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Archive: 2015 (38 Posts)

A group of people including Rosanne Cash look at a disc sleeve

Arthur McBride, Carrie Grover, Paul Brady, and Rosanne Cash: More About a Classic Song

Posted by: Stephen Winick

In a previous post, I discussed one of AFC’s most influential field recordings, Carrie Grover’s “Arthur McBride,” and the popular tracks it inspired: versions by Paul Brady and by Bob Dylan. I was inspired to write about the song again by Rosanne Cash, a fan of both Dylan and Brady, who enthused about “Arthur McBride” …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Hipster St. George and the Unicorn: A Web Archiving Mumming

Posted by: Stephen Winick

Note: Every year, in the week before Christmas, staff members of the American Folklife Center put our research and performance skills into play, bringing collections to life in a dramatic performance that tours the halls of the Library of Congress.  Dressed in costumes that range from striking to silly, we sing, act, rhyme, and dance …

A woman plays a fiddle sitting on porch steps.

Paul Brady, Carrie Grover, Bob Dylan, and “Arthur McBride”

Posted by: Stephen Winick

A few years ago, I wrote an article in Folklife Center News about popular recordings inspired by AFC collection items. One of the ones I chose was Paul Brady’s version of an Irish ballad he called “Arthur McBride and the Sergeant” (see the lyrics at this link). In the article I revealed that Brady had …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Treasures of the AFC Archive Banner #5

Posted by: Stephen Winick

This is the fifth in a series of six posts presenting AFC’s new traveling exhibit Treasures of the American Folklife Center Archive. The exhibit takes the form of lightweight, colorful vinyl banners containing information about AFC, the Library of Congress, and (as the title suggests) some of the treasures found in our archive. Originally conceived …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Rhetoric and the Lomax Archive

Posted by: Stephen Winick

The following post was written by Jonathan Stone, Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Utah. I write on occasion of a recent publication that may be of interest to readers of Folklife Today. We are still in the middle of the Lomax Centennial year and the article “Listening to the Sonic …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Treasures of the AFC Archive Banner #4

Posted by: Stephen Winick

This is the fourth in a series of six posts presenting AFC’s new traveling exhibit Treasures of the American Folklife Center Archive. The exhibit takes the form of lightweight, colorful vinyl banners containing information about AFC, the Library of Congress, and (as the title suggests) some of the treasures found in our archive. Originally conceived …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Documenting California Sounds and Communities

Posted by: Stephen Winick

The following post was written by AFC’s Cathy Kerst. Documenting California Sounds and Communities: The Story of Migration and Settlement from the New Deal Era to the Present The Library’s newly-appointed Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera, spent the afternoon of September 9 in the American Folklife Center, with the intent of experiencing some ethnographic materials …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Treasures of the AFC Archive Banner #3

Posted by: Stephen Winick

This is the third in a series of six posts presenting AFC’s new traveling exhibit Treasures of the American Folklife Center Archive. The exhibit takes the form of lightweight, colorful vinyl banners containing information about AFC, the Library of Congress, and (as the title suggests) some of the treasures found in our archive.  Originally conceived …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

American Folk Musician David Bromberg Donates His Papers to the Library of Congress

Posted by: Stephen Winick

The following is a press release from the Library of Congress’s Office of Communications. Press contact: Jennifer Gavin (202) 707-1940 Public contact: Nancy Groce (202) 707-1744 American folk-music legend David Bromberg, a guitar and fiddle virtuoso who has become a renowned expert in rare violins, has donated papers pertaining to his musical career to the …