Tag archives: folk
Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 2016 as a one-off jam session fashioned and hosted by Adam Phillips. Back then, the former Voice and Musical Theatre major was singing tenor with Quire of Voyces, the Santa Barbara Chorale Society, and Opera Santa Barbara, and was already […]
The first time Sean and Sara Watkins brought the Watkins Family Hour (WFH) to Santa Barbara was back in March of 2014 in a Sings Like Hell show at the Lobero. The monthly gig at L.A.’s famed Largo anchored by the brother and sister (guitar and fiddle, respectively), who represented two-thirds of the Grammy-winning bluegrass […]
Mike Marvin’s early exposure to The Kingston Trio came when he was invited to be a part of Nick Reynolds’ family as a teenager. Reynolds, who with Bob Shane and Dave Guard co-founded the legendary folk act, became Marvin’s musical mentor and showed the youngster how the trio picked songs, conducted rehearsals, managed their tours […]
Aoife O’Donovan has come a long way from her first recording as a member of the folk-bluegrass band, The Wayfaring Strangers, with stops as lead singer of Boston-based Crooked Still, collaborations with Chris Thile and other genre-busters, a series of critically-acclaimed solo albums, and her most recent Grammy-winning trio, I’m With Her, with fellow singer-songwriters […]
Kulāiwi has only been together for less than two years, but the three Hawaiian musicians that make up the group – Lehua Kalima, Shawn Pimental, and Kawika Kahiapo – have been making music of the islands for decades. Between them they have claimed dozens of Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, which is considered Hawaii’s equivalent of […]
All of the five virtuoso string musicians who comprise the Grammy-winning folk-grass band Punch Brothers were fervent fans of Tony Rice. The Brothers – who are led by the MacArthur “Genius Grant’ Award fellow Chris Thile on mandolin and includes bassist Paul Kowert, guitarist Chris Eldridge, banjoist Noam Pikelny, and violinist Gabe Witcher – have […]
The popularity of Simon & Garfunkel, the most famous duo in folk music history, remains unabated more than a half-century since the pair first broke up over artistic differences and personal issues following the release of the groundbreaking album Bridge Over Troubled Water. Problems persisted each time Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel contemplated reuniting after […]
More than a dozen community companies around the country present Christmas Revels performances this December, including such places as Lebanon, New Hampshire; Boulder, Colorado; and Oakland, each of which reworks shows created by the flagship company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The shows bring together people of all ages and backgrounds — both on stage and in […]
Singer-songwriter Marc Broussard made his stage debut before he reached first grade, belting out “Johnny B. Goode” at age 5 as a guest singer in his father, Louisiana Hall of Fame guitarist Ted Broussard’s, famous band The Boogie Kings. Swamp pop and blue-eyed soul runs through his veins and makes up his bones. But classic […]
It takes a lot of guts to walk away from a successful band you co-founded, but for Willie Watson, 13 years with the Old Crow Medicine Show (OCMS) were enough. “There were some differences about our musical direction,” Watson said, somewhat diplomatically explaining his 2011 departure from the popular alternative country/Americana band that helped jumpstart […]
In the pre-pandemic era, last weekend would have marked the Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest and Folk Festival’s 60th annual event, a downhome acoustic instrument extravaganza that is rivaled around these parts only by Santa Barbara’s own similarly-themed Fiddle Convention and Festival, which still has high hopes of holding its event in the fall. Instead, Topanga […]
When Robinson Eikenberry passed away suddenly at age 47 on July 4, 2017, the Santa Barbara community lost one of its most influential musicians, although very few outside of his circle ever heard him perform. That’s because Eikenberry didn’t crave the spotlight, preferring instead to stay behind the scenes as a producer, engineer, songwriter and, […]
In my exclusive interview with The Real Savage Henry, I asked if they will go public for the first time in my column about their disbanding the band, word I heard from them on the QT after their “last” gig at the Mercury Lounge back in May, as well as talk about making their final […]
More than one of the long-time staffers at the Live Oak Music Festival told me that their favorite part of the three-day musical mash-up that serves as public radio station KCBX’s second-biggest fundraiser of the year was the feeling of being part of a family. Considering that I was forwarded four different names of people […]
Happy Traum is merely the opening act for the next Sings Like Hell show starring Jack Sh*t, the super group comprising sidemen for singer-songwriter legends making at least its third visit to the Lobero. But before guitarist Val McCallum (Jackson Browne), drummer Pete Thomas, and bassist Davey Faragher (both Elvis Costello) hit the stage with […]
