General news from the Montana Folk Festival.
Montana Folklife Demonstrator The Wool Mill and Serenity Sheep Farm Stay | Belgrade, MT LaVonne Stucky lives on a farm in the Gallatin Valley on land she and her husband purchased from his parents. This is the same land his grandfather worked with horses. Born in Montana, LaVonne has the …
Montana Folklife Demonstrator The Pieceful Ewe | Molt, MT Julie has been knitting since she was a pre-teen and spinning for eight years. She also needle felts, dyes and weaves. She has taught fiber crafts in three states, Canada and India. She is also the author of two books, “Knitting by …
Montana Traditions Stage Performer | Whitehall, MT Featured at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada for the past six years, Brigid Reedy has become a singular young voice representing her beloved home state of Montana. Brigid is credited in recent books by Aaron Parrett and Charlie Seemann as …
Montana Traditions Stage Performer | Kalispell, MT Musician, model and actress Halladay Quist was born and raised under the Swan Mountains in Montana, living the life of a traveling musical gypsy and loving the hum of a big bus engine under her feet. The daughter of a famous musician Rob Quist, harmonies …
Montana Traditions Stage Performer | Bozeman, MT Linda Svendsen has made a professional life out of adventure, horses and music. She is a founding director of Boojum Expeditions, a pioneer in international horse treks and uncommon travel. For 35 years, Linda organized and led remote horseback expeditions in Central Asia and …
Montana Traditions Stage Performer | Boise, ID Tracy Morrison is a folksinger-songwriter and storyteller known for writing powerful laments and story songs about the American West. Many of her songs reflect the struggle and perseverance of historical western women such as Polly Bemis who was shipped to America from China by the slave trade, …
Montana Traditions Stage Performer | Livingston, MT Little Jane & the Pistol Whips is a Montana band fronted and formed by Ashly Jane Holland and friends in 2008. They are a country-Americana band with a bluegrass kick now and then. The stripped down version that will perform on the Montana …
Montana Folklife Demonstrator MaeFly Outfitters | Belgrade, MT Maggie Mae Monaghan grew up in the small town of Harrison, Montana surrounded by many local blue ribbon waters. She has been a fly-fishing guide for many years and just recently became the proud owner of MaeFly Outfitters. Maggie holds a masters’ …
Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar | Kaneohe, HI Led Kaapana’s mastery of stringed instruments, particularly slack key guitar, and his extraordinary baritone andleo kiekie (falsetto) voices, have made him a musical legend. He has been thrilling audiences for more than 40 years. With easy-going style and kolohe (rascal) charm, he has built a loyal corps …
Irish Traditional | Philadelphia, PA “No one has succeeded more in taking this once vital part of Irish American culture out of musty archives and moldering dissertations and placing it afresh on CD and concert stage than Mick Moloney.” – Earle Hitchner, The Irish Echo Musician, singer, anthropologist and musical …
Iraqi Oud, Iranian Santour, and American percussion | Albuquerque, NM The Rahim AlHaj Trio features Iraqi oud virtuoso and composer Rahim Alhaj, Iranian santour maestro Sourena Sefati and world percussion master Nicholas Baker. Rahim AlHaj was born in Baghdad, Iraq and began playing the oud (the grandfather of all stringed …
Old Time Fiddle | Wilmette, IL Charlie Walden began playing fiddle at age 14 when inspired by players in a fiddler’s contest at the Boone County Fair in his native Missouri. With the generous help and encouragement of older master fiddlers he went on to be recognized as one the …
Native American Hoop Dancing and Drumming | Riverton, WY Jasmine Bell travels the world performing and teaching the sacred hoop dance. Two-time world champion hoop dancer Jasmine Bell, her native name — Good Road Woman of the Crow Creek Sioux – tells of pictographs of hoop dancers on the walls …
Traditional Yakut Khomus | Yakutsk, Sahka Republic, Russia Yuliyana Krovoshapkina is a virtuoso in the art of the khomus, the national instrument of the Sakha Republic in Russia. It functions much like a mouth harp, but differs in several respects. A conventional mouth harp is limited in range, volume, and …
Hip Hop Beatbox | New York, NY One of the biggest names in beatboxing today, preeminent master Rahzel is redefining the limits of the human voice. Known as “the Godfather of Noyze,” Rahzel was a youngster growing up in Queens when hip hop hit big. Beatboxing is a form of …
South Asian | Kathmandu, Nepal The Boston area is home to a large and growing Nepalese community and the Himalayan Heritage Cultural Academy is at its heart. Founded by master musicians to give Nepali traditional arts and music a formal presence in the community, the Academy is also home to …
Garifuna Traditional | Belize and Guatemala The Garinagu people, whose language and culture is called Garifuna, descend from shipwrecked Africans whose ancestry can be traced back to the Yoruba, Ibo, and Ashanti tribes of Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. After making their way to Central America, they intermarried with Carib and Arawak native peoples, and …
Jazz Tap | New York, NY Jason Samuels Smith is one of the most dynamic tap dancers of his time. He is best known for his choreographic flair and keen sense of musicianship including impeccable phrasing and diverse time signatures. He has received accolades as a choreographer, performer and humanitarian. …
Western Swing | Fort Worth, IN From honky tonks in Texas and Tennessee to European concert halls, fans have come to know Carolyn Martin as a vocalist with a unique sense of musical style, a charismatic stage presence and a voice that exudes passion and experience and an elegance that …
Italian Traditional | New York, NY Michela Musolino grew up in a household where Sicilian dialect was spoken so the children wouldn’t be able to understand the adults’ conversations. The sounds of that language were like music to Michela and she fell in love with them. Listening to those sounds …
Reggae | Castries, Saint Lucia Taj Weekes is a dreadlocked Rastafarian musician, bred in the Caribbean but shaped by intercontinental life experience. He is also a creative, poetic singer-songwriter who fronts a dynamic reggae band named Adowa. Yet another facet of Taj is that he is an unwavering, energetic humanitarian …
Crimean Traditional | New York, NY Crimean Tatars are an Islamic, ethnically Turkic people who trace their history in Crimea back to the 12th century, when they came west under the leadership of Batu Khan (Ghengis’ grandson) and intermarried with people already living on the Peninsula. Their vibrant music and …
In 2008 the National Folk Festival descended on Butte, Montana, and left a legacy of music, dance, history, and art. In 2011 the cultural experience continued under a new name, The Montana Folk Festival, and is still strong today. To celebrate this fantastic event and its longevity we’ve unarchived this …
Blues | Clinton, Mississippi Eddie Cotton was born the son of a preacher in Jackson, Mississippi. He began playing guitar at the age of four. He attended Jackson State University, where he majored in music before he began playing professionally at local clubs. In 1995, he pursued his musical ambitions, …
Bluegrass | Cullman, Alabama David Davis and the Warrior River Boys have long been recognized as modern leaders in traditional bluegrass. Their musical playbook reflects their energy, commitment and pure Bluegrass spirit. Davis has deep musical roots, with his uncle Cleo having been an original Blue Grass Boy with Bill …
