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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
THE NEW FOLKWORKS
January 1, 2020 will mark FolkWorks’ 20th anniversary! We started out as a hard copy newspaper with 15k distribution, and have morphed into an online resource with over 400k hits/month! Our website offers news about artists and the arts, CD reviews and other articles of interest. FolkWorks supports mature and new talent through concerts, dances and festivals that both entertain and educate. Our Calendar has become the “go to” source for folk/roots events in SoCal. Our columnists are a resource for artists and their audiences with topics ranging from commentary to history and folk tales. The popularity of this part of our work forms the basis of an exciting new phase of FolkWorks.
In keeping with our rapidly changing world of broader access to information, and technology that enables wider communication, our focus will be to provide a pathway for geographic expansion, interactive programming and collaborative support and exchange. To attain these goals, our plan is to:
- grow our audience by moving to a statewide, west coast or national platform
- develop curated access to the FolkWorks’ calendar, which will provide event and venue producers, artists, agents, teachers, and educators the ability to directly enter events. Event details could contain detailed descriptions, photos, links, maps, and calendar exports
- continue and expand our columns as blogs, with the ability to easily add new writers
- partner with individuals, formal and informal groups, and organizations that share our vision of a centralized source for events, featuring a variety of traditionally based folk/roots music, dance and art to a large audience.
We want to thank all of you in the community who have made FolkWorks possible. Please support our new adventure by becoming a FolkWorks member, or renewing your current membership. We will soon have a button on the website for one-time donations.
We welcome your thoughts, ideas and contributions as we move toward a bold New FolkWorks.
RIP: Laura Kass Remembered
(June 6, 1947-January 22, 2020)
Laura Kass Remembered
Laura Kass passed away January 22, 2020 at the age of 72 after a four-year battle with cancer.Laura and I became friends when we were seven years old. Our families were next-door neighbors at a bungalow colony in the Catskills. We spent summers there until we were teenagers. Between the summers, I lived in Queens and Laura lived in Brooklyn. We wrote letters to each other all year long. We stayed friends through all the years, with me in Provincetown, Richmond, and Birmingham, and Laura in New York, Kentucky, and LA. In December, when the cancer became untreatable, I moved to LA to care for Laura, and I stayed with her until she died, peacefully, on January 22. I tell her story here, through my own recollections and through Laura’s own words (in italics), as revealed in emails she sent to a long-time friend who shared excerpts with me to share with others.
January-February 2020
An Ode to the Coffeehouse
According to the National Coffee Association, USA, legend tells us that it was Kaldi, a goat herder in Ethiopia, who discovered coffee. No, he didn’t find a Starbucks in the forest and order a double soy latte – he didn’t even find it as a beverage. Apparently, as the story goes, he noticed that his goats were eating the berries of a particular tree and then not sleeping at night. While it would seem to me that there is nothing more distressing to a goat herder than insomniac goats, rather than attempting to solve this problem, the herder “Kaldi” told the local Abbot.2020 NAMM BAMM
As usual most of our time was spent in the acoustic section of the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show at the Anaheim Convention Center. This is Hall E on the bottom level.We were impressed with Troublesome Creek out of Kentucky. They make guitars, mandolins, using walnut, maple (domestic) and other nice woods. They had a mandolin built with help from a “Loar era” specialist for a mere $9,600.
