We’re really excited to announce that Maggie Ingram and the Ingramettes: Live in Richmond has been Nominated for Independent Music Awards Gospel Album of the Year! Read all about the CD, watch a video of Maggie and the Ingramettes and more>> See the other Nominees>>
Our friends at WTJU are preparing for their annual folk fund drive, starting Monday morning, February 4, and running through Sunday night, February 10. This year’s theme is “Staying In Tune”, and each weekday morning they will focus on the many different folk styles of the guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo and Dobro. They will have [...]
The Virginia Folklife Program is proud to present Wayne Henderson and Gaye Adegbalola at The Southern Music Hall in Charlottesville at 7pm on Sunday, November 18. Doors will open at 6 — stop by, grab a refreshment, and say hi to Gaye and Wayne. Tickets can be purchased online in advance for $12 or on [...]
For more than 30 years, Ferrum College’s Blue Ridge Institute and Museum has documented the folkways of the people living in and around the Blue Ridge Mountains. Through gallery exhibitions, the Farm Museum, the Heritage Archive, and the Blue Ridge Folk Festival, the Blue Ridge Institute has promoted a special understanding of the region’s folklore. [...]
The Virginia Folklife Program was a proud production partner of the 2012 Richmond Folk Festival. We are grateful to all our performers, craft demonstrators, volunteers, and sponsors who helped make this event possible. Check out the slideshow below featuring the photography of Pat Jarrett and Peter Hedlund:
The incomparable oyster shucking sisters Deborah Pratt and Clementine Macon faced off this weekend at the Richmond Folk Festival in a race to see who would be the first to shuck two dozen oysters. For the second consecutive year, Deborah won the battle royal by three oysters. Their much anticipated third showdown, dubbed “Oyster Shucking [...]
The Virginia Folklife Program celebrated its ninth annual Apprenticeship Showcase on September 16. Festival-goers were treated to the food, music, and crafts of the Commonwealth. We congratulate all graduating Virginia Folk Masters and welcome the new class of masters and apprentices. View the slideshow below to see the wonderful images captured from the afternoon: We [...]
Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Showcase Sunday, September 16, 1:00-5:00pm Stage Schedule: 1:00pm: Loose Strings: Bluegrass from Galax featuring Ashley Nale 1:30: Introduction by Jon Lohman, Director of the Virginia Folklife Program; Presentation of certificates to the 2011-2012 masters and apprentices 1:45: Flatpick Guitar with Wayne Henderson 2:00: Autoharp with John Hollandsworth and Sam Gleaves 2:15: Chickahominy [...]
The Virginia Folklife Program announces the tenth class of Master Artists and Apprentices in the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program. Please join us in welcoming the 2012-2013 class at the Apprenticeship Showcase on Sunday, September 16 from 1 to 5pm at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Master Guitar Maker Wayne Henderson of Grayson County and [...]
The Virginia Folklife Workshop Porch at Floydfest 11 was the place to see and hear the finest practitioners of traditional music styles. Presented by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities in partnership with Blue Cow Arts, the Virginia Folklife Workshop Porch (lovingly referred to by most simply as “the Porch”) remains one of the true [...]
We are shocked and sad to report the passing of Virginia Folklife Master Artist Earl Blake, who died unexpectedly at his home on Saturday, June 16. A dear friend of the Folklife Program, Earl was a master builder of stunningly elaborate Caribbean Carnival costumes, a tradition he brought to the US from his native Trinidad [...]
The Paschall Brothers, a stunning Tidewater Gospel Quartet from Chesapeake, Virginia have received the National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor that the United States government bestows on traditional artists. They will be celebrated in the Library of Congress this fall. The Virginia Folklife Program nominated the Paschalls for this award several years ago. There are [...]
It is with heavy hearts that we relay the news of the passing of blues man Nathanial “Nat” Reese of Princeton, West Virginia. He was 88. Our sadness is only tempered by our deep gratitude to Nat for his lifetime of wonderful music, his passion for life, his dear kindness, and the lessons and wisdom [...]
In honor of the upcoming 10th anniversary of the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, In Good Keeping is available for purchase through the University of Virginia Bookstore at a special discount. Told in the voice of the master artists from the first five years of the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship program, In Good Keeping pairs Morgan Miller’s [...]
