“We lost one of the greatest banjo players to ever pick up the five,” tweeted fellow banjoist Bela Fleck, just one of numerous artists who took to social media to share their thoughts about the master of the bluegrass banjo in the days following his passing.

“He was an absolute legend… He will be remembered as one of the greatest to ever play bluegrass music,” maintains acclaimed roots guitarist Billy Strings. “He had tone, taste and timing like no other. The space between the notes he played and the way he rolled them out just kept the band driving, running on all cylinders like a V* engine. He was just the best bluegrass banjo player out there, man,” he tweeted.

In social media posts, Mark O’Connor, a noted roots fiddler and guitarist, who had a brief stint in Crowe’s band when he was just 14 in the mid-1970s, called Crowe “one of the absolute greats in bluegrass, and a really wonderful mentor to me when I was a young boy coming.” In O’Connor’s view, there’s “no better bluegrass banjo player the history [of the genre] other than Earl Scruggs.” Crowe might be considered a disciple of Scruggs and, like him, he played in a three-fingered style. However, although he respected and sought to preserve the tradition and the legacy of the genre, Crowe was not a bluegrass purist. He also experimented and expanded bluegrass music’s traditional boundaries and helped redefine the genre and widen its appeal in the process. His pioneering progressive bluegrass band, J.D. Crowe and the New South, his pioneering progressive bluegrass band featured such notable players as Jerry Douglas, Keith Whitley, guitarist Tony Rice (who died last Christmas), Ricky Skaggs, Phil Leadbetter, and Don Rigsby over the years.

James Dee Crowe was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1937. While just a teenager and still in school, he performed and toured with acclaimed bluegrass guitarist Jimmy Martin in the mid-1950s. Returning home to Lexington in 1961, he partnered with mandolinist Doyle Lawson and bassist Bobby Sloane to form the Kentucky Mountain Dogs, which became J.D. Crowe and the New South in the 1970s and featured a revolving lineup of players. The group’s 1975 Rounder Records release, The New South, is considered one of bluegrass music’s seminal albums. In 1983, J.D. Crowe and the New South won a Grammy Award for Country Instrumental of the Year for “Fireball.”

Here’s a link to view a video of J.D. Crowe and the New South performing “Fireball”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-2rv9lxNlw

Crowe also formed and recorded with the Bluegrass Album Band featuring Lawson, guitarists Rice and Douglas, fiddlers Vassar Clements and Bobby Hicks, and Todd Phillips and Mark Schatz rotating on bass. He was a recipient of numerous awards and accolades. He was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2003, received the Bluegrass Star Award in 2011, an honorary doctorate from the University of Kentucky in 2012, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Lexington Music Awards in 2016. Although he gave up touring in 2019, Crowe had continued to record.

Here’s a link to view a video of the Bluegrass Album Band performing “Big Spike Hammer” during an IBMA Awards Show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO__VTOMNJo

Grit & Polish features original fiddle tunes and songs, along with choice covers of songs by Bob Dylan and Louis Jordan. Schatz and McDowell, who were formerly part of The Claire Lynch Band, play and sing a mix of bluegrass, old-time, folk and swing. Twice named IBMA Bass Player of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association, Schatz has toured and recorded with such notable acoustic artists as Bela Fleck, John Hartford, Sara Jarosz, Nickel Creek, Tim O’Brien, and Tony Rice. A master of stringed instruments, McDowell was a first-place winner on three of them (fiddle, mandolin and guitar) at the National Flatpicking Championships in Winfield, Kansas when he was just 18 and has won many instrumental contests and accolades since then. He’s also toured with bluegrass artists Alison Brown, Sierra Hull and Molly Tuttle and has shared his love for mountain music with young people as a teacher.

A noted songwriter and performer, Browne has been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also a longtime environmental and social activist., who has been honored for his humanitarian efforts as well. “My Cleveland Heart” is the first single off his new studio release, Downhill From Everywhere. [Here’s a link to view the official video for Jackson Browne’s “My Cleveland Heart,” which he co-wrote with his longtime guitarist Val McCallum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_gWWzLph24].

The June 2021 Top Albums, Songs and Artists charts are based on 13,103 airplays reported on 451 playlists submitted by 118 different folk DJs. The number of reported spins is shown below in parentheses.

Folk Alliance International (folk.org) is a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion.

