Sights & Sounds

We Are Part of a CommonWEALTH of Cultures

At the Richmond Folk Festival this October, we invited visitors to tell us what sorts of performances and cultural expressions they would enjoy next year and beyond.  We commissioned Sushmita …

Sights & Sounds

Richmond Folk Festival 2022 Recap

The Virginia Folklife Area at this year’s Richmond Folk Festival was a resounding success! Across the three days of the festival, October 7–9, a record-breaking 230,000 people visited the festival …

Sights & Sounds

Finding the “Nuevo South” Sound with Larry Bellorín and Joe Troop – Folklife Fieldnotes 10

Joe Troop and Larry Bellorín met in the Raleigh/Durham area of North Carolina and hit it off immediately. Joe was dealing with a shift in his musical career and Larry …

Photo of the seven men in the Chosen Few in the midst of singing, with one man foregrounded on the leftSights & Sounds

Tidewater Gospel Traditions with Rev. Tarrence Paschall and the Chosen Few on Folklife Fieldnotes 9

Rev. Tarrence Paschall has been singing with The Paschall Brothers for years, and now he’s signing with another Hampton Roads-based group keeping the Gospel Quartet tradition alive, the Chosen Few.

Virginia state folklorist Katy Clune, in a colorful shirt, poses for a portrait with violin makers Richard Maxham, left, and Danny Smith, right, in front of a cluttered workbench in Smith's shop.Sights & Sounds

Katy Clune Shares Stories and Fieldwork on Folklife Fieldnotes 8

Director of the Virginia Folklife Program Katy Clune joins Pat Jarrett and Chris Boros on this episode of Folklife Fieldnotes.

Sights & Sounds

Behind the Cut: Hair Culture in Richmond

My name is David Robbins and I am an intern here at Virginia Humanities. I was graced with the opportunity work with a few of the different programs within the …

Sights & Sounds

86 Years of Fiddlers’

by Pat Jarrett Always held during the first full week of August (technically it always starts the Monday after the first Saturday of the month), the 86th Old Fiddlers’ Convention …

Sights & Sounds

Finding My Voice in Virginia

Five months ago I started work as state folklorist and director of the Virginia Folklife Program here at Virginia Humanities. My intent this first year is to be on the …

Sights & Sounds

Rev. Edward Scott & His Jazz Worship Service – Folklife Fieldnotes Episode 7

Dr. Rev. Edward Scott is the pastor at Allen Chapel AME Church in Staunton, VA. He’s also a jazz music enthusiast. He takes his love of jazz and combines it with his …

Sights & Sounds

Mac Traynham & Ashlee Watkins – Folklife Fieldnotes Episode 6

“I only wish that all of my bluegrass and old-time pickin’ friends in Australia could be exposed to this kind of culture and they would hear the difference in it too,” …

Sights & Sounds

Lemlem Gebray – Folklife Fieldnotes Episode 5

 Lemlem Gebray is teaching her daughters, Datta and Akeza Seyoum, in the Ethiopian coffee ceremony tradition for the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program. In this Episode of Folklife Fieldnotes, we honor …

Sights & Sounds

Marino’s Forever: Marino’s Lunch to Reopen

Famed Staunton jam spot and burger joint Marino’s Lunch has been closed since 2017. After extensive renovations the doors open this weekend.

Sights & Sounds

Earl White – Folklife Fieldnotes Episode 3

Earl White is a fiddler, founding member of the Green Grass Cloggers, and leader of the Earl White Stringband. Produced in partnership with WMRA.