Is there Northeastern American folk music?

[elfkin477]

@santosvega

As has been said, sea-shanties and of broadside ballads could certainly be argued to be Northeastern folk music.

Yep. I know three people active in this sort of music, sea-shanties and all. There are fiddle competitions all the time that you rarely hear about as well.

[Huerta88]

@In_Winnipeg

Look a little farther north – this type of music doesn’t stop at the border. What kind of music is associated with Nova Scotia and Newfoundland?

Exactly the same thing.

Well, but . . . doesn’t it get more complicated when you throw in Celts and Acadians up there? I know I’ve heard some very good Celtic-type bands in Halifax.

[Kent_Clark]

@jjimm

Putting in a shout for the Shakers, and their songs which live on.

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain’d,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be asham’d,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.

[picker]

Let’s not forget Contra Dance and it’s performers. It’s a very interesting type of music stylized and performed for English Contra Dances.

Very unique, and it draws upon Acadian, Quebecois and Nova Scotian folk elements as well. It swings, but it’s a lilting swing, not a jazz or country swing. Hard to play right; I do a lot of work as a bluegrass and old-time country guitarist and still have a devil of a time keeping the feel right when I try to play this stuff.

Here’s one such artist, based here in Madison. Last Gaspe

[santosvega]

@Huerta88

Well, but . . . doesn’t it get more complicated when you throw in Celts and Acadians up there? I know I’ve heard some very good Celtic-type bands in Halifax.

But, like I said, there are plenty of Celts and Acadians in New England as well, who have had and continue to have a big impact on the regional culture.

[An_Gadai]

@delphica

It struck me as sad that the generation that actually knows them (as opposed to geeky people who buy CDs at historical society gift shops) is dying out.

The Ballad Of The Disgruntled IT Worker and Rebooting All My Days don’t have the same appeal as canal and train tunes that’s for sure.

[Bridget_Burke]

@santosvega

But, like I said, there are plenty of Celts and Acadians in New England as well, who have had and continue to have a big impact on the regional culture.

The New England Folk Network is rather prissy about insisting all modern performers play only “Anglo-American” music. However, the artists’ links show they’re more flexible–as a true reflection of the real “folk” of the region. I was born in New Hampshire–& taken away at 6 months old; but I’ve done the research. Plenty of Québécois came down to work at the mills, along with immigrants from just about everywhere. There’s more to “folk music” than stuff brought over from England centuries ago. (And the Puritans tended to discourage non-religious cultural baggage.)

From NPR’s tribute to a wonderful artist who died last Monday:

Kate McGarrigle came from one of those rare families that actually sing at home. The French-Canadian sisters with the distinctive last name tapped into a deep vein of folk music running north up the range of the Appalachians past the New Brunswick-Quebec border.

(“McGarrigle” is distinctive, but it’s also Irish.)