Happy Hogmanay
December 29, 2004
“What’s Hogmanay”? I asked in reply to an email sent to me at FolkAlley.
“Gasp! :-),” wrote Brian in Edinburgh, Scotland.
“Hogmanay is the huge Scottish Celebration of New Year’s eve—31st December. Traditionally a time of ‘First Footing’ (Visiting friends & Neighbours) in time for ‘The Bells’—(Midnight) taking with you various items—to ensure good fortune for the house in the coming year.”
Seeking the Great Unknowns
December 23, 2004
We all have our personal influences and inspirations, some well known and others not so well. The nature of this music is that it tends to spread slowly, by word of mouth, rather than the light speed of marketing.
As a result, many of us find ourselves mesmerized by the stirring words or vocal abilities of talented people either long dead or living in quiet obscurity.
Grammy Noms for Folk Folks
December 14, 2004
The nominations for this year’s Grammy Awards came out last week. Johnny Cash is again nominated, despite having passed away over a year ago, and the late Ray Charles is a lock to "walk away" with several prizes, but there are many nominees who are still among the living. Without the sentimental pull of the late Warren Zevon’s last album mucking up the mix, this year’s nominees for “Best Contemporary Folk Album” feature plenty of original singer/songwriter material and only include one entry focused on the work of dead artists (although Dave Van Ronk rises again in the category).
The Grammy Awards ceremony (which likely will not present any of these artists on stage) will be broadcast live in the U.S. on CBS on Feb. 13 at 8pm EST.
