Friday's Fresh News — FIVE new feature stories as January exits with an El Niño rainstorm...

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Welcome! Here's Friday's Fresh News — FIVE new feature stories, one addressing something fairly immediate: music on TV tonight. And another with Folk-Americana music on RADIO this weekend.

Before you jump -in: two quickies about previous editions...

NOTE that our two most recent NEWS EDITIONS are loaded with feature stories that are NOT at all "stale" — from part one of our survey of new products debuting at the NAMM Show, to the January 26 edition with

ALSO, please note that the format problem in the "NAMM" edition is fixed — it's easy to read now that we substituted the words "less than" in place of the mathematical symbol, which the Cyberian world reads as computer code...

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CONTENTS / IN THIS EDITION...

1) FRIDAY NIGHT MUSIC ON TV...

2) L.A. RADIO THIS WEEKEND: BROADCAST / WEB SIMULCAST, & WHAT'S (BRIEFLY) ARCHIVED
•  There are multiple sections in this story:
√  Special WEB VIDEO Simulcast
√  Roots Music on KPCC
√  Roots Music on KCSN
√  Roots Music on KPFK
√  ARCHIVED, On-Demand Web Radio
√  ARCHIVED, But Going, Going...
√  FOLK-AMERICANA Radio from Elsewhere, via the WEB

3) 56th ANNUAL TOPANGA BANJO•FIDDLE CONTEST & FOLK FESTIVAL: 1st CALL FOR CONTESTANTS, VOLUNTEERS and GRAPHIC ARTISTS

4) NEW JULIE CHRISTENSEN CD GETS GOOD PR

5) SCOTTISH FIDDLERS OF LOS ANGELES SET CONCERTS TO CELEBRATE 35th ANNIVERSARY


Let's get started!


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# 1 news feature...


FRIDAY NIGHT MUSIC ON TV...

As always, KLCS, the little PBS "also-ran" that's owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District, is a Friday night haven for roots music.

Fri, Jan 29, on KLCS-tv:
8-8:30 pm "SUN STUDIO SESSIONS" has a 2015 show with GREYHOUNDS, a blues-funk duo from Austin, TX. The Memphis studio is where Elvis first recorded.

Repeats 3-3:30 am.

÷÷÷

Fri, Jan 29, on KLCS-tv:
8:30-9 pm "BLUEGRASS UNDERGROUND" is a 2015 episode with banjo virtuosi BELA FLECK & ABIGAIL WASHBURN. The show comes from inside a limestone cavern, 330+ feet underground near McMinnville, TN.

Repeats 3:30-4 am.

÷÷÷

Fri, Jan 29, on KLCS-tv:
9-10 pm "AUSTIN CITY LIMITS" continues its trend of pop over folk, with a 2016 edition with ANGELIQUE KIDJO.

Repeats 4-5 am.

÷÷÷

Fri, Jan 29, on KLCS-tv:
10-11 pm "FRONT & CENTER" from 2015 brings guitarist WARREN HAYNES, backed by roots band RAILROAD EARTH, from the McKittrick Hotel in NYC.

÷÷÷

Early Sat, Jan 30, on KLCS-tv:
5-6 am THE RIDES, a blues-rock group, perform for a 2015 edition of "FRONT & CENTER," with music from guests STEPHEN STILLS, KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD, & BARRY GOLDBERG, at the Iridium in NYC.


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# 2 news feature...


L.A. RADIO THIS WEEKEND: BROADCAST / WEB SIMULCAST, & WHAT'S (BRIEFLY) ARCHIVED

There are multiple sections in this story:
√  Special WEB VIDEO Simulcast
√  Roots Music on KPCC
√  Roots Music on KCSN
√  Roots Music on KPFK
√  ARCHIVED, On-Demand Web Radio
√  ARCHIVED, But Going, Going...
√  FOLK-AMERICANA Radio from Elsewhere, via the WEB
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Yep, just like Friday is the night for good music on tv — on PBS affiliate KLCS — Saturday morning through Sunday evening are when you find musical relief on radio in this town.
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√  SPECIAL WEB VIDEO SIMULCAST...

Sat, Jan 30:
"A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION" simulcasts a video feed THIS SATURDAY, Jan. 30, and ALL NEXT MONTH, live every Saturday, Feb. 6, 13, 20, & 27, from 3 to 5 pm Pacific, at:

http://prairiehome.org

Each show has an audio-only repeat on the site, 9 to 11 am, Pacific.

You can also listen to last week's show, through today (Friday), at the show's site.

