FMSNY’s 4 for Folkies

Laura Ciporen talks with Sarah "Songbird" Burkey ahead of her May 29 concert (part of Carnegie Hall’s United in Sound festival!) and May 30 workshop in NYC. Sarah writes songs that sound "as old as the coal that sleeps in the hills" and uses traditional ballads for the catharsis of singing out sadness, trauma, and heartbreak. And she can trim a 50 verse ballad down to 20 so there's no rambling. Visit folkmusicny.org for more info on both events.

Laura Ciporen talks with Colleen Cleveland ahead of her Apr. 25 concert and workshop in BKLYN, NY. With 600+ songs handed down through 5 generations in the Adirondacks and only partially recorded in 16 hours of story and song in the Library of Congress, Colleen has a magnificent and unique legacy to share. Visit folkmusicny.org for more info on both events. (Pls excuse the difficult audio quality at points.)

Laura Ciporen talks with Macdara Yeates, the young, traditional Irish singer making his solo NY debut March 20th and 21st in a concert (part of Carnegie Hall’s United in Sound: America at 250 festival!) and workshop on Manhattan's Upper West Side. He discusses the power of a personal connection to music, a wild concert in India, and his favorite Jazz spot in NYC. Bonus 5th question inside! Visit folkmusicny.org for more info on both events.

Laura Ciporen talks with Alison Kelley (she/her) and Anayis "A.J." Wright (they/them) ahead of their Friday, Feb. 13 house concert in Queens, NY. Twa Corbies discuss creating unique sounds, surprisingly parallel early musical experiences, and what's so great about NYC. Visit folkmusicny.org for more info on the concert and twacorbiesmusic.com to find their music.

Laura Ciporen talks with Lindsey Smith, Lafayette Matthews, and Jules Peiperl ahead of their Dec. 19 event at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture. A Sheffield Solstice also features Joy Bennett, Chris Koldewey, A.J. Wright, and David Jones. Visit folkmusicny.org for more info. The Ranzo Boys discuss "putting the queerness back in Folk and Traditional music" and their love for the Folk community where everyone can, and should, join in. (Note: Lindsey Smith is a FMSNY Board member.)

Laura Ciporen talks with Sophie Lavoie, François-Félix Roy, and Fiachra O'Regan ahead of their Nov. 21, 2025 concert at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. Visit folkmusicny.org for more info on this event and more folk and trad music content. Grosse Isle explains the group's name, discusses folk music's role as community and its power to make a grandmother cry with a fiddle tune, and why Fiachra, the banjo player of the group, cuts the banjo out of his monitors when they play.

A full weekend of folk in the city! Find details on our website, get tickets on Eventbrite! One performer, Chris, invites you to try out anything in his instrument menagerie and start a life-long habit with a basic tune. He also talks about how NY State and NYC are both like Folk music in that you can find history right beside the new. "It's about then, and now, and carrying it on."

Final sampling of the astounding teachers and performers on TradMaD staff this year. There's still time to register! Visit tradmadcamp.org. Amy got into folk music because it’s just FUN! As is her rock band where the focus is climate change. She encourages adults to be brave and try new things like picking up a new instrument or coming to TradMaD for the first time where you can make instant friends by singing together. And her room may be haunted.

Sample 4 of the astounding teachers and performers on TradMaD staff in 2025. There's still time to register! Visit tradmadcamp.org. Andy Cohen sings Blues and plays hot, finger-picking guitar in the regular keys; no B for him! He talks about how he's related to Coco the Gorilla, how a little music theory goes farther than a lot of music theory, and the prevalence of musicians at archeology sites. He's looking forward to the ever changing kaleidoscope of music that is TradMaD.

Sample 3 of the astounding teachers and performers on TradMaD staff in 2025. There's still time to register! Visit tradmadcamp.org. Sally got hooked on the Mountain Dulcimer while studying abroad and Howie accidentally learned classic folk tunes from Saturday morning cartoons. The pair have literally been playing together since the day they met when she played one of his songs back to him at her gig. They look forward to harmonizing with TradMaD campers and encourage young people to dive in.

Part 2 of a sampling of the exciting teachers and performers on TradMaD camp’s staff this year. There's still time to register! Visit tradmadcamp.org. Jerry Bryant calls himself a singer who plays a bunch of instruments while telling stories with song. To him, a 3-minute song can serve the same function as a movie. He's a 1st-time TradMaDer who looking forward to getting back to teaching and to lots of spontaneous jamming and finding out if the week is as great as he's heard.

Part 1 of a sampling of the wonderful teachers and performers on TradMaD camp’s staff this year. There's still time to register! Visit tradmadcamp.org. Scott Ainslie's spent his musical life getting close to old people and would rather play an obnoxious, metal banjo-uke than the piano. He loves teaching the tribe that gathers at TradMaD, a community that is one of his sources of good news, and is looking forward to meeting new old friends and swimming in camp's sacred waters.

Steff Reed, who will NOT be put in a box, musically, joins Laura Ciporen ahead of his appearance at the FMSNY stage at Porch Stomp, an annual, day-long, free Folk fest on Governors Island on Sat. June 21, 2025. Steff speaks proudly of his mom's activism, how he uses his music to strive for "collective liberation," and a surprising song that still tugs at his heart. Come to Admiral House (stage 4) to catch our full line up! Festival website: porchstomp.com/porchstompfestival

Three fifths of The Brooklyn Stoop Singers join Laura Ciporen of the Folk Music Society of New York ahead of Porch Stomp, an annual, day-long, free Folk fest on Governors Island on Sat. June 21, 2025. The trio describe their "mini folk festival" repertoire and difficulty agreeing on what key they play in. Visit folkmusicny.org for more info on the FMSNY stage and many other folk and traditional music related content.  Festival website: porchstomp.com/porchstompfestival

Laura Ciporen from the Folk Music Society of New York has a quick chat with Steve Turner ahead of his June 4th, 2025 house concert in Woodside, Queens. Visit folkmusicny.org for more info on this event and many other folk and traditional music related content.  Steve tells us how his unique concertina style evolved, which he hasn't discussed before, and how he and his singing partner Gina La Faux (then called George Faux) handled a complete concertina breakdown at the start of a set.