SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS

There are seemingly infinite layers of meaning to be found in No-No Boy's third album, Empire Electric. You can listen closely to singer-songwriter Julian Saporiti's lyrics, which juxtapose true...

Encore is a new album produced from previously unheard archival recordings by the legendary Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence, made in 1965 at the height of his career. Spence's radically innovative...

Vinyl LP pressing. Elizabeth Cotten's 1958 debut album on Folkways is best known for containing the earliest recording of her classic "Freight Train." The breadth of her repertoire and her endearing...

The hypnotic, delicate strum of the kora, the harp-like instrument strung on a halved gourd, has been a trademark of West African music for centuries. Gambian Griot Kora Duets (1979), featuring the...

Ann McMillan did not record prolifically, but she was at the vanguard of electronic composition in New York in the 1970s. A student of groundbreaking composer Edgard Var?se, McMillan's primary medium...

Vinyl LP pressing. Originally issued as a 10-inch album in 1955, Goofing-Off Suite finds Pete Seeger playing a mix of classical, popular, and folk music. Side 1 of the recording includes five...

Happy Woman Blues - Lucinda Williams, whose musical style defies easy categorization, recorded her first album of original songs in 1980, supported by a six-member band. Her songs are a mix of...

During the middle decades of the 20th century, the factories of southwestern Ohio drew hundreds of thousands of migrants from Appalachia, including innumerable musicians. Industrial Strength...

The two brand new songs on?It's Cool,?the new single by?Lula Wiles,?explore the complexities of dating in the digital age,?the trio training it's?incisive, trenchant wit?on?the?new...

Jujus/Alchemy of the Blues is Sarah Webster Fabio's third album for Folkways. Funky riffs and jazz arrangements written and performed by her children and their band Don't Fight the Feeling underpin...