Get down, Corey Koehler, you are doing all the good:

This is pretty darned fresh: Nora Jane Struthers & The Party Line are proving to be a rather urbane mélange within the present-day explosion of Americana. With the coming April 16 release of Carnival, Nora Jane Struthers fronts a collaborative ensemble that both embraces the evolution of present-day Americana and champions the traditional influences that is at the core of Carnival.

When you go to a carnival, you go into a sideshow tent, and on every stage you find a different person with a different story. That’s what I’m trying to do with this album – craft vignettes, and in some cases more developed narratives, about imaginary people’s lives.
 

In the winter of 2011 in the low lying valley of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, Charles Davis and Christiana Bartolini discovered that they were both searching for a new music project to pursue. Christiana, the lead singer, brought her laptop and a bag of various hand percussion instruments and Charles, pianist, guitarist & bassist, skillfully utilized those staple instruments. They soon formed a sound varying between “woozy dream pop,” “eerie folk,” and beyond. 

From their self-titled debut album, listen to Cherokee Red's Vaya Con Dios:

Born in Florence, Italy, Giulia Millanta recently moved to Austin, Texas and just released a folk-rock acoustic album, recorded live at the Churchhouse Studio, co-produced with David Pulkingham.  Really fine playing, singing, compositions, a very satisfying musical outing with songs in three languages. Listen, click here for more:

Jon Shain is the rare folkie who truly brings the "chops" to his songs along with the lyrics. The last few years Shain has been headlining esteemed listening rooms up and down the East Coast in addition to doing some of the highest profile shows of his career – opening sold out theatre shows for John Hiatt, Keb’ Mo’, Little Feat, and others. 

Check out a track from his new release, Ordinary Cats:

Sarah-Jane Summers is destined to stand with the great Scottish fiddlers (folkwords)

Sarah-Jane Summers, we would say OMG if it weren't beneath even our low-flying dignity, but please listen!  Mala Fama is the new album from Sarah-Jane’s trio. "Energetic, frenetic and danceable one moment, lyrical, tear-inducing and evocative the next, their repertoire consists primarily of their own compositions, interspersed with traditional tunes from Scotland, Finland and Norway, reflecting the members’ nationalities."

OR if you like a little more rocking out, try Spike On a Bike:

This is cool: Red Molly consists of Laurie MacAllister (bass), Abbie Gardner (dobro, banjo) and Molly Venter (guitar). Abbie wrote "Hello Goodbye" with her father Herb Gardner, a swing jazz and stride pianist and dixieland trombonist who has played with Wynton Marsalis, Roy Eldridge, Henry "Red" Allen, Jimmy Rushing, and Doc Cheatham. Abbie was American Songwriter Magazine's Lyric Contest Grand Prize Winner in 2008. The name Red Molly is taken from a character in the Richard Thompson song "1952 Vincent Black Lightning." Watch Hello Goodbye, not the one you are thinking of.....

In this single from the upcoming album, Over Land and Sea, Lauren Mann channels her influences, ranging from Carole King to Woodie Guthrie in the vocals, capitalizing on her delicate tenderness as The Odd Folk quietly chime in behind, only to erupt once the chorus begins. Listen, spread the word:

A collection of essentials for practicing musicians, starting with 20 minutes from Benjamin Zander, "The transformative power of classical music".

Two of our most popular areas on the website, the Folk Festival and Folk Radio sections, became hopelessly out-dated over the past 13 years, and we decided to clean house and start over as part of our site upgrade.

We now have a "fresh", all-new, all-improved section awaiting population. We ask all festival producers and folk radio show DJs to please stop in and add your info- with your help we can re-make this valuable resource for our fans all over the world.

Click to add your festival or radio show: Folk Festivals / Folk Radio Shows