Sometimes Folk

Although not a musician himself, Strachwitz -- who passed away last week at the age of 91 -- had an outsize inflience on the world of roots music through his record company Arhoolie, which has been going strong for over 60 years. Strachwitz championed Norh American vernacular musicians -- playing and singing acoustic blues, Norteno, Zydeco, Cajun, and more -- at a time long before the genre we now call "World Music" came into vogue. This morning we heard from a few of the many great musicians recorded on Arhoolie, including that first release by Mance Lipscomb in 1960.

The iconic Canadian singer-songwriter (pictured) has passed away at the age of 84. But Willie Nelson is going strong at 90, albeit "California Sober," and he celebrated with a star-studded birthday concert last weekend in L.A.. Doc Watson would have been 100 in March, so a new tribute album -- I Am a Pilgrim -- has appeared. And Brother Bill digs into traditional and not-so-traditional renditions of British ballads.

English singer-songwriter Reg Meuross spent four years researching historical documents pertaining to Britain's slave trade of the 17th and 18th centuries. Although slave owning was outlawed, this didn't stop the wealthy -- particularly in Meuross's native southwest England -- from amassing tremendous amounts of profit, power, and influence through transporting slaves from Africa to the American colonies, with the explicit assistance of the British government and navy. The result of Meuross's efforts is a song-cycle of stories, Stolen From God, about unsung slaves caught up in the Transatlantic trade.

Amelia Baker -- a.k.a. Cinder Well -- is a native Californian who played in folk/punk bands around Santa Cruz. She was introduced to Irish traditional music through meeting members of the Dublin-based experimental folk band Lankum at a festival in Amsterdam. Subsequently Baker moved to County Clare to enroll in a master's program in Irish traditional music performance at Limerick University. This spring, both Well and Lankum have released new albums which are helping define the current sound of Irish folk music.

In 1981, Irish supergroup Planxty -- then at the point of disbanding -- were commissioned to create a music and dance piece for the Eurovision contest held that year in Dublin. Apparently that project, entitled "Timedance," was an inspiration for Michael Flatley to create "Riverdance" in 1994.