Dear Supporter,
50 Years: Where Do You Come From? Where Do You Go?, a three-disc box set from The New Lost City Ramblers, is now available from Smithsonian Folkways. The box set commemorates five decades of contributions from a group whose reverence for and dedication to the genius of the American folk music tradition put them at the vanguard of the folk revival movement.
50 Years features classic recordings by the group (Mike Seeger, John Cohen, and Tom Paley—later replaced by Tracy Schwarz ) and a newly compiled third disc of both Ramblers performances and field recordings of traditional musicians, including six previously unreleased tracks.
* Special Discount for Newsletter Subscribers: Until August 31st, enter code NewLostCity50 during checkout to save 20% off retail price (code applies to either CD or digital download format).
* Free Downloads: For a limited time, please enjoy three free song downloads from the box set.
Smithsonian Folkways remembers traditional music preserver, performer, and teacher Mike Seeger (1933–2009)
We invite everyone to visit the Mike Seeger appreciation page and also share thoughts, memories, and stories of Mike on the Smithsonian Folkways Facebook Page or email them to SmithsonianFolkways@si.edu.
John Cohen Profile on Smithsonian Channel
Play On, John: A Life in Music, a new film about musician/musicologist/filmmaker/photographer John Cohen, will premiere September 13th on the Smithsonian Channel. Click here for a schedule, and click here to find out how to get the Smithsonian Channel.
Introducing Go Waggaloo by Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family
Go Waggaloo, a new album of children’s music from Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family, will be available for pre-order from Smithsonian Folkways in September and in stores October 27th. Joined by her husband Johnny Irion, their two daughters, her father Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Pete’s grandson Tao Rodriguez Seeger, Sarah Lee Guthrie presents thoughtful yet playful recordings of traditional songs and new compositions, including three songs featuring lyrics by her grandfather Woody Guthrie never before put to music.
* Listen to the world premiere of “‘Cuz We’re Cousins” from Go Waggaloo.
* See Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family on Tour, including a fundraiser for Clearwater September 11th in Tarrytown, NY, and a benefit concert with Pete Seeger and The Waybacks for The Center for Steinbeck Studies September 18th in San Francisco, CA.
Smithsonian Folkways Trivia!
Each month we’ll ask a trivia question; email your answer, name, and address with the subject “August Trivia” to SmithsonianFolkways@si.edu by August 31st and a randomly selected entrant with the correct answer will win a free CD of his or her choice!
August Question: One of the most popular songs by a legendary rock band was inspired by The New Lost City Ramblers and its member John Cohen. What is the song?
Congratulations to last month’s winner, Joe, from Brooklyn, NY, who correctly answered “12 strings, six double course” to July’s question: The bajo sexto is an instrument used in the conjunto tejano music originating from the Rio Grande Valley and featured on the new album Borders y Bailes by Los Texmaniacs. How many strings does a typical bajo sexto have?
New Releases
50 Years: Where Do You Come From? Where Do You Go?
The New Lost City Ramblers
Blodeugerdd: Song of the Flowers – An Anthology of Welsh Music and Song
Various Artists
Borders y Bailes
Los Texmaniacs
Essential Picks
Ramblin’
Lucinda Williams
Folk Songs of Maine
Edward “Sandy” Ives
Charles Ives: The Short Piano Pieces
James Sykes
News and Notes
* We remember folkorist Edward “Sandy” Ives (1925–2009), who founded the Maine Folklife Center and recorded Folk Songs of Maine.
* We remember Sandy Paton (1928–2009), folksinger and co-founder of the Folk-Legacy record label. Sandy recorded/produced albums of Frank Proffitt and Horton Barker for Folkways Records.
* Violinist Jerome Wigler, 89, is the oldest active member of the nation’s five major symphony orchestras. Hear him on the Raymond Swing: Seventy–Fifth Anniversary Album.
