In this interview in the Mariposa Talks series, Hamilton-based county singer Lori Yates talks about working with some of the greats of Nashville, about her struggles to overcome addiction and about a foray into stand-up comedy. She also offers telling insights into how the music business has changed dramatically during her 30-year career.
Here’s some live performance videos of Lori Yates for your enjoyment:
“Bloodgrass” band Murder Murder is dedicated to the tradition of murder ballads — songs of slaughter and bloodshed that they set to a toe-tapping beat. For while their subject matter may be dark, it doesn’t mean their tunes aren’t danceable. In this conversation with Mariposa volunteer Philip Jackman while crammed into their van en route to a gig in Ottawa , the band sheds light on their musical interests and persona.
Here’s some live performance videos of Murder Murder for your enjoyment:
If the Sky Should Fall
Jon & Mary
Sweet Revenge
Cadillac
Mariposa Folk Festival is proud to begin its announcements of the 2015 artistic line-up with the good news that folk music icon, Eric Andersen, will be on stage at the festival this summer.
This is just the first of many artistic announcements over the coming weeks and months.
Eric Andersen’s voice, songs, guitar and piano playing have supported an impressive career that spans five decades.
He has recorded 25 albums of original songs, and made numerous tours of North America, Europe, and Japan.
The shortlist of renowned artists that have recorded and performed his songs includes Ricky Nelson, Judy Collins, Fairport Convention, The Kingston Trio, Peter Paul and Mary, Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Cash, The Grateful Dead, and Mary Chapin Carpenter, plus many others around the world.
A documentary about Eric Andersen – a study on the culture of fame, the fragility of an artist’s career and the integrity of an artist – is currently in production.
Learn more about Eric Andersen by visiting our Eric Andersen story board on Pinterest.
The very first artist we are announcing for Mariposa Folk Festival 2014 is Rosanne Cash. We couldn’t think of a better way to begin unveiling what’s shaping up to be one of our best ever line-ups than with this iconic musical figure whose music crosses the genres and the generations.
During her diverse musical career, Rosanne Cash has topped the music charts, gathered loads of accolades and awards, performed or recorded with a veritable who’s who of international stars, and released fourteen albums, with one the way. Though the daughter of a folk-country legend, Rosanne Cash charted her own path in song, drawing upon the folk, pop, rock and blues traditions, and earning a loyal fan base with every step.
With a career in high gear, in the 80s Cash curtailed her work for childbearing and to raise four daughters. She left Nashville and its country music establishment in the early 90s, settling in lower Manhattan with then husband, Rodney Crowell. Cash later married her current musical collaborator, the producer/songwriter/guitarist, John Leventhal, with whom she has one son.
For two and a half years in the late 90s, Cash was unable to sing due to a polyp on her vocal cords. Her musical career was disrupted again in 2007 when she underwent brain surgery for a rare condition. During these musical down times, Cash pursued other creative pursuits including writing, with several books published and numerous articles in prestigious periodicals and collections.
In recent years, Cash released a highly acclaimed album, The List (2009), comprised of twelve songs from a list of the 100 greatest country and American songs given to her at the age of eighteen by her father, Johnny Cash. That album, which features vocal duets with Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Jeff Tweedy, Rufus Wainwright and Neko Case, was named Album of the Year in in 2010 by the Americana Music Association.
Cash’s highly anticipated follow-up album due in January 2014, The River & The Thread, has also received critical, pre-release praise. Inspired by swampy Delta blues, gospel, Appalachian folk, country and rock, it tells the stories of a colourful, multi-generational cast of characters from the south through a collection of contemporary songs.
In addition to her own recordings, Rosanne Cash has made guest appearances on albums by the likes of Guy Clark, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett, Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Chieftains, and others, as well as on children’s albums. She has also appeared on tribute albums to The Band, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Jimi Hendrix, Yoko Ono, Tammy Wynette and more. Recently, Cash was featured in a global Americana tourism promotional campaign performing her composition, Land of Dreams.
Rosanne Cash with be the headlining act on Mariposa’s Sunday Evening Main Stage, closing the festival with what promises to be one of those concerts that sticks in your mind long after its over. Staring in January, we will begin announcing a few artists per week until the whole fantastic line-up for Mariposa Folk Festival 2014 is unveiled.
Check out our Rosanne Cash story board on Pinterest. While you’re there, click on Follow Board to get updates.