For the past ten years, eight experienced masters have been awarded Virginia Folklife Apprenticeships and paired with eager apprentices for a one-on-one, nine-month learning experience that helps ensure that a particular art form is passed on in ways that are conscious of history and faithful to tradition. Spanning regions and disciplines, these recipients embody Virginia [...]
The Folklife Program and the Virginia Festival of the Book hosted a special evening of tribute to the late Mike Seeger in March by hosting author Bill C. Malone and musicians Elizabeth LaPrelle, James Leva, Danny Knicely, Aimee Curl, and Alexia Smith at The Haven in downtown Charlottesville. Folklife Director Jon Lohman joined Malone and [...]
Please support our good friends at WTJU (91.1 FM, Charlottesville) as they embark on their annual Folk Marathon fundraiser, with special programming throughout the week of April 30th – May 6th. Some of the wonderful programs include: * A tribute to Smithsonian Folkways, “Seeking Out the Cuckoo’s Nest” (featuring variations of traditional ballads from England, [...]
Our late friend Mike Seeger liked to describe the kind of music rural Southern families played at home with each other as “music from true vine” – songs and sounds which blended hundreds of years of British traditions with equally ancient African traditions to create a music heritage uniquely American. Author Bill C. Malone has [...]
In Your Ear is a new series presented by JAMinc and hosted by Tim Timberlake on WCVE Public Radio. For 10 years, the Richmond non-profit JAMinc has brought musical artists to Richmond concert halls and schools. Most of the performances have been within the intimate and acoustically pristine confines of In Your Ear Music and Recording in Shockoe Bottom, where they [...]
What an incredible weekend on the Virginia Folklife Stage at the Richmond Folk Festival! Record crowds watched from the edge of their seats as some of Virginia’s most talented musicians and artists competed in a wide range of folk traditions. This year’s Virginia Folklife Area at the Richmond Folk Festival, curated by the Virginia Foundation [...]
The Virginia Folklife Program celebrated its eighth annual Apprenticeship Showcase on September 11. Festival-goers were treated to the food, music, and crafts of the Commonwealth. We congratulate all graduating Virginia Folk Masters and welcome the new class of masters and apprentices. View the slideshow below to see the wonderful images captured from the afternoon. Video: [...]
When asked how he became a world famous guitarist, Wayne Henderson answered simply, “I wanted to win blue ribbons.” Fiddlers, banjo players, and guitarists are just a few of the musicians who regularly attend competitions – such as the annual Old Time Fiddlers’ Conventions in Galax, Virginia – for ribbons, cash prizes and the bragging [...]
Patrick County banjo player Sammy Shelor, a Virginia Foundation for the Humanities Master artist, learned this week he has been chosen as this year’s winner of The Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. As a result, Sammy and the Lonesome River Band will perform with the comedian and actor on the [...]
The Virginia Folklife Program is pleased to announce the ninth class of Master Artists and Apprentices in the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program. Please join us in welcoming the 2011-2012 class at the Apprenticeship Showcase on Sunday, September 11 from Noon to 5pm at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Master Banjo player Sammy Shelor of [...]
Virginia state folklorist Jon Lohman hosted the Virginia Folklife Workshop Porch at Floydfest the last weekend of July. The Porch, as it’s affectionately known, featured workshops conducted by Jon with Sam Bush, Jorma Kaukonen and Larry Keel, Del McCoury, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Peter Rowen, Dirk Powell, and performances by some of Virginia’s finest musicians [...]
Join the Folklife Program at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities on Sunday, September 11th, from Noon to 5:00 p.m. for the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Showcase. We’ll celebrate the eighth graduating class of folklife apprentices and introduce the incoming Virginia Folk Masters, with musical performances, crafts, and great food. This year’s showcase will feature masters of [...]
With heavy hearts we share the news of the passing of Frank Paschall Jr., a dear friend of the Virginia Folklife Program and the eldest brother of the beloved Tidewater gospel quartet, the Paschall Brothers. Frank was the namesake of his father, the late Reverend Frank Paschall Sr., a great gospel singer and contemporary of [...]
We announce with great pleasure that The Reverend Frank Newsome, a dear friend of the Virginia Folklife Program, is the recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor that the United States government bestows on a traditional artist. Past recipients include the likes of Doc Watson, Ralph Stanley, and B.B. King. Elder Newsome, of [...]
