Folk Roots Radio Episode 396: feat. The Big Branch Festival & More New Releases

Aug 28 2018

Fiddler Emilyn Stam from Balfolk Toronto joins us on Episode 396 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about Balfolk, that’s the modern revival of traditional, predominately Western European, social folk dances and the upcoming Big Branch Festival a three day “Balfolk” festival/camp taking place the weekend of September 7-9. We also check out new music from Alan Barnosky, David Davis & The Warrior River Boys, The Furious Seasons, Steve Dawson, Laüsa, Duo Rivaud Lacouchie, Steve Howell & The Mighty Men, Bobby Sweet and Chuck Brodsky. Check out the full playlist below.

Interview

The Big Branch Festival takes place at Unicamp Ontario, in Honeywood near Shelburne ON (along the Bruce Trail). Balfolk dances range from simple partner dances like the waltz, mazurka and schottische, to hypnotic chain dances like the andro, gavotte, and ride from Bretagne as well as energetic mixer dances. Balfolk dances are simple and easy to learn, and leave lots of room for improvisation. The intent of a Balfolk session is simple – relax and lean into the music and see where it takes you! The Big Branch Festival will feature dance and music workshops, with performers from France (Laüsa, Duo Rivaud Lacouchie, Duo Le Bour Bodros), Italy/Canada (Filippo Gambetta & Emilyn Stam) and dance instructor Louise Marius from the Netherlands. For more information, visit thebigbranchfestival.com.

That’s all we have time for, this time around. Thanks to all the artists who share their music with us, and thank you for listening. We have a lot of great music and interviews to bring you on future shows. I hope you’ll join us!

Listen

You can listen to this episode again on Soundcloud by following the link below. You can also listen to episodes of Folk Roots Radio, on demand, via iTunes, Stitcher and Tune-in Radio. (Click on the highlighted link to reach your chosen platform.)