Yes, Virginia, There Is an ERA
By Ross Altman, PhD
League of Women Voters Applauds Virginia for Ratification of ERARALEIGH, NC, January 15, 2020 – The League of Women Voters of Wake County (LWV-Wake) applauds the state of Virginia upon its ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Virginia is now the 38th state to have ratified the ERA, which meets the threshold for adoption of an amendment under Article V of the US Constitution…
NAMM 2020 - Adventure in Anaheim
I was determined to approach my visit to the annual event methodically, so I decided to walk the perimeter of the huge lower chamber that housed the acoustic division of the exhibit and examine all the booths that lined the walls. Then, row by row, I would check each section to see what attracted my interest and jot it down. According to my plan, at the end of each row, I turn right, go to the next row, and walk the opposite direction to the end of that row.STEEP CANYON RANGERS AT PEPPERDINE
LISA SMITH WENGLER CENTER FOR THE ARTS - SMOTHERS THEATRE - FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2020
SWEET DREAMS AND FLYING MACHINES…
“The streets of Rome are filled with rubble...” were the first words out of Steep Canyon Rangers mouths. Considering how the evening ended it was more ominous than I could have known.2019 GRAMMY WINNERS (AND NOMINEES)
OF INTEREST TO FOLKWORKS READERS
BEST REGIONAL MEXICAN MUSIC ALBUM (INCLUDING TEJANO)
BEST AMERICAN ROOTS PERFORMANCE
BEST REGIONAL ROOTS MUSIC ALBUM
--Click for DETAILS
“LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL” by LANIE ROBERTSON
AT THE NATE HOLDEN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2020 3 PM
“THE BEST SONG OF THE 20TH CENTURY”
Four months before she died at the age of 44, Billie Holiday gave one of her last performances at Emerson’s Bar and Grill in Philadelphia, the city where she was born. Her birth name was Eleanora Fagan (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) although she was known as Lady Day, the name given to her by saxophonist Lester Young. Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill is the name of the show currently playing at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center in South Los Angeles. The musical drama is inspired by and explores the life of the legendary singer and stars Karole Foreman as Lady Day.Read more: “LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL” BY LANIE ROBERTSON
STING AT AHMANSON IN THE LAST SHIP
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2020
Gideon’s Trumpet
Sting brought the Royal Family to the Ahmanson Theatre last night—Opening Night—while the Queen nonchalantly dismissed Harry and Meghan from her “royal family.” The last words of his Royal Family were “We build ships!” a slightly unauthorized curtain call by Gideon Fletcher—he of “Gideon’s Trumpet,” from my title—the prodigal son who returns home after 17 years at sea to find his old flame Meg has all but died out.MUSIC
2:00pm CHRIS GANTRY
2029 N. Lake Ave., Altadena, CA 91001
626-798-6236 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
7:00pm BEYOND THE PALE
5790 Armada Dr., Carlsbad, CA 92008
7:00pm LEDWARD KAAPANA
Mission Viejo Civic Center
100 Civic Center Dr., Mission Viejo, CA 92691
Presented by Lord Of The Strings Concert Series
7:00pm COLIN HAY
fwpick
7:00pm LOS ANGELES BALALAIKA ORCHESTRA
Colburn School - Herbert Zipper Hall
200 South Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012
fwpick
8:00pm PERLA BATALLA & MARIA MULDAUR
8:00pm WALLY BARNICK & THE TRAIL BOSS TROUBADOURS
8:00pm STEVE POLTZ / THE RUGBURNS / THE MASTERSONS / ANTHONY DA COSTA
8:00pm SALTY STRINGS / ROSE VALLEY THORNS
SOHo Restaurant and Music Club
fwpick
8:00pm BEAUSOLEIL AVEC MICHAEL DOUCET
fwpick
8:00pm TOM PAXTON & THE DONJUANS / AMY SPEACE
3101 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405
DANCE
NO EVENTS TODAY
MUSIC
7:30pm - 11:30pm TAKE THE FIFTH HOOT (SONGMAKERS)
fifth Saturday
Studio City (Contact via email or website)
www.songmakers.org, Studio City, CA 91604
Rich & Jo Lewis This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
DANCE
8:30am - 11:00am LEISURE WORLD FOLK DANCERS
every Saturday
Club House 1
Leisure World, Laguna Hills, CA
Florence Kanderer 949-425-8456
6:00pm - 9:00pm SOLVANG VILLAGE FOLK DANCERS
first, second, fourth & fifth Saturday
Bethania Lutheran Parish Hall
David Heald 805-688-3397
7:00pm - 11:00pm 5TH SATURDAY PASADENA CONTRADANCE
fifth Saturday
Skandia Hall
2031 East Villa St., Pasadena, CA
Frann Marr
7:30pm - 10:30pm VESELO SELO FOLK DANCERS
every Saturday
Unitarian Universalist Church in Anaheim
511 S. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim, CA
Lu Perry 714-828-2581
7:30pm - 11:00pm INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCING (SATURDAYS)
every Saturday
Folk Dance Center at Dancing Unlimited
8:15pm SHERMAN OAKS VINTAGE ISRAELI DANCING
every Saturday
Anisa's School of Dance
14252 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA
Louis Richter 818-881-7494 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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