ON THE JANUARY 30 SHOW:
Chris Thile (Punch Brothers) is braving the cold wind and snow of Saint Paul for his first of two turns as guest host from the show's home base, the Fitzgerald Theater. It’s a show chock full of writing talent, from pop songsmith and pianist Ben Folds, folk-rock troubadour Brandi Carlile, to comedian and actor Ed Helms. Sarah Jarosz sings a little bluegrass and plays her impressive array of stringed instruments, and the host and his fellow Punch Brothers provide string quintet fireworks equally at home in Rosine (Kentucky) and Paris (France); and, holding things all together in the absence of Garrison Keillor, the Royal Academy of Radio Actors brings cast members Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman, along with music director at the big Steinway, Rich Dworsky.
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√  Roots Music on KPCC...

Sat & Sun, Jan 30 & 31:
"A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION" is the only music program of any kind on the station that once had a roots-Americana format. And the globally-distributed show now airs only twice a week in L.A., ever since KPCC dropped the national premiere airtime for each week's broadcast (3 pm Pacific / 6 pm Eastern, everywhere else); you'll find simulcasts at that hour from stations coast-to-coast, or just go to http://prairiehome.org and you'll even get a video simulcast, every Sat. at 3 pm, through February. Otherwise, the sole L.A. broadcast radio times are on KPCC are both reruns everywhere else: 6-8 pm Saturdays and Noon-2 pm Sundays, at 89.3 FM / simulcast at www.scpr.org
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√  Roots music on KCSN...

• Sat, Jan 30:
"ACOUSTIC CAFE," hosted by Rob Reinhart, airs Saturdays 5-7 am Pacific. An independent media production of RDR Radio, LLC, the program's far-flung audience drives its eclectic playlist of mostly Americana music. Otherwise, Saturdays on KCSN are given over to a sucession of locally-hosted "music mix" programs.
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• Sundays:
"Bluegrass Etcetera" is lovingly crafted each week by Frank Hoppe. There's a reason why this is L.A.'s longest-running and sole-surviving bluegrass / old-time music radio show. Airs 6-8 am.

• Sundays:
"Americana Matinee" with Kat Griffin is the ONLY radio show in L.A. that concentrates on the Americana Music radio charts. Wanna know what the rest of the country is listening to? Airs 8-10 am.

Sundays:
"Le Show" with Harry Shearer is really not a music show. If you know his work around Hollywood, you know what to expect. Airs 10-11 am.

Sundays:
"The Dylan Hour" has grown a devoted audience with knowledgeable musician/host/programmer Lisa Finnie. It airs Dylan classics recorded by the Bob, reinterpretations by various artists and bands, plenty of stories from the road and recording studio, and Dylan obscura. Lisa stays at the mic for the show that follows, too. Airs 11 am-noon.

• Sundays:
"Masters Of Song" with Lisa Finnie expands the horizon beyond Dylan to his contemporaries, through to modern crafters of song. It airs Noon-1 pm.

• Sundays:
"Tangled Roots" is Pat Baker's long-running show that mixes Folk-Americana tracks old and new with Grateful Dead and other non-metal rockers that make for a musical landscape with no ruts. Airs 1-3 pm.

• Sundays:
"Rock 'n Roll Times" with retired L.A. Times and music writer and author of numerous bio books on iconic musicians Robert Hilburn. It's usually rock, but it's a standout show, 6-7 pm, and easy to remember before you switch to tv for "60 Minutes."

• Sundays:
"Ann the Raven's Blues" hosted & programmed by walking encyclopedia of the electric blues, Ann the Raven. Don't expect or request acoustic blues; that's not her thing. Airs weekly, 7-9 pm.
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√  Roots Music on KPFK...

(Presented "backwards," Sunday first, then Saturday)...

• Sundays:
"FOLKSCENE" is the longest-running Folk-Americana radio show from just about anywhere, with its pantheon of legendary performance-interview guests. It's all the more remarkable that the show has always been based in L.A., where systematic efforts have oft been made to drive such music from the airwaves. It airs 6-8 pm Sundays, then it's available on-demand for two weeks at:

http://archive.kpfk.org

In this Sunday's upcoming edition of "FOLKSCENE" on the radio, the Pasadena Folk Music Society adds, "Gibson and Camp are magnificent as well."
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• Saturdays (THIS Saturday, anyway):
Our friends at the Pasadena Folk Music Society reminded us, "There will be some very fine music on KPFK, 90.7 FM / www.kpfk.org this Saturday morning (January 30) from 6 to 8 am, where John and Deanne Davis will do their fifth-Saturday-of-the-month 'HEARTFELT MUSIC' show. They play a wealth of great folk music and we always look forward to it. Get up early and tune it in."

That crazy once-every-fifth-Saturday (or so) schedule also includes "ALIVE AND PICKING," the much-loved show hosted and produced by Mary Katherine Aldin.

In fact, "HEARTFELT MUSIC" and "ALIVE AND PICKING" were weekly fixtures for years, just like the award-winning long-gone "TIED TO THE TRACKS." At least the first two got a chance to come back at KPFK in the station's inscrutable, impossible-to-remember weird rotation, once every five weeks (or so) in a wild mix of shows.

