[music]

Alison Stewart: If you think of the New York folk scene, where does your mind go? To the Greenwich Village of the 1960s, like we talked about yesterday, to the sounds of Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Joan Baez? Well, New York's folk scene is still very much alive, and this weekend, the Brooklyn Folk Festival will be in full swing. The festival will feature big names like Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Peggy Seeger, yes, half-sister of Pete, and Alice Gerrard, along with many beloved local performers. Joining me in studio is Lynette Wiley, who cofounded Jalopies in Red Hook, which has been vital to the 21st-century folk scene since she opened it with her husband in 2006. She is executive producer of the festival. Welcome, Lynette.

Lynette Wiley: Thank you so much. Glad to be here.

Alison: Also joining us is longtime fiddler, Stephanie Coleman, who will also be performing this weekend. Welcome, Stephanie.

Stephanie Coleman: Thanks.

Alison: Hey, listeners, we want to hear from you. We're going to take some calls in this segment. Tell us about your current favorite local folk venues, shows, and performers. Big and small, known and unknown, we're dedicating this segment at the contemporary folk scene of New York City. You can call us at 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. You can call in and talk to us on air, or you can text to us at that number, 212-433-WNYC. Also, you can reach out on our socials, same across the board, @AllOfItWNYC. Lynette, when you founded Jalopies in 2006 with your husband, what kind of community did you want to build?

Lynette Wiley: We really wanted to make a home where musicians could perform, where they could teach, where they could work, and bring the community in around folk music, which is music of the people, which is a shared music for all of us. We didn't want to break between the stage and the audience. We really wanted a fluid community. We have a small space [unintelligible 00:01:56] about 80 people, but it really allows for the performer to be getting a beer next to the patron. It really has grown an amazing community over these last 18 years.

Alison: Yes, I was going to ask you to describe the space for people who haven't been there.

Lynette Wiley: We've got about 2000 square feet with a beautiful stage, with red velvet curtains in front, and then we've got 10 pews for people to sit on and some extra chairs. Then, in the front, we've got our record store because we also have a record label. We show all of our records, and we've got a little bar with some beer and wine and coffee and tea.

Alison: Stephanie, what role has Jalopies played in your musical life in New York?

Stephanie Coleman: Oh, man. It's been so central to my musical life in New York. I first moved to New York in 2008, so Jalopy was a couple years old. My entire experience here is really centered around Jalopy, so many gigs played at the venue and lots of friends made there. My pal, Nora Brown, who I'll be playing with this weekend, she and I, we were talking about this earlier today. I don't think we would've met if it hadn't been for Jalopy and just the community that's been created through that place.

Alison: Do you hear that often that friendships are made, not just musical relationships?

Stephanie Coleman: Very much so. Between the musicians finding other people to play with and then in the community as well, I've got a lot of different groups of people that keep coming back for classes and shows that all of their best friends were made in Jalopy.

Alison: Here's a question for both of you. Stephanie, I'll ask you to go first. In this age of technology and all that we can do with computers and it's excellent and awesome and interesting, why do you think people seek out traditional music?

Stephanie Coleman: Well, I can speak personally about that. It's really about the community. Sure, it's so fun to connect with people on the internet and that sort of thing. What I just love so much about playing this traditional music is that, despite Jalopy being a place where you perform, there's so much of gathering with other people to play. Music is about just jamming with friends or playing for a square dance or doing really social things with other people less than performing. That's what I love about traditional music.

Alison: What do you think, Lynette?

Lynette Wiley: I would say that it ties us to each other in a way that is very authentic. I think that traditional music reaches back into our pasts, and we can take it forward in new ways. We can keep the traditions pure, but we're making music that has a history. One thing that I'm always very excited about when I look at a week of programming that we have scheduled is that we're looking at the traditions of the Puerto Rican community. We're looking at the traditions of traditional blues in America. We're learning about all of these different peoples and how they made music, and we can connect it to them and learn their stories. I think that keeps it really vibrant, and we're always learning.

