The Country, Folk & World Recommendation Thread

[Gavin B.]

Originally Posted by Mr. Charlie

Bit special:

Wow! That's fantastic.

[Gavin B.]

Don't knock busking. If you're a talented musician in a good location you can make pretty good tax-free money for a couple hours work. I used to see Tracy Chapman busking in the Harvard Square subway station in Cambridge even after she recorded her first album. Mary Lou Lord (recording artist and girl friend of Kurt Cobain before Courtney Love came along) was always busking in the Park Street subway station in Boston Common in the 80s.

The Solomon Burke video reminded me of another great video by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Caleb Meyer was performed at St. Luke's Church, perhaps the most beautiful music venue in all of London.

[Lisnaholic]

Originally Posted by Gavin B.

Don't knock busking. If you're a talented musician in a good location you can make pretty good tax-free money for a couple hours work. I used to see Tracy Chapman busking in the Harvard Square subway station in Cambridge even after she recorded her first album. Mary Lou Lord (recording artist and girl friend of Kurt Cobain before Courtney Love came along) was always busking in the Park Street subway station in Boston Common in the 80s.

Hey, that´s interesting ! Busking is a very honourable rite-of-passage for many musicians before they record, but far fewer musicians go in the reverse direction, I imagine.

Here´s an entertaining London busker I just found on Youtube; if he hits the big time, remember that you heard him here first:-

[Gavin B.]

Dub FX has several self produced albums and is very popular in Europe and draws huge crowds. He performs almost exclusively as a busker. He is also the subject of a documentary film. He sells a lot of CDs via the internet and at street shows. It's amazing to watch Dub FX work his magic by overdubbing his own vocals using foot pedals as he performs:




There are several busker festivals held across the globe each year including the following:

Ferrara Buskers Festival -|- Ferrara, Italy
Halifax International Busker Festival -|- Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Lawrence Busker Festival -|- Lawrence, Kansas, USA
San Diego Busker Festival -|- San Diego, California, USA
Toronto BuskerFest -|- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Victoria Buskers Festival -|- Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Waterloo Busker Carnival -|- Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
World Buskers Festival -|- Christchurch, New Zealand

The most notable of all buskers was Woody Guthrie who frequently sang on street corners when he traveled the nation.

[Mr. Charlie]

I like the Ted Hawkins song. I remember watching that Gillian Welch concert at St. Luke's on TV and was fortunate enough to to record it. I later burnt it to DVD too. Both Gillian and David were on top form that night, and Old Crow Medicine Show joined them at the end for a special cover of The Band's The Weight:

[Mr. Charlie]

[Gavin B.]

Hold On, It's Coming, a folk rock classic written and performed by Country Joe McDonald.



The Incredible String Band perform The Half-Remarkable Question in a 1968 BBC television appearance.



Wilco's Jeff Tweedy performs a beautiful cover of the Dylan classic A Simple Twist of Fate.

[Mr. Charlie]

Yet another version of The Wild Goose. I never tire of them:

[Mr. Charlie]

A welcome return to form:

[Mr. Charlie]