The message from Pasadena comes with more about THIS Saturday's radio music:

"If you miss (the broadcast of) 'HEARTFELT MUSIC,' you can hear it on the KPFK Online Archives" at:

http://archive.kpfk.org — only for two weeks!
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√  ARCHIVED, ON-DEMAND WEB RADIO...

The Caltech-based Pasadena Folkies sent additional radio music news you can use:

Currently on the KPFK Archives, for ONE more week, you can hear a "FOLKSCENE" show with:

• a wonderful 1985 interview / concert from KATE WOLF and friends in the first hour, followed by

• a 1976 show featuring BOB GIBSON and "Hamid" aka HAMILTON CAMP, in the second hour

For another week, it's at:

http://archive.kpfk.org

Of this particular show, they write, "Kate sings some really fine songs that had just been released on her recording, 'Poet's Heart.' If you don't know about the music of the late KATE WOLF, this is a great introduction."

For our readers who may not know, the delightful "KATE WOLF MUSIC FESTIVAL" is an annual affair in Northern Cal, celebrating her music and plenty of good Folk-Americana from today's top touring performing songwriters and acoustic bands.

And there's more.
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√  ARCHIVED, BUT GOING, GOING...

For another couple of days, you can still hear ANDY STEWART & SILLY WIZARD, followed by the CHIEFTAINS, from the Sunday, January 17 "FOLKSCENE" show.

CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE...
We must also mention that the Pasadena Folk Music Society's next concert presents the return of Italian guitarist BEPPE GAMBETTA, in 3 weeks, on Saturday, February 20. It's  at 8 pm in Beckman Institute Auditorium ("Little Beckman") on the Caltech campus in Pasadena (free parking). Beppe last performed at Caltech back in 2002. Tix are now available ($15) by calling 626-395-4652 or order online at:

http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?pid=8130866
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√  FOLK-AMERICANA RADIO FROM ELSEWHERE, VIA THE WEB...

It would be overwhelming to list — or try to list — everything from everywhere. But we will offer a couple of shows, with our endorsements:

• "ACOUSTIC HARMONY" from the Green Mountains of Vermont has been programmed and hosted by Mark Michaelis has been hosting Acoustic Harmony on WGDR since 1990. He frequently has performance-interview guests, music-makers touring nationally (before they get to the left coast) or regionally — talented folks you might not discover for a much longer time, otherwise. The weekly show is broadcast on both WGDR and WGDH.

Mark first discovered the joy of free format programming in the late '70s while hosting an on-campus college radio show. Now he appreciates that same free format freedom in the studios at WGDR, where he plays the music of contemporary folk artists and singer songwriters, often featuring live guests and recorded interviews. "Acoustic Harmony" is a newly-added reporting show to the "Roots Music Report" radio airplay chart, and is heard on alternating Saturdays from 4:30-7:30 pm Eastern time (broadcast), and on the web Pacific time, 1:30-4:30 pm, at:

www.wgdr.org

The show and its home station offer nice options:

(1) you can stream the latest show on-demand for a two-week period after the show, AND "select" other editions, at:

www.wgdr.org/on-demand

an active link is on the "Links" page.

(2) You can record "Acoustic Harmony" and listen at your convenience, via the new web service DAR.FM, which allows users to record their favorite radio programs for listening at another time. It works just like a DVR or TiVo for radio.

Info on on that and upcoming guests are at the show's site:

www.acoustic-harmony.com
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• "MOJO BOOGIE BLUES," hosted by Brion Foster, is a five time winner of the Inland Empire Blues Society's “Empire Award” for "BEST BLUES RADIO PROGRAM" in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2014. (This is where you discover that Southern California isn't the only place with an "inland empire," eh?) The show is broadcast on KYRS 88.1 FM and 92.3 FM, "the home for contemporary blues, featuring local, regional, national & international blues artists." Mojo Boogie Blues asserts it "is focused on the most current popular and underground blues releases," and is a newly-added reporting show to the "Roots Music Report" radio airplay chart. Hear it live, and find several archived shows, at:

www.kyrs.org
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More radio music news coming your way soon.


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# 3 news feature...


56th ANNUAL TOPANGA BANJO•FIDDLE CONTEST & FOLK FESTIVAL: 1st CALL FOR CONTESTANTS, VOLUNTEERS and GRAPHIC ARTISTS

The best annual one-day folk festival anywhere is returns Sunday, May 15, 2016, from 9 am–6 pm, at its longtime home, Paramount Ranch, 2903 Cornell Rd, Agoura Hills, CA 91301. The site is an old movie ranch with "western town" style buildings recognizable from films since the 1930s. Today, it's operated by the National Park Service, who welcomes TBFC's multiple-stage hootenanny and dazzling array of talented contestants vying for prestigious and coveted awards.

