thing, really. I think 'acoustic' country performers and fresh sic, rather than James Taylor
is a valid word. Maybe 'tradi- recording opportunities for pre- singing about fire and rain or
tional' is a valid word, as well. viously neglected talents such Joni Mitchell lamenting about
"When I started playing, as Jimmie Dale Gilmore and paving paradise.
(folk) used to be a kind of work- Cliff Eberhardt.
"(Folk) has come to denote
ing-class music of storytelling
Folk's biggest change may something that it isn't," says
and dance and stuff like that. well be the medium rather than Milnes, who has been docu-
Maybe that means Snoop Dog- the message. "All of the rules menting the songs of Ap-
gy Dogg is folk music."
have changed," says Dave palachian musicians who
Thompson, like many other Siglin, co- coordinator of the perform only in their homes.
performers, represents the Ann Arbor Folk -Festival and di- "The people who are called folk
modern conundrum of folk, rector of the Ark, Ann Arbor's singers are not folk singers, al-
blending his rock 'n' roll with acoustic-music showcase club. though they're generally ac-
elements of Celtic and British "With telephones, TV and ra- cepted as so."
folk — much like a kindred dio, folk music — which used to
Still, Milnes calls that ac-
spirit: Jethro Tull. But folk be passed down in oral tradi- ceptance valid.
purists are apt to dismiss tion within a culture — has
"Folk has become as nar-
Thompson because of the com- spread all over the world, and row tasted as I think most
mercial forum in which he people are learning songs off music is today," says per-
works; similarly, his guitar pro- records, radio, TV.
former Michelle Shocked,
ficiency — both electric and
"I think there's a living tra- whose Arkansas Traveler al-
acoustic — gives him standing dition of folk right now, but it's bum catalogs indigenous Amer-
far afield from the folk com- maybe different than what the ican music. "It's so entirely
munity.
Library of Congress would call unnecessary. Let's blur all the
Of course, folk debates are folk music."
distinctions if possible; it's
nothing new. They've raged
"Does the music have more more fun that way."
since the Weavers and Woody to do with time or with place or
Even folk purists
Guthrie put estab- PHOTO BY STEVE RAMSEY
lished folk favorites on
record during the late
1940s and intensified
when Bob Dylan went
electric in 1965.
The lines have
blurred even more in
recent years with
MTV's "Unplugged," in
which even the hard-
est of rockers pick up
acoustic guitars and
perhaps stake their
own claim in the folk
lineage — though
you'd be hard-pressed
to give folk credence to
recent episodes by
Kiss and Hole .
But even though
folk music is general-
ly unplugged, there's
The 19th Ann Arbor Folk Festival will showcase its
agreement that "Un-
usual wide spectrum of folk performers. This year's
plugged" and folk mu-
bill includes: Chet Atkins; Michael Hedges; Iris De-
sic are different
Ment; Janis Ian; Keb' Mo'; Tim & Mollie O'Brien; Dar
creatures. "We're not
Williams; Batt Burns; and the Laura Love Band.
The Arkansas duo Trout Fishing in America will
trying to be folkies,"
perform and serve as emcees.
says John Taylor of
The festival takes place at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan.
the British pop band
27, at Hill Auditoriunl, Ann Arbor. Tickets are $25
Duran Duran, which
$100. Call (313) 763-8587 anytime; for patron seats,
taped an "Unplugged"
call (313) 761-1800.
episode in 1993. "It's a
nice switch to - play
acoustically ... but I'd never with a group of people?" says
think of calling it folk."
Gerry Milnes, • director of the
Still, the past few years have Augusta Heritage Center at
Above: Tim & Mollie
seen a singer-songwriter re- Davis & Elkins College in West
naissance, ranging from the Virginia. Milnes points to "real O'Brien & the O'Boys will
bring their music to Ann
emergence of new talents (Luka cowboy" songs such as "Bury Arbor's
Hill Auditorium.
Bloom, Joan Osborne, Iris.De- Me Not on the Lone Prairie"
Ment, Dar Williams, Laura and "Old Paint," which are in-
Love) to the reemergence of delibly "identified with a region Right: Keb' Mo': Mo' folk
at the festival.
stalwarts such as Ian and Jack- and with a group of people."
son Browne to the new breed of
That, Milnes says, is folk mu-
Ann Ar6orTolcATestival
-
NSW, ,,,,,,,
••■•■•■.
agree on some common ground
between the traditional defini-
tions and what is often called
folk today. Except for rap, the
music is acoustically based. It
also speaks of the human con-
dition, whether generally or spe-
cific to a particular community.
"It goes beyond writing mu-
sic for commercial purposes,"
says Matt Watroba, host of
WDET-FM's "Folks Like Us."
"It definitely seems to be a mu-
sic that is addressing something
real — I can see that in
LORE OF FOLK page 88