Top Albums of June 2021

1. Grit & Polish by Mark Schatz and Bryan McDowell (105)
2. Be Ready When I Call You by Guy Davis (83)
3. Light and Dark by Chris Ronald (74)
4. Outside Child by Allison Russell (69)
5. Ballad of a Bad Girl by Kate McDonnell (61)
5. On Solid Ground by Reggie Harris (61)
7. Red Maple Tree by Sloan Wainwright (57)
8. All This Time Running by Craig Cardiff (52)
8. Time out Session 1 by The Accidentals (52)
10. We Can Hear Each Other by Erin Ash Sullivan (50)
11. There Used to Be Horses Here by Amy Speace (45)
12. Undertaker’s Songbook by Sons of the Never Wrong (44)
12. He Walked On by Tim O’Brien (44)
12. Don’t You Marry No Railroad Man by JP Harris (44)
12. Echo Land by Bumarang (44)
16. Animal Communicator by Robin Bienemann (43)
17. Let Us Sing by Andy and Judy (40)
18. First Farewell by Peggy Seeger (38)
19. They’re Calling Me Home by Rhiannon Giddens (36)
19. Bang at the Door by Donna Herula (36)
19. Downhill From Everywhere by Jackson Browne (36)
22. Grenadine and Kerosene by Carolyn Shulman (33)
23. I Wanna Start a Band by Britton Patrick Morgan (32)
24. Knew Things by Cliff Eberhardt (31)
25. Everybody Wants My Hat by Marc Black (29)
25. A Better Day A-Coming by Robin and Linda Williams (29)
25. Shame and Sedition by Lula Wiles (29)
25. Where and When by Kelly’s Lot (29)
29. Sharecropper’s Son by Robert Finley (28)
30. Appalachia: American Stories by Grant Maloy Smith (27)
30. We Shall Stay Here by Paul Kaplan (27)
32. Cycles by Rachel Baiman (26)
32. The Waylon Sessions by Shannon McNally (26)
34. Changemakers by Crys Matthews (25)
34. Migrants by Hayde Bluegrass Orchestra (25)
34. Six Degrees of Separation by Wilson Banjo Co. (25)
37. Markology II by Mark O’Connor (24)
37. Annamania by Anna Elizabeth Laube (24)
37. Songs of a Simple Life by Merle Monroe (24)
37. Song to a Refugee by Diana Jones (24)
37. When We Wander by Jesse Terry (24)
42. Madison Archives by Frank Evans and Ben Plotnick (23)
43. Friends in High Places by Turner Cody and the Soldiers of Love (22)
44. Happy Again by Bill and the Belles (21)
44. Meridian by Miles Gannett (21)
46. Just Causes by Noel Paul Stookey (19)
46. Backyard Birds by Lisa Bastoni (19)
48. Calla Lily by The Brother Brothers (18)
48. Haymakers Live at Art Church by Haymakers (18)
48. Gone by Tim Grimm (18)
51. Normal Isn’t Normal Anymore by Rod Abernethy (17)
51. Cheater’s Waltz by Michelle and Jason Hannan (17)
51. Blue by Joni Mitchell (17)
51. Queen of the In-Between by K. C. Jones (17)
55. The Fray by John Smith (16)
55. Truer Picture by Graham Sharp (16)
55. American Quilt by Paula Cole (16)
58. Poets by Liz Simmons (15)
58. Let’s Get Happy Together by Maria Muldaur with Tuba Skinny (15)
58. Just Over the Ridge by Lizzy Plotkin and Natalie Spears (15)
58. Streamliner by Jesse Brock (15)
58. Adeline by Sam Allison, Chris Coole, Adrian Gross, Mark Kilianski,
John Showman (15)
58. Desert Ghosts by Jaspar Lepak (15)
64. Renaissance by Valerie Smith (14)
64. Tapered Point of Stone by Eli West (14)
64. Still Woman Enough by Loretta Lynn (14)
64. Only Human by Luke Leblanc (14)
64. Smoke From the Chimney by Tony Joe White (14)
64. Leftover Feelings by John Hiatt and the Jerry Douglas Band (14)
64. Hourglass by Murray McLauchlan (14)
64. Into the Ground by Beth Whitney (14)
64. Up With the Masses by Sue Jeffers (14)

