Folk music is known for being music for the common people, although when one thinks about the genre, St. Louis is not the first city that springs to mind.
However, on Friday, Feb. 15, the Fourth Annual St. Louis Folk Festival will present the best in folk music to a city that is not often associated with the famous musical genre.
Started four years ago as a partnership with Acoustic City, this local concert has featured folk favorites, including up-and-coming artists and groups such as The Nields, Girlyman, Carrie Newcomer and Victor Krauss.
“Folk music is very grassroots and community based,” said Jill Stratton, co-founder of the festival. “You really get to know the people behind the music.”
This year’s festival features musicians Leo Kottke and Catie Curtis, a lineup to showcase folk music with a modern twist.
Kottke is an acoustic guitarist who draws his influences from folk, blues and jazz. A member of the Guitar Player Magazine Hall of Fame, he has collaborated with Lyle Lovett, Margo Timmins and Rickie Lee Jones and has recorded songs by Johnny Cash, the Byrds, Fleetwood Mac and many others.
Overcoming personal struggles, such as partial deafness, Kottke’s intimate relationship with audiences has made him a favorite in live folk music performances.
Curtis, a singer-songwriter who has toured the United States and Europe, opens the show. Known for her up-beat style and vivid lyrics, her songs have been featured on “Alias,” “Dawson’s Creek,” “Chicago Hope” and several independent films.
A supporter of social causes, Curtis won the Best Album Award from the Gay and Lesbian American Music Awards for her self-titled 1997 album and was also the subject of the Robert Mills-directed documentary, Tangled Stories.
“The idea behind the folk festival is to introduce the great American folk tradition to new audiences and keep the spirit of social awareness and responsibility, often found in the music, alive,” says Chris Peimann, director of marketing and publicity of Sheldon Concert Hall (3648 Washington Blvd.), the venue hosting this year’s festival. This year, according to Stratton, the primary focus of the festival is on children’s advocacy.
Tickets are $20 for students, available either through Metrotix or at theSheldon.org. The concert begins at 8 p.m.
