Folk

The Swell Season Live From The Artists Den

Known to the world from Indie film sensation "ONCE", THE SWELL SEASON is Irish singer Glen Hansard (of the band The Frames) and Czech newcomer Marketa Irglova.
On a Crisp Autumn night shortly before receiving one Acadamy Award and two Grammy Award Nominations for music from "ONCE", the duo performed before an intimate Artists Den audience at the Good Shepherd Center Chapel in Seattle, a historic landmark built in 1906 as a shelter for young wayward or orphaned girls. The Magic of Hansard and Irglova playing together live is captured here for the first time

1. Say It To Me Now
2. Lay Me Down
3. All The Way Down
4. This Low
5. When Your Mind's Made Up
6. Lies
7. Drown Out
8. Falling Slowly
9. Golden
10. Pavement Tune
11. Once
12. If You Want Me
13. Concentric
14. Star Star

Beowulf

One of Europe s greatest epics the story of King Hrothgar the monster Grendel and the hero Beowulf has been passed down in written form for hundreds of generations. In this remarkable oneman tour de force Benjamin Bagby (co-founder and director of the Sequentia ensemble for medieval music) accompanying himself on an Anglo-Saxon harp delivers this gripping tale in the original Old English as it could havebeen experienced more than a thousand years ago.BONUS FEATURES: Interview with Benjamin Bagby Discussion with Beowulf scholars John Miles Foley Thomas Cable and Mark AmodioSystem Requirements:Running Time: 98 minutes plus 34 minutes bonusFormat: DVD AUDIO Genre: MISCELLANEOUS/SPECIAL INTEREST UPC: 741952644590 Manufacturer No: KOCDV6445

Down from the Mountain (The "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Concert)

Capturing one of the most extraordinary concerts in the history of traditional American music Down from the Mountain goes onstage and backstage with the acclaimed soundtrack artists of the Coen Brothers' hit film O Brother Where Art Thou? Filmed by the Academy Award nominated creators of The War Room this fascinating documentary features behind-the-scenes encounters and dazzling performances from legendary names like Ralph Stanley John Hartford Alison Krauss. Emmylou Harris and other celebrated bluegrass and country music superstars in a once-in-a-lifetime concert event!System Requirements:Starring: The Cox Family Fairfield Four Emmylou Harris John Hartford Chris Thomas King Alison Krauss David Rawlings & Gillian Welch Ralph Stanley and The Whites. Directed By: Nick Doob Chris Hegedus and D A Pennebaker. Running Time: 98 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2001 Artisan Entertainment.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating:  UPC: 012236123248 Manufacturer No: 12324

If you love the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, and Nick Doob's exhilarating concert film Down from the Mountain will be sheer heaven. And if you're new to bluegrass and "old-time mountain-style" music, the performances (also on CD) will be a revelation. John Hartford, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch, the Cox family, the venerable Ralph Stanley, and other traditional and alt-country artists who contributed the music to the Coen brothers' spaced odyssey gathered onstage in May 2000 at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium to benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame. Interviews and rehearsal footage set the stage for this stupendous concert, highlights of which include "(Didn't Leave) Nobody but the Baby" by the sirens Harris, Welch, and Krauss; the Coxes' "(Will There Be) Any Stars in My Crown"; and Stanley's haunting "O Death." As one performer recommends, "Just ease in, sit down, and listen." It could be your salvation. --Donald Liebenson

Patty Griffin: Live From the Artists Den

A Prairie Home Companion With Garrison Keillor (30th Anniversary Season Celebration)

Gordon Lightfoot - Live in Reno

Live in Reno is a solid overview of an admirable career, even if this Gordon Lightfoot is not what he once was. The singer-songwriter, 61 when the 90-minute show was recorded in April 2000, looks gaunt, and his distinctive voice is on the frail side. Still, he has accumulated a remarkable catalog of material over the course of some four decades, and nearly all of the biggies are among the 22 songs performed here by Lightfoot and his four-piece band, from the early classics popularized by other artists ("For Lovin' Me," "Early Morning Rain") to his own best-known hits ("If You Could Read My Mind," "Sundown," "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"). There are no theatrics or flashy production values, just a group of middle-aged men playing their music--and playing it well. So even if it's not especially exciting, fans will be satisfied. --Sam Graham

