Sunday, September 20, 2009

Psych! Folk! Revival!

This show was inspired by some discussion on a forum after the recent death of Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary fame. Someone claimed that folk music died in the mid-60's when Dylan went electric. I don't pretend to have a good definition for folk music, but it seems to me that folk music is alive and well, thank you very much! In fact there's whole new wave of young musicians who are experimenting with folk music in very personal and inventive ways. Let's see a sample:

There must be something in the water in Nevada City, California! Here's two artists from that city:



I was lucky to see Mariee Sioux in concert last summer. She played in an open air concert in the middle of a park, surrounded with trees and moths. A magical evening for sure.

Here's a couple of bigger names from the new psych folk scene, starting with Devendra Banhart, whom I like to compare to a young Marc Bolan, from his Tyrannosaurus Rex period.


Here's one that requires some open-mindedness: Joanna Newsom, with her harp and her unusual vocals...


This show wouldn't be complete without a mention of the godmother of this movement, the one who inspired many of these new artists: Vashti Bunyan, who has made a successful comeback recently. She hasn't lost her touch, as you can see in this video. Pure bliss.

1 comment:

  1. I try and try to like this stuff, but...! A well-put-together show, though.

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