Alison: We're discussing the contemporary folk scene in New York City. We'd love to get you in on the conversation. Tell us about your favorite local venues, shows, performers, big and small, known and unknown. We're dedicating this segment to the contemporary folk scene of New York. 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. You can call in and join us on the air, or you can text to us at that number. Also, you can reach out on our social media, @AllOfItWNYC. My guests are Lynette Wiley, Executive Producer of the Brooklyn Folk Fest and Cofounder of Jalopy in Red Hook, and Stephanie Coleman, who is a fiddle player who'll be performing this weekend. Let's get into the festival, starts tomorrow at 7:00 PM.

Lynette Wiley: We do start tomorrow at 7:00.

Alison: It runs through Sunday?

Lynette Wiley: Sunday night, yes.

Alison: All right. You've put together a little playlist for us. You've recommended a song called The New SF Bay Blues by-

Lynette Wiley: Alynda Segarra.

Alison: -Alynda Segarra. They are from the Bronx, Alynda?

Lynette Wiley: Yes.

Alison: Let's take a listen, and then we can talk a little bit more about it on the other side.

[MUSIC - Alynda Segarra: The New SF Bay Blues]

Alison: That's Alynda Segarra. Their song is blues folk. Why was that a song you wanted us to share with our audience?

Lynette Wiley: Alynda is amazing performer. They found their way to Jalopy maybe 2010 as part of our Roots n' Ruckus showcase every Wednesday on occasion over the years. Listening to their music evolve over the years has been really exciting. I think Alynda really, through her journey, touched back to her Puerto Rican roots and tried to make the folk music of her people, but also to put an indie rock edge to it. They've got a really special way of presenting. I love all of the music that comes out of Hurray for the Riff Raff and Alynda.

Alison: Let's talk to Mike, calling in from Brooklyn. Hi, Mike. Thanks for calling All Of It.

Mike: Hi. Yes, I just wanted to say that Jalopy is amazing. I really, really am glad that they figured out to have the space. It's a great place to see shows. It's very welcoming and inviting, and I love going to Roots n' Ruckus. I love Faral Foster. The band that I would like to say, it's a Brooklyn-based band. They don't tour as much anymore. Spirit Family Reunion, they've been a fixture at Jalopy for a long time. I just like their music, its great lyrics, and a lot of audience participation. It's a good time band. It's a great place. Thanks.

Alison: Mike, thank you for calling in. We got this text. "Shout out Nora Brown, an incredible young, but veteran banjo player and singer, one who takes the traditions and history of folk music very seriously. You and Nora worked together. Nora is how old now?"

Stephanie Coleman: She's 18.

Alison: You're in your 30s, raised in Chicago and New York. What was your exposure to roots and folk music? How did you find it as a city kid?

Stephanie Coleman: Actually, I think Nora and I have pretty similar stories of getting into the music. Growing up in Chicago, the equivalent folk school is the Old Town School of Folk Music there. It was through the Old Town School of Folk Music that I first decided to play the fiddle. My dad also is a fiddle player who's from Chicago and only learned about old-time music through that folk school. It was just something, I went to festivals as a kid, and picked it up over time and haven't stopped since.

Alison: You studied a bit about folk music when you were in college. You went out, and you actually sought out older folk musicians. Tell us a little bit about that project.

Stephanie Coleman: In college, I studied audio documentary production. A friend of mine who was a student at UNC Chapel Hill, this guy named Joseph Decosimo, he and I traveled to visit fiddlers and banjo players around North Carolina and Tennessee and Virginia. I made a few documentaries about the folks that we played with.

Alison: What's something that you remember from that time of talking to those elders that you still take with you?

Stephanie Coleman: [chuckles] There's this one great fiddle player. His name is Clyde Davenport. He passed away a few years ago. I remember interviewing him and asking him about what do you think about music that's not old-time music. He didn't care about anything unless it was traditional old-time fiddle music. I was like, "What about classical music?" He's like, "That's not music."

[laughter]

Stephanie Coleman: Real devotion to the tradition.

