Articles Index
The Civil Wars
The Civil Wars were a major buzz band in the folk and Americana world in 2011, after Taylor Swift endorsed them on Twitter. They performed at the 2011 Americana Awards and even received a couple of Grammy nominations. Learn more about the Civil Wars - Joy Williams and John Paul White - with this brief bio and profile, including recommended CDs and MP3s.
Dailey & Vincent
Since their debut in 2008, Dailey and Vincent have taken the contemporary bluegrass world by storm, earning dozens of nominations from the International Bluegrass Music Association, the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America, the Grammys, and more. Learn more about Dailey and Vincent with this introductory biography and profile.
Melissa Ferrick
Melissa Ferrick rose to prominence during the 1990s, in a wave of popularity and attention being paid to women who played acoustic music. As some of those women have struck it big and others petered away, Ferrick has retained her cult following and remained independent. Learn more about Melissa Ferrick with this brief bio.
Richie Havens
Richie Havens was one of the most influential artists of the contemporary folk music revival, starting with his Greenwich Village debut in the early 1960s, through his landmark, historical performance at Woodstock, and beyond. He was an ardent activist for peace and environmental issues and one of the finest guitar players to ever touch the craft. Lear more about Richie Havens with this bio and profile.
Andrew Duhon
New Orleans songwriter Andrew Duhon is earning a lot of buzz on the singer-songwriter circuit for his 2013 release 'The Moorings'. Learn more about Andrew Duhon with this biography and background.
Black Prairie
Black Prairie burst on the scene back in 2010 with a high-octane bluegrass album which was hailed as more of a side project for members of the Decemberists. But, with their sophomore effort - 'A Tear in the Eye Is a Wound in the Heart' - the band has solidified its place as one of the most creative bands on the contemporary folk and bluegrass circuit. Learn more about Black Prairie with this introductory bio and profile.
Chapin Sisters
The Chapin Sisters have been emerging on the national folk music scene for the past several years, from the release of their Lake Bottom LP in 2008 through to their full-length tribute to the Everly Brothers, which is due in 2013. Learn more about Abigail and Lily Chapin, and their half-sister Jessica Craven (now on hiatus from the group) with this introductory bio and profile, including recommended CDs and MP3s.
Jefferson Hamer - Folk Music
Jefferson Hamer emerged toward the end of the first decade of the 2000s as a highly gifted collaborator, singer/songwriter, and allegiant force in both traditional and contemporary American, Irish, and British folk music. With the buzz surrounding his recent collaboration with fellow rising songwriter Anais Mitchell ('Child Ballads'), now's a good time to learn more about Jefferson Hamer. Check out this introductory bio and profile.
Hazel Dickens
Hazel Dickens has been a consummate force in the bluegrass, country and folk worlds, working and singing for feminist issues and the rights of the working class.
Mary Gauthier
Mary Gauthier has been celebrated as one of contemporary folk music's great singer-songwriters for years, but her popularity with audiences has only begun to rise. Learn more about this great "songwriter's songwriter" with this bio and profile.
Samantha Crain
Since 2007, Samantha Crain has been slowly but surely turning more and more heads in folk and singer-songwriter circles with her lyrical and hard-hitting story songs. With the release of her 2013 disc 'Kid Face', Crain takes her first stab at autobiographical tunes, focusing more clearly on truth-telling in some of the most arresting songs of her career thus far. Learn more about Samantha Crain with this introductory profile.
Ryan Adams
2013 Grammy nominee Ryan Adams has been one of the most beloved singer-songwriters in the Americana and alt-country realm since the advent of his band Whiskeytown back in the 1990s. In addition to his various bands, albums, and solo work, he's written two books and produced albums by folks as variant as Willie Nelson and Beth Orton. Learn more about Ryan Adams with this brief biography.
John Fullbright
John Fullbright burst on the scene in 2012 with one of the most remarkable debut albums in the folk/roots/Americana world in some time. Learn more about Fullbright and why he's so deserving of his 2013 Grammy Nomination, with this biography and profile.
Iris DeMent
Iris DeMent has been one of American folk music's most candid and gifted songwriters in the singer-songwriter world. Learn more about Iris DeMent with this introductory biography and profile.
Caroline Herring
Since arriving on the national folk music radar about a decade ago, Caroline Herring has become a favorite among fans, bloggers, and critics alike. Her social conscience in telling the tales of Southern and rural people has endeared her to many, and her 2012 release 'Camilla' was named one of About.com Folk Music's Best Folk Albums of the Year. Learn more about Caroline Herring with this introductory profile.
Moses (Moe) Asch
In 1948, Moses Asch founded Folkways Records, migrating his previously existing Asch Records label to an all-vinyl-LP format. In the years following the founding of Folkways, Asch managed to catalog and champion some of the most important singer-songwriters and traditional folk songs of the 20th Century. Learn more about the life and work of Moe Asch with this introductory profile.
Jack Hardy
Jack Hardy was one of the staples of the Greenwich Village folk music scene, and he helped launch the Fast Folk scene which kickstarted the careers of such hugely influential artists as Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega, and others. Learn more about Jack Hardy with this bio and profile.
Rose Cousins
Rose Cousins is one of the finest up-and-coming singer-songwriters emerging from the ever-vibrant Canadian contemporary folk music scene. Check out this full bio and profile of Rose Cousins and learn more about her music here.
Hayes Carll
Hayes Carll is part of a new generation of highly buzzed-about singer-songwriters from Texas - a state with an incredible history of great singer-songwriters. Learn more about Hayes Carll with this brief introductory bio and profile, and learn why he's one of Texas' finest artists to watch.
Brendan Hines
Brendan Hines may have risen to national consciousness as an actor on the TV show 'Lie to Me' but he's now ready to make a larger mark on the music world with a 6-song album due on Sept. 11, 2012. Learn more about Brendan Hines with this brief profile.
Deep Dark Woods
The Deep Dark Woods have been one of the most buzzed-about up-and-coming bands out of Canada in recent years, rivaling the Fleet Foxes and Punch Brothers for the status of "favorite envelope-pushing indie folk troupe" among fans and critics alike. Learn more about the Deep Dark Woods with this introductory biography and profile.
John Carter Cash
John Carter Cash is the son of June Carter and Johnny Cash, and has proven to be adept at carrying on the family business of making music. In addition to being an accomplished singer-songwriter in his own right, John Carter Cash is also a highly respected producer in the folk and Americana worlds. Learn more about John Carter Cash with this introductory bio and profile.
Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
Sarah Lee Guthrie and her husband Johnny Irion deliver dreamy harmonies atop languid arrangements, pulling Guthrie's family line of folk influence together with modern pop sensibility. Learn more about the music of Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion.
Lee Hays
Lee Hays was one of the most vibrant personalities of the folk music revival, starting his career with the Almanac Singers and then spinning off from that with Pete Seeger to form the Weavers for a short time in the 1950s. Check out this biography and profile of singer-songwriter Lee Hays.
Hiss Golden Messenger
Over the past year or so, North Carolina has proven fertile ground for great up-and-coming singer-songwriters. The latest export from that part of Appalachia is indie folk duo Hiss Golden Messenger. Learn more about this rising new act with this basic introduction.