Watch 8:05
How violinist Gaelynn Lea is redefining who can be a musician
Gaelynn Lea is transforming our cultural understanding of who can be a musician. A congenital disability called osteogenesis imperfecta caused her bones to break more than 40 times while she was in the womb. But the violinist is known for…
This genetic brain disorder turned Woody Guthrie’s life from songs to suffering
Huntington's disease -- which Guthrie inherited from his mother -- can lead to serious mood disorders, uncoordinated and involuntary body movements, balance problems, psychotic breaks, dementia and death.
Watch 7:57
Folk legend Joan Baez reflects on a life in music and activism
After six decades performing, folk legend Joan Baez is saying farewell to music with a tour this summer. But before setting off, she sat down with Jeffrey Brown to talk about her long career in music and political activism, and…
Watch 4:33
Meet J.S. Ondara, the Kenyan folk singer hoping to revive the ‘American Dream’
J.S. Ondara grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, listening to American rock and roll. When he was 17, he stumbled upon Bob Dylan -- and his life’s ambitions. Nearly a decade later, Ondara lives in the U.S. and just released his…
Offa Rex -- a transatlantic collaboration of the English singer Olivia Chaney and the American indie rock band The Decemberists -- is putting a modern twist on traditional folk songs that were previously revived in the 1960s and ‘70s. Jeffrey…
The British folk song, “The Old Churchyard,” performed here by the Portland band The Decemberists and English singer Olivia Chaney at this year’s Newport Folk Fest, is part of a rich, oral tradition passed along by musicians and…
Singer/songwriter Billy Bragg gained fame as a punk rock and folk musician in the 1980s. Now nearing 60, he’s still singing songs of protest and passion, but also singing the gospel of skiffle, a folk and blues-inspired genre that helped…
From legendary masters to emerging stars, everyone wants to play the Newport Folk Festival. The relatively small, intimate three-day event sells out before the lineup is announced, attracting musicians who stretch the definition of the genre while retaining the original…
He’s gotten a presidential honor and performed for a pope. Now musician Bob Dylan has won the Nobel Prize in literature.
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