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A mentor to everyone from Bob Dylan to Suzanne Vega, "The Mayor of MacDougal Street" was a treasured figure in the Greenwich Village scene for four decades. His autobiography and its portrait of the... more

It's more than an instrument—it's a symbol of the American South. Here are 30 prime examples of banjo artistry from more than 300 LPs (44-page booklet, too): "Bright Sunny South" Dock Boggs; "Johnson... more

Bold, lusty, wickedly funny, unexpurgated. Fireside conversation in the time of Queen Elizabeth I and songs in the same free spirit read and sung by Richard Dyer-Bennet.

The legendary Rose Maddox was known as the Queen of California Country Music and was also the first woman to record an all bluegrass album. She spent much of her later years playing with bluegrass... more

The songs Pete Seeger recorded on his American Favorite Ballads LPs in the '50s and '60s are not merely classic folk songs—they're definitive Americana. This first in a series of reissues of those... more

During the folk music revival of the 1950s and '60s, the old-time string band New Lost City Ramblers rekindled traditions of southern mountain music, introducing them to wider audiences. Here John... more

The New Faith tells an Afrofuturist story set in a far-future world devastated by climate change. Jake Blount and his collaborators embody a group of Black climate refugees as they perform a... more

Charlie Parr's 2021 album, Last of the Better Days Ahead, is a collection of powerful new songs about how one looks back on a life lived, as well as forward on what's still to come. It's spare... more

Songs of Our Native Daughters gathers together kindred musicians Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell in song and sisterhood to communicate with their forebears.... more

Dave Van Ronk - Ballads, Blues & a Spiritual - Dubbed "The Mayor of MacDougal Street," Dave Van Ronk (1936-2002) was an iconoclastic folksinger and an influential figure in the American folk music... more

Barbara forged her own path, singing for peace and justice and refusing to recognize music-biz boundaries between folk, jazz and blues. The 40-page booklet and 150 minutes of music here take us... more

Irwin Silber produced this classic 1960 Folkways comp of Civil War songs both famous and obscure, from rousing marches to brokenhearted ballads. Along with Tenting Tonight; Lincoln and Liberty; John... more

Our first recording of one of the nation's most respected singer/guitarists contains both original and traditional songs including Hills of Isle au Haut, Duna, Handsome Cabin Boy, Song by Yupanqui,... more

26 topical songs from (along with Woody Guthrie) probably the greatest topical singer-songwriter in American history, the only collection of its kind! The recordings date from 1944 right up to the... more

Vinyl LP pressing. Elizabeth Cotten's 1958 debut album on Folkways is best known for containing the earliest recording of her classic "Freight Train." The breadth of her repertoire and her endearing... more

Tim Smith, former singer and principal songwriter of Texan legends Midlake, is joined by his wife, Kathi Zung to form HARP. The road to Albion might have been long and winding, and bumpy to boot, but... more

Over 50 years after its original 1952 vinyl release, this is still the best American roots music collection around! Musicologist Harry Smith assembled the anthology from 78 rpm discs issued between... more

Pieces of Home by Dan + Claudia Zanes is a fresh collection of songs for people of all ages: joyful songs to restore the spirit and uplift the soul. These are old and new tunes, performed by old and... more

American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams' Southern blues roots are unmistakable on her debut record Ramblin' on My Mind, showcasing the artistry that would make her an icon. Recorded in... more

Leyla McCalla's Vari-Colored Songs is a celebration of the complexity of Black culture and identity, and a tribute to the legacy of poet and thinker Langston Hughes. A songwriter and... more

Vinyl LP pressing. This recording, first released by Folkways founder Moses Asch in 1976 to coincide with the celebration of America's Bicentennial, was originally recorded by Asch in the 1940s. The... more