American Roots Music [DVD]

O Brother, wherever thou art, behold what thou and thy kin hath wrought. With the documentary American Roots Music and its spinoffs (including a book and CD collection), producers Jim Brown and Sam Pollard clearly were influenced by the popularity of the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? and its music. You won't be seeing Eminem and Mariah Carey here, or even Duke Ellington and Ray Charles, but rather a comprehensive, if flawed, four-part documentary examining the various cultural and ethnic folk traditions that blended together to create the rich, multi- flavored brew that is American music.

Narrated by Kris Kristofferson, each of the four parts is a little less than an hour long. Episode One offers a brief overview before detailing topics like the spread of music via Victrolas and radio, the early days of country music and the Grand Ole Opry, the rise of black gospel music, and seminal blues musicians like Son House, Mamie Smith, and Robert Johnson. Episode Two deals with western music (Gene Autry, Bob Wills), Bill Monroe and bluegrass, Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie, and more blues (Leadbelly, Sonny Boy Williamson, B.B. King). Episode Three, perhaps the best of the lot, takes on urban blues (Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf), black spirituals, and the early '60s folk boom, while Episode Four studies Cajun, zydeco and Tex-Mex styles, along with Native American music and more.

The style is standard documentary, with interviews and photos interspersed with new and old live footage. The producers tout the presence of "rare performances" by Guthrie, Waters, Monroe, Clifton Chenier, and many others, and they're fascinating. But for whatever reason (lack of time or maybe lack of faith in viewers' attention spans) none is presented in its entirety. It's a drawback that is remedied to some extent by the addition of six bonus clips (three on each DVD) that are complete, including wonderful vintage films of Western Swing master Bob Wills and the remarkable gospel singer/guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe. --Sam Graham

American Roots Music is a four-part documentary. This landmark television program explores the development of uniquely American music genres during the 20th century. Each 1-hour episode features seminal historic footage and musical performances by the pioneers of American music and traces the cultural evolution that shaped and influenced our rich tapestry of music. Masters in the fields of Folk, Country, Blues, Gospel, Western Swing, Bluegrass, Cajun, Zydeco, Tejano and Native American music are celebrated. You will see rare footage and hear music from artists ranging from the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Son House, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, Clifton Chenier, Flaco Jimenez, R. Carlos Nakai, Bob Dylan and many more. The astonishing performance footage is placed in context by colorful interviews with some of the artists themselves, their peers, family and friends.

The Best of Flatt and Scruggs TV Show, Vol. 1

Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs are two of the founding fathers of bluegrass music and their names are legendary to any fan of bluegrass. The "Best Of The Flatt and Scruggs TV Show" consists of live music performances with their group the Foggy Mountain Boys from a never before available TV show they did in their prime in the 1950s and early 1960s. These releases will be a major event in the bluegrass community and with bluegrass fans worldwide. System Requirements:Running Time: 60 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 016351061195 Manufacturer No: SHA-DV611

Woody Guthrie: This Machine Kills Fascists

An exhaustive documentary exploration of one of history's most important socially conscious folk singers THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS combines rare documentary footage of Guthrie's era with interviews from the artist's friends and family. Weighing in are Pete Seeger Guthrie's son Arlo and daughter Nora his friend Jimmy Longhi and a panel of experts. The program outlines the concerns of the times through Guthrie's music tracing the origins and meanings of such songs as "Pastures of Plenty" "Pretty Boy Floyd" and "This Land is Your Land."System Requirements:Running Time: 160 minutesFormat: DVD AUDIO Genre: MUSIC DVD/LIVE PERFORMANCES Artist: GUTHRIE WOODY UPC: 636551455176 Manufacturer No: SNP-DV4551

Steve Goodman - Live from Austin City Limits and More