JigTime International
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Folk music right up your Alley
WKSU in Ohio has launched a new web site devoted to folk music at FolkAlley.com . Folk
Alley is an on-line community that provides folk music fans
with 24-hour access to the music and artists that they are passionate
about. The site expands the resources provided by WKSU's FolkStream,
an on-line music service that is hosted by station announcer Jim
Blum and that features his unique blend of singer/songwriter,
roots-based, Celtic, folk legend, acoustic instrumental and world music
selections.
Along with the music stream, Folk Alley also features Blum's folk music
web log, folk news updates, a listener feedback area, topical links,
and tools that allow folk music fans and artists to provide a link to
the site. The interactive, participatory features of FolkAlley.com are
part of an initiative to create a network of folk music fans while promoting
the site around the world. WKSU General Manager Al Bartholet says, "Even
though folk and traditional music formats are rarely heard on most broadcast
outlets, the genres have a strong and unusually committed fan base. Folk
Alley is our chance to use the Internet, coupled with Jim Blum's knowledge
and passion, to bring this great music to the world."
Blum has over 20 years of broadcast experience, originally coming to
WKSU as a volunteer in 1981. He joined the staff as an announcer in 1983,
hosting shows that included overnight jazz and the bluegrass-centered "Hills
and Home." In 1997, Blum became the sole host of folk music on WKSU,
adding his own musical world-view to the program. He has introduced hundreds
of artists to his listeners, inviting many into his studio, which earned
him national recognition from Public Radio News Directors, Inc. for his
interviews with the legendary Judy Collins and singer/songwriter Dar
Williams.
A long-time advocate of the preservation and promotion of folk
and tradition-based music in the Northeast Ohio community, Blum has acted
as artistic director of the Kent State Folk Festival since 2000. In 2001,
Blum and WKSU producer Joe Gunderman received a prestigious Gabriel Award
for their folk-themed holiday special, "Ornaments and Icing: Songs
and Stories of the Holidays."
Blum has a long-standing love of nature, which is reflected in his home
in the woods of Chardon and his frequent Canadian cross-country ski adventures.
The environment is also the central theme of "Beyond the Backyard," an
award-winning educational series produced by Blum with Geauga Park District
Ranger Dan Best. Organizations that have honored the series include Ohio
Educational Telecommunications; Radio-Television News Directors, Inc.;
the Press Club of Cleveland; Ohio Associated Press; and the National
Association for Interpretation.
Also this week read about some of the
bands playing at this year's Kent State Folk Festival which is happening
right now
Details
or visit Folk Alley's own site at... you guessed it
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