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Posted by: Stephen Winick
The following is a guest post from Todd Harvey, a curator and reference specialist at the American Folklife Center archives, Library of Congress. It is a banner day when John Cohen visits the American Folklife Center. We greet him as an old friend, though in truth John has a longer association with the Center and …
Posted in: Folk Music, John Cohen, Old Time Music
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Historically, the Omaha Indian Hethu’shka Society were a group of highly respected men, voted into the group by unanimous consent of the society, who aimed to set a strong example for their people of the best attributes of a warrior. Although traditionally deeds in combat were the central test for inclusion in the society, such …
Posted in: Alan Jabbour, Alice Cunningham Fletcher, Cultural Heritage, Dance, Folk Music, Folksong, Francis La Flesche, Native American History
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Whether you’ve been a follower of Folklife Today from the outset, or you’ve only recently joined us, we’d like you to help us celebrate a milestone: this is our 100th post! And what better way to mark that point on our journey than to announce a centennial celebration? So I’m pleased to announce AFC’s 2015 …
Posted in: AFC Events, AFC History, African Americans, Alan Lomax, Folk Music, Folklorists, Folksong, John Lomax, Louisiana
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
The collections of the American Folklife Center reflect a long history of ethnographic interest in Luso-Hispanic American music and song. Much of the early collecting work focused on peoples of the regions that formerly belonged to Spain. In this post I’ll provide a quick overview of the Hispanic-American music in AFC’s online collections. Spanish Songs …
Posted in: Alan Lomax, Caribbean Americans, Easter, Folk Drama, Folk Music, Folksong, Hispanic American History, Holidays, John Lomax, Juan B Rael, Ruby Terrill Lomax, Sidney Robertson Cowell
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The following is a guest post authored in 2014 by Russell Rodríguez and Quetzal Flores of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts. We edited the post in 2024 to add two relevant videos, making it part of the Homegrown Plus series. Welcome to our introduction to son jarocho and the fandango. Before we get started, …
Posted in: AFC Events, Dance, Folk Music, Folksong, Hispanic American History, Homegrown Concert Series, Homegrown Plus
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The following is a guest post by Charles Lockwood, the Operations & Development Director of Texas Folklife, Austin Texas. Mr. Lockwood has an MA in Ethnomusicology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Quebe Sisters Band performed in AFC’s Homegrown Concert Series on August 20, 2014. See the concert in the player below: While …
Posted in: AFC Events, Cowboy and Western Music, Folk Music
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The following is a guest post by Joshua Caffery, who was the John W. Kluge Center’s Alan Lomax Fellow until April 2014. Caffery is a scholar of vernacular traditions in Louisiana, as well as an archivist and a musician. He is the author of Traditional Music in Coastal Louisiana: The 1934 Lomax Recordings, and the …
Posted in: Alan Lomax, Benjamin Botkin Folklife Lecture Series, Botkin Folklife Lectures Plus, Folk Music, Folksong, French American History, John Lomax, Louisiana
Posted by: Stephen Winick
On behalf of all my colleagues at the American Folklife Center, I’m very sad to say that Judith McCulloh, a pivotal figure in the fields of folklore and ethnomusicology, and a crucial friend of AFC and its staff, passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning, July 13. Judy was a truly remarkable folklorist …
Posted in: AFC History, ethnomusicologists, Folk Music, Folklorists
Posted by: Kate Stewart
Ever since the Civil Rights History Project Act was passed in 2009, archivists at the American Folklife Center have kept their eyes and ears open for items related to the Southern Freedom Movement as they process collections. Todd Harvey, curator of the Alan Lomax Collection (AFC 2004/004), recently noticed a folder of twenty-one photographs in …
Posted in: African Americans, Alan Lomax, Civil Rights, Civil Rights History Project, Folk Music, SNCC