Stephanie P. Ledgin

From Ani DiFranco to Bob Dylan to Woodie Guthrie, American folk music comprises a truly diverse and rich tradition—one that's almost impossible to define in broad terms. This book explains why folk music is still highly relevant in the digital age. From indigenous music to Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen singing "This Land Is Your Land" side-by-side at the pre-inaugural concert for our first African American president, folk music has been at the center of America's history. Thomas Jefferson wooed his bride-to-be with fiddle playing. Stephen Foster captured the mood of our country in transition. The Carter Family adapted music from across the pond to Appalachia. Paul Robeson carried folk music of many lands to the world stage. Woody Guthrie's dust bowl ballads spoke to the common man, while Sixties protest music put folk on the map, following the Kingston Trio's hit, "Tom Dooley." Folk music has evolved with America's changing landscape, celebrating its multi-cultural traditions. From Irish step dancers to rap, parlor songs to Dixieland, blues to classical, Discovering Folk Music presents the genre as surprisingly diverse, every bit the product of our national melting pot. Demonstrating continuing relevance of folk music in our everyday lives, the book spotlights an amazing array of personalities, with special emphasis on the folk revival era when Dylan, Baez, Odetta, and Peter, Paul and Mary sang out. These and others influenced such contemporary performers as Shawn Colvin and Ani DiFranco. Those on today's "fringes of folk" scene continue to look to these deep roots while embracing alternative sounds. Included are interviews with such legendary artists as Janis Ian, Tom Paxton, and Jean Ritchie. Nora Guthrie, Woody's daughter, also weighs in. Discovering Folk Music is a ground-breaking look at 21st-century folk music in our rapidly changing digital world, family friendly while ripe for rediscovery by the Woodstock generation.

Homegrown Music offers an introductory primer for newcomers to bluegrass and provides a novel perspective for fans already captivated by the music. Award-winning bluegrass writer Stephanie P. Ledgin writes about topics ranging from the music's predecessors to its innovators to contemporary figures. Interviews with legends like Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band provide candid insights and invaluable eyewitness history. Delving into instrumentation, songs, the festival experience, "parking lot picking," and other topics, the book gives neophytes and enthusiasts alike new perspectives on the music. Twenty-five photographs taken by the author and a foreword by bluegrass superstar Ricky Skaggs further enrich the guide while a special section features an extensive bluegrass resource guide to print, audiovisual, and Internet materials.