The Bluegrass Standard - June 2023

Keith Barnacastle • Publisher

The Bluegrass Standard is a life-long dream of Keith Barnacastle, who grew up in Meridian, Mississippi. For three years, Keith brought the Suits, Boots and Bluegrass Festival to Meridian. Now, with the Bluegrass Standard, Keith’s enthusiasm for the music, and his vision of its future, reaches a nationwide audience every month!

Keith@TheBluegrassStandard.com

Our Staff

Richelle Putnam • Executive Editor/Writer

Richelle Putnam is a Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) Teaching Artist/Roster Artist (Literary), a Mississippi Humanities Speaker, and a 2014 MAC Literary Arts Fellowship recipient. Her non-fiction books include Lauderdale County, Mississippi; a Brief History, Legendary Locals of Meridian, Mississippi and Mississippi and the Great Depression. Richelle@TheBluegrassStandard.com

Rebekah Speer • Creative Director

Rebekah Speer has nearly twenty years in the music industry in Nashville, TN. She creates a unique “look” for every issue of The Bluegrass Standard, and enjoys learning about each artist. In addition to her creative work with The Bluegrass Standard, Rebekah also provides graphic design and technical support to a variety of clients.

Susan Woelkers • Marketing

Susan traveled with a mixed ensemble at Trevecca Nazarene college as PR for the college. From there she moved on to working at Sony Music Nashville for 17 years in several compacities then transitioning on to the Nashville Songwritrers Association International (NSAI) where she was Sponsorship Director. The next step of her musical journey was to open her own business where she secured sponsorships for various events or companies in which the IBMA /World of Bluegrass was one of her clients.

Brent Davis • Contributor

Brent Davis produced documentaries, interview shows, and many other projects during a 40 year career in public media. He’s also the author of the bluegrass novel Raising Kane. Davis lives in Columbus, Ohio.

Mississippi Chris Sharp • Reviewer

Singer/Songwriter/Blogger and SilverWolf recording artist, Mississippi

Chris Sharp hails from remote Kemper County, near his hometown of Meridian. An original/founding cast member of the award-winning, long running radio show, The Sucarnochee Revue, as featured on Alabama and Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Chris performs with his daughter, Piper. Chris’s songs have been covered by The Del McCoury Band, The Henhouse Prowlers, and others. https://mississippichrissharp.blog

Susan Marquez • Journalist

Susan Marquez is a freelance writer based in Madison, Mississippi and a Mississippi Arts Commission Roster Artist. After a 20+ year career in advertising and marketing, she began a professional writing career in 2001. Since that time she has written over 2000 articles which have been published in magazines, newspapers, business journals, trade publications.

Kara Martinez Bachman • Journalist

Kara Martinez Bachman is a nonfiction author, book and magazine editor, and freelance writer. A former staff entertainment reporter, columnist and community news editor for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, her music and culture reporting has also appeared on a freelance basis in dozens of regional, national and international publications.

Candace Nelson • Journalist

Candace Nelson is a marketing professional living in Charleston, West Virginia. She is the author of the book “The West Virginia Pepperoni Roll.” In her free time, Nelson travels and blogs about Appalachian food culture at CandaceLately.com. Find her on Twitter at @Candace07 or email CandaceRNelson@gmail.com.

Adam Schlenker

Brent Davis

If Adam Schlenker was surprised to find himself an acclaimed flat-picking guitarist and the director of a university’s innovative roots music program, maybe he should have looked for a sign.

After all, it happened once before. “When I was seven or eight, we were going down Robert C. Byrd Drive in Beckley, West Virginia,” Schlenker recalled. “I saw a sign in a music store window for guitar lessons. And I said, ‘Mom, I want guitar lessons.’ And she says, ‘You’ve never mentioned this before.’ And I said, ‘Well, I’ve never seen that sign before!’”

He remembers going in for his first lesson and then going home to sit on the back porch to practice, thinking, this is what I do. “And I’ve never looked back. I just love to play the guitar.”

Now Schlenker is the one giving lessons, regularly teaching online and at music camps with artists such as Wyatt Rice, Tim May, and Kenny Smith. He’ll soon be performing with legendary guitarist David Grier for the second time in a year. And at Denison University’s weekend bluegrass festival last February, Schlenker and his American Roots Music program students celebrated an important milestone with Peter Rowan.

Schlenker grew up in Beckley and, armed with a degree in audio production, moved to Columbus, Ohio. He was always playing the guitar, but a fascination with fiddle tunes captured his imagination.

“It was the notion of improvising around the melody line with flat picking and the fiddle tunes--that’s where the light bulb just went on double bright, and it was like, this is it. This is what was missing.” He immersed himself in the work of those who have become his greatest influences: Clarence White, Norman Blake, and David Grier. He played in regional bands, taught during a long residency at an art center, and launched Fifth Fret Productions, his online guitar instruction portal—all the while, he was also developing his teaching philosophy.

“I think a lot of times people teach in reverse. They say here’s the end product. Go spend some time getting this down, and then I’ll show you another tune. And to me, that’s just backward. Music is a language, and you have to learn how to speak in that language and put the language together.”

Schlenker was working toward creating his teaching studio when he was asked to become a guitar instructor at Denison University in nearby Granville, Ohio. He became the coordinator of the program in 2018.

“When I took over, it was a bluegrass major--a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance with a concentration in bluegrass. We relaunched in 2021 as an American Roots Music concentration, which didn’t take away any of the bluegrass components. This allows us to look at more music, people, and culture. A lot of music led to the creation of

bluegrass. We’re trying to create opportunities for the students to look at early blues, early country music, gospel music, and the earlier string band music leading into bluegrass.”

The Denison American Roots program has offered a major since 2010. Five or six students major in the program, and about 15 students typically minor each semester. “There’s a cap of 2300 students total at the university,” Schlenker explained. “Most of the programs are relatively small, which is kind of a cool thing because that means that all of your students are getting a lot of one-on-one attention from the faculty.” Twenty-four students are playing in the Denison Bluegrass Ensemble this semester, playing at festivals and participating in workshops and jams. “The majority of them are not music majors or minors,” Schlenker said. “And that’s fine because that means they’re getting the opportunity to play music they wouldn’t play otherwise.” One of those recent opportunities allowed students to share the bill with Peter Rowan at the Denison Bluegrass Festival.