VFP concerts, talks, and workshops for summer and fall 2011 will cover a wide array of Virginia musical traditions and regional styles, including Blue Ridge bluegrass and old time, gospel, Piedmont and Coalfields blues and more. FloydFest July 28-31, Floyd, VA Drop in at the Virginia Workshop Porch to hear artists including the Carolina Chocolate [...]
The Virginia Folklife Program lost a dear friend this June in Spencer Moore, the “singing tobacco farmer” from Chilhowie, Virginia. He was 92.
Sephardic balladeers Flory Jagoda and Susan Gaeta performed for a full house at Congregation Beth Israel in Charlottesville on Saturday evening, January 22. Flory Jagoda, a 2002-2003 Master Artist in the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, was a 2002 recipient of the National Heritage Award, the highest honor given to a traditional artist in the United [...]
We’re still abuzz from the wonderful weekend at the 3rd Annual Richmond Folk Festival. The Festival, which attracted more than 200,000 visitors over the weekend, featured the finest in traditional music from a wide range of American folk communities — from Cajun to Salsa to Go Go. The Virginia Folklife Program once again curated the [...]
The Virginia Folklife Program presents: “Maritime to Mountain Time: From Virginia’s Coast to Coalfields” at the Richmond Folk Festival. When: Friday, October 8 through Sunday, October 10, 2010 The Virginia Folklife Area will highlight the culture of the two geographic ends of the state, the shores of the Chesapeake Bay and the rocky peaks of [...]
Attendees of the seventh annual Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Showcase were treated to a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Charlottesville. If you missed the showcase, check out this slideshow of images from throughout the day. 2010-11 Master & Apprentice Teams Master Menhaden Chantey Singers Elton Smith Jr., Edward Taylor, William Muse, Lloyd Hill, and James Carter and apprentice [...]
The Virginia Folklife Program announces the 2010-2011 class of master artists and apprentices. Folklife Apprenticeships pair an experienced master artist with an eager apprentice for a one-on-one, nine month learning experience, in order to help ensure that a particular art form is passed on in ways that are conscious of history and faithful to tradition. [...]
Join the Folklife Program at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities on Sunday, September 12th, from Noon to 5:00 p.m. for the seventh annual Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Showcase. We’ll celebrate the seventh graduating class of folklife apprentices and introduce the incoming Virginia Folk Masters, with musical performances, crafts, and traditional Brunswick Stew. The event is free and open to [...]
Join the Folklife Program at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities on Sunday, September 12th, from Noon to 5:00 p.m. for the seventh annual Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Showcase. We’ll celebrate the seventh graduating class of folklife apprentices and introduce the incoming Virginia Folk Masters, with musical performances, crafts, and traditional Brunswick Stew. This year’s showcase [...]
Check out the Virginia Folklife Workshop Porch at Floydfest 9, July 22 – 25 on the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway, for great mountain music and dance with performers from the Crooked Road. Friends who will be joining us on the Porch this year include: Danny Knicely & Friends – 4th generation Appalachian multi-instrumentalist Wayne Henderson [...]
Join us at The Barrier Islands Center on Virginia’s Eastern Shore for a “Patchwork of Virginia Music Festival” featuring traditional roots music of Virginia, Saturday, June 12th, from noon until 6 pm. Guest artists include: The Whitetop Mountain Band – Appalachian family string band The Paschall Brothers – Tidewater a cappella gospel Shallow Creek – [...]
It is with tremendous sadness that we report the passing of Houston Caldwell, 18, of Galax, Virginia. Houston was a most gifted and promising young banjo player, and a dear friend. I met Houston about five years ago in Barr’s Fiddle Shop in Galax, where he studied with local banjo master Stevie Barr. Houston immediately [...]
Catch Virginia Folklife this summer and fall at these great festivals. April 29-May 2: MerleFest, Wilkesboro, NC. May 29: Gathering in the Gap, Big Stone Gap, Virginia. June 19: Wayne C. Henderson Festival and Guitar Competition, Grayson County, Virginia. July 9-11: National Folk Festival, Butte, Montana: presenting Virginia artists, including the Whitetop Mountain Band from [...]
The Virginia Folklife Program is proud to announce that it will join the National Council of the Traditional Arts on its mid-Atlantic Tour of “Music From the Crooked Road: Mountain Music of Virginia.” The concert, emceed by Virginia Folklife Program Director and State Folklorist Jon Lohman, will feature many old friends of the Virginia Folklife [...]
