Folk Music at the Inauguration

Did you watch the presidential inauguration? If so, were you struck - as we were - by the strong presence of folk music? Here are three performances that have their roots in the people's music, and which, together, show just how diverse folk music can be, and how it's always evolving.

• Jennifer Lopez sang the folk anthem This Land is Your Land; maybe Woody Guthrie would have been puzzled to hear the pop treatment of this simple song by a Latinx gazillionaire superstar, but whatever his reaction, he would have had to admit that J-Lo has impressive pipes!
• Garth Brooks, (who is, according to Wikipedia, the person who has sold the most records ever) came on to sing Amazing Grace, an Anglican hymn that has been sung uncountable times in folk circles and which worked well with Brooks' country pop phrasing and strong tenor voice. 
• Finally, Amanda Gorman - not yet a superstar but a supremely talented and confident 23 year old, presented her hip-hop inspired poem The Hill We Climb, written for the inauguration and, very much in the folk tradition, tweaked to include the most current events.
  

A new edition of the PFS newsletter, Local Lore, is just out - members, you should have received yours within the last week. 

We wish we could say that this is the first post-COVID 19 issue, but of course we can't. Not yet. However, this issue helps PFS members think about what we can and should be in the future. President David Ingerson sums up the activities of PFS, spotlighting the volunteers who make things happen - in fact, who make everything at PFS happen. Treasurer Brian Warner carries the conversation forward with a look at PFS's finances, acknowledging the generosity of our members, and describing the Board's desire to invest in music scholarships and to fund music education in Portland schools. These two articles are a strong call-to-arms, and if you are interested in volunteering, please don't be shy (Look on the Get Involved tab of the menu)!

The new Local Lore also contains four timely and thoughtful book reviews, for which the reader will be grateful to Dick Weissman and Hank Stone: 

• That's the Bag I'm In: The Life, Music and Mystery of Fred Neil; if you don't know Fred Neil by name, you probably know his song Everybody's Talkin'; the book shows how One Big Hit can be both a blessing and a curse. 
• Banjo Man: Confessions of an American Folk Singer, by and about Rick Palieri, whose low key, not particularly commercial singing career forms a nice contrast to the Fred Neil biography.
• !!! Faaar Out. Finding Young John Denver, by Carl Franzen, about the evolution of Denver. "John always wanted to be a star", said the reviewer, and a star he became, climbing his way up the ladder through the Chad Mitchell Trio, to changing his name from Johnny Deutschendorf to John Denver, to superstardom. 
• Finally, Adam Gussow's Whose Blues: Facing up to Race and the Future of the Music, a frank analysis of the issue of cultural appropriation of Black music.

There's a very sweet article by Joe Hickerson, about how he moved to Portland to be with Ruth Bolliger. Ruth and Joe are dear to the hearts of many of us, and we thank Joe for that article (and pictures!)

And - there's a lot more. But don't settle for this write up. Read it!

As always, thanks to the Local Lore team that skillfully and lovingly put it all together: Editor and Designer Kim McLaughlin, Proofreader Ruth Bolliger, and Logistician and Mail Sensation Jeanette Warner.

Local Lore is one of the benefits of PFS membership. Members can have a paper copy if they want, and if they don't need paper they can download it as a PDF from this site under the Resources Menu. You can also pick up a copy at most PFS events, even if you aren't a member. But we're not having any in-person events for a while, so if you would like a paper copy of Local Lore, just look up in the menu bar for Join PFS. In addition to Local Lore, you get reduced prices on events, access to members-only parts of the website, and the pleasure of supporting the music you love! Now is a great time to join - we even have a special rate for people who are stressed during the COVID times. Check it out, and thanks!

Racial Equity Statement from PFS

Portland FolkMusic Society celebrates all musical traditions whose foundations flow from communities and cultures of color.

We recognize that we are an overwhelmingly white organization. We hope to become a more inclusive and diverse organization by taking the following steps: 

1. We ask that if any member or volunteer detects racism or biases in our structures, processes, publicity or activities, they will speak up and bring this to the attention of PFS. 
2. We will include more artists of color in our performances. 
3. We will reach out to our local communities of color for inclusion. 
4. We will report annually to our membership how we are doing on these goals. 

We invite comments and engagement from PFS members. We look forward to the essential, ongoing work of listening, learning, and changing that is ahead of us.