Schlenker has long been a fan of Rowan’s innovative band, Muleskinner, and its fabled guitarist, Clarence White. He realized the 50th anniversary of the band’s formation would coincide with Denison’s festival, so he invited Rowan to participate. Appalachian Swing, Schlenker’s band that honors the music of Clarence White and The Kentucky Colonels, would accompany Rowan.

Playing with Rowan was a thrill for Schlenker, but not the only one of the festival. Backstage, before the show, Rowan heard a Denison student ensemble running through his song “Dustbowl Children.”

“I’ve never heard my song like this,” Rowan told Schlenker. “This is incredible. I’ve never experienced this song from someone else’s point of view in such a way.”

Schlenker beamed. “It was a proud dad moment for me because my students had arranged this piece that he wrote, and Rowan’s moved by what they’ve done with it. Here’s Peter Rowan, a legendary musician at 80 years old, and he’s sitting and listening, and his words were, ‘I learned from your students this evening.’”

Augusta Heritage Center

Since its inception in 1973, the Augusta Heritage Center, located on the Davis & Elkins College campus in Elkins, West Virginia, has facilitated cultural education through immersive and experiential workshops in music, craft, dance, foodways, and folklore. Dedicated to bringing folk arts education to underserved communities, the Center provides access to cultural experiences to those who may not otherwise have the opportunity. Not only is it a way to preserve the past while promoting cultural heritage, but the goal is also to build community. A more inclusive and culturally rich society is established by celebrating local talent, documenting traditions, and providing a space for the community to gather and connect.

The Augusta Heritage Center provides a variety of camps, conferences, workshops, and other events throughout the year—immersive events that often last for several days. Camps are held during the summer on the scenic campus of Davis & Elkins College and year-round on the road.

The program’s flagship summer camps, the Augusta Summer Heritage Workshops, will be held July 9 through 29. This summer will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the workshops. This year’s workshops include Classic Country, Cajun and Swing Week, July 9 through 14; Bluegrass and Vocal Week, July 16 through 21; Blues and Old-Time Week, July 23 through 28; and the month will

conclude with the Augusta Festival and Celebration Concert, held in Elkins City Park on July 29. Also offered are craft classes and a program for children during each week of music classes. Emily Miller serves as the artistic director for Augusta Heritage Center. She is also the String Band director for the college’s Appalachian Ensemble and a professional singer and fiddle player. “I grew up coming to Augusta with my family,” says Emily, who puts a lot of effort into designing kids’ programs that support parents and grandparents who want to experience Augusta with their families. “Folk Arts for Kids gives children ages five to 11 a meaningful educational experience with other kids while their parents are diving into fiddle or banjo or stained glass or whatever interests them.”

This summer’s program has been finalized, and Emily says it will be a great one. “I’m excited for the fabulous artists we have coming to teach as part of the bluegrass program this summer. Tammy King of the Steeldrivers will be with us, as well as Missy Raines, BB Bowness, Joe Newbury, Greg Blake, Tyler Grant, and so many more. As a bonus, bluegrass students can cross over to the Vocal Week classes to study with Robin & Linda Williams, Abby Washburn and other members of that great staff.”

Susan Marquez

Other events are held at the Center and online year-round, designed to broaden the participants’ horizons, from concerts and dances to cultural sessions and more. For example, the Center offers the “Cooking in Community: Foodways Traditions from Appalachia and Beyond” series with support from Mid-Atlantic Arts’ Central Appalachia Living Traditions program. Classes are taught by experienced chefs and home cooks with diverse backgrounds yet representative of Appalachia today.

Another service the Center provides is an online archive of concerts, interviews, musical recordings, and oral histories. The Augusta Archive contains a wealth of cultural knowledge spanning nearly 100 years. With 943 entries, the living archive grows as the material is collected from the field and digitized. The goal is to make the material as accessible as possible, with no barriers due to cost.

Seth Young serves as the executive director of the Augusta Heritage Center. Seth is a lifelong musician and performer who has spent most of his career as a music educator. He and Emily were hired on the same day, June 2, 2019. “It was exciting because we both had connections to Augusta Heritage Center as children.” Seth first became involved with the Center when he took a mini class in Blues harmonica. He became more interested in music during high school and went to Augusta during his teen years to learn more about the music in his geographic region. “When Emily and I were hired, we had independent paths, but we both had a lot of ideas and passion. Our first summer here, we acted out the plan that was left for us. But the next year, we were super excited to put into action our own plan.” Then, the pandemic hit. “We had to pivot quickly, and I felt like we were reinventing our program every few months for a couple of years.”

Seth says he is looking forward to this summer’s programming. “It’s our fiftieth year. For something to last that long, it was meant to be.” Seth says they are looking forward to the future. “We have formed our own 501(c)(3), and we have formed a Board of Directors. A capital campaign is underway to help us acquire and renovate an old building in downtown Elkins that can be used for programming year-round. We are also partnering with state and national parks that have beautiful lodging.”

Tessa Dillon and Josh Wanstreet are the AmeriCorps members. Tessa is also a fiddle player who teaches college students at West Virginia University, while Josh plays old-time fiddle and guitar. Eric Armstrong is the technical director of the Center.

Information on the workshops, camps and events can be found on the Augusta Heritage Center website.

Today, folk music is fascinating, broad and inspiring, but it continues to be the music of the people, locally and globally. “It connects us to others and ourselves, uplifting and inspiring us to action, creating a more empathetic world,” said Alex Mallett, Development Director of Folk Alliance International (FAI). He explained that our stories have infinite variations but also many commonalities. “Sharing those unique stories and traditions enables folks to express their emotions and cultures, learn about each other, and find common ground among differences. “The voices from diverse communities within the U.S. and internationally make us infinitely richer as a community and a global movement.”

The FAI mission is to genuinely represent folk music, ensuring that all from various traditions, backgrounds, and experiences can weigh in as leaders and participate across our programs. Mallett believes that in the North American context, folk music is sometimes considered relatively narrow and as being the music of a few 1960s icons. However, he added, “As a phenomenon, it reaches millennia before recorded music and across every culture.”

Susan Marquez

FAI uses behind-the-scenes methodologies and activities to achieve the organization’s goals, incorporating critical tasks like tracking data, building relationships, and setting a welcoming culture.

