Basic Folk Backstage

Two long-time collaborators, cellist Francesa Ter-Berg and violinist Flora Curazon, Fran & Flora, have bonded over their obsession with ancient music, rooted in Eastern European and Jewish culture, for over a dozen years. Together and separately, the English musicians have been studying with teachers of ethnomusicology in places like Transylvania and Romania. There, they took in the music as well as the cultural influences. That's not to speak of their higher musical education, Francesca holds two masters in music (including ​in ​contemporary ​improvisation ​at ​the ​New ​England ​Conservatory ​of ​Music) while Flora trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London. They break down the benefits of each learning style and how it impacts their creative process. They also get into their love of klezmer music and the importance of portraying cultural heritage while remaining modern.

We also talk about how as female musicians, they are expected to do absolutely everything and excel at it while people still talk about whether or not you smile on stage.
They share “There’s a very deep thing in there that has effected our choices as a band in order to keep it safe and healthy within ourselves.” Their latest album Precious Collection features a couple of original tunes, but it's mostly new and unique arrangements of traditional Klezmer and Yiddish songs. Don't sleep on the smokey translation that Flora shares of the song "Little Bird" and stick around to learn who is the better roommate. All in all, great conversation with wonderful people who create bonkers music that's rich in tradition and layers.

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Billy Bragg joins lizzie and Cindy on-board Cayamo to talk about songwriting, social justice, punk rock and, of course, The Little Guy (Bragg's nickname for Woody Guthrie). In our interview we talked about using humor as a way to connect to his audience, so that he can bring up his political activism like fighting for transgender rights, the importance of unions and abortion rights. It's interesting to hear how he wants the Americana audience to remain as relevant as he does. Billy talked about his place as a British ​artist ​in ​the ​genealogy ​of ​folk ​music and how working on Mermaid Avenue with Wilco allowed him to be a part of the folk tradition.

He also shared how he overcame anxiety as a teenage musician. Standing in front of a crowd playing with his friends in a band really boosted his confidence. Meanwhile, the old school "stiff upper lip" of British culture created an emotional barrier between Billy's and his parents' generation. The older generation grew up with the cultural heritage of separating oneself from any emotion. When Billy was a teen, his father was dying. The doctor recommended not telling the patient or talking about it at all. Several decades later, his mother insisted that everyone talk to and about her terminal cancer diagnosis. Bragg also gets into the merits of socialism, why nostalgia rubs him the wrong way and his favorite English treat. Spoiler: It's marmite. Gross.

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Singer-songwriter Leyla McCalla and her band (bassist Pete Olynciw, drummer Shawn Meyers and guitarist Nahum Zdybel) join us onboard the Cayamo cruise to go through their incredible, righteous and fun new record Sun Without Heat. It is a Leyla McCalla solo album but no solo artist is an island! Once we saw Leyla perform with her band, with whom she has collaborated for the past six years, we had to get the whole collaborative outfit in on the interview.

The sounds on the album are inspired by Afrobeat, Haitian Music, folk music, indie music, Americana music, Brazilian tropicalismo, amongst others. Leyla calls it "a record that is playful and full of joy while holding the pain and tension of transformation." McCalla’s liberatory politics find their way into the record, evidenced by the title which comes from a Frederick Douglass speech given six years before the Emancipation Proclamation. Leyla explores her cultural heritage while reflecting the African diaspora using elements of Afrofuturism. She's leaning into a concept that challenges women in music (particularly women of color) of how to free herself from labor that should not be hers and fighting for her right to be joyful in her creative expression.

When asked about how these new songs feel through the lens of somatic experience, Leyla says the new music feels different and that she's let go of the idea of perfectionism as a single mom of three kids. A lot of the record was informed by different authors she's read recently like adrienne maree brown (Pleasure Activism) and Susan Raffo (Liberated To the Bone). Leyla's really changing the game in the Americana genre when it comes to incorporating the academic into truly bitchin' music. Sidenote: we really loved hanging out with this crew at sea on Cayamo. They had great vibes, good laughs and also very good outfits. lizzie even recruited Pete to play bass in an impromptu trio while on-board. More good times with Leyla and band, please!!

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Siri Undlin, better known as Humbird, is a talented singer-songwriter from the Twin Cities with deep roots in Minnesota music and the land that surrounds her. Growing up, she was a true cold weather kid who loved hockey during winter In Minnesota, but also loved music and feeding her vivid imagination. Her love of music was nurtured by her parents, religious music, church choir and also her Aunt Joan, who taught Siri guitar at age 12. Hockey actually led her to her first band Celtic Club, with a set of triplets. The band would play at Irish Pubs, talent shows and, of course, at the local hockey rink. The band introduced her to Celtic music and her first live performances.