Top Songs of June 2021

1. “My Cleveland Heart” by Jackson Browne (36)
2. “A Better Day A-Coming” by Robin and Linda Williams (30)
3. “Father’s Day” by Amy Speace (20)
4. “The Keeper” by Sloan Wainwright (19)
5. “For What It’s Worth” by Tom Prasada-Rao (17)
6. “Kensington Station” by Mark Schatz and Bryan McDowell (16)
6. “Still Turning” by Chris Ronald (16)
8. “God’s Gonna Make Things Over” by Guy Davis (15)
8. “Fireflies” by Erin Ash Sullivan (15)
8. “Tmi” by Robin Bienemann (15)
8. “I Found” by Valerie Smith (15)
12. “All This Time Running” by Craig Cardiff (14)
12. “The Best Summer” by Christine Lavin (14)
14. “The Girl I Love Don’t Pay Me No Mind” by Mark Schatz and Bryan
McDowell (13)
14. “Please Don’t Come for Me Now” by Chris Ronald (13)
14. “Wildfire” by The Accidentals (13)
14. “All Shall Be Well” by The Accidentals (13)
14. “Tears of Joy” by Marc Black (13)
19. “Persephone” by Allison Russell (12)
19. “Standing in Freedom’s Name” by Reggie Harris (12)
19. “Ballad of a Bad Girl” by Kate McDonnell (12)
19. “Hob Thrasher” by Michael McNevin (12)
19. “My Father’s Eye” by Leah Kaufman (12)
24. “Badonkadonk Train” by Guy Davis (11)
24. “Muskrat” by Mark Schatz and Bryan McDowell (11)
24. “My Old Man” by Steve Goodman (11)
24. “What Do You Care” by Anne E Dechant (11)
24. “Clearwater Tune” by Emma’s Revolution (11)
24. “My East Tennessee Home” by Mark Schatz and Bryan McDowell (11)
24. “Flint River Blues” by Guy Davis (11)
24. “House Carpenter” by JP Harris (11)
24. “City Girl” by Chris Ronald (11)
24. “Got Your Letter in My Pocket” by Guy Davis (11)
24. “The Invisible Woman” by Peggy Seeger (11)

Top Artists of June 2021

1. Mark Schatz and Bryan McDowell (105)
2. Guy Davis (87)
3. Reggie Harris (82)
4. Chris Ronald (76)
5. Bob Dylan (71)
5. Allison Russell (71)
7. Kate McDonnell (62)
8. Sloan Wainwright (61)
9. Tim O’Brien (57)
10. Craig Cardiff (53)
10. The Accidentals (53)
12. Amy Speace (51)
12. Sons of the Never Wrong (51)
14. Erin Ash Sullivan (50)
15. John McCutcheon (48)
16. Rhiannon Giddens (47)
17. Bumarang (44)
17. JP Harris (44)
17. Robin Bienemann (44)
20. Peggy Seeger (43)
20. Jackson Browne (43)
22. Andy and Judy (41)
23. Donna Herula (36)
23. Robin and Linda Williams (36)
25. Grace Griffith (35)
26. Cliff Eberhardt (34)
26. Joni Mitchell (34)
28. Carolyn Shulman (33)
29. Tom Prasada-Rao (32)
29. Britton Patrick Morgan (32)
31. Grant Maloy Smith (31)
31. Kelly’s Lot (31)
31. John Prine (31)
31. John Smith (31)
31. Tim Grimm (31)
31. Lula Wiles (31)
37. Ellis Paul (29)
37. Marc Black (29)
37. Paul Kaplan (29)
40. Robert Finley (28)
40. Diana Jones (28)
40. Kate Wolf (28)

The official showcases take place Thursday-Saturday evenings from 7- 10:15 p.m., with each artist/act performing a 15-minute set. In addition, the conference will include late-night guerilla showcases hosted by AcousticMusicScene.com and others from 10:40 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Also on the agenda are daytime informational seminars and workshops, a Wisdom of the Elders session, one-on-one and group mentoring sessions, the SERFA Awards, an exhibit hall, and plenty of opportunities to learn, share and network –- including during built-in afternoon breaks in the programming.

SERFA is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org), a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion.

SERFA (https://www.serfa.org) exists to promote, develop and celebrate the diverse heritage of roots and indigenous music, dance, storytelling and related arts in the southeastern United States. Its annual conference is a primary means of doing that. Its move to Chattanooga this year, following consecutive years at the Montreat Conference Center, a beautiful and tranquil spot nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, was necessitated by a growing number of attendees.

“We will miss Montreat, but we outgrew the lovely setting,” noted Don Baker, president of SERFA’s board of directors. “We are very excited to be in the vibrant city of Chattanooga, where we have been welcomed with open arms.” Citing the board’s desire for SERFA to broaden its horizons and be more inclusive, Baker expressed pleasure with the cultural and racial diversity of its new conference home.

Apart from an opening reception at the Songbirds Guitar Museum on Wednesday evening, May 15, all of the conference activities will take place on one level of The Chattanoogan hotel.