“Starting with the data, we carefully assess where we are in the goal of being more inclusive across a range of diversity goals, including culture, ethnicity, race, musical style, gender identity and sexual orientation, age, and ability.”

FAI also tracks diversity in official showcase acts, panelists, and board and monitors annual progress. That baseline of knowledge directs determination in where to maneuver correction and target key people to participate.

When Folk Alliance was founded in 1989, early members realized the many views of folk music as a genre and phenomenon. “We use the genre list rather than a definition to say that folk music is what you think it is and many surprising, wonderful things that you haven’t considered before. That excites me most about the folk music movement - traditions aren’t finished,” he said, but are being explored, preserved and reinvented.

Mallett said getting to know folks from diverse communities and building genuine relationships has taken many years of outreach. The FAI staff and board attend events worldwide to meet with folks to gain broader perspectives, opportunities, and concerns. “The staff and board trained together in diversity, equity, inclusion and access (DEIA), and a Cultural Equity Council sought feedback to guide our strategic plan.”

To build a diverse community, FAI strives to create a space where people feel safe and welcome. “We make decisions small and large to make that happen. On a policy level, that means a publicly available and signed safe community pledge that lays our commitment and a standard of conduct that people agree to when registering for the conference. We also have affinity groups within the conference where people of shared identities can get together. There are dozens of adjustments that we’ve made to make our programs more welcoming, from closed captions on all videos to subtle variations in the language that sends a strong message that all are welcome in the folk music community.“

Mallett shared that COVID-19 greatly impacted FAI. In March 2020, members stopped renewing and halted the plans for future in-person events. “We had to reinvent ourselves online and extended all memberships at no cost.”

FAI provided webinars to help folks navigate those times, created community relief grants through The Village Fund, and produced a virtual conference at a pay-what-you-can price point with sessions covering numerous industry topics and presenting showcases from artists around the globe virtually. Like many other arts organizations, paycheck protection loans, generous support of our sponsors and donors, and grants helped save them, but FAI is still rebuilding from the pandemic.

“In 2020, we had over 3,300 attendees at our conference. In 2023 we had about 2,000 people. With increased costs, we are facing a financial loss this fiscal year (ending June 30) and are actively raising funds through donations and sponsorship to make up for shortfalls,” said Mallett. Artists and professionals in the folk world are also recovering, with many canceled and re-booked tours in 2020 through 2022. This year was the first with meaningful work for the independent music sector, but rising costs also impact tours. “It really helps artists to sell tickets early, so I recommend buying tickets to shows as soon as you can so your favorite acts can know that their shows will be a success.”

FAI showcases feature 120 jury-selected acts, and in 2023, 161 tour-ready musicians represented diverse cultures, languages, and sounds. “Artists apply through an open call, are scored by a jury, and then the final programming is curated by the Folk Alliance staff based on those scores as well as internal tracking to present a diverse and truly exceptional lineup.” Artists must be excellent and unique because the jury looks for talent first and foremost. Therefore, artists should represent themselves professionally in live performance videos and recordings they provide and how they are tour-ready by sharing current plans and show schedules. Programming is broad, so no one feature or category renders an artist ineligible or garners an automatic yes.

He recommends readers peruse the official showcase acts on the FAI website and search “Folk Alliance” on Spotify for the official playlist. “Bluegrass Standard readers should rest assured that they will hear stellar bluegrass at an FAI conference, at times from far-away places like Estonia or Venezuela,” he said.

Jams and song circles are vital for musicians and are a natural way to network. Some find like-minded strangers, teach each other tunes, or share a common repertoire. “Sometimes friends will see each other once a year at FAI and want to reconnect musically. Sometimes unknown performers will get discovered by elders and enter mentorships.”

Most conference jams are organic, but FAI formally organized a few at the 2023 conference. “The Sonidos Latinos jam was led by the amazing Mireya Ramos,” said Mallett.

FAI has five separate North American regional organizations, plus the Nordic Folk Alliance that serves Europe’s Nordic countries. Each holds a regional conference and year-round events that benefit the music community within their specific region, tackling critical issues and supporting live performance networks.

“Our new Executive Director, Neeta Ragoowansi brings a depth of experience and music industry networks that will inspire an era of growth for this organization, starting with a newly-updated strategic plan,” said Mallett. “Combined with a long-standing team, we are poised for growth in our current programs and new activities.”

FAI offers year-round webinars and networking events and has resumed local public programming in Kansas City. The registration and official showcase applications are open for the February 21-25, 2024, conference.

More information is on our website: folk.org/ about/regions

SWRFA (Southwest Regional Folk Alliance)

Conference: September 27 – October 1, 2023

Austin, TX

SWRFA serves Arizona, Colorado, Mexico, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

FARM (Folk Alliance Region Midwest)

Lisle/Naperville, IL

FARM serves Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Manitoba, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Nunavut, Ohio, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

SERFA (Southeast Regional Folk Alliance)

Black Mountain, NC

SERFA serves Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

FAR-West (Folk Alliance Region West)

Woodland Hills, CA

FAR-West serves Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northwest Territory, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and Yukon Territory.

NERFA (Northeast Regional Folk Alliance)

Asbury Park, New Jersey

NERFA serves Connecticut, D.C. (and its metro area including the counties of Loudoun, Fairfax, and Prince William (Virginia), Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Rhode Island, Vermont

Nordic Folk Alliance

Roskilde, Denmark

This region includes the five Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

The Bluegrass Standard/Turnberry Records

Susan Marquez

Music has been proven to bring people together; in doing so, they discover more similarities than differences. The International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) was formed for that reason. The ICTM supports the notion that music acts as a bond among peoples of different cultures and thus contributes to the peace of humankind.

Since 1947, delegates from countries around the globe have gathered to study, practice, document, preserve and disseminate information on traditional music and dance.

The formation of the organization is credited to Maud Karpeles and Steuart Wilson. Maud served as the honorary secretary of the International (Advisory) Folk Dance Council. She organized the International Conference on Folk Song and Folk Dance in London at the Belgian Institute in September 1947. Twenty-eight countries appointed delegates to attend the two-day event funded by the English Folk Dance and Song Society. On the last day of the conference, the vice chairman, Steuart Wilson, proposed to form the International Folk Music Council (IFMC), which was approved unanimously.

