One of the most important figures in contemporary British folk, Bert Jansch brought an unsurpassed combination of virtuosity and eclecticism to the acoustic guitar, both as a solo act and a key member of Pentangle. Also a talented songwriter and affecting (if gruff) vocalist, he wrote dark and sparse material that recalled the folky side of... [+] Read More

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The son of folk singers, song collectors and political activists Guy and Candie Carawan, Evan Carawan grew up at the Highlander Research and Education Center, a non-profit labor education center in Tennessee. Inspired by his parents' involvement with traditional folk music, Carawan began playing hammered dulcimer at a very young age. By his... [+] Read More

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Music is a tool of cultural change for Guy Carawan. Music director and song leader of the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tennessee, Carawan has consistently woven his musical talents with his committment to freedom and the advancement of the working class. During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, he and his wife,... [+] Read More

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Guitarist John Renbourn is one of the fathers of contemporary British folk music and is one of the finest fingerstyle players in the world. A founder of the seminal group Pentangle, Renbourn's music fuses British and Celtic folk with blues, jazz, British early music, classic guitar and Eastern styles.

Born and raised in Torquay,... [+] Read More

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A political and environmental awareness lies at the root of the songs by Vermont-based singer-songwriter Jon Gailmor. However, his best tunes are aimed at the younger members of his audience. The host of a children's music radio show, Just Kiddin, broadcast by WDEV in Vermont since 1979, Gailmor has sung witty tunes about circus animals ("Jumbo... [+] Read More

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Were Pentangle a folk group, a folk-rock group, or something that resists classification? They could hardly be called a rock & roll act; they didn't use electric instruments often, and were built around two virtuoso guitarists, Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, who were already well-established on the folk circuit before the group formed. Yet their... [+] Read More

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The political balladry of Woody Guthrie, Tom Paxton and Phil Ochs is reflected in the songs of North Carolina-based singer-songwriter Si Kahn. Although his love songs are nearly as effective, Kahn's greatest strides have come with his lyrical looks at the unemployed, the racially abused, the sexually harassed and the working class oppressed.... [+] Read More

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The old timey sounds of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina were preserved through the recordings of fiddler, banjo player and vocalist Tommy Jarrell. Although Jarrell didn't begin recording until his retirement from the North Carolina Highway Department in 1966, his nine albums of traditional banjo and fiddle tunes serve as a reminder of... [+] Read More

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Bluegrass and old-timey string band traditions are fused into the deeply personal solo banjo and fiddle style of Tony Ellis. A five-time recipient of composition awards from the ASCAP (American Society of Composers and Publishers), Ellis was featured during a national Masters of the Banjo tour, sponsored by the National Folk Council for the... [+] Read More

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