Ellis Paul to Deliver Keynote Address

Ellis Paul has played more than 5,000 shows – gracing stages at the Newport Folk Festival, Carnegie Hall, and clubs and coffeehouses the world-over. A prolific songwriter, he’s penned more than 500 songs. “His songs are literate, provocative and urbanely romantic.” (Scott Alarik, The Boston Globe). He’s recorded and released 20 albums, while his music has also been featured in a number of Hollywood film soundtracks – including several by the Farrelly Brothers – as well as commercials, documentaries and TV shows.

“Despite his success and sense of history, Mr. Paul remains an artist with his eye on the future and an interest in discovering the transformative potential in his music.” – The New York Times

SERFA Awards to be Presented

Separately and together, Norman and Nancy Blake have created some 40 albums. They began recording together in 1974 – although Norman had already played on recordings by such notable artists as Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and John Hartford by that time. The Blakes’ musical experiences together and separately have encompassed 1950s bluegrass, classical music, session work in Nashville, he Aeroplane Band, and very traditional southern music.

A co-founder of the Fiddle Puppets (1979 — which developed into/was transformed into Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble 15 years later – Eileen Carson has been a pioneer in bringing percussive dance to performing arts sages, folk festivals, and the general public. Mark Schatz has played bass with such notable artists as John Hartford, Claire Lynch, Tim O’Brien, and Tony Rice as well as he bands Nickel Creek and Spectrum.

Fletcher Bright, who died in 2017 at age 86, was part of the Dismembered Tennesseans band for 70 years and hosted legendary jam sessions. He also led the Three Sisters Festival.

J.T. Gray has owned the Station Inn, Nashville’s preeminent bluegrass club, since 1981. Besides being responsible for a 165-seat venue, he is a bassist and previously toured with Jimmy Martin.

Workshops and Panel Discussions Organized by Tracks

More than 40 workshops and special events during the conference will be organized by tracks: Activism, Business, Media, Performing and Recording, Presenting, Roots and Sources, Songwriting, and Special Events. Workshops and panel discussions will delve into such topics as Americana Blues and the Africa-American Folkloric Tradition, The Art of Co-Writing, Claw hammer Banjo, Elements of a Compelling Interview, Fair Trade Music, Folk Music and Social Responsibility, House Concert Roundtable, How to be a Storyteller in Song, How Not to Think Like a Guitarist and Still be One, How Presenters Choose Artists, Reinterpreting the Music of Charlie Poole, 300+ Years of Banjo, Vocal Technique for the Touring Musician, and Women’s Empowerment in the Folk Music World. Also slated are a Community Sing, peer group meetings, Yoga, and a Women’s Song Circle.

A Wisdom of the Elders session — to be moderated by Art Menius, SERFA’s executive director — will feature Norman and Nancy Blake (described above) and music industry veteran David Wilkes. Among other things, Wilkes was active in New York’s folk scene for six decades, managed the iconic The Bitter End in NYC’s Greenwich Village, was a music publisher, and served as vice president of A&R for the influential folk label Vanguard Records and as manager or co-manager for such artists as Emmylou Harris, Richie Havens, Tom Paxton, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Josh White, Jr. He also owned the Coffee House Circuit — which booked Havens, Harry Chapin, Jim Croce, and John Denver. Still active as a manager and agent, Wilkes also is the U.S. representative for the Canadian folk-world music group Sultans of String.

Besides the workshops and panel discussions, there will be one-on-one mentoring sessions, yoga, an exhibit hall, communal meals, and, of course, a lot of music. Grady Ormsby of Down East Folk Arts will host several open mics.

Official and Guerilla Showcases Abound

Slated to present official showcases on Thursday, May 16, are (in order of appearance) Crossing the Caney, Andy Cohen, Rod Abernethy, Grace Morison, Wolf and Clover, Antonio Andrade, Boomtown Trio, Karyn Oliver, and Resonant Rogues. Friday’s official showcase lineup features David Davis and the Warrior River Boys, Carolann Solebello, Frank and Allie Lee, Belle Plaine, Grant Peeples, Amy Speace, Twin Kennedy, Wyatt Easterling, and Ben Van Winkle. Saturday’s showcase artists include After Jack, Nancy Beaudette, Nicholas Edward Williams, Deidra McCalla, The Currys, Cary Morin, Flint & Feather, Eric Brace Peter Cooper and Thomm Jutz, and Ginger Cowgirl.

Here’s a link to listen to a sampler featuring 23 of the official showcase artists/acts: https://noisetrade.com/serfaartists/serfa-showcase-artists-2019

Following the official showcases (as well as on Wednesday overnight), late-night guerilla showcases will take place in various rooms for several hours. AcousticMusicScene.com, which has had a presence at the SERFA Conference for the past eight years, will host late-night showcases on Thursday, May 16, overnight. These will primarily take the form of song swaps.