That same year, the officers and Executive Board members appointed 140 music and dance experts from 35 countries and regions as correspondents. The first IFMC conference was held a year later in Basel, Switzerland. The organization’s name changed to the International Council for Traditional Music at the 26th World Conference in Soule in August 1981. The ICTM publishes an annual journal, Yearbook for Traditional Music.

Conferences held biannually offer both the ICTM membership and the general public opportunities for exchanges on a broad range of issues. ICTM study groups allow members to gather for Study Group Symposia. There are currently 27 Study Groups that focus on various scholarly topics.

Svanibor Pettan of Slovenia currently serves as the ICTM President and has an impressive history with the organization.

He has served as the ICTM national representative of Croatia and Slovenia; Chair of the Program Committee of the 38th World Conference; co-founder and Chair of the Study Group on Music and Minorities, founder and Chair of the Study Group on Applied Ethnomusicology, member of the Executive Board, Secretary General, VicePresident; and been the guest editor of the Yearbook for Traditional Music. He has also twice served as President of the Cultural and Ethnomusicological Society Folk Slovenia, which serves as ICTM’s National Committee for Slovenia.

“Our organization is truly international, with representatives in 128 countries and regions on all continents. Our primary/official language of communication is

English,” he said. “My professor of ethnomusicology, Jerko Bezić at the University of Zagreb, raised my interest in ICTM during my BA studies in Zagreb (Croatia, then Yugoslavia), and I became a member as an undergraduate student a bit more than four decades ago, in the early 1980s. My principal professional areas of interest include music and politics on a war-peace continuum, music of the world, music and minorities, music and gender, and applied ethnomusicology. My past and present fieldwork sites include central and southeastern Europe, Australia, Egypt, Norway, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and the USA. The scholarly frame of ICTM continues to be broad enough to accommodate such diverse interests and inspire further research, intellectual exchange, and use of our knowledge, understanding, and skills in music and dance to make our world a better place.”

Catherine Foley, Emeritus Senior Lecturer in Ethnochoreology, The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, at the University of Limerick in Ireland, has been a member of the ICTM Executive Board since 2017, where she is responsible for managing the workings of the ICTM.

“I am also involved in a number of the Executive Board’s Committees, and I was the elected Chair of the ICTM’s Study Group on Ethnochoreology for two terms (20142018; 2018-2022). In addition, I was co-chair of the 44th ICTM World Conference at the University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland, in 2017;  I was also Chair of the 27th Symposium of the ICTM’s Study Group on Ethnochoreology, again at the University of Limerick, in 2012,” she said.

Catherine got involved with the ICTM in 1996 when she started to present my research at ICTM events, including world conferences and Study Group in Ethnochoreology symposia. “I took up a position at the University of Limerick in 1996 to design and lead the Ethnochoreology program; this was the first program of its type at any university in Europe. My involvement with the ICTM provided me with a valuable professional network.”

The 47th ICTM World Conference will be in July 2023 in Legon, Ghana. “As president of this remarkable scholarly community, I will have multiple obligations in Ghana,” says Svanibor. “My special wish is to see many colleagues from different African countries actively participating in our major gathering in 2023.” Catherine will be attending the conference in Ghana as well. “I am looking forward to meeting up with other ICTM colleagues and to hearing their research presentations.  I am also looking forward to visiting Ghana and being exposed to Ghanaian culture.”

LORRAINE JORDAN

JORDAN

Mandolin player and vocalist Lorraine Jordan has been a Pinecastle recording artist for two decades. She’s put out seven projects, including the Country Grass record, a collaboration of country and bluegrass artists, which featured 12 Grand Ole Opry stars. She prides herself on the fact that her project, co-written by Tom T. Hall, “That’s Kentucky,” snagged a number one slot on the charts. She said in 2021, “Bill Monroe’s Ol’ Mandolin” also scored as a chart-topper. Her “True Grass” project remained number one on the Bluegrass Unlimited chart for five months.

When she was interviewed for this article, the band had recently released “Patriot Grass” to honor veterans.

“Our new project is now in the top five of singles on several charts and has been

the number one video on The Bluegrass Standard,” Jordan said in April. These stats make it clear: Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road are as legit as legit can be when stacking up hits in the bluegrass world. In addition to the music, she’s actively showcasing other artists through her “Live at Lorraine’s” concert series. This longstanding music powerhouse has recently faced some personal sadness, but her commitment to her art continues.

Jordan explained, “2023 has been a difficult year for me, losing my husband to a blood infection while in the hospital after bypass surgery. Tom was a musician himself and played dobro and sang baritone for the Gentlemen of Bluegrass. We met through music and were big fans of the original Seldom Scene. We followed them around and became friends through bluegrass.”

Jordan had fond words for her spouse, who was instrumental in helping her to succeed the way she has.

Kara Martinez Bachman

“I know there are lots of women who stay home and keep the house and children while their husband is out on the road,” she said, “but turn that around and imagine the husband doing it with a daughter. Well, that’s what my situation was. He called me while I was on the road, telling me he was at a dance recital and had to stop and buy pantyhose for Susanna for the recital.” In loving tribute, Jordan added, “I respect and appreciate him for letting me live out my dream while he kept the home fires burning,”

Her venue that offers live performances – including the Live at Lorraine’s series – took shape due to an idea of her husband’s.

“Tom is the one that suggested I open a venue in our hometown to bring the music back home,” she reminisced about the origins of Lorraine’s Coffee House and Cafe in Garner, North Carolina. “He loved Lorraine’s Coffee House, and the building was dedicated to him in 2014 when we opened.”

The venue offers online streaming of performances, and in addition to everything else he did, Jordan said her husband served as a cameraman for the video streaming for years.

Jordan carries on; she is now back to work and back out on tour. In April, she oversaw a new event in Kingsport, Tennessee: Bluegrass in the Blue Ridge.

She’s got a tour schedule this summer that will find her in her expected gigging states of the Carolinas and Tennessee, plus dates in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and more. By November, she plans to continue a tradition with which she and the band are heavily involved.

“I’m in my 12th year with Bluegrass Christmas in the Smokies, located in Gatlinburg, Tennessee,” she said. “This is an all-traditional festival featuring 20 bands from traditional music. Carolina Road oversees this festival.”

She said more new music is also forthcoming.

“We are currently working on a project of Michael Martin Murphy tunes and a second ‘Country Grass’ project,” she said.

