Currently Browsing: folk music
One of the most distinctly human tendencies might be the cataloging of things: making lists, records, organizing them by shape, color, alphabetical order. For as long as I can personally remember, I have been obsessed with collecting and keeping artifacts from places I’ve been: movie tickets, plane tickets, museum tickets.… read more.
Growing up Bulgarian, folk music was inescapable. Every family party, festive gathering, national holiday, or visit with my grandparents involved hearing folk music at some point. As a kid, I never could appreciate the sound. Something about the mundane nature of the lyrical content and the strain of the bagpipe bored and annoyed me.… read more.
The women of Germaine are bringing a feminist perspective to the world of Quebecois (Canada) folk music. I had a chance to speak with two of the founding members Mélina Mauger-Lavigne and Florence Mailhot-Léonard after their mid-February performance for the virtual University of Chicago Folk Festival. (Note: Quebec is a French-speaking province located in eastern Canada.)… read more.