Here’s the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase schedule:

11:00: Todd Hoke and Jeff Talmadge

11:30: O Canada: Nancy Beaudette, Flint & Feather and Twin Kennedy

12:00: Women of Note: Deidre McCalla, Kate Mills and Grace Morrison

12:30: Guys of Note: Wyatt Easterling, Brian Ashley Jones and Dennis Warner

1:00: Songswarm: Nancy Dillon, Ruby Lovett, Taylor Pie

1:30: Long Island Sounds: Joe Iadanza and Hank Stone

Here’s a link to view a couple of Ruby Lovett videos — including a recent one for her song, “A Father’s Love,” that appears on her new album entitled It’s A Hard Life. Taylor Pie accompanies her, while AcousticMusicScene.com‘s Michael Kornfeld and singer-songwriter Nancy Dillon also can be seen at the bonfire: https://www.rubylovett.com/videos.

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Editor’s Note: In addition to hosting AcousticMusicScene.com showcases, I will moderate and participate in a panel discussion entitled Recording Promotion Demystified. I will also again be a mentor offering advice and counsel on various aspects of public relations and strategic communications. An elected board member of Folk Alliance International, I also serve as board president for the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA). I have been an active participant at SERFA conferences since 2011.

Ranked among the five largest music conferences in North America, the International Folk Alliance Conference will feature several days of panel discussions and workshops, peer group meetings, networking receptions, film screenings, mentoring sessions, Demo Derbys, instrument clinics and popular singer-songwriter critique sessions. There will be four nights of artist performances — including 200 juried Performance Alley music showcases and hundreds of private in-room showcases that extend into the early morning hours. The Memphis Downtown Marriott and Convention Center will be the hub of activity, although some special events take place elsewhere -– including Sunday night’s closing party at the Center for Southern Folklore.

The conference gets underway this afternoon (Wednesday, Feb. 16) with a first timers’ orientation session and an open mic. Following a welcoming reception at 5 p.m. (CST), Folk Alliance International President Dan Navarro and fellow singer-songwriter Eric Schwartz host the Folk Alliance Lifetime Achievement Awards & Honors. This year’s Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Award recipients are Jimmie Rodgers (the “singing brakeman”), folksinger Joan Baez, and legendary filmmaker Les Blank. The event, to be broadcast live on Sirius XM Satellite Radio’s The Village, also will feature musical performances by the John Hartford String Band, Si Kahn (the esteemed folksinger-songwriter, author, activist and labor & community organizer, who had both the #1 album and #1 song on the Folk DJ Listserve in 2010), The Kruger Brothers, Paul David Smith, Sam Baker and more.

David Bromberg and Jayhawks co-founder Mark Olson are the conference’s keynote speakers on Thursday, while a special keynote interview with Jac Holzman, on the 60th anniversary of his founding of Elektra Records, also is on the agenda.

Among the more than 50 workshops and panel discussions focusing on topics related to presenting, promoting and preserving folk and traditional music and dance are a symposium, jam session and several instrumental and dance workshops in honor of the late John Hartford, whose 1971 album Aereo-Plain combined sensibilities of bluegrass and rock, and helped launch “New Grass” music. 2011 marks the 10th anniversary of Hartford’s passing. The John Hartford String Band (Bob Carlin on banjo, Matt Combs on fiddle, Mike Compton on mandolin, Mark Schatz on bass, and guitarist Chris Sharp) — who released their own critically acclaimed and Grammy-nominated album, Memories of John, last year — also host a musical tribute to him, with special guests Alison Brown, George Buckner and others.

As always, the conference will boast a large exhibit hall with more than 100 exhibitors and plenty of opportunities for networking and jamming. And the city of Memphis and its many music-related attractions beckons just outside the host hotel’s doors.

For those unable to make it to Memphis who would like to get a taste of what’s happening there, several featured performances each evening will be broadcast live on Sirius XM’s The Village. In addition, GoGirlsMusic.com, an online community of indie women musicians, will be webcasting its private showcases live at www.ustream.tv/channel/gogirlsmusic, beginning at 9 p.m. CST tonight (Wednesday, Feb. 16). The syndicated radio program Beale Street Caravan also will be capturing Folk Alliance performing artists Thursday-Saturday nights (with a focus on the blues), while the PBS television series Jammin’ at Hippie Jack’s will be recording a series of shows for future broadcast.

Folk Alliance International aims to foster and promote multicultural, traditional and contemporary folk music, while strengthening and advancing organizational and individual initiatives in folk music and dance through education, networking, advocacy, and professional and field development. More information may be found on its newly redesigned website.