By all appearances, despite a tough year, Jordan seems as committed as ever to her music. Part of her success is due to Carolina Road, and she’s quick to give credit where credit is due.

“I’m very proud of this Carolina Road band,” she said. “I call them the ‘nicest band in bluegrass.’ I have some very nice and helpful boys.”

“All the fans love them,” she added.

MARI BLACK

Mari Black, who has won multiple awards for her fiddlin’ prowess, says she came by her talent naturally. “I grew up in a musical family. My mother, Bonnie Black, is an amazing classical cellist – a pedagogue, to be exact. She is something else. I grew up watching her teach, and being around music was awesome for me.”

Mari was born in New York, grew up in Portland, Maine, and moved to Boston when she was eight. Being exposed to her mom’s music made it a natural for Mari to want to play music as well. “The violin chose me,” she laughs. “When I was a toddler, I would use anything I could find to simulate a violin. I would use chopsticks, garden trowels, or anything else I could rub together. My mom got me a 1/16th scale violin that was so tiny – I still have it. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t play music. I used to play along to my mother’s records and even with her students.”

One thing Mari says she didn’t do was listen to her mother’s advice. “I was determined to do my own thing. But at around twelve or thirteen, I got serious. I had to schedule lessons with my mom.” Attending fiddle camps exposed Mari to different types of fiddle music, from Irish and Scottish to Texas-style fiddling. “I heard Mark O’Conner, and he blew my mind.”

Mari entered her first fiddle contest in 1993. “It was the Skowhegan State Fair in Maine. All the country fairs had fiddle contests.” Mari learned about contra dances and fell in love with the Maine French Fiddles. “And I loved spending time with the older fiddlers – we called them the ‘fiddle geezers,’ who were like grandparents who taught and mentored us. The fairs were like a meeting of the musical community, and they took place from May through December, every weekend if you were willing to drive a few hours.”

Mari’s website describes the fiddler as a teacher, composer, dancer, competition judge and musical ambassador. “I was super fortunate to be raised by artists. My mother has been a teacher, performer and scholar, the trifecta with all three entities of an artist. Then I had the honor of studying under Willie Ruff at the Yale School of Music, who taught me to follow the stories behind the music to learn more about others and about myself.” Mari teaches workshops when on the road, and during the Covid pandemic, she became a self-proclaimed “Zoom hipster,” teaching seminars online four times a week. Now she teaches in a small private studio with just a few students. “I have to schedule lessons between performances.”

Mari doesn’t use the term “composer” for the music she creates. “I don’t always have a vision. I do what I call ‘catching tunes.’ I hear beautiful, wonderful music, and I have to learn it from my head before it flies off to another fiddler.”

The dancing component comes from Mari’s exposure to contra dancing. “I grew up as a contra dancer, and that goes back to French musicians. I found my tribe music world through contra dancing.” In college at Yale, Mari decided to learn to do the Argentine tango. “I don’t know why I chose something so difficult to try to master.” But that led to swing dancing, blues, and finally, romance. “I met my partner through dancing.” Mari says she loves any kind of dance music. “It is designed to make the human body move, and that’s always a good thing.”

Susan Marquez

Being a competition judge comes naturally to Mari. “Growing up as a career competitor, I learned so much from the judge’s comments. I took them all to heart. Now I love being able to judge. I feel it’s an educational opportunity for the young fiddlers coming up behind me.”

Finally, Mari says “musical ambassador” is a catch-all phrase. “I feel music is a medium for trying to connect people to learn about other folks.” Mari has connected with folks all over the world. She has received numerous awards and accolades, including being named Scotland’s Glenfiddich Fiddle Champion, Canadian Novelty Fiddle Champion, and first prize in American Protégé International.

Mari’s performances are dynamic, and her sense of playfulness and her love of the history behind the music come out on stage. She brings her music to life with driving dance tunes. It’s not unusual for the audience to be on their feet and dancing with Mari before her show ends. If you can’t see Mari live on stage, listen to either of her two albums. Released in the spring of 2014, Flight is Mari’s debut

album that features her favorite dance-inspired fiddle styles. The album includes songs from Ireland, Scotland, Cape Breton, Canada and the Americas, as well as a few original tunes that Mari was able to “catch.” Her most recent album, Unscripted, is a collaboration with three-time world accordion champion Cory Pesaturo. Filled with spontaneity, improvisation, and the unexpected, the album contains jazz tunes, klezmer horas, Celtic reels, Argentine tangos and American rags and was named one of the Top Ten Albums of 2020 by “Gord’s Gold” at the Folk Music Notebook. Mari says she is “cooking up” a new album and is looking forward to playing at the Acadia Festival of Traditional Music and Dance in June. “People are getting back to touring in this post-pandemic world, and I’m really excited to get back in it.”

Gaming aficionados can also hear Mari’s music. She has music on the video game

“BioShock: Burial at Sea.” She also has a YouTube channel and enjoys making videos for her “Mari’s Tune of the Month” features. “Hopefully, I’ll have a lot more tunes in my future.”

Every town has one—a place where teens gather to share their interest in music. In 1966, McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Long Beach, California, was where young people gathered to talk about music, see the latest instruments, and jam. “One of the main topics of conversation was how to not have to work for a living,” recalls John McEuen.

McEuen was originally from Oakland. After seeing a performance by the Dillards in 1964, he became interested in music, learning to play the banjo and, eventually, the fiddle and mandolin. He spent a lot of time at McCabe’s. That same year Jeff Hanna, also a regular at McCabe’s, attended a Bob Dylan performance at the Wilson High School auditorium in Long Beach. He attended the concert with a group of friends, including Bruce Kunkel. Jimmy Fadden was also a Dylan fan and spent hours playing Dylan’s songs with Hanna. Their common thread was a love of folk and roots music and their time at McCabe’s Guitar Shop. Surely when the young men formed the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1966, they had no idea the band would span decades and would still put out records over twenty years into the next century. The original band included Hanna, Kunkel, Fadden, McEuen, and a guitarist/vocalist named Jackson Browne. The group started as a jug band, which was popular then. Combining that with the new folk-rock style of music, the

Susan Marquez

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band created a unique sound and an intriguing look, often performing in pinstriped suits and cowboy boots. Browne left the group early on to start his career as a singer-songwriter.

