Sights & Sounds

The Shockoe Sessions: The Legendary Ingramettes Live Stream from In Your Ear Studios in Richmond

Richmond’s First Family of Gospel, the Legendary Ingramettes performed live at In Your Ear Studio on September 21. The stream can be seen on In Your Ear’s Facebook Page or …

Harold MitchellSights & Sounds

The Voice: Remembering Harold Mitchell

All of us at the Virginia Folklife Program are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Harold Mitchell: emcee extraordinaire, master storyteller, and keeper of an encyclopedic knowledge …

Flory JagodaSights & Sounds

The Life of Flory Jagoda: the keeper of the flame

Born in 1923 in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Flory Jagoda learned songs from her grandmother, or “Nona” as she calls her, who knew the musical traditions passed down through their Sephardic Jewish …

Sights & Sounds

Real Folk: Passing on Trades and Traditions of the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program

Watch the 5-episode virtual tour: Since 2002, the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program at Virginia Humanities has brought together more than 150 experienced master artists and eager apprentices, ensuring various art …

Sights & Sounds

The Old Jimmy Sutton

A masterful songster recorded by two folklorists, fifty years apart. When the late folklorist Alan Lomax set out on his now infamous “Southern Journey” in 1959, he stopped in Chilhowie, …

Take a Look in the BookSights & Sounds

Legendary Ingramettes: Take a Look in the Book – album out now

The Virginia Folklife Program is so proud to announce the release of Take a Look in the Book, the new album from The Legendary Ingramettes. Six decades of music, sixty-five …

Sights & Sounds

Richmond Folk Festival Highlights – 15th Anniversary

As we look back at the 15th Folk Festival in Richmond we can’t help but take pride in the stunning success of this event! This was another great year, and …

Sights & Sounds

Remembering Helen White

The Virginia Folklife Program is deeply shocked and saddened at the news of the passing of our good friend Helen White. Helen channeled her tireless passion for the music and …

Sights & Sounds

Remembering Gerald Anderson

I’m sure we join so many throughout Southwest Virginia and beyond in our sadness and shock to learn of the passing of Gerald Anderson. Gerald was a fine luthier, player, …

Sights & Sounds

Sherman Holmes Project: The Richmond Sessions

The first solo recording in his more than fifty-year career, Sherman Holmes’ The Richmond Sessions carries on the spirit of the revered Holmes Brothers by reimagining songs and making them …

Sights & Sounds

Frank Newsome: Gone Away with a Friend (Free Dirt Records)

On Gone Away with a Friend, Frank Newsome sings a more than four-century-long American tradition into the present. His arresting style—the lined-out hymn singing of the Old Regular Baptists from …

Sights & Sounds

2019 Apprenticeship Showcase Highlights

We are so grateful to artists and audience who braved the forecast and came out for the 2019 Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Showcase. The event featured a remarkable program switching seamlessly …

Sights & Sounds

Master Artist Spotlight: Mark Cline

Mark Cline is a master artist in the 2019-2020 class of apprenticeship teams in the art of roadside attractions and fiberglass sculpture. In this feature Richmond-writer Don Harrison takes an …

Sights & Sounds

Junious Brickhouse and Tyrone Edwards

Born in 1974, Junious Lee Brickhouse grew up in a musical household in the African American communities of Virginia Beach and Norfolk. His mother, Lynda, shared with him her love …

Apply for an Apprenticeship

Virginia Folklife Apprenticeships will begin June 1, 2023 and run through May 31, 2024. The application deadline for this cycle is April 9, 2023.