The much anticipated, long delayed, never imitated, WKCR 2008 Country Festival is here!
The festival starts this Friday (3/28) at 12 noon and ends Sunday at 2pm. The festival schedule folows:
Friday March 28thGreat Songwriters – 12pm – 3pmSince country is such a songwriter driven genre, in this segment we will pay tribute to the greatest country songwriters, including music from Bobby Braddock, Billie Joe Shaver, and others.
Modern Country Storytellers – 3pm – 6pmGrowing out of the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, borrowing from the folk singer-songwriter genre and paralleling developments in the broader alt-country field, a group of underheralded country storytellers has been traveling the highways of the United States delighting rowdy roadhouse crowds and Southern college campuses while failing to break through into the commercial country mainstream. This segment will hone in on the musical characteristics that unite songwriters like Robert Earl Keen, Todd Snider and Butch Hancock, tracing their evolution back to mainstays of a slightly earlier generation like Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark.
Live Music – 6pm – 7:30pmA live studio session featuring local country musicians.
Gram Parsons Rediscovered – 7:30pm – 10:30pmOver 30 years after his untimely death, there's been a release of previously undiscovered live recordings. Amoeba records has just released The Gram Parsons Anthology vol 1. This segment will air some of these recordings and also include the back story about how these recordings resurfaced after so many years.
40 years in Folsom Prison – 10:30pm – 1:30amThis segment will celebrate the 40th anniversary of this landmark recording by Johnny Cash (with June Carter and Carl Perkins) on January 13, 1968 and the subsequent release of what would become one of the greatest albums in country music. We'll air large portions of this the concert (from 2000 re-release), along with background info and historical context.
Saturday March 29thUncle Tupelo Family Tree – 1:30am – 4:30amWill include the music of this seminal neo-traditional country band from the 1990's and trace the post-breakup music created by it's members.
Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs 1913-1938 – 4:30am – 7amBased on 2007 3-CD box set of same name put out by Tompkins Square Records.
Zydeco Love – 7am - 10amZydeco and cajun love songs from 1930 to today. Love songs from Chenier and the like and moving up and out in time and place. The second part with modern versions of old songs from counter-intuitive US cities, and contemporary originals.
Norman Blake and Tony Rice – 10am - 1pmTwo of the most prominent flatpicking guitarists ever, Norman Blake (b. 1938) and Tony Rice (b. 1951) have influenced countless bluegrass and country musicians and have written and recorded numerous bluegrass and country classics. In addition to great studio releases, this segment will treat listeners to a WKCR archival recording of a 1974 visit to the station by Norman Blake and John Hartford.
A Tribute to Porter Wagoner – 1pm - 6pmWagoner, who died October 28, 2007, was an American country music singer. Famous for his flashy Nudie suits and blond pompadour, Wagoner introduced a young Dolly Parton to his long-running television show. Together, "Porter and Dolly" were a well-known duet team throughout the late 1960s and early '70s. This segment will feature an interview with Wagoner from the WKCR archives conducted in the late 1980s.
A Tribute to Hank Thompson – 6pm - 12pmThompson, who died November 6, 2007, was a country music entertainer whose career spanned seven decades. He sold over 60 million records worldwide. His musical style, characterized as Honky Tonk Swing, was a mixture of fiddles, electric guitar and steel guitar that featured his distinctive, gravelly baritone vocals.
Sunday March 30thJune and Johnny – 12pm – 3amA segment featuring duets by June Carter and Johnny Cash.
Country Rock – 3am - 8amAn exploration of how commercial country music has incorporated, or appropriated, elements from other genres like rock, blues, and gospel, while remaining true to its original influences and boundaries.
Country Gospel – 8am – 10amA festival tradition, this segment will feature country gospel recordings from a variety of musicians, including Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Porter Wagoner, the Carter Family and musicians recorded in Appalachia by Alan Lomax in the 1930s.
Early Traditions of Black String Bands 10am - 12pmThe banjo is a product of Africa. Africans transported to the Caribbean and Latin America were reported playing banjos in the 17th and 18th centuries, before any banjo was reported in the Americas. When most of people think of fiddle and banjo music, they think of the white southern Appalachian Mountains as the source of this music. This segment will trace the history of the sting bands back to its African-American roots well before the Civil War.
Everybody Loves Hank – 12pm - 2pmThe festival will end with a segment featuring the music of Hank Williams.