Alison: We got a text that says, "I first came to Jalopy for a group guitar class shortly after it opened by Lyn and Geoff. I felt like I'd come home. As soon as I walked in the door, it's not an exaggeration to say that Jalopy changed, in a sense saved my life. Met so many great musicians and music lovers, found community. Thank you." That's from Anya in Brooklyn.

Lynette Wiley: That's wonderful.

Alison: It's a lovely story.

Lynette Wiley: Thanks, Anya.

Alison: Well, you have suggested another song we try out today for people for whom this is new. Cuatro Vidas by Lone Piñon, a string band from New Mexico. It's from their new album release on Jalopy Record. Before we play it, can you describe this band for us and what's unique about them?

Lynette Wiley: They're lovely young musicians, and they're really studying the traditions of New Mexican music, music from New Mexico. They've got a really interesting way of presenting it. They're exciting. They're fun, really lovely to listen to and real scholars.

Alison: Let's take a listen to Cuatro Vidas.

[MUSIC - Lone Piñon: Cuatro Vidas]

Alison: That's Lone Piñon with [sound cut]. We are talking about the contemporary folk scene in New York City and specifically, right now, the Brooklyn Folk Festival with its executive producer Lynette Wiley as well as Stephanie Coleman, who will be performing. All right, you're going to be performing Saturday night with Nora Brown at 7:00 PM.

Stephanie Coleman: That's right.

Alison: What do you and Nora share? When you think about your music and where you intersect in your musical tastes and your musical philosophies, where do you intersect?

Stephanie Coleman: I think what we share musically is just we're really drawn to songs and tunes that have an emotional cut punch to them. Maybe, it's even the way that we try and play together. We try to really express ourselves through these songs. So many people have played these tunes, and we're certainly drawn to [sound cut] messing with dynamics and just exploring how we can voice ourselves through the tunes that we play together, I think.

Alison: We're going to hear from Copper Kettle from you?

Stephanie Coleman: Yes, Copper Kettle, it's a tune off an EP that we just put out called Lady of the Lake, and it's out on Jalopy Records. Copper Kettle is one of the tracks from that.

Alison: All right, let's play it, and we can talk about it on the other side.

[MUSIC - Nora Brown/Stephanie Coleman: Copper Kettle]

Alison: That's the work of our guest Stephanie Coleman. What else can we expect from your set? I don't want to give away all the surprises, but for folks who are curious.

Stephanie Coleman: Ooh, well, Nora and I, we've been working on a couple of new things that we haven't performed too much before. Maybe a little cover of some old folk favorites. Another thing we're going to be doing at the festival is we'll be playing the square dance on Sunday, so that's another thing that's going to be really fun at 5:15.

Alison: All right, wait, stop. Before we get into the square dance, tell us more about the square dance.

Lynette Wiley: We always have a square dance. We love to bring people together to communally dance. It's always a feature of the festival. It's a lot of fun. We could have twice the size of a room to get everybody really dancing, but it's a wonderful time.

Alison: I would love to see a room of [sound cut] square dancing. Tell me what that experience is like.

[laughter]

Lynette Wiley: It's incredibly wholesome. It really is. People are intimidated. [sound cut] Everybody's got huge smiles and are trying to do the moves and the squares. It's really fun to watch people's inhibitions go away as they do it.

Alison: What else can we expect from the festival? We're going to play some more music in a bit, but I want to get a little more about the festival, learn a little bit more about it.

Lynette Wiley: Sure. It's three days. Saturday, we start at noon with concerts. We've got Hopalong Andrew coming, who's one of the best kids performers out there. We've got really a family-friendly vibe for Saturday and Sunday during the day as we switch into the evening performances. Something silly that we've been doing for a long time is the Banjo Toss. We go down to the Gowanus, and we have a banjo. We throw it into the Gowanus Canal, and it's marked with knots at every foot.

The winner for the men and women's [unintelligible 00:18:11] get to take free banjo classes at Jalopy. It's ridiculous and it's so much fun. We'll have a whole banjo orchestra playing for that as well.

