Maiden City Festival Weblog

This is a first step as we slowly pull together our focus on the ballads of the Appalachians, which is our first project for the Fowk Foundation which we hope to launch before the start of the 2010 year’s Festival. 

At the 2009 Festival we launched the week in our usual Bluegrass way, with a day of Bluegrass around the historic Walls of Londonderry – though rain pushed most indoors.  Already in the comfort of the Verbal Arts Centre was Josh Goforth, from Madison County, deep in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. 

Josh is an outstanding musician, but also holds a passion for the heritage and culture of the mountains and in particular the ballads that were held for generations in a remoteness from modernity that was once afforded by the mountains. We asked Josh to open the Festival weekend with ‘a conversation on Mountain Life and Music’.  We are delighted to offer this podcast (free to download) of that afternoon’s presentation.

Josh Goforth Podcast by MaidenCityFestival

There are a number of videos from this afternoon session which will be on YouTube in due course. One tune not featured on the podcast was Josh’s final piece before he completed his presentation, taking him back to the beginning of his musical journey, at his Grandfather’s knee:

There are also examples of some of the music Josh talks about in different styles, to be found on the Maiden City Festival YouTube Channel, including this one taken from the evening concert at The Junction.

More later.

One of the programmes running along in the background of the Maiden City Festival is Fowk Foundation. The idea of the Fowk Foundation is to explore the roots of music, poetry or storytelling. We have started with music and specifically the tradition of ballads. Within the next few weeks or so, we will be launching a web space dedicated to the Fowk Foundation, which we hope to develop over years to come.

The concept for the Fowk Foundation started in conversation with Josh Goforth on a previous visit. Later, some research was undertaken at the English Folk Dance & Song Society’s Cecil Sharp House, Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, specifically the Cecil Sharp collection of songs from the Appalachian Mountains annotated in the early part of the 20th Century. The songs of the Appalachians were locked in time due to the closeness of the communities in the mountains, and their distance from external influences. Our interest lies in the fact that many of the songs would have had their roots in the cultures of the original mountain settlers, many of which were Scotch-Irish. Along with Josh Goforth, John Trotter was able to identify essences of Scottish and English roots in the music collected by Sharp.

The song featured here is one from the Cecil Sharp Collection which was collected in Madison County, North Carolina, the home county of Josh Goforth. It is a taste of what is in store once the web space is organised. For updates on the progress of the Fowk Foundation, keep an eye on this weblog or join the Maiden City Festival on Facebook which you can access from the website.

Josh Goforth is joined by Fiona Scott Trotter on vocal and John Trotter on accordion. Beautiful song.

Well it wasn’t a dry start to the Maiden City Festival.  Rain, however, could not stop play.  The first Siege Story was on the Walls today and some braved the wind and heavy showers to enjoy the dramatic interpretation of the Siege of Londonderry 1688-1689.

The Bluegrass Bands were in danger of being washed away, and moved under cover.  None the worse, shoppers and visitors enjoyed a great range of bluegrass and old time music.

The Knotty Pine Band played at Louis’s Cafe.

Woodbine took cover at the entrance to the Millennium Forum (above) while the Niall Toner Band sheltered in the Foyleside Centre, Acoustic Grass in the Richmond Centre and the Broken String Band took shelter under the arch of Magazine Gate at Guildhall Square.

Meanwhile Josh Goforth provided conversation on Mountain Life and Music. A native of Madison County, North Carolina, Josh talked of family, community and the music to which he listened as he grew up.

Josh provided a unique contribution to the opening of the Festival and the launch of the Three Cheers for “The Derrys” programme being hosted by the Playhouse Theatre in the coming week. More about “The Derrys” on Monday. For now, Josh sang a new song he has written which perfectly brought together the elements of “The Derrys” programme; history and community.  He explains the background to the song on the clip below.  While “The Derrys” programme has in mind those who fought and died, or were scarred, in World War 1, Josh brings to mind all those who leave to go “Far across the sea”. Our thoughts are with all those fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq and any theatre of conflict where loved-ones are parted.