The Women of Folkways concert is an annual celebration of women in the Folkways Records Collection. This collection is the legacy of Moses Asch, who founded Folkways Records in 1948. Now housed at the Sound Studies Institute at the University of Alberta, the collection is a rich resource with strong community connections. The annual concert seeks to make connections between the past—the women whose work is in the collection—and the present-day artists who will perform.
On March 9, four artists will present a collaborative singer-in-the-round concert where they will explore and celebrate the music of Folkways by presenting new interpretations of traditional folk songs as well as their own original songs to expand the tradition.
This year, Maria Dunn will host, and Dana Wylie is the programmer who has booked the artists. We connected with Wylie to ask her about this event.
“We always want to see different backgrounds and experiences represented on stage,” she says. “It’s folky, but the Folkways record label included everything from jazz to blues, and spoken word. And they were famous for having weird stuff, too. Animal noises. Street sounds. Moses Asch wanted to document everything that is sound. So we want to offer variety, and bring people to different places, too.”
Wylie is excited to see four unique artists take the stage: Maria Dunn, Kym Gouchie, Riwo Egor, and Fawn Wood. She calls Maria Dunn a folk “legend” and suggests that the audience will be guided by the singer’s dedication to the Folkways label and the spirit of folk music.
Kym Gouchie is a Prince George singer-songwriter with ancestral roots in the Lheidli T’enneh Cree and Secwépemc Nations. Wylie says, “She’s a storyteller who fosters change and reconciliation through her music and art.”
Riwo Egor may be known to people as the lead singer of Melafrique, but she is making waves as a solo artist now too, and Wylie notes that she recently had the #1 album on CKUA’s Top 30 chart.
Fawn Wood is a JUNO-winning artist, a Plains Cree/Salish singer from Saddle Lake near St. Paul. Wylie describes her as both traditional and contemporary.
“There will be great variety,” says Wylie. “We want to make the public more aware of the Folkways Collection, which is a treasure. And we want to celebrate the contributions of women to this catalogue, this amazing collection of music.”
Wylie also hopes that the concert builds community connections. “I hope we get new people who learn about the music, the connection, and the artistry. I love all the ways we can celebrate this collection in new ways each year. We could do a concert like this every year without repetition. It’s a series that can continue.”
As stewards of the Moses and Frances Asch Collection of Folkways Records, The University of Alberta’s Sound Studies Institute collaborates annually with the Northern Lights Folk Club to co-produce the Women of Folkways concert event. This year’s concert will take place on March 9 at Edmonton’s Parkview Community Hall. Find info at https://northernlightsfc.ca/show/women-of-folkways/
