Folk Music: Not Just for the Festivals
Folk music may not be as popular as it was during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s, when musicians such as Woody Guthrie chronicled in song the troubles of a generation. But Carly Nix (CAS’08) says it is still relevant today, particularly to the college population. Three years ago, she started "Over Yonder," a radio show on WTBU that is dedicated to advancing underground folk, blues, and country music. On Sunday, December 9, the station is hosting a performance in Somerville to further support unsigned folk and blues musicians.
“It’s one of my priorities to help people who don’t have the connections with record labels,” Nix says. The show, Over Yonder Presents, features four artists: Elizabeth Butters of Somerville, Mass., Frank Hoier and Eli Smith of Brooklyn, and Feral Foster of New York. They are, says Nix, “exemplars of preserving the tradition of folk music in its new wave in young America.”
“This is a form of music that’s underrepresented in our generation,” she adds. “When people think of folk music they think of old people and campfires and stuff like that, but I think that it’s really relevant to our generation too.”
Over Yonder Presents is Sunday, December 9, at 8:30 p.m. at PA’s Lounge, 345 Somerville Ave., Somerville. Tickets are $7 for ages 21 and over and $10 for ages 18 to 20.
Rebecca McNamara can be reached at ramc@bu.edu.