folk music

17 Stories

Band Goes on Tour, Walks the Whole Way

Chris Roberts and Seth Bye of Filkin's Drift trekked nearly 900 miles in Wales over 2 months

(Newser) - Get Chris Roberts and Seth Bye a foot massage, stat. The two musicians, members of the folk band Filkin's Drift , on Tuesday wrapped up their latest tour through Wales, performing dozens of shows over two months. But it wasn't private jets, regular commercial aircraft, or even a van...

Joni Mitchell Rediscovers the Beauty in Her Earliest Work

Singer collects largely unheard songs from the 1960s for a new box set

(Newser) - Looking back at her earliest songs, Joni Mitchell has felt a little disconnected from them. "They’re like some ancient world," the singer-songwriter said in 2004. She didn't plan to ever release many of the tracks on her new box set, Joni Mitchell Archives Vol 1: The ...

Famous Folk Singer Has 'Gone Fishing' for Good

Arlo Guthrie, 73, says 'touring and stage shows are no longer possible'

(Newser) - You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant—but it appears we've seen Arlo Guthrie tell us that in person for the last time. In lengthy posts on his Facebook page and website, the 73-year-old folk singer announced Friday he's retiring from performance immediately. He's...

Folk Singer-Songwriter Dies During Performance

David Olney 'never dropped his guitar'

(Newser) - Folk singer-songwriter David Olney was in the middle of his third song at a festival in Florida Saturday night when "he stopped, apologized, and shut his eyes," musician Amy Rigby says. The 71-year-old died from an apparent heart attack at the 30A Songwriters Festival in Santa Rosa Beach,...

Woody Guthrie Hated 'Old Man Trump'

When Donald was a toddler, Fred was folk singer's landlord

(Newser) - Trump was a name that Woody Guthrie knew and despised when Donald Trump was a 4-year-old, professor Will Kaufman discovered to his surprise on a trip to the Guthrie archives in Tulsa, Okla. Trump's father, real estate developer Fred Trump, became the folk singer's landlord in 1950 when...

Folk Icon Pete Seeger Dies
 Folk Icon 
 Pete Seeger 
 Dies at 94 
OBITUARY
Jan 28, 2014 6:33 AM CST

Folk Icon Pete Seeger Dies at 94

Lifelong activist spearheaded folk revival

(Newser) - Pete Seeger, a towering presence in American folk music and activism for many decades, has died after 94 years—and more than 100 albums. The bearded, banjo-playing protest singer gained fame with the Weavers in the '40s and is best known for popularizing songs like This Land Is Your ...

Inside Llewyn Davis Among Coens' Best

Critics rave about musical tale

(Newser) - The Coen brothers' latest film tells the dark tale of a folk musician in Greenwich Village in 1961. Though you might not want to befriend Llewyn, his story is well worth a watch—in fact, some critics are calling Inside Llewyn Davis a candidate for the Coens' best. A sampling...

Woodstock Legend Richie Havens Dead at 72

Opened 1969 Woodstock with three-hour set

(Newser) - Richie Havens, the folk singer who opened the 1969 Woodstock festival, died today from a sudden heart attack at home in New Jersey, Rolling Stone reports. He was 72. The Brooklyn-born musician is best known for the three-hour, partially improvised Woodstock set that brought him to prominence (and helped pad...

Folk Music Legend Doc Watson Dead at 89

Master flatpicker changed folk music forever

(Newser) - No history of American folk and country music would be complete without a mention of blind guitar wizard Doc Watson, who has died at the age of 89. His rapid-fire flatpicking style influenced generations of musicians, and helped elevate the guitar to lead instrument status in the country music of...

Judges Really Like to Quote Bob Dylan

Even Chief Justice Roberts has cited his lyrics

(Newser) - When judges want to give their opinions a lyrical flourish, many turn first to Bob Dylan. He’s the most-cited musician in court opinions and briefs, experts tell the Los Angeles Times . That’s because his early songs give voice to political and legal concerns—and they emerged when today’...

Bob Dylan Gets First Gig in Vietnam

Legend expected to sell out 8,000-seat venue

(Newser) - Decades after making his name with Vietnam-era antiwar songs, Bob Dylan is set to perform in Vietnam for the first time, the AP reports. He’ll play in an 8,000-seat university stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, and planners expect the show to sell out. “Bob Dylan is...

Suze Rotolo: Bob Dylan's Muse Dead at 67
 Bob Dylan's Muse Dead at 67 
obituary
Feb 28, 2011 6:42 AM CST

Bob Dylan's Muse Dead at 67

Suze Rotolo inspired classic songs

(Newser) - Suze Rotolo, the inspiration behind many of Bob Dylan’s early songs and his girlfriend in New York during the early 1960s, died last week at 67 following a long illness. Rotolo appeared on the cover of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan; their relationship led Dylan to pen classics like “...

Cancer Takes Singer Kate McGarrigle, 63
 Cancer Takes 
 Singer Kate McGarrigle, 63 
OBITUARY
Jan 19, 2010 6:49 PM CST

Cancer Takes Singer Kate McGarrigle, 63

Canadian folkie was mother to Rufus, Martha Wainwright

(Newser) - Singer Kate McGarrigle, best known for her folky collaborations with sister Anna, and mother of singers Rufus and Martha Wainwright, died today of cancer in her native Montreal at age 63. The sisters sang in both English and French, and, “in terms of folk music internationally, she was an...

Singer Wouldn't Have Wanted Coyotes Killed: Mom

Taylor Mitchell was huge nature lover

(Newser) - Taylor Mitchell, the 19-year-old Canadian singer killed by coyotes on a hike Tuesday, was such a nature lover that she would have wanted to spare the coyotes, her mom says. “When the decision had been made to kill the pack of coyotes, I clearly heard Taylor's voice say, 'Please...

Coyotes Kill Canadian Singer
 Coyotes Kill Canadian Singer 
Oct 29, 2009 3:03 AM CDT

Coyotes Kill Canadian Singer

Teen folk musician attacked in national park

(Newser) - A rising star of the Canadian folk music scene was killed in a savage coyote attack while hiking alone in Nova Scotia. Singer-songwriter Taylor Mitchell, 19, suffered multiple bite wounds and massive blood loss after a pair of coyotes pounced on her. She died a day later in a local...

'Voice of Latin America' Mercedes Sosa Dead at 74

Argentine folk singer gave voice to disenfranchised under repressive regimes

(Newser) - Mercedes Sosa, the Argentine folk singer who became a powerful voice of resistance to authoritarian Latin American regimes, died today in Buenos Aires. A leading light of the "nueva canción" (new song) movement that pushed for social justice in the 1960s and '70s, Sosa was 74. "...

Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul and Mary, Dead at 72
Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul and Mary, Dead at 72
OBITUARY
Sep 16, 2009 8:27 PM CDT

Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul and Mary, Dead at 72

Member of folk trio had been battling leukemia

(Newser) - Mary Travers, one-third of the hugely popular 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, died today after a battle with leukemia, the band's publicist says. She was 72. Travers joined forces with Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey in the early 1960s. The trio mingled their music with liberal politics,...

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