EARLY OPPORTUNITIES...

a) Save the Date: Sunday, May, 15, 2016.

b) Contestant Registration: February 1 through April 15, 2016. NEW ON-LINE Registration Form available on 2/1/16.

c) Advance Ticket Purchase begins Feb 1 – Save money and avoid long lines.

d) ENTER THE LOGO CONTEST: TBFC has a sweet "Graphic Design Award" — design this year's logo (used on t-shirts, etc) and win a nice $650 Design Award prize. Submissions, now open, are due by March 15, 2016. See TBFC website for details.

e) Nominations for the 2016 "MUSIC LEGEND AWARD" are now open. (The Guide's founding editor was the 2015 honoree, joining those from previous years who have won GRAMMYS and other top awards!) Submissions are due by March 15; see website Home Page for link.

f) VOLUNTEER and enjoy FREE Admission – sign up on the website. The festival's recruiting pitch: "A Contest and Festival of this high quality does not just happen. Could you be our next decision maker? What would you love to do the most? What are your talents? Go to the Volunteer sign-up page and tell us what interests you while working with an experienced mentor."

g) FLATFOOT DANCING has just been added as a competitive category this year.

h) NEW RULES are in place for Intermediate Instrument Contestants (on their site, under "Contestant FAQ’s").

i) Want to distribute “Save the Date” Postcards to venues, music haunts, and trafficked places and events? Contact Joy Felt at the email address below.

J) Sign up for the TBFC email list at the link on their Home Page.

k) "Like" TBFC on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/topangabanjofiddle

l) Follow TBFC on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/TopangaContest

All information can be found on the TBFC website at:

www.topangabanjofiddle.org

Call the hotline, 818-382-4819 or email Board of Directors member JOY FELT at:

info@topangabanjofiddle.org

The TBFC website is:

www.topangabanjofiddle.org


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# 4 news feature...


NEW JULIE CHRISTENSEN CD GETS GOOD PR

Julie Christensen has been making good music for a long time as an enduring star of nu-folk.

"The Cardinal," released January 22, has brought Julie "a valid swanky wikipedia page," and a rush of coverage in the music press. This week, both "Alternate Root" and "No Depression" featured Julie and her band ("Julie, Chris, Bones, Steve, and Sergio"). "The Bluegrass Situation" premiered "The Cardinal" back in December.

The album is available on her site as a CD or download, and through iTunes and Amazon links. Get it from her site and she gets to keep more of your purchase price:

www.stonecupid.com


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# 5 news feature...


SCOTTISH FIDDLERS OF LOS ANGELES SET CONCERTS TO CELEBRATE 35th ANNIVERSARY

This year's Scottish Fiddlers' Spring Concert Series brings celebratory hoopla along with the usual acclaimed Celtic fiddle-based music.

The Scottish Fiddlers of Los Angeles will celebrate their 35th Anniversary with two concerts, seven weeks apart. The first is in Hermosa Beach on Saturday, March 5, at 7:30 pm. The second is set for Pasadena on Saturday, April 30, at 3:30 pm.

Cape Breton fiddler Troy MacGillivray is the featured special performing guest artist in Hermosa Beach on March 5, plus the Fiddlers welcome back to the Hermosa Beach Theatre the Tappan Sisters, Highland dancer Devon Watson, and piper Robert Hackney.

Guest artists for the Pasadena show will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tix for either show are available now, at:

www.scottishfiddlers.org


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NEWS coming soon:

√ more new products that debuted at NAMM.

√ MARDI GRAS in L.A. starts waaay early and goes past Fat Tuesday. We'll bring you the info on where the bonne temps will roulez...


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The Guide brings you frequent editions covering MUSIC NEWS and ticket alerts, published separately, and always available right here on the Guide's Blogspot site.

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More soon, as always.
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♪ The ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC GUIDE endeavors to bring you NEWS and views of interest to artists everywhere, more specifically to musicians and the creative community, and music makers and fans of acoustic and Folk-Americana music, both traditional and innovative. From the deepest roots to today’s acoustic renaissance, that’s our beat. We provide a wealth of resources, including a HUGE catalog of acoustic-friendly venues, and schedules and inside info on FESTIVALS and select performances in Southern California, in venues monumentally large and intimately small and cozy. We cover workshops and other events for artists and folks in the music industry, and all kinds o’ things in the world of acoustic and Americana and accessible classical music. From washtub bass to musical spoons to oboe to viola to banjo to squeezebox, from Djangostyle to new-fangled-old-time string band music, from sweet Cajun fiddle to bluegrass and pre-bluegrass Appalachian mountain music to all the roots of the blues and where the music is now.
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The Acoustic Americana Music Guide. Thanks for sittin' a spell.
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