of the folk genre can be heard: contemporary on Tuesday nights, American Roots on Wednesday nights, Celtic on Thursday nights, and a mixed bag on Friday nights and Sunday mornings. Sundays also bring WDIY listeners Sing Out’s radio magazine. So, take heart fellow folkies. To paraphrase our friend Doris Justis: WDIY 88.1 FM is “keeping folk music alive and songs in our hearts!” Tune in at www.wdiy.org.

PO Box 83583Gaithersburg, MD, 20883