Alison: This sounds like a good time. This sounds like part of the Ruckus--

[laughter]

Alison: Part of the program. We're getting some shout-outs for some different acts, the Washington Squares. "Saw Bread and Puppet at Jalopy."

Lynette Wiley: Oh, wonderful, wonderful political puppet collaboration. Lovely group.

Alison: Let's get to some more music that you've picked out for us to take a listen to. This is from the pioneering folk duo, Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard. The song you selected is Train on the Island. Why is this a good example of foundational folk?

Lynette Wiley: They are the foundations. They are the leaders. They are the first women to have played this music on record and recorded. Their voices are amazing together. They're heroes for all of us in this field.

Alison: Let's take a listen.

[MUSIC - Hazel Dickens/Alice Gerrard: Train on the Island]

Alison: We should mention Alice Gerrard is playing at the event.

Lynette Wiley: She is.

Alison: When is that?

Lynette Wiley: Friday night.

Alison: Friday night. There's been a lot of tributes to Doc Watson.

Lynette Wiley: Yes.

Alison: This year, who would've been 100, what does Doc Watson mean to you Lynette?

Lynette Wiley: Again, one of the foundations of the music. Like so many of people in traditional music, like Stephanie did herself, someone that went back and talked to his elders and brought that music forward while young people were learning from him and bringing his music forward. He's just such an important part of the continuum.

Alison: What about for you, Stephanie?

Stephanie Coleman: Oh, man. Everything that Lynette said plus just Doc's singing and guitar playing, so soulful and really beautiful and established a way for so many people to play bluegrass an old-time guitar, so I have always really appreciated his music so much.

Alison: Let's hear some Doc Watson.

[music]

Alison: We should point out who's singing, Stephanie?

Stephanie Coleman: That's Nora Brown singing.

[laughter]

Stephanie Coleman: That's me on fiddle and our buddy James Shipp playing harmonium.

Alison: Just wanted to make sure. You're hosting an Old Time Jam?

Stephanie Coleman: Yes, that's right.

Alison: On Sunday?

Stephanie Coleman: Sunday two o'clock.

Alison: Tell us what that means exactly.

Stephanie Coleman: Oh, it just means if you like to play old-time music, bring your instruments to the Brooklyn Folk Fest, and we'll just gather together in a circle and play some tunes. I'll be picking out some tunes, but everyone is totally welcome to pick out tunes. We'll jam them all together.

Alison: Anything else you want to let us know about the festival? First of all, tell people where they can get information and then anything I haven't asked you, which is important to know.

Lynette Wiley: Oh, thank you so much. If you go to our website, brooklynfolkfest.com, you can find the schedule, the tickets. If you get tickets before midnight tonight, they'll be at the early bird price. As of midnight, they'll go up $10 so good to get them now. You can also still buy tickets at the door. Please join us. The Folk Festival is a really important thing for Jalopy. It's a way for us, on a larger stage in a larger venue, to amplify what we do at the theater all year long. We hope you like what you hear and come down and visit us at Jalopy later as the year goes on.

Alison: Got a really lovely text. We can end this way. "I am loving your Jalopy segment. My child participated in Jalopy's Kids Folk Ensemble for several years, and we felt so welcome into the community. My kid was just on the phone with one of their former ensemble members last night from three years ago." It sounds like lasting friendships are made.

Lynette Wiley: Very much.

Alison: My guests have been Stephanie Coleman and Lynette Wiley. We were talking about the Brooklyn Folk Fest happening this weekend. Have a terrific festival.

Lynette Wiley: Thanks so much.

Stephanie Coleman: Thanks so much, Alison.

[music]

Alison: This year's Brooklyn Folk Festival celebrates the legendary record labels Smithsonian Folkways founded right here in New York City 75 years ago. Its catalog includes everything from folk [unintelligible 00:23:57] to Pete Seeger, to the sounds of dolphins and frogs. Honestly, we'll talk to the labels' director and one of its newest artists.

 

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