McEuen’s brother, William McEuen, took on the role of the band’s manager and secured bookings for the band. He also produced their album, Uncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy, in 1970. One of the songs on the album, “Mr. Bojangles,” was the band’s first hit. Written and originally recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker, the song rose to number nine on the Billboard “Hot 100” list in 1971 and stayed on the list for thirty-six weeks. Another popular tune on the album was a Kenny Logins song, “House on Pooh Corner.”

Wanting to solidify their standing as a country band, they set out for Nashville, where they planned to record an album with country music greats Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson. “I got up the nerve to ask Earl if he would record something with us, and he not only said yes, but he also said he could bring in Doc,” says John McEuen. “The next thing we knew, Roy Acuff showed up, then Maybelle Carter, Junior Huskey, and others. I was a bit starstruck, but it all felt so natural. We sat in the studio and just started playing, with one person after another suggesting songs.” It became a platinum-selling three-album set that received two GRAMMY nominations.

Over the years, members of the band came and went. The band changed its name to the Dirt Band between 1976 and 1981 before going back to the original band name. McEuen left after twenty years, only to rejoin the band in 2001 before leaving again at the end of 2017, following the band’s fiftieth-anniversary tour. Jeff Hanna and Jimmy Fadden are the only two original band members still on board. Jeff’s son, Jaime, has joined the band on guitars and vocals.

In their nearly six decades as a band, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has released 24 albums, and the Will the Circle Be Unbroken LPs. One of the albums is a Christmas album released in 1997. The band’s latest release,

Dirt Does Dylan, is a full-circle project for Jeff Hanna, who paid $4 to see Dylan perform in a high school gym so long ago. The album, released in 2022, contains ten of Dylan’s songs, including the iconic “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” The band is joined by Roseanne Cash, Steve Earle, Jason Isbell, and The War & Treaty. The album ends on a light note, with Dylan’s “Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn).”

For those who would like to see the band play live, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has tour dates that start February 10 and runs through September 2023.

When life and music collide, the impact is visceral.

That’s the best way to describe Nashville recording artist, Marty Falle’s recent album release, Kentucky Blue Star, which was recorded in January with an all-star lineup of musicians in the legendary confines of County Q recording studio and produced by the talented Johnathan Yudkin.

After recording Virgin on the Bluegrass in 2021, Falle always assumed there’d be another album. What was unexpected, though, was the news that he had an aggressive form of prostate cancer that required immediate surgery. Falle credits his wife for saving his life.

“His results weren’t out of the normal range,” she recalls, “but they were elevated, and I knew Marty’s grandfather had died from prostate cancer at an early age.”

She encouraged her husband to see a specialist, and a biopsy confirmed it was cancer. After recuperating from a radical prostatectomy, Falle had a serious setback – a life-threatening Lymphocele postsurgical complication – that kept him hospitalized for five days until he stabilized. After initial optimism, the cancer returned requiring eight weeks of radiation.

The timing of his health challenges seemed especially cruel considering Falle had recently lost his college roommate to cancer, his brother-in-law to a heart attack, and his best friend to a heart attack. Still grieving, he wondered about his own future.

Known for his tenacious work ethic (He’s a Senior Principal with a Fortune 50 Technology Company in addition to his music), his steadfast commitment to his wife and ten-year-old son Macklin, as

well as his exuberant passion for writing and recording music, Falle now only had energy to face the battle in front of him.

Some days he felt like a warrior; other days he wasn’t sure he’d survive.

“It was a turbulent time. I didn’t want the challenges of cancer to stop me from my goals and passions,” he says.

Though he sporadically wrote songs, Falle wondered if he’d ever have the chance to record again. Working his way back into shape took months.

“Last December, when my bloodwork came back with good PSA results, it was both a milestone and a motivator for me to get back in the studio,” he adds.

Reaching out to his team in Nashville, Falle set a date for recording. With his creative on-switch fully back on, he went into overdrive. Sometimes he heard the lyrics to a song faster than he could find a pencil, resorting to recording on his I-phone.

“If there’s something gnawing at me,” Falle laughs, “I got to get it written or it’ll keep bothering me. It’s like everything I’m doing, I’m humming it … in the shower, in the car. Once I write it down, it’s out of my system.”

Laying Down Tracks

From the moment Falle’s team met inside

the small, 1950-ish black-and-white house that is County Q, a wave of camaraderie flowed as freely as the consumption of coffee and doughnuts from the kitchen.

In the control room where a single window revealed the gray clouds of a winter day, the collective vibe was electric. Ace Lutz was at the boards, while Carl Miner (Flat Picker of the Year Champion), Michael Bub (one of Nashville’s premier upright bass players), Rob Ickes (founding member of the contemporary bluegrass band Blue Highway), and Matt Menefee (Co-founder of bluegrass acoustic groups Cadillac Sky and ChessBoxer) grabbed seats on the two leather couches.

Producer and musician, Yudkin (Academy of Country Music Award Fiddle Player of the Year), headed to the center of the room, while Marty strode towards the vocal booth in cowboy boots.

“Tracking 13 new songs over two days is the goal,” declared Falle, who also mentioned that the first three songs had been written in the past two weeks.

No one looked surprised, though someone did ask, “What’s the process?”

“Only cheese is processed!” quipped Yudkin, who quickly suggested they “get to work” on the first song, “Kentucky Blue Star.”

Then the magic began.

“You start with Marty, and we’ll come in,” Yudkin instructed the bass player, while chirping, “A little ice cream scoop there with sprinkles on top,” to Ickes on dobro.

A round robin of questions and suggestions followed before everyone scattered to their sound booths.

From the first notes, the room seemed to brighten. Falle’s solid vocals cut through the staccato of the banjo and the wailing dobro like an auctioneer calling everyone to the dancefloor. It was toe-tapping bluegrass at its finest.

After the final notes, the sun broke through the clouds, just as Yudkin exclaimed, “That was sick!”

By the third track, Falle’s boots were off. Although his stamina still wasn’t 100 percent, he clearly was enjoying himself.

Thanks to what Yudkin describes as a “group consciousness” most recordings only required one take. Falle’s version is: “Talk about it; hit the button – and go!”

In the end, 11 songs and one instrumental piece were put on tape, each unique and different, made even more special by the addition of backup vocals by Kim Parent (Brooks & Dunn) and Marty Slayton (George Strait).

