The New England Folk Festival Comes to Somerville

Showcase concert to feature NEFFA artists Lynn Noel, Corvus, Wear My Letter and Marylou Ferrante

Somerville - Although the New England Folk Festival has been around since 1944 and in April will present its 68^th annual edition in Mansfield, “NEFFA” (the “a” stands for “association”) is not necessarily, to the general populace, a household word. To increase public awareness, and to entice new patrons to the festival, the non-profit educational and cultural organization, whose mission is “to encourage, sponsor, and preserve high standards of performance of the folk arts and traditions in New England and elsewhere” will present in Somerville a pre-festival “showcase” concert featuring a representative sample of four distinct music genres that are typically found at the festival.

“The festival is well known to and attended by those already connected with folk arts, and NEFFA produces a weekly contradance series at the Scout House in Concord. But at our 2011 retreat and subsequent meetings, the board of directors decided that more could be done to bring folk music to the community,” said Jeff Boudreau, who serves on the NEFFA board.

The New England Folk Festival has many components: folk arts and crafts; folk music, including concerts, workshops, and jams; International Dance Performance in traditional costumes; Ritual Dance Performances; and participatory dancing, including International line dance, Couple dance, and Contra/Sqaure dancing and other traditional dance forms. When NEFFA says “folk” it means “folk”. “The general public often confuses “contemporary” singer-songwriter music with folk music, NEFFA presents the real deal, the kind of music and dance that has been handed down from generation to generation. The showcase will present an opportunity to experience a taste of what NEFFA has to offer.

“Using the roster of some 400+ artists who will be performing April 20-22 in Mansfield, we selected four distinct musical genres to present at the showcase,” The four acts, all residents of the Commonwealth, are Lynn Noel - solo voice/group sing, Marylou Ferrante - pre-war blues, Wear My Letter - old-time music and Corvus – Celtic. “With a deep talent pool, it was very difficult to select just a few performers for the showcase. We hope that this concert becomes a tradition each year, so that we can feature different performers.

The NEFFA Showcase will be presented at Unity, 6 William Street (near Davis Square), Somerville, MA. Tickets are $15 for the general public and $10 for NEFFA members. The 68^th annual New England Folk Festival will be presented April 20-22 at the Mansfield, MA Junior and Senior High Schools. Membership, showcase and festival information and tickets are available at http://neffa.org.  Information is available by calling the NEFFA office, (617) 299-1590.

In addition to his duties as a NEFFA director, Boudreau also hosts a folk music program on community radio WCUW in Worcester (91.3fm, http://wcuw.org/). NEFFA showcase and festival specials will air on Tuesday, March 20, Tuesday, April 3, and Tuesday, April 17th. Watch the NEFFA and WCUW websites for more information.

SHOWCASE ARTISTS

CORVUS

Genre: Celtic

Website: http://seansmithmusic.webs.com/corvus.html
Biography: Corvus is a trio of Boston-area musicians who play traditional Irish tunes and songs on a somewhat unlikely but quite pleasing combination of instruments. Emily Peterson (concertina, flute) has been a self-taught concertina player since 1996, learning Irish tunes in sessions while moving around the US for school and her day job in optical physics. Steve Levy (tenor banjo, mandolin, bouzouki, lead vocals) fell in love with Irish music during the 1970s and went on to study with eminent Boston-area musicians such as Peter Maguire, John McGann, Matt Heaton, and the late Tony Cuffe. Sean Smith (guitar, bouzouki, bodhran, lead vocals) began playing traditional Irish, Scottish and English music as a teenager, and since then has appeared, solo or in various collaborations, at various coffeehouses, festivals and other venues around Massachusetts and New England.

Lynn Noel 

Genre: Solo voice/group sing

Website: http://homepage.mac.com/lynnoel/

Biography: Noel celebrates a sense of place in song and story through bluewater and whitewater music. She captures the spirit and joie de vivre of the voyageurs, the raw energy of working chanteys from the days of sail, the exploits of adventurous women from Vikings and pirates to industrial mill girls, and the magic of the seasonal round in ritual dance and drama.

Marylou Ferrante

Genre: Pre-war blues

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marylou-Ferrante/141951529188772

Biography: Ferrante was described by music critic and writer, Daniel Gewertz, in the Boston Herald, as the Bay State's finest female acoustic blues interpreter. Performing pre-war blues from the 1920's & 30's, she covers major artists from the delta to east coast Piedmont style players such as Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, Blind Boy Fuller and Memphis Minnie along with mandolin players such as Yank Rachell. Her passionate expression of these old songs comes from a love of the music and the arrangements themselves, as well as what she says is an appreciation for "the history of these folks and the difficult circumstances they endured." Marylou has honed her craft listening to the old recordings and learning from some of the great blues players today such as Paul Rishell, Guy Davis, Robert Jones and mandolin great Rich Del Grosso. Marylou has taught at The Cellar Studio, Salem MA.

