mixture of traditional and original songs that can be danced to or just listened to depending on the occation. this is 21st century folk music made with the whole family in mind. special guests include Rosanne Cash, Loudon Wainwright lll, The Sandy Girls, Barbara Brousal, Sandra Bernhard, Rankin' Don aka Father Goose, and the Rubi Theatre Company.  (less)

Southern gothic imagery in calamitous, sometimes comic songs worthy of a Greek tragedy. Vic’s new CD (and 12th album to date), Ghetto Bells, matches the poetic power of his words with some of the most elegantly simpatico backing he’s ever been blessed with – including jazz icon Bill Frisell on guitars; legendary writer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist Van Dyke Parks on piano, accordion and organ; Don Heffington of Lone Justice and the Jayhawks on drums and percussion; classically trained session-man Dominic Genova on double bass; sweetheart/sidekick/sounding board Tina Chesnutt on electric bass; and newcomer-singer-songwriter Liz Durrett on exquisite backing vocals.  (less)

for newer listeners. Southwestern Louisiana Cajun culture, born of the French Acadians displaced when their homeland was taken over by the British in the mid-1700s, is celebrated for both its food and its music. The tunes are often folk ballads, lullabies, and dance music like waltzes or two-steps. Cajun music is related to but distinct from zydeco; both feature the accordion as lead instrument, but the latter incorporates electric guitar and pays a greater debt to rhythm & blues than does the older-fashioned acoustic stylings of the former. To that end, there is still a great deal of room for an influx of influences in Cajun music, such as the country flavor of the Jambalaya Cajun Band's version of the popular "Les Flammes d'en Fer" as ...  (less)

use also includes electric guitar, flute, piano, and quite possibly a kitchen sink. Stylistically, son , merengue, and paseo rhythms are all checked. Vives's pleasant, almost giddy voice--most often concerned with expressions of love--infuses the material with a celebratory feel, and while his tentative foray into English language lyrics on "Carito" makes a strong case for sticking with Spanish, Vives nevertheless acquits himself well, particularly on the vivid, call-to-arms anthem "Papadió." This is electrified Colombian folk at its most electrifying. --Kim Hughes  (less)

John Abbey - bass, Tony Dale - drums, June Shellene - piano, Jim Dewan - bouzouki, Bob Long - organ, Dirk Urban - accordion, Bob Egan - pedal steel, Michael Favreau - clarinet, Victor Sanders - electric guitar, and guest vocalists.  (less)

rock 'n' roll on another rousing collection of standards & original material. Once Bitten Records. 2002.  (less)

followed her. The band, paced by the bubbly electric and slide work of Nick Forster, lays down steady folk blues, and even dabbles in Cajun and tough Magic Sam soul. The most striking performance, Steve Goodman's "Looking For Trouble," features just acoustic guitar, accordion, and O'Brien's slow- burning voice. The pieces are in place for a great interpretive work-- including a sumptuous version of Lucinda Williams's "Big Red Sun Blues" plus John Hiatt and Randy Newman covers--but the result is closer to an unexceptional Bonnie Raitt offering. Good, but not quite a revelation. --Roy Francis Kasten  (less)

have managed to add a new kick to an old tradition on their album Year of the Dog . Silly Wizard's Phil Cunningham, who produced the album and added some accordion, helped Wolfstone retain the springy lilt of Celtic dance music even as they added more power to their punch. Unfortunately, the impact of this hybrid sound is at times blunted by the overreaching songwriting of singer Ivan Drever and fiddler Dave Chisholm, who too often adopt the unfocused bombast of such prog-rock bands as Yes and Jethro Tull. On Drever's rousing political anthem, "The Brave Foot Soldiers," however, and on Cunningham's lively instrumental medley, "The Double Rise," Wolfstone display the potential to cross over from folk to pop--and back aga...  (less)

dazzling in the higher ranges but undernourished on the bottom, where only the bodhran and bouzouki hold sway. Sharon Shannon has no such compunctions, and she features drum & bass on eight of the dozen numbers on her second solo album, Out the Gap . The accordionist, who has toured as part of the Waterboys, has reinforced the rhythmic bottom of traditional Celtic music and given it a balance it has long needed. When she plays the bouncy melody to the old reel, "The Dunmore Lasses," for example, Paul Blake's drum kit and Trevor Hutchinson's electric double bass make the bounce harder and higher. Thus it's no surprise when Shannon's accordion solo gives way to Richie Buckley's sax solo. The all-instrumental album draws its material from traditional I...  (less)

headlong into the accordion, electric guitar, bass, and drums of an almost punk-rock ethic not dissimilar to the popular "wedding music" style of Bulgaria made famous by Ivo Papasov and Yuri Yunakov. Some songs hang in the acoustic mode with just the old instruments and voices, but most take the electric party approach and all are both strangely remote and traditional and yet revved up for a good time at the local dance hall or party. This is village music from a living, breathing village, not a look to a pastoral past that probably never existed anyway. Play it loud . --Louis Gibson  (less)

for the loss of the horse farms and traditions of the bands home of Lexington, Kentucky to the witty pop of the song , Now. The bands sound is reminiscent of folk bands such as Buffalo Springfield or Fairport Convention.With five singers,the harmonies are a high point. Davidson's accordion is perfectly matched with Eric Chapmans electric guitar. This folk definitely rocks!  (less)

more than one hundred and fifty recordings between them. Since the sixties the two have been in demand as performers, session musicians, songwriters and producers. They have worked with the likes of John Hammond Jr., Leon Redbone, Blind John Davis and in 1993 were the first Canadian act ever invited to the prestigious Chicago Blues Festival. With "Sixteen Shades of Blue" the Whiteley Brothers have covered all the blues bases, from the contemporary urban sound of "Stop Running" to the humorous ragtime of "Mr. Weatherman" to the jug band arrangement of "Doing Something Right." Chris and Ken play with style and skill on over twenty instruments, including acoustic and electric guitar, piano, trumpet, mandolin, harmonica and accordion. The album features...  (less)

and folk settings, this collection of songs combines Johnny Tillman Smith and Michael Dane Hager's complementary songwriting skills and Aldoush Alpanian's typically attentive production. Sky Cafe puts forth an acoustic/electric sound that is the ideal background for Michael's plaintive outcry and Johnny's forceful, soulful vocals. The result is a thoughtful and introspective effort that is sure to please. Instrumentation: Vocals, Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Bass, Sax, Drums, Harmonica, Keyboards, Accordion, Violin, Percussion, Tabla, Dumbak/Daf.  (less)

zill are woven together with field recordings of natural and human landscapes.  (less)

leader, who mans several varieties of acoustic, electric, and synthesized guitars. The electronics of keyboardist Lyle Mays, straight from American front parlors and chapels, brings just the right amount of twist to Metheny's lacings of folk and rock. More shadings and fire come from Mays's accordion and trumpet, and the versatile Pedro Aznar's vocals, marimba, vibes, charango , melodica, and percussion. All but two tracks are by Metheny. His ability to write complex but accessible tunes is undeniable, and his arrangements are inspired. --Peter Monaghan  (less)