You know the saying, "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it," right? Well, you gotta assume those who know their history are destined to go out on their own, create something original. That's the best way we could describe writer Jason Sendaula's conversation with the legendary blues and soul artist Taj Mahal.
The Philadelphia Folk Festival is about as far from a honky-tonk as you can get. There are no sawdust-covered floors on the campgrounds in Schwenksville, and the air won't be thick with the tang of tobacco smoke and the odor of stale beer.
But when the Sweetback Sisters take to the stage at Old Pool Farm on Friday, August 20, you can bet that couples will be two-stepping and swinging to the band's rollicking mix of old-time country and Western swing.
Rooted in and out of Philadelphia with a history that dates back to a middle school punk band, Cheers Elephant is Derek Kryzwicki, Roberto Kingston, Jordan del Rosario, and Travelin' Mat. Origivation recently had the opportunity to casually share a brew with front man Derek (that is, after the group headlined Origivation's Music Series at World Café Live back in June) to learn more about who they are, where they're going and...what's up with those lyrics?
It's shortly after 1p.m. on a typically hot Friday in June. While most are drumming their fingers in their cubicles, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the weekend, Keith Goodwin, Tim Arnold, Dan Schwartz and their tour van roll on toward Clearwater, Florida.
Growing up in a rough South Philly neighborhood in the 1960s, Joziah Longo often found solace in two things: music and his own active imagination.
Butch Ross is a singer/songwriter I had the pleasure of meeting about ten years ago. At the time he was "the usual," by which I mean a guy and a guitar and a nice voice. Since then Butch has moved from the guitar to the Appalachian dulcimer (very different than the Hammer dulcimer and that's an article all its own). As Butch tells it, "What happened was I was a guitar player."
Canada's award-winning songsmith, Tom Wilson, is back, this time as the guitarist and lead singer of LeE HARVeY OsMOND. Reincarnated from the likes of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and Junkhouse, Wilson's new band has surely tapped a previously unheard main line in the folk music scene.
Treasa Levasseur, the humble and determined singer-songwriter from Canada, says she started making music as a baby.
The Philadelphia Folk Festival has been a mainstay of the folk music scene for nearly half a century. Every year since its inception in 1962, folk fans have traveled to a spot near Schwenksville, PA to camp, celebrate folk arts, and hear the best that folk music has to offer.
Well, we're clearly drilling into your head the importance of the Philly folk festival - we devoted the entire issue to it! If you still aren't convinced, meet the artists performing throughout the weekend.