"Marylou is a killer. I have watched her grow, and now she's taking over. Blues lovers look out!" ~GUY DAVIS

"Marylou has the soul of a blues woman." ~Detroit's Blues Man ROBERT JONES

Wear My Letter 

Genre: Old-time

Website: http://www.wearmyletter.com/

Biography: Wear My Letter is comprised of musicians Justin Nawn and Bronwyn Bird. Natives of Doylestown PA, they are now Boston based, adding their unique sound to the city's diverse music scene. As multi-instrumentalists they hit the stage with an arsenal of instruments, including the nyckleharpa (swedish keyed-fiddle), mandolin, accordion and guitar. Justin's background in Rock/Pop music is combined with Bronwyn's love of early Jazz and traditional folk from Scandinavia and Appalachia, creating a fresh and original style that all audiences can enjoy!

NEFFA Showcase Concert Featuring Lynn Noel, Corvus, Wear My Letter and Marylou Ferrante

Friday, March 23 – 8:00pm

Unity Somerville, 6 William Street (corner College Ave, just north of Davis Square), Somerville

$15, $10 NEFFA members (join at neffa.org or at the concert).

Lynn Noel - Solo voice/group sing - http://homepage.mac.com/lynnoel/

Marylou Ferrante - Pre-war blues - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marylou-Ferrante/141951529188772

Wear My Letter - Old-time - http://www.wearmyletter.com/

Corvus -  Celtic - http://seansmithmusic.webs.com/corvus.html

NEFFA Info/tickets - http://neffa.org/

Concert website - http://concerts.neffa.org/

Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-England-Folk-Festival-Association-NEFFA/120214314744779

Facebook event - https://www.facebook.com/events/189275524510773/

Dinner and a Show 

Concert patrons can save 10% when they bring proof of concert reservation to The House of Tibet Kitchen, 235 Holland Street, Somerville - 617-629-7567.

Patrons who make a dinner reservation and show proof of concert attendance (printed confirmation) will be entitled to 10% off their dinner bill.  Tax and tip not included.

To receive the discount, make a reservation and identify yourself as attending the NEFFA showcase.

More information about the Showcase and tickets here. 

BCMFest 2010: Core Traditions

"A delightful feeling of abundance can overtake a fan when this festival reaches its hilt...[BCMFest] makes clear what a rich hub of talent Boston has lately fiddled-up."

-Daniel Gewertz, Boston Herald

"With its pan-Celtic music, community focus, low-key approach, multi-generational lineup and universal sense of fun, the BCMFest is a sterling example of how to make a tradition live and grow."
~Dirty Linen

BCMFest 2010: Core Traditions
January 8 and 9, 2010

Hot Celtic music is the perfect answer for the cold of winter, and that’s where the Boston Celtic Music Fest (BCMFest) comes in.

The seventh annual BCMFest takes place January 8 and 9, 2010, featuring some of Boston's best performers in the Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton and other Celtic or Celticinfluenced music traditions.

BCMFest #7 kicks off January 8 with an evening concert at Club Passim in Harvard Square as well as its wildly popular, hipster-friendly Celtic dance party, the Boston Urban Ceilidh, at Springstep in Medford. The festival continues on January 9 with performances at four stages, located in Club Passim and at nearby First Church of Cambridge. First Church will be the setting that night at 8 p.m. for the BCMFest Finale Concert, which will include performances by the Makem and Spain Brothers, Kimberley Fraser with Janine Randall, and Barbara McOwen with Anne Hooper.

What’s a word to describe BCMFest? Think “grassroots.” The festival board and most of its staff are volunteers. The festival line-up is selected almost exclusively via application, and all performers — whether full-time touring professionals, evenings-and weekends musicians or newcomers to the scene — receive the same expense reimbursement stipend. BCMFest also is a place where generations gather: Teen-age fiddlers sharing a tune with octogenarian accordion players, or grad students hoofing it with middle-aged parents on the dance floor.

At a time when the financial crisis has forced a number of local or regional music events and organizations to scale back or suspend operations this year, BCMFest – buoyed by its largest-ever total of performer applications and a growing audience – is poised for another successful January.