Undlin shares her rich experience studying folklore and fairy tales, which greatly influenced her musical journey. She discusses her intensive research in Ireland and Nordic countries, exploring how music intertwines with storytelling traditions. Throughout the episode, Undlin reflects on her upbringing, her time at an art school, and her evolving approach to songwriting, blending traditional folk music with indie music and experimental sounds. On her new album, Right On, Siri is acknowledging and addressing white supremacy in Middle America, as highlighted in her song "Child of Violence." She talks candidly about what writing and releasing the song taught her about white supremacy. Touring has provided Siri with unexpected challenges and valuable insights, shaping her perspective as a musician and performer. We talk about the importance of being open to chaos and disciplined in one's mindset while navigating the music industry and life on the road.

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We're live at sea! lizzie and Cindy recorded this episode onboard Cayamo, which is a singer/songwriter cruise that's been sailing yearly since 2008 and is one of the best music festivals we've attended. AND it's another edition of FOLK DEBATE CLUB. This time it's Community vs Capitalism! Our panel features Jenny Owen Youngs (musician and co-host of Buffy the Vampire Slayer podcast, Buffering the Vampire Slayer), Amy Reitnouer Jacobs (Co-Founder / Executive Director of The Bluegrass Situation) and Natalie Dean (Director of Events at Sixthman, which presents Cayamo). We talk about both through the lens of folk music and the music industry at large. Community building amongst folk artists and fans in authentic and unique ways will help drive your passion. Organically finding community through event production, online presence or music promotion is at the core of folk culture. Community trust and cultural diversity are key in ensuring that folk music artists will thrive in our Capitalistic society. How do you build that trust among your audience in a way that allows them to build trust with each other?

How do you stay true to your values while being able to pay for your life? How have musical community leaders cultivated their particular communities? Capitalism is our current reality, but it historically has not mixed well with Community. Clearly, one must be pursued vigorously more than the other! Or does it? Is there a way that these two can live side by side in folk music? If you are listening to this or reading this right now, I can make this assumption: You want to support music financially and with your heart. Music is something that sustains our lives, but it’s also a profession and something people consume. Don't worry, we figure it all out in this episode of FOLK DEBATE CLUB AT SEA!

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Originally from Greenville Georgia, musician Jontavious Willis is a Blues music phenom. When we talk about the Blues, the phrase or the word "torchbearer" comes up a lot when it comes to young, new Blues artists. I think of that word as a double edged sword. When you think of a torchbearer, you think about someone who's carrying on a flame that was lit long ago. It's somebody who's carrying on a tradition, but it also can come with restrictions. Such as oldheads telling you you're not doing it right or asking you: "have you really paid your dues? Are you really faithful to the tradition?" And just asking you questions about whether or not you belong. Jontavious handles that double edged sword with such alacrity. His writing is firmly contemporary at the same time that his playing is rooted in the tradition of Country Blues. He knows so much about the genre that he's basically in a walking encyclopedia of the Blues. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but instead of the the traditional Basic Folk lightning round, we played a pop up game at the end of the interview. I put different styles of the Blues (like Delta or Piedmont) in one cup and different ripped from the headlines, 2024 topics in another. Then we just matched them up. He was so quick on his feet.

Jontavious is a great example of a new spin on a genre that a lot of people think they know already. He is so adamant that the blues is a contemporary genre and always has been. He made the point during our interview that a lot of the Blues legends that we've kind of encased in the amber of memory were young teens or twentysomethings when they wrote their iconic songs. It's really a genre for free people, for young people, for people looking ahead. It's not about the past. Another point of his he made while discussing his southern roots was we talk about country, often we're talking about a musical genre with a certain difficult history. But for him, and I imagine for a lot of other artists, country is a way of life. It's about being out in the wild. It's about having a connection to nature. It's about sitting with quiet. It's about having time on your hands to experiment with songwriting or being a singer. It's about a genuine experience of being connected to a particular place in time.

This interview and live performance was recorded for the podcast live at Fort Worth African American Music Festival (FWAAMFest). When I (lizzie) was a kid, my dad's family used to have these big reunions. They're from North and South Carolina Baptist family, and it would be like a big barbecue at the state park or in a church hall. We would have t-shirts made, people of all ages milling around, catching up. Often there would be an elder getting up to say a long prayer or make an announcement. This sense of belonging and intergenerational connection, that is what the FWAAMFest felt like. Brandi Waller-Pace, the founder, is such a visionary, and they bring together artists of so many different genres, all of which fit under the roots music umbrella. There's this beautiful link between all of the music based on The African American Storytelling Tradition and The Artistic Tradition. In addition to being able to interview, Jontavious, this was my first time headlining a festival, so it couldn't have been more of a special day for me.

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