What to Expect

Yudkin describes the album as “slick and contemporary but with all the elements of bluegrass,” and he commends Falle’s decision to delve further into the genre.

“Marty has found his place and taken it a step further,” praises Yudkin, adding, “He embodies the spirit of bluegrass, yet he doesn’t write typical songs which brings a fresh presentation to this style of music.”

Diversity defines the album. Starting with the sweet-sounding, “Kentucky Blue Star,” the tempo switches gears with “Daytona,” a double-time, rock-a-billy song about the thrill of a NASCAR race.

In “Ridin’” as well as “God Help this Workin’ Man,” – both songs about life on the road – the blend of instruments echoes the roar of an 18-wheeler barreling down the highway, while “Cherokee,” a ballad that starts with a guitar rake, slowly delivers a mournful tale about the Trail of Tears.

Skip to track eight, “Daddy’s Shotgun,” and you’ll be smiling. Its bluesy chords with double-time passages accompany one man’s frantic escape from a romantic interlude as he’s chased by a shotgun-wielding father. The frenetic pace became so challenging during the recording that by the end of the song every band member was grimacing

and wiping their brow.

Pivoting yet again, the album concludes with an instrumental jam titled, “Whiskey for Breakfast.”

Blue Star Inspiration

Although the album remained untitled at the close of the recording session, there was no doubt that the first track, “Kentucky Blue Star,” was special.

“It was the last song I had written, and it was very prevalent in my mind,” recalls Falle, reliving his family’s trip to their farm in Eastern Kentucky that inspired the music. “We were hiking, and the fields were filled with these beautiful blue wildflowers.”

Somewhere in the contrast between those simple, stunning flowers and the scarred landscape, broken by coal mining and logging industries, the pieces of a song began to emerge. Woven into every lyric were layers of meaning about falling in love, dancing despite the hardship, and appreciating the simple things that create joy.

All of it reflected Falle’s own lessons of endurance and resilience learned during a dark and difficult season. The more he pondered, the clearer it became: Kentucky Blue Star was meant to be the album’s title.

“When I reached out to T.J. Matousek, an award-winning Disney artist who I’ve known since childhood, about doing the cover, it took on a life of its own,” says Falle, who is gratefully embracing every note with optimism and presently cancer-free.

*** To learn more about Falle’s music, go to www.martyfallemusic.com

APPALACHIA SPIRITS

Appalachia is known for one hard liquor: moonshine.

It is a high-proof, unaged whiskey typically made from corn mash and originally distilled illegally.

Moonshining in Appalachia is a tradition that has been passed down for generations. The first moonshiners in Appalachia were likely Scotch-Irish settlers who brought their distilling methods with them. It is a way of life for many people in the region that played a significant role in the area’s history.

The illegal distillation of alcohol has played a role in Appalachian culture for centuries because it provided a livelihood for many to make ends meet due to the region’s isolation and rugged terrain that made it difficult for authorities to track down and stop the activity.

Moonshining has significantly impacted Appalachia and has been the subject of many stories and songs that helped to shape the region’s identity.

However, Appalachia is home to a number of distilleries now producing everything from brandy and bourbon to vodka and gin. While these spirits may not be traditionally associated with the region, many highquality beverages make a name for themselves in this part of the country - often using locally sourced ingredients native to the region, such as honey, berries and

herbs.

Appalachia has a rich history of producing high-quality spirit beverages. The region’s distilleries continue to innovate and create new and unique flavors that reflect the area’s unique culture and heritage.

Smooth Ambler Spirits West Virginia

In the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, Smooth Ambler is a craft

Appalachian know-how. That’s when the hard-working, creative, and resourceful folks of West Virginia come together to make something beautiful (and damn good) that no one else thought possible,” according to its website.

Smooth Ambler produces a range of spirits, including bourbon, rye whiskey, gin, vodka, and rum. The distillery sources its grains and other ingredients from local farms and suppliers whenever possible and uses traditional distilling techniques to create unique and flavorful spirits.

One of the most popular products from Smooth Ambler is its Old Scout bourbon, which is a small-batch, singlebarrel bourbon aged for at least eight years. The distillery also produces a range of other bourbons, including a wheated bourbon and a highrye bourbon, as well as a variety of limitededition releases.

Eda Rhyne Distillery North Carolina

distiller of artisan whiskies.

“At Smooth Ambler, tradition isn’t a recipe we follow. Our company is literal proof of solid

Eda Rhyne Distillery is a craft distillery located in Asheville, North Carolina, and produces a variety of spirits, including gin, whiskey, and brandy. The distillery sources its grains and other ingredients from local farmers and suppliers and uses traditional distilling methods to

create unique and flavorful spirits.

One of the most popular products from Eda Rhyne is its Asheville Gin, which is a small-batch gin made with 12 botanicals, including locally sourced juniper berries, coriander, and citrus peel. The distillery also produces a range of whiskeys, including a bourbon-style whiskey and a rye whiskey, as well as a variety of brandies.

The distillery is committed to sustainability and has implemented several eco-friendly practices in its production processes, such as using locally sourced renewable energy and recycling its spent grains as animal feed.

Woodford Reserve Distillery Kentucky

Woodford Reserve Distillery is a renowned bourbon distillery located in Versailles, Kentucky,

and produces small-batch bourbon using traditional distilling methods, including copper pot stills and sour mash fermentation. The distillery is known for its attention to detail and focus on the entire bourbonmaking process, from selecting the grains to aging the whiskey in charred oak barrels.

Woodford Reserve has received numerous awards and accolades for its bourbon, including being named the “World’s Best Bourbon” at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2016. The distillery’s products are now available in over 50 countries worldwide, and the brand has become synonymous with highquality, small-batch bourbon.

The distillery is a National Historic Landmark — according to Woodford Reserve, the “art of making fine bourbon first took place on the site” in 1812.

Wigle Whiskey is a craft distillery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, known for producing highquality, organic spirits using locally sourced ingredients. The distillery is named after Philip Wigle, a key figure in the Whiskey Rebellion, a protest against a tax on whiskey in the late 18th century.

Wigle Whiskey produces a range of spirits, including bourbon, rye whiskey, wheat whiskey, and gin. They use a variety of grains, including organic rye, wheat, and corn, which are milled onsite and then mashed, fermented, and distilled using traditional methods. The spirits are aged in charred oak barrels to give them distinctive flavors.