Performers confirmed for the 2010 festival include Flynn Cohen & John McGann, The Gobshites, Triptych, Tri, Colm O’Brien, Kate Chadbourne, Calum Pasqua & Susie Petrov, The Red Etin, Michael O’Leary, Gordon Aucoin & Lloyd Carr, Cedar Stanistreet & Max Newman, Bento Boxty and the trio of Laurel Martin, Kieran Jordan and David Surette, as well as a family-oriented production, “The Fiddler’s Wish,” and a special one of-its-kind ensemble that will recreate the classic Dudley Street Boston Irish Dance Hall Era from the 1930s to 1950s. [A list of the performers who are thus confirmed to appear at the festival is at the end of this announcement; news and updates will be available at
bcmfest.com.]

BCMFest 2010 has a "back to basics" theme, say festival organizers, exploring the core traditions in which BCMFest was forged.

"Last year, BCMFest put the spotlight on what might be called the 'fringe' of Celtic music," explains BCMFest co-founder and board member Laura Cortese. "The festival featured a number of acts that were connected to, but a little removed from, the Celtic traditions: old-timey and Appalachian, or New England contra dance music, for example. We even had a performance by Session Americana, who play a blend of country rock, blues and roots music, but for BCMFest put together a set that had an Irish theme. "For BCMFest 2010, we felt it was important to reaffirm the importance of core traditions, and highlight people who keep those traditions alive and well in the Boston area. So, many of the acts who submitted applications this year and who were selected for BCMFest reflect this emphasis."

Shannon Heaton, who co-founded BCMFest with Cortese and also sits on the festival board, adds: "During its first six years, BCMFest has reached out to the area's diverse Celtic music community, through the festival as well as events during the year, such as the monthly Celtic Music Monday series at Club Passim and our annual music cruise in Gloucester. And every year we've seen more and more musicians, singers and dancers come up with some great ideas and collaborations that really speak to the BCMFest mission.

"What's especially encouraging about this year," Heaton says, "is that when we issued the call for performers to apply we made a point of stating the 'core traditions' theme, and it clearly generated a response. There were applications from first-time performers, as well as from people who have appeared before, who came up with an act or collaboration geared to the theme."

Ticket and schedule information for BCMFest 2010 will be announced shortly, and also will be available at bcmfest.com.

BCMFest 2010 PERFORMERS
Confirmed as of 9/27; check back for updates
Makem & Spain Brothers
Kimberley Fraser and Janine Randall
The Gobshites
Tri
Laurel Martin, Kieran Jordan and David Surette
Triptych
Flynn Cohen and John McGann
Colm O'Brien
Cedar Stanistreet and Max Newman
Gordon Aucoin and Lloyd Carr
The Red Etin
Trio 7
Boston Scottish Fiddle Club
Bento Boxty
David O'Docherty
Susie Petrov and Calum Pasqua
Wells Burrell
Feargal O'Bearra
Jane Gilmartin
Kyte MacKillop & Friends
A Salute to Dudley Street, with Brendan Bulger, Susan Lindsay and Friends
"Singalong: All Chorus Songs" with Nancy Mulrey, Michael O'Leary, Kate Chadbourne
and Sean Smith
"The Fiddler's Wish"

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Cover Lay Down Re-Covers notloB

Cover Lay Down first covered the notloB Folk Concert series March 1, 2009.

The piece below, by "BoyHowdy" (a.k.a. Joshua Farber) is dated May 12, 2009.

After a full feature on some new newgrass voices just last week, I’ve got newgrass on my mind again tonight after an absolutely incredible double feature with The Boston Boys and Joy Kills Sorrow, a pair of quintets hosted by the Boston-based, not-for-profit Notlob Folk Concerts series.

We’ve posted a cover or two from Joy Kills Sorrow here before, but I continue to be enamored of both their overall sound and their new lead singer Emma Beaton, who I first wrote about after this winter’s Boston Celtic Music Fest, and who has just dropped some new stunning originals and JKS tracks at her MySpace page. The Boston Boys have just finished recording their debut album, so watch this space next month for a cover or two from the high-energy rockgrass band — I’m especially curious to see if the Otis Redding song they covered tonight will have made the cut, and disappointed that there’s nothing to offer here, but their MySpace page offers a pair of tracks worth hearing.

While we wait for new disks from tonight’s featured artists, here’s a pair of previously-posted tracks well worth reviving: A Joy Kills Sorrow cover from their first album, before Emma Beaton came on board, and a tradfolk tune featuring Emma and three members of The Boston Boys: Sam Grisman on bass, Eric Robertson on mandolin, and Stash Wyslouch on guitar.

• Joy Kills Sorrow: I Still Miss Someone
  (from Joy Kills Sorrow; previously posted in Single Song Sunday: I Still Miss Someone)
• Emma Beaton and Friends: Red Rocking Chair
  (from Emma Beaton’s MySpace)