“This is not a solo act, practicing joy. It’s very communal. We have to do it together, because it’s just not easy.”
–Valerie June, No Depression 4/21/2025
Tag: community
Americana Curious Podcast 4/7/25
Justin Osborne
Americana Curious Podcast 1/6/25
Crys Matthews
festival legacy: Newport Folk & Jazz
As explained on our “About” page, this blog was born out of the experience that is the Newport Folk Festival. That experience cannot be captured in words, but this outstanding long-form article from consequence.net makes an extremely impressive attempt:
quote from Neko Case
“A world without art is a world without interested, loving, united audiences. It’s a world without a healthy way to find each other and to celebrate communally outside of sports or religion. No thank you. I don’t want to stop finding you.”
— Neko Case, Entering the Lung, 9/26/2023
message from Tyler Childers
Newport Folk Festival 2020
As described in our “About”page, this blog was born out of the experience that is the Newport Folk Festival. The idea was to spread the festival’s pervasive sense of joy, good will, and community as widely as possible, throughout the year. Of course, this year the “folk family” stayed home. Nevertheless, via social media, the tremendous efforts of the Festival Foundation, Jay Sweet, and numerous other organizers and musicians, we all managed to be together even while apart. Thank you Jay Sweet, Caps, and everyone else for making the weekend happen.
Instagram post from The Wood Brothers
“Here’s another one from our tiny attic sessions we did in January. We miss playing together and we miss playing for our fans but we feel inspired by the connection and community that’s resulted from everyone trying to get thru this together. This song is a good reminder not to sweat the small stuff. Enjoy and be safe!”
art against coronavirus in Philadelphia
“What you’re seeing is empty businesses, empty schools, empty playgrounds. What is the emotional toll that takes? How can we replace some of that emptiness with images of hope, resilience, anger, and also dreams of a future that is hopefully not far off?” –Mark Strandquist, Mural Arts Philadelphia
quarantined Italians sing from their balconies
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Click here for a Vox.com article, with photos and additional links.
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