Wigle Whiskey Pennsylvania

Preserving Tradition for All Cultures: The Center

for Traditional Music and Dance

Peter Rushefsky grew up listening to – and playing – lots of traditional music. Old time. Bluegrass. Ragtime. As time went on, he got an urge that many have felt over the years; he wanted to explore the music of his heritage more thoroughly.

“At some point when you get deep into traditional music,” he explained, “you start asking: What about the music of MY community?” That question led to an exploration of klezmer, a genre he described succinctly as “Jewish celebratory music.” It came to the states with immigrants, primarily in the 20th century.

“There’s been a big revival of the music since the 1970s,” he said. He began delving deep while in his 20s, attending klezmer camps. He said he was “hooked” because the music resonated.

Since then, his professional work as a Klezmer musician has led to

performing and/or recording with greats, including Itzhak Perlman and the Klezmer Conservatory Band. He’s performed the music of his heritage at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and on-air at NPR radio.

That experience of evolving in the direction of his heritage serves Rushefsky well as Executive Director for the NYC-based Center for Traditional Music and Dance, a nonprofit that allows him to support similar examination – and preservation –of the arts and culture of peoples who have immigrated to the city. It seemed he was uniquely suited to do the job since he had taken that journey of cultural exploration.

“It had a lot of resonance with what I was living,” he said. “I thought, wow, maybe this is a way I can use what I learned from within Jewish culture and help other cultures around the world.”

He said the organization is all about “reviving and revitalizing” traditions.

“We have a wonderful series called Beat of the Burroughs: NYC Online,” he said, explaining the initiative started during the pandemic. It features video profiles of various artists from NYC, showcasing each’s music, methods and culture. These videos – uploaded several times per week to the Center’s website at Ctmd.org – aim to provide a “contextualization” for each artist’s work.

Rushefsky implied that what happens in his city affects other parts of the American melting pot.

“New York is a hub for so many different kinds of culture,” he said, explaining it tends to “ripple out” from there. In this sense, his organization’s work will

eventually reach us all, possibly through the evolution of our greater collective culture.

The Center for Traditional Music and Dance coordinates concerts; festivals; multimedia products, including documentary films; workshops; after-school classes for children; learning experiences aimed at seniors; and more.

Whether it’s music and dance hailing from Haiti, the Balkans, or Colombia, there’s no doubt the Center has it represented somewhere in its offerings. Some current programs relate to the music and dance of immigrants from Mongolia; The Himalayas; and Sri Lanka, for which they’re “working towards a large festival in the fall.” Rushefsky said when visitors find themselves in NYC, “they should check out our events calendar and Facebook page” to see if anything is going on during their stay.

One of the longer-standing events

the Center is known for is Yiddish New York, billed as the largest Yiddish Culture festival in the United States. Taking place the last week in December, Yiddish artists, scholars, and personalities join together for six days of films; lectures; theater; Yiddish language, food, song and folk dance; visual arts; klezmer music; workshops; and more. Rushefsky said people from all backgrounds are welcome, and attendance from those outside the community is an

deep into traditional music,” he explained, “you start asking: What about the music of MY community?” That question led to an exploration of klezmer, a genre he described succinctly as “Jewish celebratory music.” It came to the states with immigrants, primarily in the 20th century.

enhancement and the purpose of the Center.

“The best events,” Rushefsky said, “are when half the crowd is from inside the community, and half is from outside.” Peter Rushefsky grew up listening to – and playing – lots of traditional music. Old time. Bluegrass. Ragtime. As time went on, he got an urge that many have felt over the years; he wanted to explore the music of his heritage more thoroughly.

“At some point when you get

“There’s been a big revival of the music since the 1970s,” he said. He began delving deep while in his 20s, attending klezmer camps. He said he was “hooked” because the music resonated.

Since then, his professional work as a Klezmer musician has led to performing and/or recording with greats, including Itzhak Perlman and the Klezmer Conservatory Band. He’s performed the music of his heritage at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and on-air at NPR radio.

That experience of evolving in the direction of his heritage serves Rushefsky well as Executive

Director for the NYC-based Center for Traditional Music and Dance, a nonprofit that allows him to support similar examination – and preservation –of the arts and culture of peoples who have immigrated to the city. It seemed he was uniquely suited to do the job since he had taken that journey of cultural exploration.

“It had a lot of resonance with what I was living,” he said. “I thought, wow, maybe this is a way I can use what I learned from within Jewish culture and help other cultures around the world.”

He said the organization is all about “reviving and revitalizing” traditions.

“We have a wonderful series

called Beat of the Burroughs: NYC Online,” he said, explaining the initiative started during the pandemic. It features video profiles of various artists from NYC, showcasing each’s music, methods and culture. These videos – uploaded several times per week to the Center’s website at Ctmd.org – aim to provide a “contextualization” for each artist’s work.

Rushefsky implied that what happens in his city affects other parts of the American melting pot.

“New York is a hub for so many different kinds of culture,” he said, explaining it tends to “ripple out” from there. In this sense, his organization’s work will eventually reach us all, possibly

through the evolution of our greater collective culture.

The Center for Traditional Music and Dance coordinates concerts; festivals; multimedia products, including documentary films; workshops; after-school classes for children; learning experiences aimed at seniors; and more.

Whether it’s music and dance hailing from Haiti, the Balkans, or Colombia, there’s no doubt the Center has it represented somewhere in its offerings. Some current programs relate to the music and dance of immigrants from Mongolia; The Himalayas; and Sri Lanka, for which they’re “working towards a large festival in the fall.” Rushefsky said when visitors find themselves in NYC, “they should check out our events

calendar and Facebook page” to see if anything is going on during their stay.

One of the longer-standing events the Center is known for is Yiddish New York, billed as the largest Yiddish Culture festival in the United States. Taking place the last week in December, Yiddish artists, scholars, and personalities join together for six days of films; lectures; theater; Yiddish language, food, song and folk dance; visual arts; klezmer music; workshops; and more. Rushefsky said people from all backgrounds are welcome, and attendance from those outside the community is an enhancement and the purpose of the Center.

“The best events,” Rushefsky said, “are when half the crowd is from inside the community, and half is from outside.”

FAN PHOTOS