The Back Porch News

Savannah Music Festival Selects 16 Young Musicians for Acoustic Music Seminar 2013

Sharon — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 05:07:45 +0000

The Savannah Music Festival has announced its chosen participants for the 2nd Annual Acoustic Music Seminar (AMS), a mentorship program involving five days of hands-on instruction for promising and talented young musicians (ages 15 to 22) in acoustic music. Led by acclaimed mandolin player Mike Marshall, this year’s students will also study with world-class musicians [...]

In Memory of Earl Scruggs

Sharon — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 04:13:08 +0000

If you follow national music news, you don’t need me to tell you that world-renowned bluegrass banjo artist Earl Scruggs passed away on Wednesday at the age of 88. If you’re a bluegrass or country music fan, you don’t need me to describe for you his style of banjo picking and the resulting sound. But [...]

Call for Papers Issued for Woody Guthrie Centennial Conference

Sharon — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:22:07 +0000

The Pennsylvania State University has announced a call for papers for Woody@100: Woody Guthrie’s Legacy to Working Men and Women, conference and concert to be held at Penn State, September 7-9, 2012. The event is part of a year-long centennial celebration of Guthrie’s life and work created by the Grammy Museum and the Guthrie Foundation [...]

Folk Musicians Featured in International Acoustic Music Awards

Sharon — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 05:11:46 +0000

The Wailin Jennys picked up first prize in the Group/Duo category at the International Acoustic Music Awards for “Bird Song,” on the Bright Morning Stars album. Ruth Moody, a member of the group, was runner-up in the Folk category for the title song on her album The Garden. The Folk first prize went to William [...]

Secret Sisters Among Americana Music Award Nominees

Sharon — Tue, 24 May 2011 05:36:00 +0000

Lydia and Laura Rogers, aka the Secret Sisters, are among the nominees announced on Monday for the annual Americana Music Association Honors and Awards to be given in October. The sisters, along with Jessica Lea Mayfield, The Civil Wars, and the British group Mumford and Sons, have been nominated for the New/Emerging Artist of the [...]

Newport Folk Festival Tickets On Sale March 31

Sharon — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 04:57:52 +0000

Tickets for the Newport Folk Festival will be available on the festival website starting Thursday, March 31 at 10:00 a.m. The festival will be held July 30-31 in Fort Adams State Park, Newport, Rhode Island. Musicians scheduled to perform span a variety of folk music, from traditional to pop-folk to folk rock to blues and even [...]

Cecil Sharp Appalachian Diaries to Inspire New Music

Sharon — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 05:30:27 +0000

English folk musicologist Cecil Sharp and his secretary Maud Karpeles spent several months of 1916-1918 on multiple trips through the Appalachian Mountains collecting folk songs, largely those Sharp believed to be of British origin. Sharp’s Appalachian diaries are the focus of an upcoming residential project sponsored by the English Folk Dance and Song Society and [...]

I’m Dreaming of a Folk Christmas

Sharon — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 06:22:31 +0000

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, does folk music play a part in your Christmas celebration? What’s on your folk Christmas wish list? I’ve been looking around for Christmas music in various folk styles. If you’re doing the same, About.com has a Christmas folk music series that might give you some ideas. Richard Gillmann’s [...]