Queen City Balladeers QCBFolkNotes

Volume 49, Number 5 May 2011 Edensong concert series returns to Eden Park for the 48th year

For the forty-eighth time since 1964, the Queen City Balladeers’s popular Edensong Concert Series returns to Seasongood Pavilion in Eden Park for “It’s all about the music” a four-Friday-night run, July 8, 15, 22 and 29.

Inside this issue: As in past years, Edensong will offer a variety of live musical styles sure to please many musical tastes. Edensong returns 1 The lineup for this year includes: July 8 2 Playing at Leo Hawaiian Shirt Night The Goshorn Brothers Leo volunteers 2 Kyle Meadows and Tisa McGraw The 3 Noah Wotherspoon and Jessi Bair Anna and Milovan Leo workshop 3 July 15 Greg Jowasis Lagniappe The Rattlesnakin’ Daddies Hazel Dickens dies 4 John Redell and Rick Howell Ricky Nye Banjer hahas 4 Ben Lapps July 29

Silver Arm Chris Collier

Wild Carrot and the Roots Band The Marshwiggles July 22 John Ford Lauren Houston Chuck Black, editor, The Tillers [email protected] Shiny and the Spoon Continued on last page PAGE 2 QCBFOLKNOTES VOLUME 49, NUMBER 5

PLAYING AT LEO IN MAY

MAY 1 www.dylansneed.com 8:15 Noah Wotherspoon and Jesse Bair—young blues guitar- 7 Open mic—three 10-minute MAY 15 ist and songwriter are back for slots—arrive early to sign up 7 Open mic—three 10-minute their second Leo set this year; 7:30 Larry Lankford—return of a slots—arrive early to sign up www.noahwotherspoon.com/; longtime Balladeer who plays http://jessibair.tumblr.com/ with the Corncobs band, his first 7:30 The Red Cedars—Leo debut MAY 29 appearance since 2006—and of a new roots duo on the local scene, they got great reviews after that’s way too long! This is it, folks, the QCB final playing at Music for the Moun- get-together of the regular sea- 8:15 Ben Lapps—Leo debut of t a i n s ; son! Come prepared for a pot- this young and energetic acoustic www.facebook.com/pages/Red- luck supper, a hootenanny and a finger style artist; Cedars/153718814677706 regular down home gathering www.reverbnation.com/benlapps 8:15 Shiny and the Spoon— with lots of fun, friends, food MAY 8 Amber and Jordan are an eclectic, and fellowship. Bring your ukulele centered folk/pop duo; voice, your instrument and a pot 7 Nat Morgan—soft contempo- /www.myspace.com/shinyandthes luck dish to share with the rary music from a Balladeer re- poon crowd. There will be no regular turning to Leo setup tonight, we’ll just pull out MAY 22 7:30 Greg Mahan—Cincy based the tables and chairs. Come songwriter returns with new 7 Eric Falstrom—indie, pop and anytime after 5 pm because songs; www.gregmahan.com folk-rock from this Leo favorite; things will get started early, and www.myspace.com/ericfalstrom the evening will wrap up around 8:15 Dylan Sneed—Leo debut of 9 pm. music that has been called “the 7:30 Lagniappe—Cincinnati’s best side of true Americana”— only Cajun/New Orleans/Gypsy Reminder: Open mic slots are Dylan has been compared to Jazz band; allotted to the first three per- Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, www.lagniappecincy.blogspot.co sons or groups to arrive and Steve Earle and others; m/ sign up!

