Countless times in my career as a private music teacher I’ve gotten the question, “Is it too late for me to learn an instrument?” My reply has always been, “No, it's not.” Many fear that if they didn’t...

This past week (May 18-22, 2022), the International Folk Alliance held their annual conference as a hybrid event this year.  For the in-person part, held in Kansas City, Missouri, it was a welcome return to some semblance of...

I remember one time a man was asking me about the music I perform and play, and I mentioned “folk” music in my reply. He asked me point blank, “What is folk music?” I was a little surprised....

June 24, 2014, marked the official release of the latest album from Smithsonian Folkways called Classic African American Songsters.  It is a celebration of the vast variety of repertoire that these "songsters," or traveling African American musicians of...