Wednesday, November 7, 2012

What resources do you use to find local, live music?

Several years ago, before Facebook, seeing a need, I created a database in NEFolk - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEFolk - titled "What resources do you use to find concerts? In search of free, accessible to all, easy to use Boston-area folk/roots music and dance community concert calendars to which any artist/venue/producer/promoter can add their events." It is kept cuirrent and worth a visit.

But now that Yahoo groups are old technology and many have moved on to Facebook, where do we go to learn of music events in the greater Boston ares and beyond? For that purpose I have created several umbrella groups that are music genre specific. Feel free to explore, join and participate. One request, before jumping in, please read the groups' "about" pages.

"Umbrella" Facebook music groups I moderate:

Celtic Music in New England
https://www.facebook.com/groups/253094621401373/ - Celtic Music in New England is a group for people who enjoy playing and listening to Celtic music, and want to keep up to date on events and activities related to Celtic music in the New England states (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine) and bordering states and provinces. Like many such terms, "Celtic" can be ambiguous and vague. For this group's purposes, it refers to music, song and dance from Cornwall, Isle of Man, Breton, Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, Welsh, Galician and other Celtic-related traditions. The term also incorporates contemporary music rooted in Celtic, involving crossover with other traditions like Appalachian, or with other music forms (rock, jazz). 

NEFolk
https://www.facebook.com/groups/326149080751555/ - "NEFolk celebrates and supports folk music (traditional*, 1940's-1960's revival, peace/social justice and acoustic blues and contemporary artists who write and perform in the tradition) as well as folk dance and folk arts in the northeast US and neighboring states and provinces, sharing worldwide news that affect us here. *Traditional arts are those art forms that are learned as part of the cultural life of a group of people whose members share a common ethnic heritage, language, religion, occupation, or culturally united geographic region. Folk and traditional arts are shaped by the aesthetics and values of a shared culture and are passed from generation to generation, most often within family and community through observation, conversation and practice. Source: The National Endowment for the Arts.

New England Alternative Country Music
https://www.facebook.com/groups/413882315347154/ - The purpose of this group is to promote alternative country music in New England."Alternative country (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, or Americana) is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music. It has been used to describe country music bands and artists that have incorporated influences ranging from roots rock, bluegrass, rockabilly, honky-tonk, alternative rock, folk rock, and sometimes punk."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_country

New England Country Blues
https://www.facebook.com/groups/297968820302867/ - For the promotion of country blues in New England.

New England Electric Blues*
https://www.facebook.com/groups/161788137299732/ - For the promotion of electric blues in New England.

Northeast House Concert Network
https://www.facebook.com/groups/234172836638501/ - Northeast House Concert Network is open to house concert presenters, patrons and artists, our goals are to 1) increase public awareness of this wonderful art form that supports local and traveling musicians, and 2) encourage presenters to work together to "block book" artists.

Old-time, Bluegrass and Stringband Music in New England
https://www.facebook.com/groups/106978732745084/ - "Northeast Old-Time, Bluegrass and String Band is an open group for people who enjoy playing and listening to old-time music and its modern variants, from early and traditional bluegrass to newgrass and contemporary string band, and want to keep up to date on concerts, workshops, jam sessions, festivals, camps, albums releases, radio, TV or other broadcasts, publications, etc. in the Northeast USA (the New England states - Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine) and neighboring New York and the Eastern Canadian Provinces..."

And one in support of community and independent college radio, as they are key supporters of local music:

Northeast Community and Independent College Radio 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/148693875252110/ - Northeast Community and Independent College Radio is an open group run by and for community and independent college radio producer/hosts and supporters located in New England and contiguous states and provinces. Our mission is to promote independent, non-commercial radio, share with our peers and the public news of our own and our stations' programming and network with one another.  What is community and independent college radio? Community and independent are types of radio service that offer a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial and public service. Community and independent college stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular to a local/specific audience but which may often be overlooked by commercial/mass-media and so-called "public" broadcasters. Community and independent radio stations are operated, owned, and driven by the communities they serve. Community radio is not-for profit and provides a mechanism for facilitating individuals, groups, and communities to tell their own diverse stories, to share experiences, and in a media rich world to become active creators and contributors of media.


Other Facebook umbrella groups and pages that I do not moderate but recommend:

I Support Local Music in Massachusetts
https://www.facebook.com/isupportlocalmusicinmassachusetts - We are a group of people who support all types of music in and around the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We feel that there is a lack of attention for the local musician, and we want to change that by creating a way for all of us to connect and build community. This is a group for you if you are a musician, venue, newspaper, magazine, radio station, television station, webcast, press outlet, or fan in MA. Please feel free to pass along to fellow players and feel free to post any information about your own music, or music you love. Let's support each other and network together to give us all a better chance to be heard. All styles of music are welcome. Folk, Rock, Hip Hop, Jazz, Classical, Country, Funk, Etc.

New England Acoustic Pop Singer-Songwriters
https://www.facebook.com/groups/359903317369083/ - New England Acoustic Pop Singer-Songwriters is an open group to share news of concerts, CD releases, in-store appearances, radio programs, etc. in the greater New England region.

Now go out and support local, live music! 

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* Created 11/7/12 as a complement to New England Country Blues to fill a void. As I prefer my blues unplugged, I will gladly transfer ownership to someone who is active in the NE electric blues scene.

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