MAY HOSPITALITY VOLUNTEERS AND EMCEES

HOSPITALITY EMCEE 1 Lori Findsen and Tony Montgomery 1 Prudence Hunt 8 TBA 8 Ellie Fabe 15 Joan Haller and Christie Brock 15 Chris Bieri 22 Barb and Dennis Iverson 22 Spencer Funk 29 Season’s End 29 Season’s End VOLUME 49, NUMBER 5 QCBFOLKNOTES PAGE 3 The Bristol Sessions: where began Country music, which has at- countryside where most of the of Bristol’s State Street—a stu- tained international success and musicians who performed that dio that incorporated the latest popularity, was forged from a type of music lived. recording technology. variety of American music types, including Southern gospel, blues, By 1927, two of the major record On Monday, July 25, Peer western music, Cajun and Tin companies of the 1920s, Colum- recorded the already-known Pan Alley. You could argue, bia and OKeh, had successfully Stoneman. Between that day though, that the predominant re- released hillbilly records, while and August 5, Peer presided gional music to influence coun- another important label, the Vic- over the now-famous “Bristol tor Talking Machine Company sessions,” recording 19 separate try music was from Appalachia. (later named RCA Victor), was acts and obtaining 76 acceptable After World War I, new tech- seeking to tap more deeply into takes. With state-of-the-art nologies allowed for the perma- the new market. That year, Vic- equipment, he got a quality of nent preservation of sounds in tor’s newly hired producer, sound never before realized. reasonable life-like form, and , identified an ideal thus commercial recordings be- place to make such records: Bris- Some of the finest acts in country music history made came widely popular. tol, a small city straddling the Tennessee- state line and their first recordings at the Bris- By the mid-1920s, the first near several Appalachian areas tol sessions, namely Jimmie recording sessions of country known for distinctive musical Rodgers of Meridian, Missis- music were occurring in major sippi and the of heritages. cities, attracting musicians from nearby Maces Spring, Virginia. Appalachia and elsewhere. Soon, A pioneer producer responsi- Those acts are generally cred- the kind of music preserved at ble for the first commercially ited as being responsible for the those studios—the same kind of released recording of Southern birth of country music. In addi- music that was being performed white music (a 1923 78 rpm re- tion, Rodgers and the Carter on front porches and at commu- cord of Fiddlin’ John Carson), family went on to profoundly nity events in the South—sold Peer knew that a number of the influence musicians not only in many more copies when com- musicians who had made hill- country music, but also in such mercially released as records billy records lived near Bristol, genres as bluegrass, revivalist than originally anticipated, creat- including and folk music and even rock music. ing a widespread demand for Henry Whittier. more records of “hillbilly” mu- Today the famous Bristol sic. Before long, producers look- So on Friday, July 22, 1927, Sessions are available in a five- ing for additional music talent to Peer and two Victor engineers CD boxed set from Bear Family make more hillbilly records set up a temporary studio in a Records. building on the Tennessee side brought their equipment into the -Ed.

Sunday workshop at Leo, presented by an expert One more chance to attend who can help you with what you want to learn. Leo 5:30 Sunday workshop The workshop will be held upstairs at Zion UCC, begin at 5:30 pm and last about an hour. Would you like to learn more about songwriting? Admission is free for QCB members and $5 for Then we have just the thing to get your inter- non-members. est—and hopefully the learning process—going. May 8—-based singer/songwriter Dylan Consider attending the season’s final 5:30 Sneed: Songwriting Workshop Continued from first page QUEEN CITY BALLADEERS Robin Lacy and DeZydeco P.O. Box 9122 All Edensong concerts begin at 8 pm and are free and open to the public. Parking is free around the Seasongood Cincinnati, Ohio 45209 Pavilion and at the Cincinnati Art Museum if no museum event is scheduled. 513-321-8375 So tell your friends, round up your family and pack a picnic for this slice of Cincinnati history and the absolute QCBFolkNotes is the official best entertainment value in town! newsletter of the Queen City Edensong is sponsored in part by 89.7 WNKU-FM. Balladeers and is published every month except July. Subscriptions Hazel Dickens dies at age 75 are included with QCB member- Hazel Dickens, a clear-voiced advocate for coal miners ship either by US mail or e-mail. and working people and a pioneer among women in blue- Comments, articles or ideas for grass music, died April 22, 2011 in Washington DC. articles can be submitted to the Hazel Jane Dickens was born June 1, 1935 in Mercer editor at [email protected]. County, West Virginia, one of 11 children in a coal min- ing family. The Queen City Balladeers During her career, Dickens played music and sang with and Alice Gerrard and toured widely Playing roots music since 1963 on the folk and bluegrass circuits in the 1960s and 70s. In past years she performed at the Cincinnati Appalachian We’re on the web: Festival, and recorded with many other folk and blue- grass artists, including Appalachian Festival favorite www.queencityballadeers.org Ginny Hawker.

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A special thanks to our major sponsors who so generously support the Queen City Balladeers and the Leo Coffeehouse!