Ottawa Folk Festival update #2

More on the Ottawa Folk Festival.

As I mentioned on January 18, Ottawa Bluesfest’s Mark Monahan and his team “obviously know how to put on the big concerts that have come to dominate the evening concerts at folk festivals. I remain optimistic that he’ll maintain and develop the creative daytime workshop programming that I believe is the heart and soul of great folk festivals.”

Well, I’m happy to report that he’s assigned curatorship of the daytime workshop programming to the Ottawa Folklore Centre. That is the best news I’ve heard about the festival in a very long time. I think this is a great move that will ensure that the 2011 Ottawa Folk Festival’s daytime programming will continue to be the heart and soul of the festival.

Ottawa Folklore Centre owner Arthur McGregor has been involved in the folk music scene for a very long time and he has a deep understanding of the kind of programming I’ve been referring to. He’s already talked about continuing the kind of participatory workshops the Folklore Centre has coordinated in past years for the festival (excellent move) and depending on the selection of artists he’ll have to work with, I think there is the potential for this to be a great festival.

Pictured: Dan Frechette, Riley Baugus, Dirk Powell, Courtney Granger, Martha Scanlan, Robert Michaels &  bass player, and Mike Regenstreif at the Ottawa Folk Festival (2006).

  

--Mike Regenstreif

Sing Out! Magazine – November/December ‘10/January ‘11

My copy of the latest issue of Sing Out! Magazine – November/December ‘10/January ’11 – arrived this week. The cover story is about South African singer-songwriter Johnny Clegg.

As usual, this issue of Sing Out! has a bunch of my CD reviews including:

Trevor Alguire- Now Before Us
Asleep at the Wheel & Leon Rausch- It’s a Good Day!
Jay Aymar- Halfway Home
Allison Brown- Viper at the Virgin’s Feet
Andy Cohen- Built Right Here on the Ground
Les Copeland- Don’t Let the Devil In
Ramblin’ Jack Elliott- At Lansdowne Studios, London
Finest Kind- For Honour and for Gain
Frazey Ford- Obadiah
Michael Hurwitz- Chrome on the Range
Chris Kokesh- October Valentine
Jimmy LaFave- Favorites 1992-2001
Terence Martin- The Last Black and White TV
Rain Perry- Internal Combustion
Oliver Schroer & the Stewed Tomatoes- Freedom Row
Bow Thayer- Shooting Arrows at the Moon
Craig Werth- The Spokes Man.

I’m now at work on a bunch of CD and book reviews for the next issue of Sing Out! and will resume posting more reviews here in early-February when those are done.

--Mike Regenstreif

Adrienne Cooper -- Enchanted: A New Generation of Yiddish Song

My review of Enchanted: A New Generation of Yiddish Song by Adrienne Cooper for The Forward is now available on their Arty Semite  blog.

--Mike Regenstreif

Update on Ottawa Folk Festival

Lynn Saxberg of the Ottawa Citizen has filed a report on the latest developments in the Ottawa Bluesfest takeover of the Ottawa Folk Festival.

Folk festival artistic director Dylan Griffith is gone (after just one year), the folk festival office has moved into Bluesfest’s digs, the folk festival board is now dominated by Bluesfest board members and the booking is being done by Bluesfest director Mark Monahan. The folk festival dates have been moved to August 26 to 28 and it’s almost certain that the location will be moved to a more central location than Britannia Park.

Monahan and his team obviously know how to put on the big concerts that have come to dominate the evening concerts at folk festivals. I remain optimistic that he’ll maintain and develop the creative daytime workshop programming that I believe is the heart and soul of great folk festivals.

Pictured: Mike Regenstreif, Nora Guthrie, Kris Kristofferson and Jimmy LaFave talking about Woody Guthrie at the 2007 Ottawa Folk Festival.

--Mike Regenstreif