r/folk

Been discovering a lot of independent artists lately through The Cauldron community.

Opening submissions up again for new Spotify releases.

https://thecauldron.rocks/submit

A photo from the Second Cousins stage at FolkEast Festival last year.

From left to right in that photo: Andy Matheou's Yamaha (Andy ran Les Cousins Folk & Blues Club, and John Martyn borrowed that guitar from him to make the Bless the Weather album), Bert Jansch's touring Yamaha that he used in the last decade of his life, Sandy Denny's Taytay (she acquired it from her brother when she was a teenager and she wrote 'The Ballad of Time' on it, which became her classic, 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes'), and Nick Drake's Martin 000-28 (used on some of the recordings at his last ever session, as anyone who has read Adam Foster's excellent book will know).

This year at FolkEast (this coming Saturday) we'll have: Nick's 000-28 and his Estruch (nylon-string, the first guitar Nick ever owned), Sandy's Taytay, Martin Carthy's original Gibson (on which he taught songs to Bob Dylan in 1962/63), and Martin Carthy's 000-18 (his main guitar from about 1964 until 2000).

It'll be a guitar heaven! More info here: https://www.patreon.com/JonWilksArchive/posts/second-cousins-166555979

Thought I'd strip this one right back.

A beauty written by Mike Heron that appeared on their debut album in '66

Played on my Tom Sands native guitar, self recorded up on West Nab above Huddersfield on Wednesday morning

A little folk tune I've been working on lately. Took this live take in a field near my house. Probably sounded eerie to dog walkers nearby.

The Appalachian Legacy of a Custom George Orthey "Carter Gold" Autoharp (Serial #784)
For anyone who appreciates deep-rooted Appalachian musical heritage, few instruments tell a story quite like this. This custom George Orthey "Carter Gold" Dulci-Harp autoharp (Serial #784) is a true museum-grade piece of mountain music history.
What makes this particular instrument stand out is its unmatched rarity, extraordinary craftsmanship, and direct connection to the legends who shaped traditional Appalachian and country music:
Extreme Rarity (One of Only Three): This instrument is extraordinarily rare. Master luthier George Orthey built only three of these specific mulberry instruments in this configuration, with sister instruments residing in prominent spaces like the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. Because Orthey has passed away, an instrument of this finite lineage can never be made again.
Master Luthier Craftsmanship & Original Value: Built using historic mulberry wood personally harvested from the Carter Family orchard in Maces Springs, Virginia, by Joe Carter, Orthey originally valued and priced these unique creations in the $25,000 to $35,000 range due to the extreme scarcity of the materials and the heavy historical significance.
Patsy Stoneman’s Autograph: The instrument bears an autograph from the legendary Patsy Stoneman of the pioneering Stoneman Family. Hailing from the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Stonemans were foundational figures who helped bring traditional Appalachian sounds to the national stage.
The Joe Carter Daugherty Connection: It also features a historical family signature of Joe Carter Daugherty, binding the instrument directly into the roots of country music royalty.
Instruments like this aren't just tools for playing music—they are irreplaceable physical artifacts of Appalachian culture, craftsmanship, and legacy

Hey r/MusicIMade, I help run Red Devil Radio, a small independent internet radio station: https://reddevilradio.com

I’m looking for independent artists who have one finished original track they’re proud of. If you own/control the rights and want it considered for station rotation, send the one song you’d want a new listener to hear first:

https://reddevilradio.com/submit.html?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=board-post&utm_campaign=reddit_board_post_20260616&utm_content=musicimade

No pay-to-play and no rights grab. New artist accounts get starting submission credits, so I’m not asking anyone here to pay to send one track. Artists keep ownership; I just listen through submissions and add the ones that feel like a good fit for the station.

Spotify links help with metadata, but the form also needs an upload or authorized public audio source so I can actually review and play it.

Happy to answer questions here.

Ciao a tutti, ho realizzato un video saggio narrativo per il mio canale di ascolto Frequenze per persone solitarie dedicato a Townes Van Zandt e al suo capolavoro del 1969, Our Mother the Mountain.

In questo episodio ripercorriamo la tragedia vissuta a 20 anni da Townes: ricoverato in una clinica psichiatrica a Galveston, subì trattamenti d'urto e shock insulinici che gli cancellarono completamente i ricordi dell'infanzia. E analizziamo come quel vuoto e quella malinconia siano stati trasformati in musica grazie agli arrangiamenti barocchi e spettrali di Kevin Eggers:

https://youtu.be/R-zsdZzNjac

Qual è la canzone di Townes Van Zandt che vi scava più a fondo dentro ogni volta che la ascoltate?

Ever wonder how other countries view America now?

Our actions speak louder then words.

My words, dropped into Suno.

ENJOY

I was gifted this one probably 14-15 years ago, and may still have never come across it on my own otherwise.

It’s a totally unique project by Chris Kirkley (Sahel Sounds), where he traveled around Mali with his ears open to current, local music being played at max volume on crappy flip phones in public spaces. He’d ask the people playing the songs to send him the mp3 along with anything they knew about the artist.

The liner notes reflect everything from stories about the songs by the musicians themselves to a bare bones knowledge of where the song originated and its mp3 track name.

Really no other way these random underground tracks from places like Cote D’Ivoire, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, etc would ever arrive at the general public’s ears— everything from hip hop to Arabian-Indie type tracks.

I mean songs that explain why some real place, object, ritual, landmark, or feature exists. Not just songs from a place, but songs that give the place a real or imaginary backstory.

I wrote about one recently: the Swedish murder ballad Per Tyrsson’s Daughters in Vänge. It explains Kärna Church and three nearby springs through a story of murder, miracle, and memory. Basically: “why is this place here?” Answer: because something terrible happened.

https://songsfromthedead.substack.com/p/ep-28-per-tyrssons-daughters-the

What are your favorite songs like this? Bonus points if the explanation is strange, violent, funny, clearly invented, or somehow more memorable than whatever actually happened.