We join Georgie for a well-deserved box around the ears, followed by a new education in that most misjudged of genres, folk.
From my experience, when you Google something these days, you also end up with a wealth of information that you don’t need. The sneaky right hand column with its sponsored links and advertising is particularly band at trying to cajole you into buying stuff you neither want nor need. Fancy a low-cost holiday to Eastern Europe? Car insurance for the car you don’t have? How about a cheap DVD of a terrible rom-com you deliberately missed at the cinema because you thought even then that it looked terrible? No thanks Google, just tell me about Chinese takeaways within a mile of Crookes, like I asked you to.
However, not an hour ago, I blessed that sneaky right-hand advertising column, because it suggested I visit folkalley.com. What I discovered was a completely free internet radio station, streaming 24 hours a day and entirely dedicated to folk music. It was like my birthday had come early.
Some history then: Folk Alley is an offshoot of Kent State university radio service WKSU-FM and has been broadcasting from Kent, Ohio since 2003. They have a varied and distinct playlist, featuring the work of singer-songwriters, traditional Celtic folk, live recordings and acoustic tracks, plus a whole host of more quirky and unusual world sounds. They have a simple mission: to bring folk music in all it’s various formats to the world. Ain’t that lovely?
For me it’s early days (I’ve been listening for a good 40 minutes now), but I’m pretty sure Folk Alley is going to become one of my preferred ways of enjoying music. There is no inane chatter between tracks from the DJs, just short and informative links, whilst its specificity and dedication to folk is refreshing. For someone who is passionate about folk music, it is a delight to be able to access such a diverse mix in such an easy fashion, especially as it is so underplayed on radio generally.
Not only do they have the radio station, but the website also provides reams of folky delights to bring all those unknown artists to your attention. There’s a blog, CD lists and new releases and live tracks available for download. There’s even an open mic feature for aspiring folk musicians to send in their songs. You can become a full member by providing some dosh (I’m not sure how much – the price was in dollars, and I’m not up on the current exchange rate), resulting in numerous more download benefits, but I reckon you can get a hell of a lot in terms of listening enjoyment and music discovery without parting with any of that precious student loan at all.
If you like folk music, and especially if you enjoy finding new tracks and artists to enjoy, I thoroughly recommend you sign up and explore Folk Alley for yourself. It’s a veritable goldmine, tailor made for the folk fan – what could be better?
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